When Will the House Vote on Health Care Bill?

It looks like there won’t be a vote in the U.S. House on healthcare this week.   But House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer said it was possible that a vote could come this weekend or early next week.

The bill has been tied up in the House Energy and Commerce Committee where it has strong opposition from pro-life Democrats who are concerned that the bill could mandate abortion coverage and force taxpayers to pay for abortions.

This week, the committee is considering amendments, including amendments that would specifically exclude abortion from the bill.  Representative Bart Stupak, a pro-life Democrat, has made it clear that 40 pro-life Democrats  will stop the bill in committee or on the House floor if abortion is not excluded from the bill.

All of this, of course, has frustrated pro-abortion committee chair, Representative Henry Waxman to no end.   He has threatened to bypass a committee vote and take the bill to the full House floor for a vote.

Will the House actually vote on health care reform before the members clear out for the August recess?  It’s anyone’s guess at this point.

In the meantime, keep those calls and emails going into the offices of Senators Herb Kohl and Russ Feingold as well as your own House member!   Visit our website at WisconsinRighttoLife.org where you’ll find a ton of information about this pressing issue and what you can do.

Sue Armacost