Tuesday, January 19, 2010
Sen. George Voinovich, R-Ohio will not switch over and vote for Obama-Hiltlercare...
From Political Punch:
January 19, 2010
Sen. George Voinovich, R-Ohio, met with President Obama today at the White House to discuss the national debt, but the main political story of the day, the Massachusetts Senate race, was Topic A when he spoke to reporters.
When asked about the Massachusetts Senate race and the future of health care reform, Voinovich said he is still opposed to the pending legislation.
“That’s out of the question -- I am not a vote for the health care bill, period,” he told reporters.
Voinovich said he discussed with the president his idea for a bipartisan commission to focus on bringing down the national debt and increasing revenue. He said Obama’s main concern with that suggestion is whether there is support for it.
Voinovich said that while many people are opposed to that, he asks, “what are you for?”
“That’s the dilemma the president has -- he’d like to do the commission but the concern he has is he won’t have the support that’s necessary to get the commission done in the Congress,” he said. “And if he doesn’t get some kind of consensus on a commission than he’s going to have to move forward to do something as an alternative to address the problem that I believe would not be as successful as if we could do it on a bipartisan basis.”
There has been speculation that since the moderate Republican senator is not seeking reelection, he may vote with the Democrats on health care reform. Asked today if he discussed health care with the president, Voinovich indicated he had not.
“There were certain things he didn’t bother with because he knows George Voinovich and I take a position on something and that’s just the way it is,” the senator from Ohio said.
Voinovich told ABC News' Jonathan Karl in September that despite suggestions to the contrary, he is not planning to vote for Democrats' health care bill.
“As you know, I am a debt hawk,” Voinovich said. “I just think with the financial crisis we have in this country, we have to be careful of taking on something we can’t afford to pay for, particularly when we can’t afford to pay for what we’ve already got.”
For Voinovich the bottom line is costs: “We can’t afford what we are doing now. How can we afford to do more?”
-- Karen Travers
January 19, 2010
Sen. George Voinovich, R-Ohio, met with President Obama today at the White House to discuss the national debt, but the main political story of the day, the Massachusetts Senate race, was Topic A when he spoke to reporters.
When asked about the Massachusetts Senate race and the future of health care reform, Voinovich said he is still opposed to the pending legislation.
“That’s out of the question -- I am not a vote for the health care bill, period,” he told reporters.
Voinovich said he discussed with the president his idea for a bipartisan commission to focus on bringing down the national debt and increasing revenue. He said Obama’s main concern with that suggestion is whether there is support for it.
Voinovich said that while many people are opposed to that, he asks, “what are you for?”
“That’s the dilemma the president has -- he’d like to do the commission but the concern he has is he won’t have the support that’s necessary to get the commission done in the Congress,” he said. “And if he doesn’t get some kind of consensus on a commission than he’s going to have to move forward to do something as an alternative to address the problem that I believe would not be as successful as if we could do it on a bipartisan basis.”
There has been speculation that since the moderate Republican senator is not seeking reelection, he may vote with the Democrats on health care reform. Asked today if he discussed health care with the president, Voinovich indicated he had not.
“There were certain things he didn’t bother with because he knows George Voinovich and I take a position on something and that’s just the way it is,” the senator from Ohio said.
Voinovich told ABC News' Jonathan Karl in September that despite suggestions to the contrary, he is not planning to vote for Democrats' health care bill.
“As you know, I am a debt hawk,” Voinovich said. “I just think with the financial crisis we have in this country, we have to be careful of taking on something we can’t afford to pay for, particularly when we can’t afford to pay for what we’ve already got.”
For Voinovich the bottom line is costs: “We can’t afford what we are doing now. How can we afford to do more?”
-- Karen Travers
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