WASHINGTON — Democratic Rep. Marion Berry said Thursday that he will oppose health-care legislation without strict language restricting abortion funding even if it means derailing the year-long effort spearheaded by his own party.
Berry sided with about a dozen other House Democrats, led by Rep. Bart Stupak of Michigan, who reiterated their long-standing support for stronger language banning abortion funding than that contained in the Senate version of the health-care bill. Berry and Stupak said they were prepared to switch their votes from yes to no over the abortion issue.
That could leave House leaders scrambling for the votes necessary to advance the legislation in conjunction with the Senate under a procedural maneuver that would allow the health-care bill to pass both chambers with simple majorities.
“At this time, I would not vote for it if it didn’t have the pro-life language in there - either exactly the same as what was in the House bill or something awfully close to it,” said Berry of Gillett.
The so-called Stupakamendment would prevent federal subsidies from going to any health-care plans that cover elective abortions. Exceptions are made for abortions related to rape, incest or when the pregnancy endangers the woman’s life.
The Senate bill would prohibit federal dollars from being spent on abortions, except in the case of rape, incest or when the woman’s life was endangered. However, it would allow insurance plans that cover elective abortions to receive federal subsidies as long as the federal dollars weren’t used to pay for the abortion coverage itself.
Berry’s comments echoed what Stupak said earlier in the day in a series of television interviews, predicting he and 11 other House Democrats would oppose the Senate version.
“We’re not going to vote for this bill with that language in there,” Stupak saidon ABC’s Good Morning America.
Stupak, who authored the abortion amendment that was included in the House bill, acknowledged the ramifications of that position. “Yes, we’re prepared to take responsibility” for the defeat of the bill, he said, adding that “I want to see health care, but we’re not going to bypass some principles and belief that we feel strongly about.”
The House narrowly passed its health-care bill Nov. 7 on a vote of 220-215. Berry, who represents the 1st District, voted for it, along with 2nd District Rep. Vic Snyder of Little Rock. Voting against the House bill were 4th District Democratic Rep. Mike Ross of Prescott and 3rd District Republican Rep. John Boozman of Rogers.
But all four Arkansas House members voted for Stupak’s abortion amendment, which passed 240-194, with 64 Democrats supporting it.
Ross was among 39 Democrats who voted against the House health-care bill and has said he would not support the Senate version, either - a point he repeated after President Barack Obama’s speech Wednesday calling for Congress to vote on the issue.
“I remain opposed to both of them or any warmed-over version presented to us again,” Ross said in a statement released by his office Thursday, adding that he wants Congress to “start over and pass common-sense health care reform.”
Ross and Snyder have both voiced concerns about the procedure Democratic leaders plan to use for the legislation - known as reconciliation - which would require the House to pass the Senate billbefore companion corrective amendments could be considered. They worry House members will be forced to vote with no assurance the Senate will then act, noting the House has passed 290 bills this year that have stalled in the Senate.
Although Snyder said he would withhold judgment until he sees the ultimate package of bills - the Senate measure, plus the corrective amendments - he believes that there is a better chance for passage than just a few weeks ago.
“I assume they would come up with something I could support as someone who believes health care is an issue we need to address,” he said.
A top White House adviser defended the procedural process in an interview with the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. The parliamentary procedure would allow the measure to pass the Senate with a 51-vote simple majority rather thanthe 60-vote supermajority needed to overcome a filibuster.
The Senate passed its bill on a 60-39 Christmas Eve vote. But Democrats have since lost a seat, which means they no longer have the ability to end a Republican filibuster. While Arkansas Sen. Blanche Lincoln has said she would not vote for the bill under the reconciliation procedure, Sen. Mark Pryor has said he would wait to see the final legislation before deciding.
“This is definitely no end run,” said Jared Bernstein, chief economic adviser to Vice President Joe Biden.
Rather, he said, the procedure, is “a tried and true” method for moving legislation forward, which has been used in the past by both parties.
“What the president is asking for is a simple majority upor-down vote,” Bernstein said. “That doesn’t sound like anything I’ve ever heard described as an end run; that sounds like democracy in action.”
Bernstein and other White House officials, including Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, also addressed the abortion language, saying the president has pledged there would be no change to current federal law - the Hyde Amendment, which prohibits federal funding for abortions except in cases of rape, incest and to save a mother’s life.
“The president is not, and will not, change current federal law in dealing with abortions and health care,” White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said.
At the Capitol, Democratic leaders said they would like to bring the issue to the House floor before the Congress takes an Easter break later this month. While House Speaker Nancy Pelosi told reporters she is “confident” about the prospects for the bill, she acknowledged the difficulty of getting enough votes, even from members who supported the initial legislation.
“We take it as [a] new vote every time,” she said. “Every legislative vote is a heavy lift around here. Assume nothing. Assume nothing as to where we were before and where people may be now.”
Front Section, Pages 1 on 03/05/2010