As Congress heads out for its summer recess, Senator Max Baucus, who chairs the Senate Finance Committee, is now saying he has set a deadline of September 15 for his committee to release its version of a healthcare reform bill. That date is important because it is exactly one month before the expiration of the reconciliation provision that would allow a healthcare reform bill to pass the Senate with a 51-vote majority, thereby bypassing the normal 60-vote majority required to avoid a filibuster.

Presumably, if Senator Baucus fails to reach a consensus on a bill with Republican Senators Grassley, Snowe, and Enzi by September 15, the Democrats will try to force through legislation before the reconciliation provision expires on October 15.

The reconciliation process, which was established by the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, was created to prevent Senate filibusters from derailing necessary budget bills. In accordance with the Byrd rule, named for its sponsor, Senator Robert Byrd, however, the Senate is prohibited from considering “extraneous matters” as part of a reconciliation bill. In essence, any provision in a bill that does not result in a change in outlays or revenues could be interpreted as “extraneous” to budget matters. Accordingly, if the Democrats try to force a healthcare reform bill through the Senate using reconciliation, any senator can challenge provisions in the bill, such as the requirements for insurance companies that are at the heart of the healthcare reform bill, as being extraneous. It is then up to the Senate parliamentarian, an obscure unelected official who advises the Senate on parliamentary rules, to determine if the provision being challenged is extraneous. If the Senate parliamentarian rules in favor of the challenge, the provision is taken out of the bill. A series of challenges under the Byrd rule, therefore, could strip many key provisions out of a healthcare reform bill, rendering it meaningless.

And who is the Senate parliamentarian? An official named Alan Frumin, who almost certainly would prefer to avoid being thrust into the spotlight in a battle over healthcare reform.