Hoyer: 'Deem and pass' in a 'clean' healthcare process

The House will have a clean up-or-down vote on the Senate's healthcare vote in the form of a rules vote, Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) said Wednesday.

As Democrats prepare to move forward with health reform efforts, Hoyer seemed to confirm the so-called "deem and pass" strategy that would see the House indirectly approve the Senate's health bill through a vote on a rule making changes to it. 

"We're going to have a clean up or down vote on the Senate bill -- that will be the rule," Hoyer said during an appearance on "Good Morning America."

The majority leader seemed to signal that Democrats were likely to opt for the maneuver, which House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) had said Tuesday was only among a range of options under consideration by Democrats, on which no final decisions have been made. 

Hoyer appeared on ABC to help bolster the case for the controversial healthcare maneuver, nicknamed the "Slaughter solution" for Rules Committee Chairwoman Louise Slaughter (D-N.Y.), which has been assaulted by Republicans as a rarely-used trick that avoids a direct vote. 

"This is a process that you can avoid a direct up or down vote on a bill. This is an attempt to hide the vote," House Minority Whip Eric Cantor (R-Va.) said alongside Hoyer on ABC. "Why do that? It's so big, we should have an up or down vote."

Republicans have sought to force a vote on the Senate bill, which includes a number of controversial "sweeteners," as well as more controversial language on abortion and other issues. 

Hoyer downplayed the idea that the strategy under consideration was hardly unusual, and likened it to conference reports on legislation on which members of Congress often vote. 

"This is not an unusual procedural. We're going to vote on a rule," he said. "It's simply like a conference report."

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