Minnesotans split 50-50 on House's historic vote

Four Democrats voted for; three Republicans and one Democrat said no.

By KEVIN DIAZ and ERIC ROPER, Star Tribune staff writers

Last update: November 8, 2009 - 12:55 AM

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WASHINGTON - For the Minnesota delegation, the health care package passed by the U.S. House late Saturday came down to a 4-4 tie in the closing seconds.

Four -- all Democrats -- voted for it; four others -- three of them Republicans -- voted against.

Minnesota's last uncommitted vote, Iron Range Democrat Jim Oberstar, had expressed reservations about public funds being used to pay for abortions, which some said could be a possibility under the original bill.

But a bitterly contested amendment to make sure that abortions couldn't be funded was inserted just before the final vote, clearing the way for Oberstar and other Democrats opposed to abortion to provide their party the needed margin of victory.

"I have been a proponent of a national health care system as long as I have been in Congress," said Oberstar, who has been in office since 1975. "Today we take a bold step towards that goal.

Only two of the five Minnesota Democrats -- Reps. Betty McCollum and Tim Walz -- were firm "yes" votes going into the last 24 hours. And Walz's support was only locked down Friday, after he was satisfied that the legislation would address Minnesota's concerns about regional payment inequities under Medicare.

Minneapolis Democrat Keith Ellison, an ardent supporter of the public option, had remained uncommitted at the close of business Friday because he felt the public option included in the bill was not robust enough. He announced his support Saturday morning.

As he walked off the floor after the vote, Ellison said he was “ecstatic” about the bill’s passage.

“It puts a lot of pressure on the Senate to come up with something as good,” he said. “I think health care reform is within reach, much more so than before.”

Republican Michele Bachmann said it was “a bad vote,” though she was not surprised by the final outcome.

“It’s disappointing obviously,” Bachmann said. “And so I’m hopeful that the Senate will see it differently.”

As the bill neared passage, Ellison called it a "historic" moment in America, comparable to the landmark laws that created Social Security, the Voting Rights Act and Medicare. "For the first time in our nation's history, we are making health care a right of all Americans, and not a privilege for only those who can afford it."

Collin Peterson, a conservative "Blue Dog" Democrat who opposed the public option, voted against the bill, citing its high costs and other reasons.

All but one of the 177 House Republicans, including Minnesota's John Kline, Bachmann and Erik Paulsen, opposed the bill, which would create a federally supervised insurance marketplace where the uninsured could buy coverage.

Kline, one of the GOP managers in the floor debate, called it an "Orwellian" bill that gives too much power to the government over health care. "It creates a huge morass of government bureaucracy," he said.

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