WASHINGTON — US lawmakers were Tuesday debating whether to reprimand Representative Joe Wilson for his outburst last week when he shouted out "you lie" during a speech to Congress by President Barack Obama.
A Democratic Party source said a resolution of disapproval against the Republican congressman was to be put to a vote later Tuesday.
Wilson has already apologized to the president -- and had that apology accepted -- but still faces a formal rebuke if he fails to stand up publicly before his peers in the House of Representatives and do so again.
Wilson said on Sunday that he would not say sorry again for his breach of decorum during Obama's key speech in Congress urging lawmakers to adopt controversial legislation to overhaul the nation's health care system.
"I am not going to apologize again. I apologized to the president on Wednesday night," Wilson told Fox News. "People know my civility, they know that this was a one-time event and was out of frustration."
Republican House minority leader John Boehner said it would be up to Republicans to decide how to vote on the matter.
"Members are going to have to make their own decisions," Boehner told reporters.
"Joe Wilson apologized to the president and the president accepted his apology. The fact is they want to change the subject. They don't want to talk about health care."
Wilson's outburst, which he has said was spontaneous and not pre-planned, came as Obama sought to assure lawmakers that his plans to ensure health insurance for all Americans, would not cover illegal immigrants.
Wilson, a conservative who represents a district in the southern state of South Carolina, has decried what he said were partisan efforts to change the topic of conversation away from the unpopularity of the president's health reform efforts.
If approved a motion of disapproval is a less harsh reprimand than a formal censure by Congress
source GOOGLE NEWS
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