I'm trying to find more information about what the Senate is trying to do to get the repeal bill through without having to go through the Dems, and I just don't understand the process they're supposedly using. "Reconciliation" is the word I hear in this context, but I don't get how it applies here. Can someone please explain it?
The House passed their version of the repeal bill, which then went to the Senate. That bill seems like it wouldn't qualify for reconciliation, since it covers more than just the budget. It doesn't really matter anyway, since the Senate is expected to rewrite most of the bill, which then means it has to go back to the House for re-approval, right? Or to a committee and then back to each chamber, or something like that?
I guess I just don't see how Republicans expect to get this thing passed. If it's exclusively budgetary, meaning that it can be passed with a simple majority in the Senate with no opportunity for a filibuster, then the first version of the AHCA should be a pretty convincing argument that the House will never approve it. Anything closer to the most recent version can be filibustered, which the Senate Republicans obviously see as a threat. Am I misunderstanding?