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WASHINGTON - Rep. James Oberstar, D-Minn., said this week he could support the health care package Sunday, citing a chat about the bill’s restrictions on abortion funding with Sen. Ben Nelson, D-Neb.
“I wanted to see the language, understand it better, have conversations with Sen. Nelson,” Oberstar told Politico. “On balance, it does what we need to do.”
Nelson said Friday, however, that he hasn’t been working to corral votes on behalf of Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif. The talk with Oberstar came shortly after the Senate voted on the bill back in December, he said.
“They want to figure this out on their own,” Nelson said. “They don’t need a lot of outside interference, and I’ve just chosen to honor that.”
Pelosi and other Democratic leaders have been working to win the support of Oberstar and other members who favor the original, House-approved language on restricting federal funding for abortions.
That language from Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., says no health insurance plan receiving federal subsidies can pay for abortion, with some exceptions already allowed by federal law. Nelson pushed for the Stupak restrictions in the Senate, but failed to garner enough votes.
Nelson then negotiated a compromise under which those health insurance plans may cover abortion, but only if it’s paid for with private premiums.
Nelson and others have said that compromise adequately separates federal funding from abortion coverage, although groups such as Nebraska Right to Life have rejected it.
Contact the writer:
202-662-7270, joe.morton@owh.com
