The CCO bill was
finally passed, but the Exchange bill is still in a holding pattern. The
Lund Report caught a powerful statement by Representative Jason Conger (R-Bend), talking about the CCO bill (emphasis mine):
After listing many of those complaints about the legislation, Rep.
Jason Conger (R-Bend) said “to do nothing is simply unacceptable,”
adding that “it required leadership” to get the bill to the House floor
for a vote.
“I don’t mean the twisted, pathetic concept of leadership that values
political positioning and partisan gain over good policy,” he said. “I
mean real leadership, to do the hard work that is required to address
big issues that matter to Oregonians who are not in this building, to
the rest of the state besides us. There is risk involved in passing this
bill. But I believe that I know I was sent here to address those kinds
of problems—like jobs, and yes, healthcare…despite the risk in the bill,
I will be voting yes.”
I'm impressed to see someone buck party for conscience in the way Conger did, especially because passage of the CCO bill was a near certainty once it came to a vote. He could have just voted for it and held his peace, as 22 (of 30) other Republicans did. Saying what he did took guts... So why tolerate the stonewalling on the Exchange bill? If Conger thinks people sent him to the legislature to work on the
problem of health care, how is spiking the Exchange bill part of the
solution?
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