An essential House Democrat is switching his vote to reject Obamacare.
Rep. Michael Arcuri, D-NY, a sophomore Dem who had a tougher-than-expected re-election bid in '08, began informing party leaders Thursday that he plans to vote against healthcare legislation both on the House floor and in the rules committee, on which he sits.
Arcuri's decision could make Speaker Nancy Pelosi's goal of winning the 216 votes necessary for passage all the more difficult. Democrats remain short of the votes necessary for passage, but that they have not reached their goal yet, The Hill reported.
He becomes the third member, along with Reps. Joe Donnelly, D-IN, and Luis Gutierrez, D-IL, to have switched from supporting the first bill, in November, to opposing the Senate version, according to The Hill.
But Arcuri's vote will not hurt the bill's chances in committee because Dems hold a 9-4 advantage over Republicans. The other 8 Democrats on the panel voted for the first version of health care, and only Rep. Dennis Cardoza, D-CA. voted in favor of the Stupak amendment.
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