Throughout the month of August, I have had the opportunity to listen to the thoughts and concerns of thousands of constituents across Arizona’s Fifth Congressional District on the topic of health care reform and the proposals going through Congress.
Nearly 30,000 constituents participated in my telephone town halls, my office has received over 20,000 calls, letters and emails and I've met with hundreds of constituents, business leaders, health care providers and students through multiple meetings, forums and community visits. Additionally, more than 6,500 Arizona residents have filled out my online health insurance reform survey. A majority of those I've heard from have shared their personal stories, thoughts and concerns about reforming our health care system.
One thing that has come up in conversation after conversation, in every venue and across the political spectrum is agreement that our current health care system needs reform. There is a real desire from Republicans, Democrats, and Independents to fix what is broken and preserve what works.
I believe we can see meaningful reform if we build upon the fundamental principles
we can agree on. I want to thank all of you who have taken the time to contribute to this critical conversation: discussing concerns, sharing stories, and offering ideas. But while I have heard from many of you, I don’t want the conversation to stop here.
Health care is an intensely emotional and personal issue, and while the rhetoric has sometimes gotten heated, everyone ultimately wants the same outcome. We all want the best, most affordable health care for ourselves and our loved ones. As we continue this discussion, please stay in touch and continue sharing your ideas and input. Your voices, your concerns, and your feedback are helpful as Congress resumes its work on meaningful reform.
Finally, I want to encourage you to continue following the debate by visiting the Health Insurance Reform Resource Page on my website. This resource page will continue to be updated as proposals take form, provides useful resources and links to help separate fact from fiction, and makes available my responses to more than a dozen or so questions I’ve most often heard or have been asked about throughout the debate.
Thank you again for continuing to provide me with your input, for being involved and for your active participation on this important issue.
Sincerely,
Harry
Later...
2 comments:
Everyone I have heard from seems to believe that Mitchell has already made up his mind he will vote against a public option. Does anyone have info to the contrary?
I don't have specific information regarding which way Mitchell is leaning toward on his vote, but I know that many of his supporters, some who he has known for decades, have let him know that they feel a vote for a public option is in the best interests of his constituents.
He has been told this via letter, email, phone call, and face-to-face, and he has listened when told this.
How much it will impact his thinking on health care reform I don't know, but he does have a lot to think about.
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