Texas Senate hearing on Obamacare may show more conservative bent
AUSTIN — A state Senate panel’s plan to highlight how the federal health care overhaul may be harming Texans has nettled the law’s supporters, who furiously demanded equal time.
On Friday, Sen. Craig Estes, who heads the panel, relented. Estes, R-Wichita Falls, asked a Democratic colleague to invite a couple of the law’s backers to testify at Monday’s hearing at the Capitol.
An Estes aide downplayed the episode, but it highlights a dread that is increasingly on the minds of Democrats and liberal activists: Next year, the Senate very likely will tilt more to the right.
In January, at least six and possibly as many as eight staunchly conservative freshmen will take seats in the 31-member chamber, already controlled by Republicans.
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