Byrd Bath: Seven Provisions That Could Disappear From the Senate Health Bill
We still don’t know what bill Republican senators will take up next week when they turn to health care. There are three versions of the legislation that could be considered, each with slightly different provisions.

We still don’t know what bill Republican senators will take up next week when they turn to health care. There are three versions of the legislation that could be considered, each with slightly different provisions.

But the bill that the senators vote on, if they vote at all, is likely to be different from any of those. That’s because the draft bills have not yet undergone scrubbing and analysis by the Senate’s parliamentarian, an expert who scrutinizes legislation to make sure it complies with the rules. The parliamentarian, Elizabeth MacDonough, a lawyer who has long worked for the Senate, has the power to strip out key parts of the bill if they don’t pass legal muster.

Congressional leadership is trying to pass its health care overhaul through a special budget process called reconciliation, and there are limitations on what provisions can be added to such a bill.

Experts from both parties make arguments before the parliamentarian, in a process somewhat like a Supreme Court oral argument. And, in the end, the parliamentarian will issue her rulings on which things stand and which must be removed from the bill.