Originally posted by the Voice of America. Voice of America content is produced by the Voice of America, a United States federal government-sponsored entity, and is in the public domain. Obama Expects Health Care Bill to Pass House VOA News 18 March 2010 A White House spokesman says U.S. President Barack Obama believes House Democrats will have enough votes to pass his health care reform bill. Robert Gibbs said Thursday that President Obama has contacted more than two dozen lawmakers to urge their support. House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer said the House is on track to vote on the legislation on Sunday. The independent Congressional Budget Office said Thursday that the health care plan would cost $940 billion in its first 10 years. But the CBO said the bill would also reduce the federal deficit by $130 billion during that first decade and cut more than $1 trillion from the deficit in its second decade. Democratic leaders hope those figures will ease the concerns some lawmakers have about the bill's massive price tag. Republicans oppose the plan because of its costs and their concerns that it gives the government too much control over health care. Republican House Minority Leader John Boehner said Thursday Republicans will do everything they can to ensure the bill never passes. The proposed legislation would provide health care insurance to more than 30 million Americans who do not have it, and would ban certain insurance company practices, such as denying benefits for pre-existing medical conditions. On Wednesday, Democratic lawmaker Dennis Kucinich announced his plans to support the health care reform bill. Kucinich initially opposed the legislation, but said he decided to change his position partly because of concern that the bill's failure could negatively impact Mr. Obama's presidency. Â Some information for this report was provided by AFP, AP and Reuters. .