Senate Dems offer olive branch to GOP on healthcare reform

Several Senate Democrats offered an olive branch to House Republicans, offering to get rid of a controversial measure contained within healthcare reform.

Democratic Sens. Ben Nelson (Neb.), Maria Cantwell (Wash.) and Amy Klobuchar (Minn.) wrote to House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) to offer swift Senate passage for stand-alone legislation to do away with a reporting requirement for businesses.

"Now that you have moved past repeal of the Affordable Care Act, we encourage you to work on efforts to improve the law moving forward," the senators wrote in a letter to Boehner, following a House vote on Wednesday to repeal the entirety of President Obama's healthcare bill.

A bill moving through the House — H.R. 4 — would do away with the "1099" provision, which requires businesses to file forms for every purchase they make above the amount of $600 annually. Both Democrats and Republicans have come to view the requirement as costly and burdensome, especially for small businesses.

"Repealing this provision would be an important and practical way to improve the Affordable Care Act," the Democrats wrote to Boehner. "We are confident that the Senate can quickly act on H.R. 4 once the House has passed it."

But Republicans are interested in a full repeal of healthcare reform and, in the House, have instructed committees to work on alternative legislation to replace the bill.

While the House successfully voted to repeal healthcare reform, the move is broadly seem as symbolic, since Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) has said he won't bring it up for a vote in his chamber. The Senate's top Republican, Kentucky Sen. Mitch McConnell, has sought to "assure" a Senate vote, but even if it were to pass, Obama has said he would issue a veto.

It's unclear whether Republicans will latch onto the Democratic offer on the 1099 provision. GOP leaders have said that, if they can't repeal healthcare reform in whole, they'll look to "chip away" at it. The reporting requirement's repeal might be a step toward that goal, but also serve as an admission that Republicans don't have the votes to repeal the bill in its entirety.