I am writing today to announce the closure of the New Mexico Independent. After three and a half years of operation in New Mexico, the board of the American Independent News Network, has decided to shift publication of its news…
While environmental activists played their part yesterday during demonstrations at the capitol building, going so far as to dress up as solar panels and to sing the tune of “You Are My Sunshine,” their counterparts, the anti-cap-and-trade contingency who has…
Roughly one quarter of University of New Mexico students are unimpressed with the state’s flagship public school, according to a survey that questioned college students about their higher education experiences.
Congressman Harry Teague, D-N.M., issued a release late Friday afternoon saying that while he believes “we need to reform our health care system,” he will not vote for the House version of a health care reform bill.
The statement says Teague is voting against the health care bill because it fails to do “enough to rein in insurance companies” and that he is “concerned that American taxpayers will end up footing a nearly $900 billion tab for a bill that doesn’t do enough to ‘bend the cost curve’ in a way that permanently reduces both costs and the national debt.”
“I had hoped to have an opportunity to vote for a health insurance reform bill that would guarantee every American access to affordable, quality health care, and rein in the skyrocketing health care costs that are keeping people and businesses out of the system and driving up our national debt,” Teague wrote. “Unfortunately, the current bill before Congress falls short of that and I am left with no choice but to vote against it.”
A vote on health care reform is expected to come tomorrow, though perhaps late in the evening according to MSNBC.
According to the latest numbers from the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), the bill “would yield a net reduction in federal budget deficits of $129 billion over the 2010-2019 period.”
These numbers were a product of the CBO working with the Joint Committee on Taxation (JCT).
Teague is facing a tough election in 2010 against his predecessor, former Congressman Steve Pearce, R-N.M. Pearce left the 2nd Congressional District seat in an unsuccessful run for Senate last year.
The 2nd Congressional District is the most conservative of the three Congressional Districts in New Mexico.
Teague’s full statement is available below:
“Let me be clear, I believe we need to reform our health care system. I personally know how not having health insurance can impact individuals and families. Growing up, both my parents worked, but we still couldn’t afford health insurance. So when my parents got sick, I had to drop out of high school and go to work to help support our family. Those were difficult times and why as a small business owner I worked hard to provide affordable health insurance options to my employees and their families.
I had hoped to have an opportunity to vote for a health insurance reform bill that would guarantee every American access to affordable, quality health care, and rein in the skyrocketing health care costs that are keeping people and businesses out of the system and driving up our national debt. Unfortunately, the current bill before Congress falls short of that and I am left with no choice but to vote against it.
This bill doesn’t do enough to rein in insurance companies. It mandates millions of people and businesses to buy health insurance, but does little to make insurance companies control consumer costs. I am also concerned that American taxpayers will end up footing a nearly $900 billion tab for a bill that doesn’t do enough to ‘bend the cost curve’ in a way that permanently reduces both costs and the national debt..
I came to Washington with personal experience of how a health care crisis can impact a family and with a commitment to getting this kind of misguided spending under control. Health insurance reform is too important to settle for a bill that appears to be a temporary fix that guarantees more money for insurance companies and a bigger national debt, but in the end doesn’t lower the cost of health care for New Mexico families and businesses. I intend to continue pushing for reform that lowers the cost of health insurance for families and businesses in a fiscally responsible way.”
