The scenario is all too familiar: House Republican leaders schedule a floor vote on a major legislative priority and exude confidence the bill will pass despite a chorus of rank-and-file concern.
GOP leaders insist the tax overhaul they plan to vote on this week is different from the health care bill they had to pull from the floor this spring. But the reality is they are still wrangling the 218 votes needed to pass their tax measure. A possible repeat scenario of the health care debacle looms.
The House eventually passed the health care overhaul May 4, but that was six weeks after it was originally scheduled for a floor vote. The Senate then failed to pass its own health care measure, killing the effort for now.
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