By David Sanders
Before the raging debate on health-care reform began, most folks outside Arkansas would have been hard pressed to identify Rep. Mike Ross. But over the past few months this Democrat, who represents a congressional district that stretches across the southern part of the state from the Mississippi River to Oklahoma, has emerged as one most articulate voices cautioning against his party’s designs on health care.
When the House passed sweeping health-care legislation on a 220 to 215 vote late on Nov. 7, Ross was firmly in the “nay’ column (his two Democratic House collegues from Arkansas both voted “aye”).
Initially expressing concern over the House Democratic leadership shutting out moderates from health-care negotiations last spring and, then, putting the brakes on House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s attempt to push through a hastily thrown-together bill before the August recess, Ross’ actions propelled him from relative obscurity to, literally, the front pages of the country’s leading newspapers.
Counted among the 50 or so moderate-to-conservative House Democrats who call themselves the Blue Dog Coalition, he chairs the group’s health-care working group. But make no mistake; Ross is not a Republican simply posing as a Democrat.
His rise politically began in the Arkansas governor’s office where he served as an aide to the then-Gov. Bill Clinton. He then managed Massachusetts Gov. Michael Dukakis’ 1988 presidential campaign in Arkansas, and later he was elected and re-elected to the state Senate.
Ross entered Congress in 2000 after defeating a four-term Republican. He consistently voted against many of the Bush administration’s fiscal policies. In House votes, he has sided with President Obama more than he has opposed him.
With Ross’ newfound notoriety, furious liberals in his party accused him of obstructing the Democratic agenda. Suspicious Republicans claimed he was only seeking temporary political cover to avoid drawing a strong GOP challenger.
But as the political winds blow, Ross is moving with them, not against them. He’s never faced serious opposition for his seat since being elected to Congress, and heading into next year’s election in which incumbent Democrats in many conservative and moderate districts are expected to face tough re-election fights, Ross is safe.
His “no” vote was not a surprise, but his strong words against the bill were. Minutes after it passed, he issued a terse statement detailing his reasons for opposing it. They now should serve as a warning.
“You overwhelmingly told me that you were opposed to the original 1,000 page House health-care-reform bill and its $1 trillion price tag. Now, the new House health-care-reform bill is over 2,000 pages and cost over $1.2 trillion,” the congressman said of his constituents. “Washington may not have heard you, but I heard you loud and clear, and that’s why I voted against creating this massive new government spending program that we simply cannot afford.”
Of greatest concern to Ross: Washington’s out-of-control spending and the rising national debt. He predicted that if not curtailed, the country would soon suffer from massive inflation that would in turn cause the fragile economy to shed more jobs.
“This is not the time to force employees to buy health insurance they cannot afford or require struggling small businesses to provide it. This is not the time to raise federal taxes $730 billion,” he said.
He also pointed out some of the concerns recently raised by his state’s popular Democratic governor. “In fact,” he said, “Governor Beebe has stated that the Medicaid provisions in the House health-care-reform bill could increase the state budget in Arkansas $205 million by 2015.”
He explained that the Democrats’ bill does nothing to reduce government health-care spending, but instead increases it by nearly $600 billion. Contrary to the party line, Ross said the bill would cut Medicare by $400 billion, endangering seniors and possibly forcing rural hospitals to close.
Giving credence to South Carolina GOP Rep. Joe Wilson’s argument — expressed in a controversial outburst during President Obama’s address to Congress — Ross also claimed, “I also voted against the health-care-reform bill because it allows illegal immigrants to purchase private insurance in the newly created government exchange.”
The bottom line for Ross is that the risk the legislation poses to the country is simply too great. “During this economic crisis, I believe we should be focused on putting people back to work, not growing the size of the federal government with increased spending, new mandates and higher taxes.”
As the Senate prepares to consider the controversial legislation, moderate Democratic senators like Louisiana’s Mary Landrieu, Nebraska’s Ben Nelson and Arkansas’ own Blanche Lincoln, along with the rest of the country, should pay attention to the conscience-driven words from this South Arkansas Democrat.