DENVER – State House members used their first vote of the year to pummel each other over a politically heated issue – repeal of President Barack Obama’s national health-care law.
House Resolution 1003 calls for a constitutional convention – America’s first since the days of Ben Franklin – in order to repeal the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, commonly known as Obamacare.
“An unprecedented federal overreaching requires a dramatic response, and that’s what this is,” said Rep. David Balmer, R-Centennial, the sponsor of HR 1003.
It passed 33-31, with Republicans and one Democrat, Wes McKinley of Cokedale, in favor. One Republican, Laura Bradford of Colbran, voted against it, but she said she meant to vote yes.
The fight – the first floor debate of the 2012 session – was purely symbolic. It was a House-only resolution and did not seek approval from the Democratic-controlled Senate.
But, with at least four legislators running for Congress, the vote served as a reminder of how national politics will color the session. Minutes after the vote, the conservative group Compass Colorado was out with a news release headlined “Sal Pace Reiterates Support for Obamacare.”
Pace, a Pueblo Democrat, is running for Congress against GOP incumbent Scott Tipton of Cortez.
Pace said he thinks Obama’s health-care law is not perfect, but the resolution was full of half-truths.
“We look a little too much like Washington, D.C. I’m even reconsidering my future plans if this is what it’s going to be like. What we need to do is work together,” Pace said, citing a handful of bipartisan bills this session that try to reduce health-care costs.
The House does not have the power to call for a constitutional convention. That would require a two-thirds majority in both chambers, plus approval from 33 other states.
Republicans focused their criticism on the federal law’s requirement that every American purchase health insurance.
“It’s the same thing as them saying everybody in America has to drive a compact car,” Balmer said.
Democrats responded by saying a repeal of the health-care reform would end many popular parts of the bill, including better prescription drug coverage for the elderly, a ban on denying coverage for pre-existing conditions and grants to Colorado to try out cheaper health-care programs.
Rep. Dan Pabon, D-Denver, took the opportunity to jab at Republicans and their presidential front-runner.
“I want to talk just for a moment about the person whose vision inspired this act. ... This is a man who said that providing affordable health care for everyone is a matter of personal responsibility,” Pabon said, before introducing an amendment that credited former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney as the inspiration for Obamacare.
The amendment brought claps from Democrats and amused smiles from Republicans. House Speaker Frank McNulty ruled it out of order.
