The Tolbert Report

Sen. Blanche Lincoln appeared this morning on KARN News Radio and opened the phone lines for questions but only had time for one caller (host Bob Steele graciously took the blame.) The caller asked her about the constitutionality of the insurance mandates in the health care bill and about her views on the deal made with Sen. Ben Nelson. She offered interesting answers to both questions.

Defending her vote for the Senate health care bill, Sen. Lincoln said, “The Constitution gives Congress the responsibility of maintaining the well being of the people.” She said that the health care legislation will improve the well being of Arkansans with measures such as increased health coverage for those without insurance.

She also said she was not pleased with the deals made by her fellow Senators such as Sen. Ben Nelson of Nebraska who negotiated additional Medicaid funding of around $100 million. “I didn’t go to Washington to be a horse trader,” said Lincoln.

Sen. Lincoln will speak this afternoon to the Downtown Kiwanis Club of Little Rock and at the Stuttgart Chamber of Commerce Dinner this evening.

UPDATE – Sen. Lincoln’s Spokesperson Katie Laning Niebaum provides a bit more detail by way of a follow-up to my post…

The idea of an individual mandate is not a new concept and has been embraced by Senators on both sides of the aisle (e.g. the Wyden-Bennett Healthy Americans Act includes the individual responsibility proposal and has five Senate Republican cosponsors) because it will ensure more Americans and healthier Americans will buy coverage, which will bring down premiums and will allow for significant insurance market reforms like banning the practice of denying coverage based on pre-existing conditions.

Congress has the authority under the Constitution to regulate interstate commerce and promote the general welfare of the United States. After consulting with lawyers in response to questions that have been raised, Senator Lincoln is satisfied that Congress is on solid ground regarding its authority in this area. Legal scholars and the courts will further examine constitutional questions related to the health care reform legislation, which she believes would be a healthy exercise in our democratic process.

Senator Lincoln didn’t sell her vote for special favors, but instead worked for changes that benefit the common good and that are skewed toward Arkansas. In large part because of her efforts, Arkansas’s small business owners, their employees, and their families will get the help they need to access quality and affordable health care. One example, she authored the tax relief that will be available to 50,000 Arkansas small businesses with 260,000 workers to help them purchase coverage.

Tags: 2010 Candidates