Nebraska Sen. Ben Nelson spoke to journalism students Monday morning at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. He told students he is for the debate, but not for the bill as it stands now. Photo: Nicole Gatz, NewsNetNebraska
The Democratic senator told a Mass Media Law class at the College of Journalism and Mass Communications that he has concerns about the bill in its current form, and he voted to have the bill debated so it could be improved.
Although there is a "failsafe mechanism" in the legislative process - voting no - Nelson said he would rather work with his colleagues to find a solution.
"I'm not sitting here waiting to pounce and vote no," he said. "I'm hoping we'll make the process work so it can get bipartisan support."
Getting the bill right the first time is more important than getting it done quickly, Nelson said.
"I'm ready to take whatever amount of time it is to get it right," he said. "At the end of the day, that's the only thing I'm going to support -- something I think is right."
On Sunday, Nelson appeared on ABC's "This Week" and said he wouldn't have voted to move the bill forward if he didn't think it could be improved.
"When I saw the bill, I said it can be improved and the debate should begin."
During his talk to students, Nelson said one of his major problems with the bill is the public option.
"A public option is a big government Washington-run health insurance operation," he said. "It will under-reimburse doctors and hospitals and will undermine private coverage that 200 million Americans have. It isn't necessary to do that."
And the bill's provision that allows states to "opt out" of the public option doesn't make sense, he said.
"If Nebraska didn't choose to get in, it shouldn't have to pay for that public option for other states," he said. "Those who use it should be paying for it if they want to have it."
Instead, Nelson, a former governor, said states can step up to the challenge of answering the health care needs of their citizens.
"I really think that you can have state-based solutions in many instances where states can step forward and take care of certain responsibilities with some assistance from the federal government," Nelson said.
Even though he sees many problems with the $820 billion bill, Nelson said, he can see some positive effects.
"The effort (in the bill) is on prevention, early detection, wellness and workforce development for more primary care physicians," he said. "Those will all be helpful in reducing the cost of health care."
The health care debate has highlighted Nelson's interesting place in Congress as a conservative Democrat, noted John Hibbing, a UNL political science professor. Because a party needs a 60-vote majority to pass a bill in the Senate, Hibbing said, Nelson's support is critical for major legislation such as the health care bill.
John Hibbing, University of Nebraska-Lincoln political science professor, hopes members of Congress will use their best judgment when it comes to the health care reform bill. Hibbing is concerned politicians may only focus on partisan leanings. Photo: Allyson Felt, NewsNetNebraska
"Any sense that Nelson might defect is really a powerful threat," he said. "It gives him a lot of leverage and a critical spot in the Senate."
During his UNL appearance, Nelson said misinformation on both sides of the debate has clouded the legislative process.
"The challenges in Washington really stem in a major way from misinformation and the inability to always get your message out there," he said.
The news industry has changed so much that people can no longer turn to a single news source, Nelson said. These days, people need to seek out both conservative and liberal viewpoints to get a balanced account.
"Back in the old days, people could watch Walter Cronkite and think they could get the rest of the story," he said. "Today, there's not a person who personifies just the plain news."
But Hibbing said such misinformation is merely a product of a free-thinking democracy.
"We have an open society," he said. "People can say whatever they want. Hopefully, the whole nature of the democratic process is such that the truth will win out in the end."
To learn more about the history of health care reform, click here.
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