President Bush used his veto pen today to block much-needed improvements to our nation's beleaguered health care system. In the past, he targeted children. Now he's going after seniors.
President Bush fails to understand that the Medicare Improvements for Patients and Providers Act has strong support in Congress and across our country. Democrats, Republicans and organizations like AARP, the National Rural Health Association and the American Medical Association all recognize the value of legislation aimed at safeguarding access to health care for millions of Medicare beneficiaries.
President Bush's veto threatened to deny access to Medicare services to millions of seniors and people with disabilities. I believe his veto was a threat to the very core of the Medicare program.
As the representative of a district comprised of many rural communities, I know that access to quality health care can be a very real challenge, particularly for seniors. That is why I was among a bipartisan majority in the House who voted for this necessary legislation last month. We see in this bill a responsible way to help guarantee continued access to health care by improving payments for doctors, community hospitals and ambulance services. The president's failure to see this is evidence of his misplaced priorities.
Today, I was proud to join 383 of my colleagues in voting to override President Bush's shortsighted veto. We take seriously our commitment to ensure that nothing violates the promises we have made to our seniors.