Teague explains why he voted against health-care reform bill

U.S. Rep. Harry Teague, D-N.M., said Friday he was respecting the wishes of the majority of those in the 2nd congressional district when he voted against the health-care reform bill, which narrowly passed the House on Nov. 7.

Teague was one of just 39 Democrats who voted against the bill, versus 219 members from his party who voted in favor.

“Really, the only thing I was thinking about when we passed this was, I stopped and gave some thought to the people that I’d talked to in Lordsburg and Santa Rosa and Las Cruces,” he said.

Teague held town hall meetings throughout the district, including one at the Dona Ana County Government Center, as he sought public input on the bill, and said the majority of people he heard from urged him to vote against it.

“It’s a big district, there’s a lot of people, it wasn’t 100 to nothing,” he said. “There was more saying not to vote for it, and that’s the reason we voted no.”

He denied that political considerations and his upcoming race against former Rep. Steve Pearce influenced his decision in any way.

Along with voting against the bill, Teague also angered many pro-choice Democrats by voting for the Stupak-Pitts amendment, which not only prohibits abortion coverage in the public option – something for which there was wide agreement – but also prohibits anyone receiving a federal subsidy from purchasing a health insurance plan that includes abortion coverage.

While many argue the Stupak-Pitts amendment goes far beyond what was passed under the Hyde amendment more than three decades ago, Teague said he was merely seeking to reaffirm that status quo.

“It was conflicting vote, because I still believe in a woman’s right to her choice. But at the same time, we were addressing a 33-year amendment, and that was a tough choice to make,” he said. “For 33 years it’s been there that federal funds can’t be used, and that’s what this bill did. It just made sure the (Hyde) amendment was addressed.”

In a news release issued to explain his vote, Teague said he fully understands the need for health-care reform. He used his own family experience, in which his uninsured parents got sick, forcing him to drop out of school and go to work, to drive home the point.

Along with acceding to the wishes of his constituents, Teague said he voted against the bill because it didn’t do enough to lower costs. He said the concept of a public option could conceivably provide the competition needed to rein in costs, but he didn’t believe this bill accomplished that goal.

The Senate is next to act, where passage will require 60 votes, as opposed to the simple majority needed in the House.

Teague said he didn’t want to speculate as to what, if anything, will come from the Senate, and then from a conference committee to merge the two bills. But, he didn’t sound confident that any changes made would alter his thinking.

He said there were some reforms, such as requiring coverage for those with pre-existing conditions, that could potentially be passed, even if the current effort fails. But, reminded of the time lapse between the failed Clinton health-care reform of 1992-93 and this year’s effort, and asked if he was confident Congress would try again if this bill goes down in defeat, he replied, “I’m not confident Congress will do anything.”

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