By By Kerry Whipple Bean
publisher
With the U.S. House set for a Sunday showdown on the healthcare bill, two Alabama lawmakers have reaffirmed their opposition to the legislation.
U.S. Rep. Jo Bonner, R-Mobile, said he believes the bill will have “negative consequences” for health care quality and choice.
While other freshmen Democrats have been courted for votes on the bill, U.S. Rep. Bobby Bright, R-Montgomery, said he will vote “no.”
Some state Democrats said the health care bill could cut the federal deficit. According to a Congressional Budget Office report, the health insurance reform bill has a projected deficit reduction of more than $1 trillion over 20 years, and it would add nine years of solvency to Medicare.
The health care portions of the bill would affect nearly every American and remake one-sixth of the national economy.
Beginning in 2014, most Americans would be required for the first time to purchase insurance, and face penalties if they refused. Millions of families with incomes up to $88,000 a year would receive government help to defray their costs. Large businesses would face fines if they did not offer good-quality coverage to their workers.
On Thursday, the House voted down a resolution from Parker Griffith of Alabama that would have barred House Speaker Nancy Pelosi from using a parliamentary measure to pass the Senate health care bill without an actual vote.