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Rep. Murtha rested in a hospital Monday after being admitted the previous night.

Washington (CNN) - U.S. Rep. John Murtha rested in a hospital Monday after being admitted the previous night due to abdominal pains caused by a gallbladder issue, his spokesman said.

"He's currently resting and doing well," said Matt Mazonkey, spokesman for the Pennsylvania Democrat.

Murtha is chairman of the House appropriations subcommittee on defense, and a strong critic of President Barack Obama's recent decision to deploy an additional 30,000 U.S. troops to Afghanistan.

He was scheduled to chair a subcommittee hearing Tuesday addressed by Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Due to Murtha's illness, the hearing has been canceled.

Rep. Murtha rested in a hospital Monday after being admitted the previous night.

Washington (CNN) - U.S. Rep. John Murtha rested in a hospital Monday after being admitted the previous night due to abdominal pains caused by a gallbladder issue, his spokesman said.

"He's currently resting and doing well," said Matt Mazonkey, spokesman for the Pennsylvania Democrat.

Murtha is chairman of the House appropriations subcommittee on defense, and a strong critic of President Barack Obama's recent decision to deploy an additional 30,000 U.S. troops to Afghanistan.

He was scheduled to chair a subcommittee hearing Tuesday addressed by Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Due to Murtha's illness, the hearing has been canceled.

Rep. John Murtha said Friday that a major health care reform bill might not pass until January 2010 or later.

(CNN) – A bill to overhaul the nation's ailing health-care system may not pass until January or later, Democratic Rep. John Murtha of Pennsylvania said Friday.

His comment to CNN affiliate WJPA differed from President Barack Obama's repeated insistence that Congress will pass a health care bill by the end of 2009.

Speaking in Bentleyville, Pennsylvania, Murtha said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi wanted a health-care bill passed before the current August recess.

"She said we're going to have it before we left," Murtha said. "We said, 'No, no, we want some time to think about this.' We're taking some time to make sure it's done right. I don't know that we'll get something done before January, and even then we may not get it done. We're going to do it right when it's finally done."

There are deep divides between Democrats and Republicans over the health-care issue, and Murtha said more time is needed to come up with a solution that works.

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(CNN) – Rep. John Murtha, a supported of Barack Obama’s presidential bid, apologized Thursday for calling western Pennsylvania “a racist area.”

“While we cannot deny that race is a factor in this election, I believe we’ve been able to look beyond race these past few months, and that voters today are concerned with the policy differences of our two candidates and their vision for the future of our great country,” he said, in a statement issued by his office.

“Senator Obama has shown sound judgment and has presented us with a change from the failed policies of George Bush and John McCain. I believe he will win both Pennsylvania and the White House.”

Murtha’s apology came after the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette posted a story on its Web site Wednesday which quotes the veteran Democratic congressman as saying, "no question that western Pennsylvania is a racist area," and predicting that those attitudes could cost the Illinois senator on Election Day.

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Murtha campaigned with Clinton in his home district in Pennsylvania.

LATROBE, Pennsylvania (CNN) – Rep. John Murtha's endorsement of Hillary Clinton on March 18 came at a welcome moment for the Democratic candidate: it was only her second endorsement from a superdelegate over the course of several weeks.

On Monday evening in his home district, the anti-war champion and 17-term congressman campaigned with Clinton for the first time and explained his presidential pick.

"Let me tell you something," Murtha said, taking the microphone from Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell. "I have served with seven presidents, and they all got gray hair except for Reagan. Anybody that’s been in the White House for eight years knows how tough it is, understands, has the experience that you need to be president of the United States."

Murtha said he is "convinced that we are in one of the worst situations that I have seen in the 35 years I have been in Congress," but argued that Clinton is “a person that understands the policy" who can restore "our credibility worldwide."

Rendell praised him for vocalizing his opposition to the Iraq war in 2005 and joked that "Jack Murtha is so important to Pennsylvania and has done so much for us that I almost considered having the historic commission put up one of those markers outside his house."

Clinton said she was honored to have Murtha's endorsement.

Murtha endorsed Clinton Tuesday.

(CNN) - Pennsylvania Rep. John Murtha announced Tuesday he's backing Hillary Clinton's White House bid.

In a statement, Murtha said Clinton is "the candidate that will forge a consensus on health care, education, the economy, and the war in Iraq.

"I've known Senator Clinton for fifteen years," he said. "I know that she continually reaches out for opinions and ideas not just from our nation's leaders, but from all Americans."

Murtha’s announcement comes several weeks before the critical Pennsylvania Democratic presidential primary. He is also the latest so-called Democratic “Super Delegate” to choose sides in the contest between Clinton and Barack Obama. According to CNN's latest estimate, Clinton leads Obama among super delegates by 30, though that margin is significantly less than it was before Super Tuesday.