Putting Politics Before People

Post date: Jun 25, 2012 9:44:0 PM

Last week Governor Haley vetoed a bill designed to make it easier for middle school girls to receive a vaccine against the HPV virus that causes cervical cancer. It's hard to imagine why any thinking and caring person would object to this goal.  In her justification for the veto (Read the text of her veto here), Governor Haley complains that this Cervical Cancer Prevention Act (CCPA) may lead to a future bill that spends money to get girls protected from cervical cancer. She describes this possibility as a "tax-payer-funded healthcare mandate."

This week the Supreme Court will decide whether the healthcare mandate in Obama's Affordable Care Act (ACA) is constitutional. That mandate has no resemblance to anything in this bill that Governor Haley just vetoed, for the CCPA carries no mandate whatsoever. Governor Haley is trying to ride the coattails of the unpopularity of the healthcare mandate in the ACA to drum up support for her veto. She is hoping that by waving the "healthcare mandate" slogan in front of your eyes you won't notice that she is leaving your daughters unprotected against cancer. Her ploy exposes how she is more interested in protecting herself politically than she is in protecting you and your family.

Hopefully we will see the General Assembly override Haley's veto this week.

Update:

The State House dashed all hopes for a veto by sustaining Haley's veto on Monday, June 26th. The override in the House failed, and my opponent, Rep. Bill Whitmire was one of those who voted to allow Governor Haley to kill this bill. This is why elections matter. We need to vote for representatives who will put the interests of South Carolina citizens first. I will do that. I would have voted to override the governor's veto of this important bill.