Butterfield, Jones split on health bill passage

Sen. Graham: Bill DOA in the Senate

One local congressman voted yes and the other no to the health care bill that passed late Saturday night in a 220-215 roll call vote.

U.S. Rep. G.K. Butterfield, D-N.C., voted for the health care plan that Democrats would establish to compete with private insurers. Rep. Walter Jones, R-N.C., voted against it. Butterfield represents the 1st District and Jones the 3rd District in northeastern North Carolina.

“This historic legislation offers the best opportunity to fix a broken health care system,” Butterfield stated immediately following the passage of the Affordable Health Care for America Act. “Allowing a broken health system to bankrupt families, businesses and hospitals and deny coverage to tens of millions is a failure of duty.”

Butterfield’s district includes Elizabeth City, Pasquotank, Perquimans and Chowan counties.

Jones explained his reasons for opposing the bill in a letter sent to constituents on Thursday.

“While I support common sense efforts to reform health care, I strongly oppose the (Democratic House) bill because it includes more than $700 billion in tax increases on small businesses and others, nearly $400 billion in Medicare cuts, and would provide coverage for abortions and illegal immigrants.”

Locally, Jones represents Camden and Currituck counties.

On Sunday, the glow from a health care triumph faded quickly for President Barack Obama as Democrats realized the bill they fought so hard to pass in the House has nowhere to go in the Senate.

Speaking from the Rose Garden about 14 hours after the late Saturday vote, Obama urged senators to be like runners on a relay team and “take the baton and bring this effort to the finish line on behalf of the American people.”

The problem is that the Senate won’t run with it. The government health insurance plan included in the House bill is unacceptable to a few Democratic moderates who hold the balance of power in the Senate.

If a government plan is part of the deal, “as a matter of conscience, I will not allow this bill to come to a final vote,” said Sen. Joe Lieberman, the Connecticut independent whose vote Democrats need to overcome GOP filibusters.

“The House bill is dead on arrival in the Senate,” Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said dismissively.

Democrats did not line up to challenge him. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., has yet to schedule floor debate and hinted last week that senators may not be able to finish health care this year.

In Senate, the stumbling block is the idea of the government competing with private insurers. Liberals may have to swallow hard and accept a deal without a public plan in order to keep the legislation alive. As in the House, the compromise appears to be to the right of the political spectrum.

The are several major differences between the bills.

— The House would require employers to provide coverage; the Senate does not.

— The House would pay for the coverage expansion by raising taxes on upper-income earners; the Senate uses a variety of taxes and fees, including a levy on high-cost insurance plans.

— The House plan costs about $1.2 trillion over 10 years; the Senate version is under $900 billion.

By defusing the abortion issue — at least for now — the House may have helped the long-term prospects for the bill. Catholic bishops also eager to expand society’s safety net may yet endorse the final legislation.

Lieberman appeared on “Fox News Sunday,” while Graham was CBS’ “Face the Nation.”