Wyden brings up suicide bill so he can kill it
WASHINGTON (AP) - As part of a strategic maneuver, Sen. Ron Wyden today introduced a bill that is identical to an anti-suicide bill he wants to defeat.
The move was part of a procedural chess match between the Oregon Democrat and Sen. Don Nickles, R-Okla., who has authored legislation that would make Oregon's landmark physician-assisted suicide law difficult - if not impossible - to use.
The House-passed version of Nickles bill was referred to the Senate Judiciary Committee last fall in what the Senate parliamentarian described as a mistake.
The mistake helped Nickles because the Judiciary Committee was considered more friendly to the legislation than the committee where the bill should have gone - the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee.
The Senate Judiciary Committee voted 10-8 on April 27 to approve the bill and send it to the floor, where it has been delayed pending the procedural battle between Wyden and Nickles.
Wyden wanted to draw attention to the mistake today by introducing another version of Nickles' bill which - as expected - was referred to the health committee.
The move sets the stage for Wyden to challenge the judiciary committee's jurisdiction over the House-passed version of the bill, when and if Nickles tries to bring it up for a Senate floor vote.
Wyden hopes to convince the Senate to re-refer the House-passed bill back to the health committee, where its prospects would be uncertain. If the Senate is unwilling to re-refer the measure, Wyden wants to convince his colleagues to defeat the bill on procedural grounds.
The re-referral could happen only if no other senators - including Nickles - object to the move, which is unlikely.
``It would be unconscionable for the Senate to fail to correct an honest mistake that could contribute to a devastatingly significant change in health policy,'' Wyden said on the Senate floor today. ``With so much at stake, shouldn't we follow the regular order of the Senate?''
Wyden has threatened to filibuster and use other delaying tactics on the House-passed bill if Nickles tries to bring it up before the full Senate.
In return, Nickles has threatened to hold up a bill that would aid Oregon counties until Wyden agrees to find a way to allow both bills to move forward. | 
