WASHINGTON, Aug. 20 Congressman Chaka Fattah (D-PA), a strong advocate for health care reform with a robust public option, releases this statement:
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"The confusion, misinformation and scare tactics about a 'public option' that have been trumpeted by the opponents of real health care reform fly in the face of the life that we as Americans are living every day. The wrong-headed argument of these nay-sayers is actually a contradiction of itself. First they claim 'the government can't do anything right' then they say the government would run a public option so well and so inexpensively that it would knock out competition.
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"It's nonsense, and you can prove it to yourself. Turn on your radio or television. You may choose the public radio option, or the public television option or any of the private communications networks/conglomerates that don't have a problem competing with public outlets. In any case you're watching or listening on publicly regulated airwaves.
"Have you been to a national park lately? My family and I just enjoyed an informative and invigorating visit to Valley Forge National Park. The government is running Valley Forge, and lots of other parks, rather well. Are you on Medicare or Social Security? They are two of the most successful and popular national government programs that, by the way, will be preserved when we enact real health care reform.
"Is your water safe to drink? Is your food safe to eat? Are the medicines you take reliable? If so, you can thank the government regulators. And how about the Interstate and U.S. highways we all drive on? They were built under government specifications and contracts. We're hardly aware of it, but the list of public options and government programs that are part of our everyday lives is a long one, and we're better off for it.
"The public insurance option for comprehensive health care reform is simply the next in a long list of national challenges whose scope demands a national solution. We have been debating comprehensive health care since President Truman's time. The special interests may be strong, but we the people, in pursuit of a healthier union, are stronger."
SOURCE Office of Congressman Chaka Fattah
