Monday, March 22, 2010
Boucher stays a 'no'; Perriello backs party in historic health care bill
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From today's paper
RICHMOND -- As Democrats gradually assembled the slim majority they needed to pass landmark health care legislation in the House of Representatives on Sunday, they did not persuade Rep. Rick Boucher of Abingdon to join them.
Boucher was one of 34 House Democrats to vote against a Senate version of the health care bill. The veteran congressman said he objected to $450 billion in Medicare cuts over the next 10 years, declaring they would have a disproportionate effect on residents and health providers in his Southwest Virginia district.
"Reform is needed, but the measure debated in the House falls short," Boucher said in a statement issued Sunday night. "Because of massive funding reductions for Medicare, it would adversely affect the quality of care received by Southwest Virginia senior citizens."
Boucher said the bill would increase premiums for individuals who have insurance, contains "unacceptable special benefits" for some states and fails to fix disparities in Medicare reimbursements that penalize rural areas.
He said that he hopes the bill can be improved in the next session of congress.
Boucher's vote bucked his caucus and President Obama, who made the health care legislation a top priority. Obama even held a town hall-style meeting at a grocery store in Bristol last year to promote health care reform.
Boucher and Rep. Glenn Nye of Norfolk were the only Democrats in Virginia's House delegation to vote against the legislation. First-term Rep. Tom Perriello of Albemarle County was one of four Virginia Democrats who backed the bill. Perriello declared his support for the measure Friday, conditioned on assurances from Senate Democrats that they would support a separate reconciliation bill that eliminates certain "backroom deals and kickbacks" from the legislation.
"At the end of the day, this decision for me came down to whether working families would see savings at the kitchen table," Perriello said in a statement Sunday night. "They will.
"This bill will help our rural hospitals and clinics keep their doors open, improve health care for over 400,000 local residents, reduce the federal deficit, and provide coverage to 48,000 more individuals in the 5th District alone," Perriello said.
All five Republicans in the Virginia delegation, including Rep. Bob Goodlatte of Roanoke County, voted against the bill. Goodlatte said the legislation will slow economic recovery, lead to greater government spending and give bureaucrats "ultimate control" over health care decisions.
"I know Americans are frustrated by rising health care costs, and that is why we in Congress must work in a bipartisan way to cut health insurance costs and make health care better, more available, and more affordable for all Americans," Goodlatte said in a statement. "Unfortunately, the only thing bipartisan about the health care bill that passed the House tonight is the strong bipartisan opposition to the bill."
