There has been a flurry of news about CIR in the last two weeks. Last Saturday, the Senate Majority Leader, Harry Reid, announced that Congress would take up CIR very soon. In his announcement, he said "as soon as we return." That was widely understood as meaning this past Tuesday. Obviously that did not happen. Later, Senator Reid clarified his remarks to say that he means that CIR will be taken up in the next "work period" - meaning the session after Memorial Day.

For many people, this was just more of the same game: promise something "soon" and then find a plausible excuse for delaying action. Whether Congress actually takes up CIR is anyone's guess. The fact is that no one knows when or if CIR will be considered.

Senator's Reid's remarks notwithstanding, it will take one of two sets of circumstances to get CIR passed this year. Both are remote possibilities.

One: The Republicans come on board.

In the extremely unlikely event that the Senate Republicans decide to support CIR and help write a bi-partisan bill, then CIR should be able to move through Congress quickly and easily. The big problem will be a Republican filibuster or unified Republican opposition. If that does not materialize, then the votes are there to pass this legislation comfortably with more than a majority.

Two: The President steps up.

If Republicans do not agree to support CIR, then it is still possible to pass CIR if the President steps up and supports it the way he supported health insurance reform. This would mean that the President would have to spend political capital by going out on the stump and putting his own prestige on the line.

Absent one of these situations pertaining, there is absolutely no chance of CIR being passed into law this year.