Whip Count (No. 12 in a Series) Rounding up the Committee Chairmen
EmailFrom Sunlen Miller:
The Hill’s Bob Cusack and Jeffrey Young report that many House committee chairmen are undecided or against the health care bill, after a survey of more than 100 possible Democratic defectors.
“Agriculture Committee Chairman Collin Peterson (D-Minn.) and Armed Services Committee Chairman Ike Skelton (D-Mo.) are firm ‘no’s on the bill, according to their offices,” The Hill’s Cusack and Young report. “Budget Committee Chairman John Spratt (D-S.C.), Science Committee Chairman Bart Gordon (D-Tenn.) and Natural Resources Committee Chairman Nick Rahall (D-W.Va.) are undecided. Meanwhile, Transportation Committee Chairman Jim Oberstar (D-Minn.), who supports Rep. Bart Stupak’s (D-Mich.) anti-abortion rights language, is leaning yes, according to his spokesman.”
As we’ve previously covered, 220 members of Congress voted for the bill when Pelosi brought the House legislation to a vote.
Since then, four yes votes are no more: Rep. Anh “Joseph” Cao, R-La., has said he won’t vote for final passage, Rep. Neil Abercrombie, D-Hi., retired to run for governor, Rep. Robert Wexler, D-Fla., also retired, and Rep. John Murtha, D-Penn., died.
That means to pass the Senate bill, Pelosi starts out with 216 members of Congress who votes yes last time. With the pending retirement of Rep. Eric Massa D-N.Y., there will soon be only 431 members of Congress total, meaning a majority will be 216 votes. Rep. Nathan Deal, R-Ga., has postponed his own retirement and told GOP leaders he will likely stay through the health care vote.
-Sunlen Miller
Santorum: Money Will Not Defeat Obama, Ideas Will 
Rick Santorum's Full Speech at CPAC 2012
Even in this Congress, they know when the bill is truly bad, and not worth passing. It truly is, that bad.
Posted by: Rick McDaniel | March 9, 2010, 10:15 am 10:15 am
The question is whether the congressmen will have the courage to tell the president no.
Posted by: Jeff | March 9, 2010, 10:28 am 10:28 am
jeff the real question is WHAT WILL THIS ADMINISTRATION DO TO YOU if you say no. this bunch is making the clintons look honest people. as uncomfortable i was with bush, he had morals and integrity.we have been taken over by the mafia and the s.e.i.u.. time to clean house folks. nov 2010,
Posted by: catman | March 9, 2010, 11:02 am 11:02 am
If bribes and sweetheart deals won’t get votes, Obama can just send Rahm into the showers!
All Drama Obama!
Posted by: mick | March 9, 2010, 11:23 am 11:23 am
A big thanks to Mrs. Sunlen Miller and all the contributors for reporting on this.
Posted by: Denbo | March 9, 2010, 12:37 pm 12:37 pm
I think Ezra Klein makes a good point on all this “counting”: congress uses the press.
EK writes: “We read those stories as news articles, but the politicians who are quoted in them are often directing their words at their leadership rather than the publication’s lay audience. And that means those comments generally have a couple different meanings. The most common double meaning is that a quote that seems like a prediction (“I am not inclined to vote for this bill”) is actually the opening of a negotiation (“I want something changed in this bill, and I want it badly enough that I’m willing to play up my opposition in the press.”)… The final weeks before a close vote feature a lot of congresspeople making statements of unbending opposition and then cutting deals which turn them into qualified supporters of the legislation…I’m not going to spend time chasing statements that may or may not mean what they appear to mean.”
Posted by: progressive mama | March 9, 2010, 1:35 pm 1:35 pm