Posted on 03/15/2010 2:40:50 PM PDT by LA Woman3
Rep. Chet Edwards, D-Waco, announced Monday afternoon that he will vote against the Senate’s version of health care insurance legislation when it comes up for a vote expected for late this week in the U.S. House.
Edwards voted against the House’s version of health care legislation in November, and some local Democrats and labor groups had expressed hope he would be more amenable to the less expensive and less expansive Senate version.
But Edwards made it clear in a conference call with reporters that his vote would not change. He also voted during a Monday afternoon committee meeting against a package of changes to the Senate bill that House Democrats are hoping to pass through a process called budget reconciliation. The reconciliation bill made it out of the House Budget Committee, however.
“I voted 'no' on the House health care reform bill and I will be a 'no-vote' on the Senate health care reform bill,” Edwards said. “At a time of massive federal deficits, I believe these bills could make those deficits worse.”
More specifically, Edwards said he was “especially disappointed” that a provision he wanted inserted in the bill that would have reduced the scale of the program if costs turned out higher than expected was not included.
“No one can predict with absolute certainty the new cost and cost savings of such a massive reform bill over 10 to 20 years,” Edwards said. “That is why I believed it was important to include a trigger to automatically reduce the cost of the bill if the projections turned out to be wrong, particularly since our nation is facing such serious federal deficits.”
According to the Congressional Budget Office’s latest cost estimate of the Senate bill, the projected price tag for the Senate bill is $875 billion over 10 years. On balance, the estimate anticipates a reduction in future deficits over that of $118 billion because of new taxes and cost cutting in the bill. As of Monday afternoon the CBO had not issued an estimate of the costs of the various changes Democratic leaders are also hoping to pass along with the bill.
The representative reiterated his concerns about the rising cost of health insurance and the ability of insurers to deny or charge pricey premiums for people with pre-existing medical conditions, arguing that most people want to see something done to change the existing system.
“Doing nothing in the long run is not a solution because hardworking families in our district and across the county and particularly small business are going to simply be drowned in these 15, 20, 30 percent rate increases every year,” Edwards said. “Fact is, health care costs are rising three and four times faster than the increase in average wages in our district and that’s really putting a burden on families and businesses.”
He also said, that with Democratic leaders in the House and the Obama administration still trying to round up enough votes to pass the legislation, there’s a chance the health care bill won’t pass the House allowing for a do-over on reforming the current system.
“If we defeat the Senate bill that’s when I think we take a deep breath, try to look for common ground (and) find a way to put together a bill the a people would support. I still hold out hope we can pass a bill that would unite the American people and not divide us.”
Honestly, at this point, there’s more political capital to be gained, even by democrats, by opposing this monstrosity.
Edwards is already a NO on the Code Red list
Madame Highness Pelosi must’ve gave him permission to vote “no” to save his flag-burning hide.
Nice!
He was on the VP short list.
This is no surprise.
Edwards is Texas toast if he votes “yes,” and he knows it.
I am truly amazed: some Democrats are listening to America.
Would be sweet to see a previous “Yes” vote now declare to be a “No”. That would rock the Dems’ world.
In unrelated news, the house ethics committe announced today it was starting an investigation of Rep. Chet Edwards’ because of a tip from the IRS that he owes $1,134,234,234,987,233.01 in back taxes.
IRS agents have confiscated his home, car, bank accounts, and office furniture to pay the debt.
Defeat Obamacare call list: List now contains the new MAYBES culled from FR posts. Be sure to call KNOWN RINOS too.
KEEP THE CALLS UP! DC OFFICE LOCAL OFFICE
Code Red” - House Target List on Health Care
The National Republican Congressional Committee has published a target list on health care. In addition to continuing to contact the five Tennessee Democrat Congressmen, you can go http://www.votervoice.net/link/clickthrough/ext/94697.aspx to contact some of these targets. Much of the talk following Obama’s announcement has focused on how to defeat this second bill through reconciliation, but that is misleading because the first step to defeating Obamacare is not by concentrating on defeating the “fixer” bill but by defeating the Senate bill in the House when it goes to the floor for an up-or-down vote on Thursday, March 18th.
