BlackPerspective.net
Discussing the Diaspora as seen through an internal Black lens
How Tennessee Representatives voted on health care bill
November 14th, 2009
If you’re looking for the March 21 final vote to pass health care, go here.
The following is about the November 2009 vote:
As seen in this week’s Nashville Pride. (I free lance for the Pride, a Black Community based weekly here in Nashville)
Late Saturday night the House of Representatives in the Congress erupted in cheers as the Yea vote total hit 218. With the total at 220 and the clock winding down, those on the side of Yea, in unison loudly counted down from 10, and erupted into cheers again as the 15 minute voting period came to a close.
218 was the magic number Democrats needed to pass their health care bill in the house, leaving them only open to have 40 democrats defect if there were going to be no Republicans joining the majority of the Democrats in voting in the affirmative. As the Democratic no vote reached 36 and no Republicans had voted Yea yet, the vote was in question.
In the end the vote passed, barely, with a 220 to 215 count.
Brody Mullins, giving an overview of why some Democrats voted against the bill in general; in the Wall Street Journal’s online blog wrote on Sunday that:
An analysis of the vote shows that 22 of the 39 Democrats who crossed the aisle to join Republicans in opposing the bill were members of the fiscally conservative Blue Dog Coalition, including three of the group’s four leaders. These Democrats, who oppose big government deficits, had expressed concern before the vote that the legislation called for too much federal spending.
In the Tennessee Congressional delegation Democratic Representatives Lincoln Davis, Bart Gordon, and John Tanner joined Republicans Phil Roe, John Duncan, Zack Wamp, and Marsha Blackburn to vote against the health care bill.
Nashville Democrat Jim Cooper, despite all the national liberal ballyhoo around his position on Democrat proposals; voted Yea along with Memphis Democrat Steve Cohen.
Louisiana Representative Joseph Cao was the only Republican, out of a 177 in the House, who voted in favor of the bill. (Vote counts according to the House Clerks website).
If the House could only pass the type of bill that the Democrats want with a sliver thin 50.5% in the House (including 39 Democratic defections); It is difficult to see how they pass something similar in the Senate with the 60% (60 out of 100) needed to avoid a bill killing filibuster. The Senate is by its nature almost always more conservative, therefore, if the more liberal House can barely get half, it’s going to be tough for the Senate to even get to half in trying to pass something similar even if they were to use what’s called the “nuclear option”, suspending the rules and going with a majority 51 out of 100 votes to pass it.
You can see video of the bill passage here.
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Reference link: Brody Mullins - http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2009/11/08/why-some-democrats-voted-against-the-house-health-bill/
House Clerk’s site: http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2009/roll887.xml
posted in Health, Politics | | | View blog reactions |
4 Responses to “How Tennessee Representatives voted on health care bill”
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About The Blog
Yobachi Boswell is creator and publisher of BlackPerspecitve.net. I’m a writer, activist and political watcher based in Nashville, Tennessee. I’ve also been know to do some spoken word and MCing in my day.
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Marsha Blackburn Voted FOR:
Omnibus Appropriations, Special Education, Global AIDS Initiative, Job Training, Unemployment Benefits, Labor-HHS-Education Appropriations, Agriculture Appropriations, U.S.-Singapore Trade, U.S.-Chile Trade, Supplemental Spending for Iraq & Afghanistan, Prescription Drug Benefit, Child Nutrition Programs, Surface Transportation, Job Training and Worker Services, Agriculture Appropriations, Foreign Aid, Vocational/Technical Training, Supplemental Appropriations, UN “Reforms.” Patriot Act Reauthorization, CAFTA, Katrina Hurricane-relief Appropriations, Head Start Funding, Line-item Rescission, Oman Trade Agreement, Military Tribunals, Electronic Surveillance, Head Start Funding, COPS Funding, Funding the REAL ID Act (National ID), Foreign Intelligence Surveillance, Thought Crimes “Violent Radicalization and Homegrown Terrorism Prevention Act, Peru Free Trade Agreement, Economic Stimulus, Farm Bill (Veto Override), Warrantless Searches, Employee Verification Program, Body Imaging Screening.
Marsha Blackburn Voted AGAINST:
Ban on UN Contributions, eliminate Millennium Challenge Account, WTO Withdrawal, UN Dues Decrease, Defunding the NAIS, Iran Military Operations defunding Iraq Troop Withdrawal, congress authorization of Iran Military Operations.
Marsha Blackburn is my Congressman.
See her unconstitutional votes at :
http://tinyurl.com/qhayna
Mickey
Thanks for drawing attention to health issues that affect all Tennesseans. I wanted to direct you to some reporting I did on one that affects Tennessee disproportionately — cancer deaths. While the races are affected differently by various cancers — i.e. African-American men are more prone to prostate cancer — we’re all dying of a disease that can be cured, if detected early. http://www.tennessean.com/section/SPECIAL0116
[...] How Tennessee Representatives voted on health care bill [...]
[...] as in the November House vote, all Tennessee Republicans voted against the package: Phil Roe, John Duncan, Zack Wamp, and Marsha [...]