Follow the health legislation progress with Harry Reid

For folks who want to follow health legislation in the Senate but don't know a ripe cloture motion from a ripe avocado, Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., posted this easy-to-follow guide on his blog.

And a thoughtful Senate expert sent along an even more detailed guide that includes nuanced steps between the 12 below and explains how to tell when a cloture motion is ripe. Hint: you don't squeeze or smell it. Download the guide (pdf).

Reid's layman's guide will be updated on his blog as the legislation advances.

There's a cloture vote Saturday night, so study up.

1: COMPLETE Congressional Budget Office confirms Senate bill cuts federal deficit, expands affordable healthcare coverage
2: COMPLETE Senator Reid files a motion to invoke cloture on the motion to proceed to the bill on the Senate floor (“Invoke cloture” is just a fancy way of saying the Senate is avoiding a filibuster)
3: Wait two days to give all Senators another opportunity to read the bill (This is required by Senate rules)
4: The Senate votes on whether to invoke cloture and begin debate on the motion to proceed to the bill (This requires 60 votes)
5: If cloture is invoked, the Senate begins debate on the motion to proceed to the bill for up to 30 hours
6: After debate ends, the Senate will vote on the motion to proceed to the bill (This requires 51 votes)
7: If the motion to proceed to a vote to the bill passes, Senator Reid will offer the text of the bill (also known as the substitute amendment) to the Senate chamber and the clerk will report the legislation by number
8: Senators have the right to have the entire bill read aloud, or skip additional readings by unanimous consent
9: Senators then have the opportunity to offer amendments to the bill (This part will take a while because we expect a lot of amendments and prolonged debate on some of the more controversial ones)
10: As we get ready to wrap up debate, the Senate will vote to invoke cloture on the overall bill (This requires 60 votes)
11: Once cloture is invoked, there will be a final 30 hours of debate on the bill with a chance to offer more amendments
12: The Senate votes on passage of the legislation (This requires 51 votes)
After the Senate passes the legislation, the Senate and House version must be merged and approved by both chambers before heading to the White House for President Obama’s signature.