Matsui Statement on Today's Bipartisan, Bicameral Health Care Meeting with The President

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday, February 25, 2010

CONTACT: MARA LEE
(202) 225-7163

Congresswoman Doris O. Matsui (D-Sacramento) issued the following statement at the close of today's bipartisan, bicameral health care meeting with President Obama:

Today's meeting was an important step in our nation's debate about health insurance reform. It demonstrated the many positive aspects of the health reform bills before Congress, and gave Republican leaders in Congress yet another chance to put forth or support a plan that would hold insurance companies accountable, increase coverage, lower the price of health insurance for America's families and businesses, and strengthen Medicare for America's seniors.

My Republican colleagues have been part of the conversation about how to fix our broken health insurance system for the past year. I have sat with them through dozens of Committee hearings, mark-ups, and meetings where they asked questions, offered ideas, proposed amendments, and took an active role in the debate over how to improve our nation's health care system.

We are now at a crossroads. We can choose to give up and start-over, as many of my Republican colleagues would like us to do, or we can move forward and continue to build upon the legislation that was passed in the House and the Senate. This is the culmination of an open and transparent process that will produce the best bill possible for the American people. I, for one, am committed to delivering the strongest bill possible for the thousands of Sacramentans who have spoken to me loudly and clearly about the need for comprehensive reform.

At the end of the day, people in Sacramento and across the country expect us to move forward and govern. That is what we will do and that is what we must do. We cannot afford to fail we must pass comprehensive health insurance legislation that empowers consumers and their doctors, begins to get costs under control, and builds upon the best aspects of our current health care system.