DENVER—At least one Colorado representative is sticking by his refusal to vote for the financial rescue package in Washington.
Republican Rep. Doug Lamborn said Thursday he still opposes the measure—and even more so because he didn’t like Senate add-ons intended to entice House members.
“Mental health parity is irrelevant to the credit crunch,” Lamborn said of a proposal to ensure mental health parity coverage in big insurance plans.
Lamborn said that because he’s “a firm no,” he hasn’t been pressured by lobbyists or congressional leaders to change his vote.
“If I’m getting pressure from anybody it’s from my constituents,” he said, noting that his office had received 2,000 calls and e-mails this week. Constituents were 3-1 against the plan, he said.
Others voting no earlier this week—Democrats John Salazar and Mark Udall, and Republican Marilyn Musgrave—couldn’t immediately be reached by phone Thursday.
Musgrave did issue a letter with three other House members saying a “right deal, not a fast deal” was needed, but gave no indication of how she would vote. The letter was co-signed by Reps. Michele Bachmann, R-Minn., Virginia Foxx, R-N.C., and Marcy Kaptur, D-Ohio.
Salazar spokesman Eric Wortman said Salazar is still concerned about increasing the national debt but hadn’t decided how to vote when the legislation comes up again, possibly on Friday.
“He is getting lobbied by corporate America,” Wortman said. “They do seem to be uniting in support of the bill.”
The measure would let the government spend billions of dollars to buy bad mortgage-related securities and other devalued assets from troubled financial institutions. If the plan works, advocates say, that would allow frozen credit to begin flowing again and prevent a serious recession.
Add-ons passed by the Senate on Wednesday, mostly tax measures, include energy-related provisions, business tax breaks, a one-year fix of the alternative minimum tax and tax relief for victims of recent disasters.
