WASHINGTON, D.C. - Montana’s Congressman, Denny Rehberg, has sponsored a House Resolution expressing the sense of the Congress that no one should be fined or put in jail for failing to purchase government-approved health insurance.  Such a mandate, punishable by fines which can result in jail time if unpaid, has been included as a major aspect of health reform packages being debated.

“When Montanans told me they were unhappy with the cost of health care, no one dreamed that Congress would respond by forcing them to buy insurance or risk going to jail,” said Rehberg, a member of the House Labor, Health and Human Services Appropriations Subcommittee.  “Montanans don’t need Washington D.C. telling them how to live and where to spend their money.  They certainly don’t need federal agents throwing them in jail if they disagree with federal bureaucrats.”

Speaker Pelosi is expected to force a vote on her health care package later this week.