PITTSBURGH — Congressman Jason Altmire, D-4th, said he will not vote for the federal health care reform legislation.

Altmire, who represents southern Butler County, had been undecided on whether to support the legislation when it comes up for a vote in the House on Sunday.

But he said in a statement on his Web site Friday that the current bill could compound the problem of skyrocketing health care costs.

"I ran for Congress in large part because I believe we need to find a way to bring down the cost of health care," Altmire said.

"I regret that this yearlong process of debating health care reform has resulted in a final product that I cannot support. The cost of inaction on health care is great, but it would be an even bigger mistake to pass a bill that could compound the problem of skyrocketing health care costs."

Altmire said the legislation doesn't enact real reform of the system. He also said a vast majority of his constituents want him to oppose the bill.

"Particularly hard hit would be Western Pennsylvania's Medicare beneficiaries, which many experts believe would experience dramatic premium increases with enactment of this bill," he said.

Altmire spent much of this week running the national media circuits with appearances on Fox News, CNN and ABC's "Good Morning America" and having his name appear in newspapers such as The Washington Post and the Los Angeles Times.

He's met in person several times with President Barack Obama, who urged his support for the bill.

He also has had people opposed to the bill rally at his district offices. At one point, the congressman had airplanes flying over his district with banners urging him to vote against the bill.

Butler County's other representative, Kathy Dahlkemper, D-3rd, has not said how she will vote on this bill.