Health Care Reform

BILLINGS - The U.S. House of Representatives passed a historic health care reform bill late Saturday night. It's a huge victory for President Obama, who traveled to Capitol Hill to lobby for support, but the bill is still very controversial. It passed by just two votes, with only one republican supporting the measure. The $1 trillion dollar plan includes an option of government-run health care option. During Saturday's debate moderate democrats requested an amendment banning government-funded abortions. That amendment passed. Both Congressman Denny Rehberg on Montana and Congresswoman Cynthis Lummis of Wyoming voted against the bill. Lummis said in a phone interview that the bill is an attempt by democrats to institute government-forced health care in the United States. "It is a giant increase in an already bloated bureaucracy," she said. "It is going to add to our deficit." Though she dislikes much of the legislation there are parts she approves of. "Something that was in both the Republican's and democrat's bills that I think is really good is to provide for people up to the age of 26 the ability to stay on their parents' insurance," Lummis said. Rehberg and other house republicans tried to pass an alternative bill Saturday that they said would cost significantly less and wouldn't force people to get insurance. Rehberg voted for that measure, which did not pass. The president is now calling for the Senate to follow suit and pass health care reform legislation before the first of the year. Both Lummis and Rehberg said they hope the Senate passes a better version of the bill. Once both chambers have passed a bill, a congressional conference committee will merge the two proposals into one that would then need to be approved by each chamber before heading to the president for approval or veto.

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