Target Dems Vote to Keep Job-Killing Individual Mandate

FYI, a version of the release below went out to the following districts: Melissa Bean (IL-8); Sanford Bishop (GA-02); Tim Bishop (NY-01); John Boccieri (OH-16); Leonard Boswell (IA-03); Allen Boyd (FL-02); Dennis Cardoza (CA-18); Russ Carnahan (MO-03); Chris Carney (PA-10); Gerry Connolly (VA-11); Jim Costa (CA-20); Kathy Dahlkemper (PA-03); Joe Donnelly (IN-02); Steve Driehaus (OH-1); Bill Foster (IL-14); Gabby Giffords (AZ-08); Alan Grayson (FL-08); John Hall (NY-19); Debbie Halvorson (IL-11); Martin Heinrich (NM-01); Baron Hill (IN-09); Jim Himes (CT-04); Rush Holt (NJ-12); Steve Kagen (WI-08); Paul Kanjorski (PA-11); Mary Jo Kilroy (OH-15); Ann Kirkpatrick (AZ-01); Ron Klein (FL-22); Suzanne Kosmas (FL-24); Betsy Markey (CO-04); Jerry McNerney (CA-11); Harry Mitchell (AZ-05); Chris Murphy (CT-05); Patrick Murphy (PA-08); Scott Murphy (NY-20); Bill Owens (NY-23); Ed Perlmutter (CO-07); Tom Perriello (VA-05); Gary Peters (MI-09); Earl Pomeroy (ND-AL); Ciro Rodriguez (TX-23); John Salazar (CO-03); Loretta Sanchez (CA-47); Mark Schauer (MI-07); Kurt Schrader (OR-05); Carol Shea-Porter (NH-01); John Spratt (SC-05); Betty Sutton (OH-13); Dina Titus (NV-03); Niki Tsongas (MA-05); Tim Walz (MN-01); Charlie Wilson (OH-06); David Wu (OR-01) and John Yarmuth KY-03).

Washington– Tonight, when House Republicans gave Loretta Sanchez the opportunity to repeal her party’s job-killing, tax-hiking individual mandate – the heart of ObamaCare – Sanchez chose to toe the party line instead. By opposing the motion, Sanchez has voted to force struggling small business owners and middle-class families to choose between purchasing health insurance that they may not be able to afford or paying a burdensome penalty. (Roll Call 362)

“All Americans would be required for the first time to obtain insurance or face an annual penalty of $695; employers could face penalties of $2,000 per worker for not offering affordable coverage. In exchange for the new business, private insurers would be subject to an array of rules, including a ban on the practice of denying coverage to people with preexisting medical conditions and a requirement that adult children be permitted to stay on their parents’ policies until age 26.” (Lori Montgomery and Paul Kane, “House unveils $940 billion health accord,” Washington Post, March 19, 2010)

According to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO), by 2016 the individual mandate will hit middle-class and low-income families the hardest. It will force families who are already 500 percent below the poverty line to pay roughly $73,000 in new taxes. And with as little as 29 percent of Americans believing they are better off under the Democrats’ healthcare bill, Sanchez’s vote tonight may have sealed her fate and inevitable loss in November.

“The latest tracking poll from the nonpartisan health care think tank the Kaiser Family Foundation, owever, shows just 29% of Americans think they would be “better off” under the Affordable Care Act, compared to 42% who believed that in November. So perhaps it’s not surprising that some Democrats running for Congress would just focus their campaigns on the economy, the environment, immigration and a host of other issues that have eclipsed health care in recent months. With the memories of last summer’s heated antireform town halls still seared in many reps’ memories, the New York Times reported last week that “it was no accident” that most House Democrats chose not to hold town halls during their recent Memorial Day break.” (Kate Pickert, “New Health-Reform Campaign Puts Democratic Candidates in a Tough Spot,” Time, 6/15/2010)

“Loretta Sanchez has once again supported her party’s unpopular healthcare takeover and paved the way to hit struggling small businesses and middle class families with unfair tax-hikes,” said NRCC Communications Director Ken Spain. “In a time of economic crisis, Sanchez and her Washington friends continue to prove just how out-of-touch they are with the struggles facing American families. Instead of providing common sense healthcare reform that lowers costs, Sanchez has once again voted to force California small business owners and families to choose between excessive taxes or paying for a healthcare plan they can’t afford. This leaves California families wondering: Will Sanchez ever start listening?”