PANAMA CITY — U.S. Rep. Gwen Graham can file two campaign promises under “kept” after her first day in Congress.
On Tuesday, the day of Graham’s inauguration as the first woman representative of Florida’s 2nd District, she kept a promise she made during a debate in Tallahassee with her Republican predecessor, Rep. Steve Southerland of Panama City, by voting for Rep. Jim Cooper, D-Tenn., instead of Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., for House speaker.
“If we’re going to have real change in Washington, we need new leadership,” Graham, D-Tallahassee, said in a statement. “I voted for Jim Cooper for Speaker of the House because he represents the kind of moderate leadership we need more of in Washington.”
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Graham, who campaigned as a moderate against Southerland by painting him as a Tea Party obstructionist more interested in ideology than governing, was one of only four Democrats to vote against Pelosi, and the only representative to vote for Cooper, who was not actually seeking the position. Cooper also did not vote for Pelosi.
In voting for a bill that tweaks the Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare, Graham actually made good on another campaign pledge. Graham voted Tuesday in support of the Hire More Heroes Act, which creates an exemption to the employer mandate for small businesses who hire veterans that already receive health benefits through the Department of Veterans Affairs or TRICARE. The act passed the House 412-0.
“The Hire More Heroes Act is common sense legislation that helps veterans and small businesses,” Graham said. “It’s also the first of many Obamacare reforms I will vote support.”
Obamacare requires businesses with 50 or more full-time employees to provide health insurance for at least 95 percent of full-time employees or face a penalty. The Hire More Heroes Act revises the law so veterans who already have coverage through the VA or TRICARE don’t count toward the 50-employee threshold.
She said often during the runup to the November election she believed the controversial law was flawed and needed revisions.