You can read all 2,074 pages of the Senate health care reform bill here.
The "substitution" verbiage at the beginning, is the tactic that Senator Reid is using to quickly bring the full bill to a vote in the Senate. H.R. 3590—a bill that was passed in the house in October to make changes to the first-time homebuyer's credit for members of the armed forces—is going to be used as what is sometimes referred to as a "shell" bill.
Since H.R. 3590 is already on the Senate legislative calendar, Harry Reid is using a procedure that would remove the substance of that bill and replace it with the entire Senate health care monstrosity. This will require the support of 60 senators to vote for cloture on the motion to proceed to H.R. 3590 (this essentially ends debate on the procedure) and debate can then can begin on the health care reform bill.
Any amendment could be filibustered, so Sen. Reid will probably decide to block all amendments and attempt to get a vote on the entire package. This vote could also be filibustered by Republicans, in which case he would need another 60 votes to stop debate and proceed with the vote.
Both parties (in both houses) use this maneuver to bring legislation to the floor very quickly, instead of adding a particular bill to the calendar and waiting. Sometimes shell bills are even introduced and moved through the calendar for the sole purpose of leaving a slot open, to deal with unanticipated problems that arise late in the session, after deadlines have passed.
Whatever legislative acrobatics are used, my hope is that the Senate health care bill is stopped now, before it meets its evil twin in conference committee. I also hope that those in foreign service or the military, who would have benefited from H.R. 3590, give their senators an ear-full if they toss out the guts of your bill to pave the way for a vote on Reidcare.
H.R. 3590 Summary:
10/8/2009--Passed House without amendment. (This measure has not been amended since it was introduced. The summary of that version is repeated here.) Service Members Home Ownership Tax Act of 2009 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to:
(1) exempt members of the uniformed services, the Foreign Service, and employees of the intelligence community on official extended duty service from the recapture requirements of the first-time homebuyer tax credit;
(2) extend the first-time homebuyer tax credit through November 30, 2010, for individuals serving on official extended duty service outside the United States for at least 90 days in 2009;
(3) exclude from gross income payments to military personnel to compensate for declines in housing values due to a base closure or realignment; and
(4) increase penalties for failure to file a partnership or S corporation tax return. Amends the Corporate Estimated Tax Shift Act of 2009 to increase corporate estimated tax payments in the third quarter of 2014 by an additional 0.5%
