Rep. Joe Barton has been hospitalized after an apparent heart attack.
"The congressman is currently negotiating his release date with the doctor," said spokeswoman Karen Modlin.She expects Barton will be able to go home within a few days, and added that the episode will not deter him from running for re-election next year.
Barton, 56, was rushed to George Washington University Hospital after falling ill during a late meeting at the Capitol.
He had been in a meeting with House Ways and Means Chairman Bill Thomas, R-Calif., and Senate Finance Chairman Charles E. Grassley, R-Iowa, to discuss the Medicare and Medicaid aspects of a package of budget cuts.
Barton, who is in his 11th term, chairs the powerful Energy and Commerce Committee and is a major player in many of the most controversial negotiations occupying the House.
Barton reportedly left the meeting and went to the office of the House physician, after which he was immediately put in an ambulance and taken to the hospital.