Statement on Congressional Action on Health Care Reform

Chairman Gibbons and the Ways and Means Committee stepped up to their responsibility today and took a giant stride forward on the road to comprehensive health care for all Americans. I want to commend Chairman Gibbons for his leadership and longstanding dedication to quality health care for every American.

The Ways and Means Committee understands what the American people want. They want universal coverage. They want shared employer-employee responsibility. And they want costs controlled. Others pretend that piecemeal tinkering with the health care system will satisfy the American people. But the 78 percent of the public that supports universal coverage knows they are wrong.

The Ways and Means Committee joins two other committees which have approved bills that build on the current system of workplace-based insurance, providing quality and affordable care for working Americans. The real progress that is being achieved in these committees is proving the naysayers wrong.

In a mere few weeks' time, Congress and the Nation have made extraordinary progress in the fight for real health care reform. While the special interests will continue to try and stand in the way of history, they will not succeed. The voices of doctors, nurses, hospitals, hundreds of thousands of large and small businesses, and American families must and will be heard. The Ways and Means Committee answered their call today. We must all answer the call this year. There is no turning back.