Altmire Says He'll Vote "No"

While Democratic leaders in the U.S. House continue to scramble to come up with the needed 216 votes to pass a health care overhaul tomorrow. But they won't be getting the vote from Congressman Jason Altmire from suburban Pittsburgh. The McCandless Township Democrat had been undecided and voted against the original House measure that was approved late last year. Now on his web site he says he will vote "no" on this current version.

"I regret that this year-long process of debating health care reform has resulted in a final product that I cannot support. The cost of inaction on health care is great, but it would be an even bigger mistake to pass a bill that could compound the problem of skyrocketing health care costs.

Altmire says this measure does not enact real reform...."it does not improve the quality of care or reduce costs for families, small businesses, or the federal government. It creates a system of winners and losers, rather than reforming the system in a way that lets everyone win."

Altmire said it became clear that the vast majority of his constituents want him to oppose the bill.
"I strongly believe that a vote in opposition to the health care bill is consistent with the views of the district I represent, and is the correct vote based on the impact of the bill on my constituents and the overall health care system."
He added that the politically easy decision would have been to vote with his party.