Breaking with their party and president, five Democrats yesterday helped push through the state Senate a Republican measure allowing Virginians to just say no to compulsory health insurance.
Voting 23-17, the Democratic-controlled Senate approved three identical proposals — Senate Bills 283, 311 and 417 — making it illegal to require residents to purchase health-care coverage. Similar bills are under consideration in the Republican-dominated House.
Virginia joins a growing number of states — at least 30, according to The Associated Press — where legislators are debating proposals that object to government-mandated health-care proposals similar to those being considered by Congress.
Yesterday's vote in the Senate spotlighted growing concern among Democrats that the national health-care debate has continuing political repercussions — even at the state and local level.
Voter resistance to President Barack Obama's push for a health-care overhaul boosted Gov. Bob McDonnell's majority in November, and — Democrats fear — could shape this year's congressional elections and 2011 Virginia House and Senate contests.
Among the Democrats backing the Republican bills was Sen. R. Edward Houck of Spotsylvania, head of the Education and Health committee.
Acknowledging the conservative leanings of his heavily rural district, Houck said of his support of the GOP proposal: "There was an individual-choice issue imbued in the topic; there were concerns about intrusion into individual freedom to choose."
The chief sponsors of the three Senate bills, all patterned on measures pushed by the conservative American Legislative Exchange Council, are Republicans Frederick M. Quayle of Chesapeake, Stephen H. Martin of Chesterfield County and Jill Holtzman Vogel of Fauquier County.
Quayle said the proposals are intended to signal that Democratic-dominated Washington is seen as overstepping its bounds.
"The Congress does not have the right to mandate that we buy anything," said Quayle.
Senate Majority Leader Richard L. Saslaw, D-Fairfax, derided the Quayle measure as a "brochure bill" written with approaching elections in mind. He also suggested that the proposals could be unconstitutional because state statutes do not trump federal law.
In addition to Houck, the Senate Democrats opposing mandatory health insurance are: Charles J. Colgan of Prince William, chairman of the Finance Committee; John C. Miller of Newport News, Phillip P. Puckett of Russell County and W. Roscoe Reynolds of Henry County.
Jeff E. Schapiro writes for The Richmond Times-Dispatch.
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