The Herald, Sharon, Pa.

Local News

January 7, 2010

Dahlkemper weighs in on health reform

By Matt Snyder

MERCER COUNTY — As health care reform bills passed by the House and Senate are reconciled this month, Democrats are rallying for the final vote that could propel the legislation to the President’s desk.

While some of her fellow conservative “Blue Dog” Democrats voted against the House bill on the grounds that it cost too much, U.S. Rep. Kathy Dahlkemper, Erie, D-3rd District, supported it.

On Thursday, she told The Herald that passing some type of reform is necessary and indicated she was likely to support a final bill being worked out by Democratic leaders of the House and Senate.

“We need to get something passed,” Mrs. Dahlkemper said.

Mrs. Dahlkemper, a freshman legislator who is running for re-election this year, offered her take on health care and other issues during a meeting with The Herald’s editors.

Mrs. Dahlkemper said she is concerned about differences between the House and Senate versions but said she can’t see any single issue that’s a “deal breaker.”

Among Mrs. Dahlkemper’s concerns: the Senate version of the bill dropped the public option, softened the House’s ban on taxpayer funding for abortions, and would pay for the plan by taxing so-called “Cadillac” health care plans, instead of a tax on the rich.

According to Mrs. Dahlkemper, the tax on high-earners would effect only those earning more than $1 million, which is about 247 of her 600,000 constituents. Meanwhile, people like teachers and others with generous health coverage may have their health care benefits taxed in the Senate version, she said.

She favors a public option, but said that if insurance companies can’t reduce premiums, the public option could be grafted back into the bill at a later date.

Abortion seemed to be more a sticking point for Mrs. Dahlkemper, who said she is working with anti-abortion representatives to keep taxpayer dollars from paying for abortions.

Mrs. Dahlkemper campaigned in part on her pro-life stance and supported the Stupak Amendment in the House version of the bill – the amendment preventing federal dollars from funding abortion in health care reform.

It could create a problem for Mrs. Dahlkemper if the final version of the bill takes a softer stance on federal dollars for abortion, since she also campaigned heavily on health care reform. She would not commit to whether or not abortion could sway her vote.

She did speak on the need for health care reform. She said there are plenty of “sad stories and tragedies” in her district because people have lacked health care coverage. She said many families are one medical emergency away from bankruptcy.

“It could happen to you, tomorrow, if you happen to have bad luck today,” she said.

Mrs. Dahlkemper acknowledged that the health reform bill would be a “Democrat bill,” but added that Republicans have put forward no meaningful reforms of their own.

Also Thursday, Mrs. Dahlkemper reflected on her first year in office, which featured important votes besides health care.

“There were no easy votes this year and not too many easy days,” she said.

Mrs. Dahlkemper voted in favor of the stimulus and voted against environmental legislation that featured cap-and-trade.

She defended her stimulus vote, saying that it likely prevented an even worse Depression, but also said the Obama administration made a mistake in predicting it would lower unemployment. She argued that it still helped put the brakes on rising unemployment.

In the past, she has said the cap-and-trade legislation would have disproportionately hurt business in northwestern Pennsylvania.

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