Washington was under a thick blanket of snow this week, but Speaker Nancy Pelosi didn’t stop working for a minute. She was trying to shovel in any vote she could get, from fellow Democrats to Non-Democrat fellows.
But there’s one person she doesn’t need to worry about convincing to vote for Obama’s health care overhaul.
With one of the most liberal voting records in the House, Velazquez has voted 99.3 percent of the time with the Democratic Party so far in the 111th Congress.
This is not to say that New York is usually a source of concern for Pelosi, but Massachusetts didn’t used to be one either until recently.
As a Chairwoman of the Small Business Committee and Chairwoman for the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, most of Velazquez’s effort, time and PR are devoted to either loans for small businesses or Hispanic education and immigrant rights.
This week, however, Velazquez released a statement on health insurance and lowering health care costs for New Yorkers.
Yes, she’s a progressive democrat, committed to small businesses and representing her majority immigrant, working families constituency. Supporting a public option is not a political risk for Velazquez, it’s a given.
On Friday, Velazquez released a statement, on congress’ recent approval of the Health Insurance Industry Fair Competition Act, (H.R. 4626). A legislation that will lower health care costs by promoting competition among providers.
“In New York State, the two biggest health insurance companies control 46 percent of the market, and premiums for families increased by 97 percent between 2000 and 2009. Subjecting the health insurance industry to the same anti-trust laws as other industries will help prevent price fixing and monopolizing of the market. H.R. 4626 passed the House by an overwhelming bipartisan vote of 406-19 and must now be considered by the U.S. Senate.”
The Daily Gotham reported that Velazquez wasn’t always committed to the Obama’s health care reform, but since she joined her party’s stance, Velazquez made a fairly convincing performance last July