"Health care repeal splits Washington state congressional delegation"

Rob Hotakainen (McClatchy Newspapers):

In a new era of divided government, their victory could be short-lived: When the issue moves to the Democratically-controlled Senate, Washington state's Patty Murray is among a group of four senior senators vowing to block the repeal by denying it a vote.

But Murray acknowledged that a repeal approved by the House would put "tremendous pressure" on the Senate to follow suit.

Murray, the new head of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, is already using the repeal effort as a way to raise money for her party's candidates in 2012.

"Repeal would have real-life consequences," Murray wrote in a fundraising letter. "Your diabetic sister would lose coverage due to a pre-existing condition. Your young adult son could be kicked off the family insurance plan. And your niece, born with a heart condition, could be denied insurance to boost corporate profits."

Murray teamed up with three Democratic senators — Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada, Dick Durbin of Illinois and Chuck Schumer of New York — in writing a letter to House Speaker John Boehner of Ohio, urging him to not take up the repeal. MORE...