Washington, DC – The House of Representatives is expected to vote on health care legislation Sunday night.  Last year, both the House and the Senate passed their own versions of health care legislation.  With the victory by Republican Scott Brown in Massachusetts, Senate Democrats no longer had the 60 vote majority needed to pass a compromise version of the two bills.  For that reason, Speaker Pelosi and her leadership team decided to force the House to vote on the Senate-passed version of the bill and then attempt to rewrite the Senate-passed bill by offering “corrections” through budget reconciliation as established in the Budget Act of 1974.  Congressman Lucas will oppose both pieces of legislation.  His statement is below:

“This is a flawed bill, and if successful will be a flawed law,” stated Lucas.  “As this country continues to suffer through an economic recession, the Speaker and the White House have decided, rather than focusing on creating jobs and easing the American family’s tax burden, they should cram a trillion dollar government takeover of health care through Congress that includes $20 billion in unfunded mandates, $500 billion in new taxes, and a variety of fees and taxes on American businesses.

“This bill is extremely unpopular with the American people, who have strongly voiced their opposition to this legislation over the last year.  I am dismayed by the audacity of the Democratic leadership and their attempt to bypass the American people and subvert the will of the majority. 

“Change is needed within our health care system.  We can all agree on that.  But this bill is simply not the answer.  In an effort to pass a health care bill – any bill – this Congress has lost its way.  The American people deserve better than a 2,700 page trillion dollar government takeover of our health care system, and as their representatives in Congress it’s time we did just that,” stated Lucas.

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