< Back to front page Text size – +

Lone GOP vote for health bill draws attention

E-mail|Link|Comments () Posted by Foon Rhee, deputy national political editor November 9, 2009 11:59 AM

While the 39 Democrats who voted against the health care bill have received quite a bit of notoriety, the lone Republican who supported it is getting his share of attention.

Representative Anh Cao, a freshman from New Orleans, is a Vietnamese-American who represents a largely African-American district that had been the fiefdom of Democrat William Jefferson, was under indictment when Cao ousted him last November.

Cao said he decided vote aye after a call from President Obama on Saturday, a conversation during which he sought assurances of more federal aid for Hurricane Katrina recovery. A devout Catholic, Cao also wanted the language that was added further restricting abortion services from the bill.

"I felt last night's decision was the proper decision for my district even though it was not the popular decision for my party," Cao told CNN on Sunday. "A lot of my constituents are uninsured, a lot of them are poor. It was the right decision for the people of my district."

Cao also responded to Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele, who after last week's election threatened to "come after" lawmakers who didn't toe the party line.

"He has the right to come after those members who do not conform to party lines, but I would hope that he would work with us in order to adjust to the needs of the district and to hold a seat that the Republican party would need," Cao said.

tags Anh Cao, healthcare, Michael Steele, Obama

» Back to front page

About Political Intelligence

Reports from Boston Globe reporters and editors about the Obama administration, the Massachusetts congressional delegation, and other national political happenings.

see all Globe blogs

Globe Political on Twitter

Loading from twitter...

Follow GlobePolitical on Twitter

News from the Washington Bureau

Mass. push saves costly engine plan

Massachusetts lawmakers, over the fierce objections of the White House, have succeeded in reviving a costly plan to build a jet fighter engine at General Electric’s Lynn plant in an effort to protect thousands of Bay State jobs. (Globe Staff, 12/22/09)

Health fight shifts to insurer shopping

The public option is gone. Expansion of Medicare is dead. But an intense fight continues over a crucial issue in the proposed health care overhaul: how far Congress should go in emulating the type of insurance marketplace that is at the center of the pioneering Massachusetts insurance program. (Globe Staff, 12/22/09)

Unseasonal atmosphere on Capitol Hill, as health care maneuvers put Christmas on hold

WASHINGTON - Snowbound Senate aides have been crashing in Capitol Hill hotels, paying the bill out of their own pockets. Senators are rolling up to the Capitol steps past midnight and before dawn to vote. (Globe Staff, 12/21/09)

Despite deal on health, Republicans vow a fight to the finish

WASHINGTON - Elated Senate Democrats won the first critical procedural vote required to advance major health care legislation just after 1 a.m. this morning, one of four votes required this week to pass the proposal by their self-imposed Christmas deadline. (Globe Staff, 12/21/09)

GOP critics in Senate shaping financial overhaul bill

WASHINGTON - Senate Banking Committee chairman Christopher Dodd, who one month ago proposed an overhaul of financial regulations that was hailed by many consumer activists, has all but jettisoned that proposal following Republican objections and has initiated talks for a new approach designed to satisfy some of his fiercest GOP critics. (Globe Staff, 12/21/09)

Democrats grab final vote for health bill

Senate Democrats clinched the final 60th vote required to push a major health care bill through the Senate by Christmas, announcing a compromise yesterday with Senator Ben Nelson of Nebraska that includes restrictions on abortion coverage and millions in additional Medicaid funding for his state. (Globe Staff, 12/19/09)

Democrats push to close gap on health care plan

Senate Democratic leaders appeared on the verge of an agreement late last night that would secure the critical 60th vote for their sweeping health care bill and seemed poised to try to push through the package before their self-imposed deadline of Christmas. (Globe Staff, 12/19/09)

Rail stimulus funds to bypass Northeast

The railroad tracks from Boston to Washington - the busiest rail artery in the nation, and one that also carries America’s only high-speed train, the Acela - have been virtually shut out of $8 billion worth of federal stimulus money set aside for high-speed rail projects because of a strict environmental review required by the Obama administration. (Globe Correspondent, 12/16/09)

Medicare buy-in is latest hurdle for health bill

WASHINGTON - Senate Democratic leaders grappled for a health care deal behind closed doors last night, as a fragile and tentative agreement they announced last week threatened to collapse. (Globe Staff, 12/15/09)

Al Qaeda looking to Yemen as next base

As the United States steps up the hunt for Al Qaeda in Afghanistan and Pakistan, some of the terrorist network’s veteran operatives are leaving the region and flocking to Yemen, where an escalating civil war is turning the nearly lawless Arab nation into an attractive alternative as a base of operations, according to US and foreign government officials. (Globe Staff, 12/12/09)