changethechange @ www.youtube.com The Slaughter Rule — named for House Rules Committee Chairwoman Louise Slaughter (DN.Y.) who proposed it — would allow the Senate health bill to be incorporated into the Rule for the reconciliation bill coming out of the Senate. If members vote to pass this Rule they, in effect, pass the Senate health care bill wihtout actually voting on it — they instead vote on the reconciliation package. Article 1, Section 7 of the Constitution, however, expressly states that for any bill to become law “the Votes of both Houses shall be determined by the yeas and Nays, and the Names of the Persons voting for and against the bill shall be entered on the Journal of each House respectively.” After that, under the Constitution, the president must either sign the bill or hold it for ten days (not counting Sundays), after which it will become law unless Congress adjourns in the interim. Constitutional scholars have said that what the Democrats may try to do by making the Senate health care bill law without ever voting on it in the House is unconstitutional and could spark a constitutional crisis far worse than Watergate. The Rules Committee sets the rules of debate for legislation before it is brought to the House floor. Under normal circumstances the committee lays out how much time each side is allowed for floor debates and which amendments they can offer on the floor. Amendments that the majority does not want debated or offered on the floor are often …