In late July, 239 House Democrats voted for repeal, but the bill did not get the two-thirds majority needed for approval under the expedited procedure used then.
House Democratic leaders said the House could consider the Senate bill under an expedited procedure that prohibits amendments and requires a two-thirds majority for passage.
A handful of Democratic sponsors, and the majority of the Republican conference, favor the classic version of the bill, and so it will receive a vote next week under an expedited procedure in the House.
According to slides presented at a closed-door meeting this week, members of the Senate Finance Committee are debating several new ideas, including "an automatic mechanism" to reduce the growth of Medicare under an expedited procedure like the one used to close military bases.
In a sign of the bill's importance to Republicans, the House leadership rushed the measure to the floor today, without committee hearings, under an expedited procedure that limits debate and bars amendments but also requires a two-thirds vote for approval.
We, on the other hand, undertake to deal with this proposal under an expedited procedure.
Mr. Daschle said the Obama administration would not try to rush health care legislation through Congress under expedited budget procedures, which would limit the opportunity for debate and amendments.
Republicans object to both the idea of a new government plan and the use of expedited procedures to push it through the Senate on a simple majority vote.
Mr. Bingaman said that while he was not philosophically opposed to using the expedited procedures, "the rules are pretty arcane, and there are all sort of complications".
It may not be easy for Democrats to leave past battles behind, but they can greatly improve the process by agreeing to Republican requests for expedited procedures without circumventing the principle that nominations must be thoroughly examined in committee.
