Sen. Ben Nelson said
that he would vote to allow the Senate health care bill to move
to the floor for debate, even though he said yesterday that the
abortion language in the bill is
not acceptable to him.
His decision leaves Sens. Blanche Lincoln and Mary Landrieu as
the remaining holdouts.
“Throughout my Senate career I have consistently rejected efforts
to obstruct," Nelson said in a statement. "That's what the vote
on the motion to proceed is all about."
He continuted:
“It is not for or against the new Senate health care bill
released Wednesday.
“It is only to begin debate and an opportunity to make
improvements. If you don't like a bill why block your own
opportunity to amend it?
“As we have seen before, obstructionists are inviting a move
toward reconciliation by opposing this first procedural vote.
Let's be clear. That route shrinks debate and amendments,
eliminates bipartisanship and needs only 50 votes to pass a
bill.
“In the end, far more Washington-run health care policies win,
but Nebraskans lose.
“In my first reading, I support parts of the bill and oppose
others I will work to fix. If that's not possible, I will
oppose the second cloture motion—needing 60 votes—to end
debate, and oppose the final bill.
“But I won't slam the doors of the Senate in the face of
Nebraskans now. They want the health care system fixed. The
Senate owes them a full and open debate to try to do so.”
The problem, as his co-Senator from Nebraska Mike Johanns
noted yesterday, is that once the bill gets to the floor,
there will need to be 60 votes to change the abortion language.
And there simply aren't that many pro-life votes in the Senate.
So this really was a key test of his professed anti-abortion
views.
Jim Antle wrote
about the moment of truth facing pro-life Democrats on our main
site.
