Staunch House Labor Supporter Hasn’t Made Up Mind on Health Reform

[Omaha Steve]

http://inthesetimes.com/working/entry/5615/kaptur_hasnt_made_up_her_mind_on_health_reform/

Thursday February 25 2:48 pm

By Lindsay Beyerstein

Yesterday, on the eve of the president's televised healthcare summit, House Minority Whip Eric Cantor (R-Va.) released a memo entitled "Prospects for House Passage of Health Care under Reconciliation." Therein, he argued that several Democrats who voted for the House health bill might switch their votes if the bill that passed the Senate were sent to the House. The House bill only passed by 5 votes last time around, so Speaker Nancy Pelosi has little margin for error.

Cantor, who has a vested interest in sowing doubt about the Democrats' ability to pass health reform, is arguing that Pelosi might not have the votes to get the Senate language through the House. His memo got a lot of play in the media and was often discussed as if it were a serious piece of analysis, as opposed to a polemic.

Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D-Ohio), one of organized labor's staunchest allies in the House, is one of 12 House members whom Cantor identified as potential vote-switchers. However, she is also a vocal pro-lifer who joined forces with Rep. Bart Stupak (D-Mich) to demand a vote on an amendment to the House health bill to restrict abortion coverage under health reform. The Senate version of the bill is has less strigent restrictions on abortion funding.

Is Kaptur wavering? Or is Cantor just posturing in an attempt to kill reform? In These Times called Kaptur's office to find out where she stands.

Some background: The White House has indicated that it will try to pass reform through reconciliation if it can't come to terms with the Republicans. That would require the House to re-pass the same bill that the Senate passed through reconciliation, which is immune from filibusters. For that to happen, the Senate will have to change certain aspects of the bill to make it acceptable to a majority of House members.

FULL story at link.