This afternoon (March 15), the House Budget Committee will begin consideration of a reconciliation bill that will carry refinements to H.R. 3590, the Senate-passed health system reform legislation. The Budget Committee is scheduled to begin meeting at 3:00 pm and plans to stay in session until midnight.

A 2,300 page bill has been posted on the Budget Committee web site. Importantly, this bill is NOT the vehicle that House leaders intend to bring to the floor. The language contained in this “shell” vehicle will ultimately be stripped out and replaced with new legislative language that is not yet available for review. We do not expect the true reconciliation bill language to be released before Tuesday.

Following the Budget Committee’s action, the House Rules Committee will meet later this week and insert the final language into the bill before it is brought to the House floor for a vote. The floor vote is not expected to take place until the end of the week, perhaps on Friday or Saturday.

We will keep you informed as the process unfolds.