Norm Coleman Likes Hillary Clinton’s Healthcare Plan?

11/28/2007

Norm Coleman Shows He’ll Say Anything to Get Reelected


St. Paul, MN (November 28, 2007) Bush loyalist and former Bill Clinton supporter Norm Coleman showed once again Monday that he will do anything to get reelected, by saying at a forum in Willmar that he likes parts of Senator Hillary Clinton’s healthcare plan.


“While three more million Americans have gone uninsured since he took office, and while 400,000 Minnesotans remain uninsured, Norm Coleman has spent his five years in the Senate working against more affordable healthcare for Minnesota families,” said Minnesota DFL Chair Brian Melendez. “To suggest now that he likes parts of Hillary Clinton’s healthcare plan shows that Coleman will do anything in order to get reelected. But actions speak louder than words, and we know from his actions that Norm Coleman can’t be trusted.”

Coleman Likes Clinton’s Health Plan, It’s Like 1996 All Over Again:

Coleman Supported Bill Clinton for President in 1996. “In a short speech to delegates Saturday morning, Coleman, who has made it clear that he'd like to run for governor in 1998, didn't appear to convince many DFLers that he's one of them. But Coleman gave it his best shot. In his brief speech, he invoked the name of ‘my friend Paul Wellstone’ nine times. He invoked the name of Bill Clinton seven times.” [Star Tribune, 6/10/96]

Norm Coleman Likes Parts of Hillary Clinton’s Health Care Plan in 2007. During a town-hall forum in Willmar, Senator Norm Coleman said, “I have disagreements with Hillary Clinton on a thousand things. There are aspects of her health care plan that I agree with. She creates a little more government, but she still uses the private side, still uses private insurance. So that’s the bulk of it…” [Willmar Health Care Forum, 11/26/07 – Click here to watch]

Coleman Said That He Advocated Universal Health Care. During the 2002 Senate campaign, Coleman said he advocated universal health care coverage. “He cautioned, though, that the system needed to be vigilant in figuring out what is essential for coverage.” [Star Tribune, 10/22/02]

Coleman Voted Against Health Coverage for All Americans. In 2004, Coleman voted against an amendment to increase spending by $60 billion over five years to provide health coverage to people without insurance. The spending would have been be offset by revenue increases. The amendment failed in a vote of 43 to 53. [Vote #47, 3/11/04; Congressional Quarterly, 3/11/04]

Coleman Supported $10 Billion Cut To Medicaid: In April 2005, Coleman supported a budget resolution that called for cutting funding for Medicaid by $10 billion over four years. The budget also established a commission to recommend changes to the health care program, which served more than 400,000 poor and disabled Minnesotans. [Vote #114, 4/28/05; Pioneer Press, 4/30/05]

Coleman Voted For Nearly $40 Billion In Cuts To Key Domestic Programs, Including Medicare. In 2005, Coleman voted for a budget measure that would cut spending by $39.7 billion over five years in such programs as Medicare, Medicaid, student loans and child support enforcement. [Vote #363, 12/21/05]

More Americans Uninsured under Coleman’s Watch. Since Senator Coleman went to the Senate, more than three million Americans became uninsured. In 2002, 43.6 million Americans were living without health insurance. In 2006, 47 million were uninsured. Since President Bush took office in 2001, the number of uninsured rose by over seven million. [Families USA, 9/30/03; 8/28/07]

More than One in Three Americans Were Uninsured During 2006-2007. According to a report by Families USA, approximately 89.6 million Americans—more than one out of three people (34.7 percent) under 65 years of age—were uninsured at some point of time during 2006-2007. The report showed that most of these uninsured individuals lacked coverage for lengthy periods of time: nearly two-thirds (63.9 percent) were uninsured for six months or more; and more than half (50.2 percent) were uninsured for nine months or more. [Families USA, 9/20/07]