Rep. Lincoln Davis 202-225-6831 Columbia office: 931-490-8699
Rep. Jim Cooper 202-225-4311 Nashville office: 615-736-5295
Rep. Bart Gordon 202-225-4231 Murfreesboro office: 615-896-1986
John Tanner (202) 225-4714, Union City, (731) 885-7070, Jackson Phone: (731) 423-4848, Millington (901) 873-5690 TN (MAYBE)
Rep. Steve Cohen 202-225-3265 Memphis office: 901-544-4131
Harry Mitchell (202) 225-2190 (480) 946-2411 AZ 5th District
Gabrielle Giffords (202) 225-2542 (520) 881-3588 AZ 8th District
Ann Kirkpatrick (202) 225-2315 (928) 226-6914 AZ 1st District
Jerry McNerney (202) 225-1947 925-833-0643 CA 11th District
John Salazar 202-225-4761 970-245-7107 CO 3rd District
Jim Himes (202) 225-5541 (866) 453-0028 CT 4th District
Alan Grayson (202) 225-2176 (407) 841-1757 FL 8th District
Bill Foster (202) 225-2976 630-406-1114 IL 14th District
Baron Hill 202 225 5315 812 288 3999 IN 9th District
Mark Schauer (202) 225-6276 (517) 780-9075 MI 7th District
Gary Peters (202) 225-5802 (248) 273-4227 MI 9th District
Dina Titus (202) 225-3252 702-256-DINA (3462) NV 3rd District
Carol Shea-Porter (202) 225-5456 (603) 743-4813 NH 1st District
Tim Bishop (202) 225-3826 (631) 696-6500 NY 1st District
John Hall (202) 225-5441 (845) 225-3641 x49371 NY 19th District
Bill Owens (202) 225-4611 (315) 782-3150 NY 23rd District
James Matheson Toll-Free Number 1 (877) 677-9743 (202) 225-3011Mike Arcuri (202)225-3665 (315)793-8146 NY 24th District
Dan Maffei (202) 225-3701 (315) 423-5657 NY 25th District
Earl Pomeroy (202) 225-2611 (701) 224-0355 ND At-Large District
Steven Driehaus (202) 225-2216 (513) 684-2723 OH 1st District
Mary Jo Kilroy (202) 225-2015 (614) 294-2196 OH 15th District
Zach Space (202) 225-6265 (330) 364-4300 OH 18th District
Kathy Dahlkemper (202) 225-5406 (814) 456-2038 PA 3rd District
Patrick Murphy (202) 225-4276 (215) 826-1963 PA 8th District
Christopher Carney (202) 225-3731 (570) 585-9988 PA 10th District
Paul Kanjorski (202) 225-6511 (570) 825-2200 PA 11th District
John Spratt (202) 225-5501 (803)327-1114 SC 5th District
Tom Perriello (202) 225-4711 (276) 656-2291 VA 5th District
Alan Mollohan (202) 225-4172 (304) 623-4422 WVA 1st District
Nick Rahall (202) 225-3452 (304) 252-5000 WVA 3rd District
Steve Kagen (202) 225-5665 (920) 437-1954 WI 8th District
Bart Stupak (202) 225 4735 MI (MAYBE)
Brian Baird (202) 225-3536, Vancouver, (360) 695-6292. Olympia, (360) 352-9768, (MAYBE)
senator mark begich (202) 224-3004 toll free. (877) 501 - 6275 just became a MAYBE
Jason Altmire 202-225-2565, Aliquippa, 724-378-0928,
Natrona Heights, 724-226-1304 (MAYBE)
On the Bubble (Major developments from the “yes” and “no” columns in the House)
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/2467046/posts
Congressional Dems on Twitter
http://www.arrghpaine.com/congressional-dems-on-twitter
And here are toll-free numbers we can use to call any Senators or Reps.
At the first number below you must wait through a tape recording urging you to tell your Rep or Senator to vote “yes” for the health care bill. Just hang on and when the recording is over, you will get the Capitol operator. Just ask for your Rep or Senator’s office. Then you will either talk to an aid or have the chance to leave a message for him/her to vote NO on the health care bill.
When you use the second number and the Capitol operator comes on, just ask for your Rep or Senator’s office. Every time I use this number I get the Rep or Senator’s answer machine, so it may be set up that way all the time...to go to their answer machine. Either way you can leave a message to vote NO on the health care bill!
We need to use these toll free numbers that have been set up for the health care/ BO supporters and illegals to use! After all they are FREE!
1-800-828-0498 , 1-866-220-0044, 1-866-338-1015, 877-851-6437, 877-210-5351
He's still a damn democrat, but with a large part of his constituency being a very conservative area of Texas (Fort Hood), he's shown some very republican ways once in a while.
Probably the main reason he continually gets reelected.
He knows where he came from.
Even if they vote no nd stop this now it doesn’t mean that they won’t go back to it after November 2010 to try again! We must get rid of at least dem control of the house and get a few more on our side in the Senate.
Well, not much of a surprise here. Chet has always had a huge sense of self preservation. Not to mention Bill Flores must be keeping him awake at night.
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