In his continuing attempts to distance himself from President Barack Obama and his Washington party bosses in advance of a difficult reelection bid, liberal U.S. Senator Ben Nelson (D-NE) has repeatedly claimed he opposes ObamaCare’s IRS 1099 paperwork mandate – despite his partisan votes to ram ObamaCare into law, and just weeks ago to prevent its repeal.
But as Politico reports, Senate Democrats are trying “to have it both ways” on the job-killing mandate, crafting a backroom amendment that will allow vulnerable Democrats like Nelson to vote for repeal as an act of political posturing, but with no chance of the repeal actually taking effect:
Trying to thwart a Republican repeal of the health reform law’s 1099 tax reporting requirements, Senate Democrats are working on an amendment that could kill the proposal down the road…[the] amendment gives fellow Democrats cover to vote on the Johanns amendment while most likely not allowing it to go into effect.
Notably, Nelson could have voted to spare Nebraska job creators from ObamaCare’s IRS paperwork mandate by simply listening to his constituents and voting against ObamaCare’s passage, or by voting to repeal ObamaCare earlier this year. But instead, Nelson gave President Obama the crucial 60th vote to ram ObamaCare into law on a straight party line, and voted just weeks ago to save the costly, unpopular overhaul – which cuts Medicare by $500 billion, raises taxes by $570 billion, and which the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) recently estimated will increase federal deficits by $260 billion through 2019.
“As Senator Nelson touts his vote in Nebraska, he’ll do so knowing full well that his liberal party bosses in Washington have simply given him political cover while they try to keep ObamaCare’s job-killing mandate in place,” said National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) spokesman Chris Bond. “As usual, Ben Nelson plays political games and Nebraska’s families and job creators pay the price.”
Background Information
Ben Nelson Has Claimed To Support Repeal Of The 1099 Provisions:
Ben Nelson: “I Will Vote To Remove The IRS 1099 Provision Because It Imposes A Needless Burden On Small Businesses And We Need To Fix That As Soon As Possible.” (Senator Ben Nelson, “Improve Health Care For Nebraskans, Don’t Take It Away,” Press Release, 2/2/11)
