Sen. Joe Lieberman vowed Sunday that he will not support any healthcare bill that includes a government-run health insurance plan, citing the bill passed by the House late Saturday night.
“If the public option plan is in there, as a matter of conscience, I will not” support the legislation, Lieberman told “Fox News Sunday.”
Lieberman’s promise is important because his vote is critical – if he were to join Republicans to oppose health-care legislation, Democrats could fall short of the 60 votes needed to bring the bill to a vote on the Senate floor.
Lieberman said he was concerned about the new government spending that the health-care legislation would entail, saying government deficits have grown too large. “I don’t want to do that to our children and grandchildren,” he said.
The House late Saturday narrowly passed a bill to overhaul the nation’s health-care system, by a vote of 220-215 and with only one Republican joining Democrats to support the measure.
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