Brown calls his election `a message' against health bill

Mar 10, 2010 — The Boston Globe

By Matt Viser

Mar. 10, 2010 (The Boston Globe delivered by Newstex) --

WASHINGTON - Senator Scott Brown railed yesterday against President Obama and congressional Democrats for continuing their quest to pass a comprehensive health care bill, saying the majority party in Washington has failed to heed the lessons of his own surprise victory in January.

``I was sent here in a message almost, to the administration and people up on Capitol Hill, that the American people expect us to do better,'' the Massachusetts Republican told a conference of the National Association of Health Underwriters in his most extensive remarks on health care since arriving in the capital. ``Right now the health care plan they're pushing, in particular, and the way they're trying to do it, is wrong.''

Brown ran against the health overhaul during his special election campaign, and his win stalled the bill because it took away the Democrats' 60-vote, supermajority needed to pass the measure over a Republican filibuster. Democrats are contemplating pushing the bill through the Senate using ``budget reconciliation,'' a procedure that would allow passage of most aspects of the bill with 51 votes.

Echoing recent comments from GOP leaders, Brown said reconciliation is unacceptable.

``You're going to basically ram through something that is really unpopular and is clearly not good for the people in my state,'' Brown said. Brown said it should be left up to states to decide how to expand health coverage.

Brown has cast only a handful of significant votes since arriving in Washington seven weeks ago, but Bay State voters overwhelmingly give Brown a thumbs-up so far, a new poll suggests. The poll of 500 likely voters, taken Monday by Rasmussen Reports, said 70 percent gave him a positive job performance rating.

Fifty-seven percent also said the Kennedy dynasty is over in Massachusetts. Brown replaced Edward M. Kennedy, who died in August of brain cancer.

Several Bay State Democrats declined to comment yesterday on Brown's criticism of the health bills, versions of which have passed both the House and Senate but which have not yet been merged. Senator John F. Kerry, approached while leaving a Senate Committee on Foreign Relations meeting, twice declined to comment on Brown's criticism. ``Yeah,'' Kerry said, as he headed to a meeting at the White House. ``I can't do it right now. I can't.''

Several business groups are launching an ad campaign today to convince Americans that the health care bill would hurt jobs, raise small-business costs, and fail to reduce health expenses. The ads, sponsored by groups such as the US Chamber of Commerce and the National Association of Manufacturers, will target areas represented by moderate and conservative Democrats whose votes could be pivotal.

One of those potential swing votes, Senator Ben Nelson of Nebraska, yesterday laid out the case for health care but said reconciliation ``is my least favorite way of doing things.''

``Yes, we need to go back to work on jobs, job, jobs,'' said Nelson, who spoke after Brown at the meeting of underwriters. ``But in the meantime we need to make sure we do everything we can to help the people who don't have health care coverage.''

In a brief interview after his speech, Brown also said Americans would prefer that Democrats focus on creating jobs. But later yesterday, the freshman senator voted against an amendment cosponsored by Kerry to provide $1.3 billion for summer jobs programs for young people. Brown voted against the amendment because it ``would largely have been funded by adding more to the deficit and the national debt,'' said his communications director, Gail Gitcho.

Bay State Democrats criticized Brown's vote. ``Many people in Massachusetts will be very, very disappointed when they learn that Sen. Scott Brown was not on the side of the people of our state who need summer jobs and other support as they struggle through this global recession,'' John Walsh, chairman of the Massachusetts Democratic Party, said yesterday in a statement.

Brown did vote in favor of blocking a possible Republican filibuster of tax breaks for businesses and unemployment benefits for those who have been out of work for more than six months. But he said he did so only to break a logjam and he planned to vote against the measure later on the grounds that it is too costly. He cast himself as the leader on breaking the logjam, although it's highly unusual for members in the clubby US Senate to follow a new senator.

``I think a lot of them look and see what I do,'' Brown said in the Senate reception room, nursing a lollipop before the vote. ``You know, which is OK.''

Matt Viser can be reached at maviser@globe.com.

Newstex ID: BGL-1035-42736477