Pell Grant Provisions Don't Pass Muster With Parliamentarian; Reconciliation Bill BackTo House

From Politico:

"Senate Republicans have suceeded in forcing Democrats to send the health reform reconciliation bill back to the House for another vote, after Senate parliamentarian Alan Frumin ruled early Thursday morning that two minor provisions violated the chamber's rules and couldn’t be included in the final bill....

...The provisions are included in one non-health-reform part of the reconciliation bill – a change to student lending laws sought by Obama. One provision would make sure students don’t see cuts in their Pell Grants even if Congress doesn’t appropriate enough money for the program, and the other strikes obsolete language. But they didn’t pass the parliamentarian’s muster – despite extensive Democratic efforts to make the reconciliation bill bulletproof to just such a technical challenge.

A spokeswoman for the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee Chairman Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) reiterated that the changes are "minor" and won't create problems when the altered bill goes back to the House for approval. The reconciliation bill is designed to make changes to the newly minted health care reform law."

The Hill is reporting that House vote could come later today: 

"Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) said Thursday he's confident the House will approve a measure making final fixes to healthcare law when it comes back to the House. 

Hoyer said he expected the House to vote today to re-approve the healthcare reconciliation bill after Senate Republicans successfully raised a point of order against that bill, setting up another House vote.

"These are very technical rulings of the parliamentarian," Hoyer said Thursday morning during an appearance on CBS, dismissing the changes the Senate GOP had forced to the bill. 

"I expect to get this bill back from the Senate sometime this afternoon, and I would expect several hours after we will have the bill on the floor, and we will pass the bill and send it to the president," the number two House Democrat said."

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Update

New York Times is reporting that bill passed the Senate earlier today and is now headed back to the House:

"Ending one of the fiercest lobbying fights in Washington, the Senate voted Thursday to force private commercial banks out of the federal student loan business, cutting off billions in risk-free profits in a sweeping restructuring of financial-aid programs that was included in — if overshadowed by — the health care package. The House was expected to concur later Thursday..."