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The bill needs to be passed by a majority in each house of congress and then signed by the president. The president could veto it and send it back to congress. A veto can only be overturned by a 2/3 vote. The Democrats probably support this bill but Republicans won't. There's already a lot of emphasis being put on government spending and the deficit right now. Arguably, it's why the Democrats lost a seat in the senate in Massachusetts last month. MA is probably the most liberal state in the country, so it was a pretty big upset. However, giving that seat to a Republican lost the Democrats their 3/5 super majority in the senate, thus derailing their plans to pass a health care bill that would have greatly increased government spending. Why is this important? A couple reasons. One reason is that without a super majority, Democrats can't force cloture on a filibuster allowing Republicans to talk endlessly about a bill, preventing the house from ever coming to a vote on it. Another reason the current political climate matters is that Democrats may fear losing more ground to Republicans (which may be inevitable at this point). Obama has already shifted his focus to address increasing concerns about employment and government spending, which was evident during his State of the Union Address last month. Given the hostility towards frivolous government spending right now, some Democrats may be hesitant to support the bill. Especially Democrats from more traditionally conservative areas. But anything is possible. You never know what the clowns in our government will do next!
What are private members' bills? I don't really know how bills are passed in GB. I learned years ago in my comparative government class in high school but it's been a while.
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