Lieberman Says NO to Gov't Run Health Care... So Where Does Sen. Nelson Stand?

Tuesday, 27 October 2009 13:50

In the News

In case you missed it, Politico reported a short time ago that Senator Joe Lieberman announced he would not support the controversial and expensive health care bill that Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid announced yesterday he plans to push to the Senate floor.

As you may recall, Florida’s Democrat Senator Bill Nelson previously expressed concerns that his Party could not reach 60 votes if the final bill included the contentious public option:

SEN. BILL NELSON (D-FL): "I Want Consensus So That We Can Have As Many People As Possible With Health Care Coverage And We Cannot Get The 60 Votes In The Senate With Any Public Option." ("Sen. Nelson Answers Ledger Readers' Questions," The [Lakeland, FL] Ledger, 9/1/09)

In reporting on this story, please consider the following statement from the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC):

"Senator Lieberman should be commended today for sticking with his principles and standing against efforts by Democrat leaders in Washington to ram through a controversial and massive government health care bill. Now all eyes are on Senator Nelson and his moderate Senate colleagues, who admit that a controversial and expensive government-run health care plan does not have the support it needs in order to pass through the Senate. Will Senator Nelson stand with Senator Lieberman and reject this partisan government-run health care bill, or will he play politics with Florida’s health care and help Harry Reid ram this contentious legislation through Congress? It’s time for Senator Nelson to stand up for his constituents and make his position just as clear as Senator Lieberman did today. The last thing Florida families and seniors can afford is a health care bill that will lead to higher premiums, higher taxes, and massive cuts to Medicare." - Amber Wilkerson Marchand, NRSC Spokeswoman