First-term Democrat Nye voting against health care bill

U.S. Rep. Glenn Nye announced Saturday night he is voting against the Democratic health care bill today, saying it doesn't do enough to reduce the cost of health care, would make deep cuts in some hospital funding, and could cause problems for Tricare recipients.

"Over the past year, I have spoken with countless small business owners, families, medical professionals, and average citizens across Virginia's 2nd District, and it became very clear that this bill was not the right solution for Virginia's health care challenges," Nye said in a written statement. "There were many strong points in this bill that I would have been happy to support individually, but the package as a whole had serious problems."

The Virginia Beach Democrat has been the focus of a high-pressure campaign by supporters and opponents of legislation that is headed for a showdown vote in the U.S. House today.

"I know there are some people who will be disappointed with my vote," Nye said, "but I believe that I have a firm duty to vote my conscience and represent the best interests of my district."

While Nye - whose district includes Virginia Beach, parts of Norfolk and Hampton, and the Eastern Shore - had held off making his intentions known until the eve of the vote, his decision is consistent with his "no" vote on a similar health care overhaul bill that passed the House in November.

Nye said he objects to the bill's proposal to cut supplemental Medicaid payments to children's hospitals, including Children's Hospital of The King's Daughters in Norfolk. Nye said those hospitals could lose $16 billion under the bill.

"This bill did not fix the key flaws with the original health care bill... and I am not convinced it will effectively reduce the cost of health care for families and small businesses," he said.

There is also concern that participants in the military's Tricare health plan may be subject to some health care provisions, under the latest version of the bill. Under previous versions, Tricare patients were exempt.

"I am not willing to risk negative consequences for our military personnel and their families, particularly at a time when our troops are serving overseas in harm's way," Nye said.

Other representatives from Hampton Roads already have announced how they will vote.

U.S. Rep. Bobby Scott, a Newport News Democrat, supports the legislation. U.S. Reps. Randy Forbes of Chesapeake and Rob Wittman of Westmoreland County - both Republicans - intend to vote against it.

Meanwhile, with Democrats increasingly confident they have enough support, the House of Representatives planned Saturday for a historic vote today that would enact the most dramatic changes in the nation's health care system in decades.

As a sign of that confidence - and to quiet concerns among Democrats as well as Republicans - House leaders abandoned a plan to approve the Senate's health care legislation without a direct vote.

President Barack Obama, in a politically charged visit to Capitol Hill, tried to rally support for the measure by telling the House's 253 Democrats to ignore the gloom-and-doom midterm election scenarios that Republican leaders and pundits have suggested if they pass the health care measure.

"You're here to represent your constituencies, and if you think your

constituencies honestly shouldn't be helped, you shouldn't vote for this," Obama said. "But if you agree the system's not working for ordinary families... then help us fix this system."

"Don't do it for me. Don't do it for the Democratic Party," he said. "Do it for the American people."

Before Obama's arrival on Capitol Hill, House leaders worked feverishly to round up the last undecided votes to reach the 216 needed for passage.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., was confident about today's prospects, saying flatly, "We will pass the bill."

The pace was furious and sometimes heated both inside and outside the Capitol, where tea party demonstrators gathered to protest the bill.

Inside the building, House Democratic leaders dropped a controversial plan that would have "deemed" Senate-approved health care legislation passed as part of a resolution setting rules of debate but would not have required House members to vote directly on the legislation.

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md., said Democrats abandoned "deem and pass" because the party leadership is confident it can get the votes to pass the health care bill.

"We determined that we could do this, and it's a better process," Hoyer said. "We believe we have the votes."

The maneuver had been seen as a way to allow Democrats to avoid voting on the bill, but Democrats were uneasy about the prospect. Rep. William Lacy Clay, D-Mo., said it looked like a "back-door deal."

"We've had sanity prevail here," said Rep. Dennis Cordoza, D-Calif., a supporter of the legislation. "This is something that should be done in the light of day."

Hoyer said the House would vote first today on a bill that would change parts of the health care bill the Senate passed on Dec. 24. Then, if that bill passes, the House will vote on the Senate health care bill.

The second vote would send the Senate bill to Obama to sign while the first bill would go to the Senate for a vote under so-called "reconciliation" rules that prohibit a filibuster and would require only 51 votes for passage. The Democrats control 59 Senate seats.

Pelosi and others continued to meet with a handful of anti-abortion Democrats who had refused to support the bill. Several alternatives were proposed, including an executive order reiterating that federal policy toward abortion would not change, or a separate vote to toughen abortion restrictions.

A separate vote on abortion language will not happen today, Rep. Diana DeGette, D-Colo., a leader of the abortion rights forces, said.

Meanwhile, House Democratic leaders hope to attract more nervous Democrats by showing them a letter from Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., and signed by more than 50 Democratic senators that says they'll support the reconciliation bill.

The legislation would require most employers and consumers to obtain coverage by 2014 or face penalties. Families earning up to $88,000 a year would be eligible for help paying premiums. Consumers would be able to use new exchanges, or marketplaces, to easily shop for coverage.

The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimates the plan would reduce the federal deficit by $138 billion over 10 years. It includes a series of tax increases, including higher Medicare payroll taxes on the wealthy and a new tax on dividend, interest and other unearned income.

McClatchy Newspapers contributed to this report.