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Deem and pass explained

By Catharine Richert
Published on Wednesday, March 17th, 2010 at 7:03 p.m.

Related rulings:

Half-True
"There is no precedent for what the Democrats are doing with this deception. ... We have never written a reconciliation bill to amend a law that does not exist."

Cliff Stearns, Monday, March 15th, 2010.

Ruling: Half-True | Details

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Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and Majority Leader Steny Hoyer lead the Democrats on health care reform.

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and Majority Leader Steny Hoyer lead the Democrats on health care reform.

Ever heard of "deem and pass" before?

It may sound like a football play, but it's actually House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's favored procedural maneuver to pass health care reform in the lower chamber.

Such legislative gymnastics have Republicans up in arms.

"There is no precedent for what the Democrats are doing with this deception," said Florida Rep. Cliff Stearns on March 15, 2010. "We have never written a reconciliation bill to amend a law that does not exist."

We check into the accuracy of his statement and explain the details of deem and pass; read our full report.

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Sources:

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Researchers: Catharine Richert

Names in this article: Cliff Stearns

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