“You’re worried about people in that industry giving up and not participating, then it would be relevant to talk to them,” Haislmaier said.
A senior House GOP aide provided only one name of an expert consulted during the drafting of the measure: Doug Holtz-Eakin, a former director of the Congressional Budget Office and current president of the policy nonprofit American Action Forum.
‘Better Way’ Agenda
Holtz-Eakin said he and several others from his organization spoke “fairly regularly” with House leaders and members of the Energy and Commerce Committee, as well as the Ways and Means panel.
“How much of that shaped the bill? Well, I don’t know,” he said, adding that the eventual proposal seemed to him like a natural outgrowth of the “Better Way” agenda that Ryan and House leaders drafted last year.
“It’s pretty simple; I’m viewed as a resource that can tell them something about policy, and I don’t pretend I understand their politics all that well,” Holtz-Eakin said. “So I just try to help them when they ask.”
The senior House GOP aide said that leaders were mostly focused on trying to make sure the language in the bill, H.R. 1628, conformed with Senate rules and didn’t violate the expedited procedures being used to circumvent a Democratic filibuster.
While the Senate might be more accessible to industry and policy wonks, senators won’t exactly be deliberating out in the open.
Amendments Allowed
There’s already talk of sending the new measure directly to a vote in the full Senate without committee hearings, if leaders can gather the 50 Republican votes—plus Vice President Mike Pence—needed to muscle it through. But the measure will be open to amendments on the Senate floor, giving lobbyists a chance to win changes.