More than 200 amendments were rejected by the House Rules Committee ahead of Saturday's vote on the Democrats' health care bill, including 11 that would have required members of Congress and other government officials to be enrolled in the same federal insurance plan proposed for the American people.
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[House Rules Committee communications director Vincent] Morris [a Democrat] said [Rep. Michael] Burgess' [(R-TX)] amendment was rejected because it could hurt poor people.

"Medicaid is a federal-state program that provides low-income populations with health care," Morris told CNSNews.com. "Democratic members strongly oppose any effort of diverting resources for the poor to themselves instead.

"If Medicaid resources are diverted to members of Congress, it could impact low-income Americans, and that's why Democrats did not support the amendment," Morris said.