Heller will still vote no on health care

With an imminent showdown looming on a health care vote, possibly this weekend, the House voted 222-203 Thursday to turn back an attempt to have members vote up or down on the Senate's health bill.

Because of the defeat, House Democrats may be poised to use "a deem and pass" method that most Republicans, including Nevada's Dean Heller, oppose. Heller also spoke against "the deem and pass" on the House floor earlier this week.

In his monthly rural news conference, Heller said he has never seen the "deem and pass" method used on such a major issue like health care. Under the procedure, a Senate-passed health bill would be "deemed" to have passed if House members voted in favor of a rule governing a separate bill with amendments to it.

Whatever the method, Heller hasn't changed his mind opposing the health care proposal.

"I voted against it when it was 1,000 pages, I voted against it when it was 2,000 pages, and I will vote against it at 2,700 pages," Heller vowed.

Heller contends the Senate version will increase annual premiums by $2,100, and the House version indicates a $1,900 annual increase.

"The Republicans' bill will show a decrease over $1,000 a year," Heller said.

Heller, though, said the main issue facing the country and Nevadans, in particular, are employment and the economy. In a poll conducted by Heller, he said 85 percent of the respondents said jobs and the economy were more important. The two-term Congressman said the Obama Administration is too preoccupied with health care.

"The administration has put so much into health care ... they don't want to step away," he said.

Heller said the Washington Beltway has isolated many of his colleagues from the unemployment.

Heller said he tried to submit a bill to freeze office budget rates until the nation's unemployment falls under 6.7 percent.

"The Beltway is recession proof," Heller said. "The federal government has added 120,000 new jobs. For example, in the Department of Education, the average salary is over $100,000."

Heller said he has a hearing next week on permanently restoring geothermal royalties and rental fees to the counties.

Both the House and the Senate, which voted last week to restore the money from 2010, need to go to conference and work out their differences, Heller said. However, he said it is important that the president's 2011 budget not contain language to keep the geothermal money in fiscal year 2011 and thereafter.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said this week that any future talks on taxing the mining industry would probably not be heard this year. Heller concurred.

"I don't think there is time to move that forward," Heller said.

The congressman also said his staff is monitoring dairy prices and waiting for any word from a House agriculture committee. Many dairymen in Northern Nevada have said they need at least $17 a hundredweight to break even.