SCOTTSBLUFF, Neb. — Any attempt by Senate Democrats to pass health care legislation with no Republican support won't have the vote of Nebraska's senior senator.
Sen. Ben Nelson, a Democrat, said Sunday that he would vote against using a tactic called reconciliation to push through a health care bill.
A bill needs 60 votes — which also is the number of Senate Democrats expected when the vacant Massachusetts seat is filled — to move to final consideration using reconciliation.
Nelson said health care legislation should be bipartisan and supported by at least 65 senators because it would have more credibility with the American people.
Nelson and other Democrats agree that Congress should pass some kind of health care legislation this year, even if it is a less ambitious proposal than the $900 billion plan on the table in the Senate Finance Committee last week. There are more than 500 amendments tacked onto the bill in an attempt to reshape it.
Nelson told a crowd of about 300 people at his eighth public meeting in Nebraska on the issue since August that no one knows exactly what health care legislation will look like when it emerges from Congress.
“It's a process,'' he said. “No one knows the end game.''
Nelson said Democrats have a responsibility to seek Republican support and the GOP has a responsibility to “look favorably on something and not just be against everything.''
Nelson answered questions from about 15 people during an hourlong meeting at Western Nebraska Community College's Harms Advanced Technology Center. The session was beamed to small audiences at satellite campuses in Alliance and Sidney.
The crowd was polite, and applauded or booed only a few questioners.
Nelson opened his remarks by busting a few myths about the proposed legislation. Among them, he said, is the myth that a new law would cover illegal immigrants.
“It will not,'' he said, because he would vote against it. He also said he would vote against a bill if it includes money for abortions.
Nelson said his primary concern is that any health care bill control soaring costs. Without action, he said, costs will rise 9 percent next year. The average Nebraska family insurance premium rose 69 percent from 2000 to 2007, he said. Wages rose 21 percent during that time, he said.
The result is that 225,000 Nebraskans, or nearly 13 percent of the population, don't have health coverage, and Nebraska businesses and families shoulder a hidden tax of $1,000 per year on premiums to pay for the uninsured.
Nelson held a similar meeting Sunday afternoon in McCook. He previously held public meetings on the issue in Omaha, Lincoln, North Platte, Kearney, Norfolk and South Sioux City.
Nelson said he realizes that people are exhausted by the debate.
“But we're halfway through the first quarter,'' he said. “We have a long way to go.''
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444-1127, david.hendee@owh.com
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