Today Jaime Herrera issued the following statement in reaction to Brian Baird’s “Yes” vote on the health care bill:

“Representative Baird in his decision to vote ‘Yes’ on this disastrous health care bill is a great disappointment to Southwest Washington.  Unfortunately, he chose to disregard the voices of his district. 

“This $940 billion bill won't do what any meaningful health care reform should -- make health care more affordable for Americans.  After all this debate and all these expenditures, costs are still projected to keep spiraling out of control.  I urge all Members of Congress to rethink this bill and immediately begin working on legislation to help curb health care costs before it's too late.” 

Jaime Herrera, a Republican running in Washington’s 3rd Congressional District, today announced two more key endorsements of her campaign.

The first endorsement comes from former Congresswoman Linda Smith, the last Republican to represent Washington’s 3rd Congressional District.  The second was a unanimous endorsement by the Cowlitz County Republican Party today at their annual convention.

“Congresswoman Smith, who won a history-making election in 1994, exemplifies Southwest Washington’s desire for a hardworking, independent voice in Congress," said Herrera.  "Her endorsement, paired with the show of support by the Cowlitz County grass roots, demonstrate the enthusiasm that is growing for this campaign.  This is turning into a citizens’ movement to bring new leadership to Washington, DC that cares about saving taxpayer money and returning jobs to our economy.”

Congresswoman Smith and the Cowlitz County Republican Party join a growing list of elected officials and citizens who have endorsed Herrera that includes former U.S. Senator Slade Gorton, U.S. Representative Cathy McMorris Rodgers, State Senator Joe Zarelli, State Representative Ed Orcutt and Clark County Commissioner Marc Boldt, among many others.

Jaime Herrera, Republican candidate in Washington’s 3rd Congressional District, pressed her Democrat opponent Denny Heck to give a clear “yes” or “no” answer on whether he supports the health care legislation before Congress.  

Regarding a bill President Obama calls “the most important domestic priority” and an indicator of “the character of our country,” Heck has been intentionally vague on whether he would vote “yes” or “no.” Two weeks ago, he was asked directly about health care by the Columbian newspaper.  He gave a long and articulate answer.  Just one problem -- he didn’t answer yes or no:

“I think if we don’t do something to contain health care costs, it’s going to crush the life out of every household budget. I know how it affects business budgets because I deal with it every day. Health care costs rise at 4 to 5 times the rate of overall inflation, and it is the single leading cause of growth in the federal deficit.”

“I specifically favor those measures that will provide more people with affordable health care… I will freely admit I have not read the 2,000-page bill.”

“I don’t think people give a hootenanny about the nature of the process as long as it’s transparent and solves the problem.  I think Democrats and Republicans both embarrass themselves by not stepping up to this problem. I have yet to meet anyone who doesn’t believe that Congress is dysfunctional.”

The biggest spending measure and the highest profile legislation before Congress in a generation, and we can’t get a "yes" or "no" on how he would vote?

Herrera’s position has been clear.  Her quote from the same article:

“Congress is on the brink of passing legislation to have the government take over one of the largest sectors of our economy.  The bill will destroy private insurance plans for millions of middle-income families, increase costs for small businesses driving more jobs overseas, increase costs and taxes to Americans and add another trillion dollars to our national debt.”

Yesterday Heck’s campaign issued a letter criticizing Herrera and others who rallied to urge Rep. Brian Baird to vote “No” on the bill, but did not give any further clarification of Heck’s own position.  We have a clue, however.  The author of the letter and Heck’s campaign manager, Grant Lahmann, was the Washington state director for the Obama campaign.  Does anyone believe Mr. Lahmann would be working to elect a member of Congress who would vote against President Obama’s number one priority?

“All candidates for Congress owe it to the voters to make their positions on this bill known,” said Herrera.  “It has been the centerpiece of the President Obama’s domestic agenda, and now those who worked tirelessly to elect Obama are working to elect Denny Heck.  Are we really supposed to believe that they are fighting for someone who has no answer to this vital question?”

Jaime Herrera, a Republican running in Washington’s 3rd Congressional District, issued a statement today urging Democrats in Congress to reconsider their approach to the issue of health care:

“The health care debate is a perfect example of what's wrong with Washington, DC.  Congress is on the brink of passing legislation to have the government take over one of the largest sectors of our economy.  The bill will destroy private insurance plans for millions of middle income families, increase costs for small business driving more jobs overseas, increase costs and taxes to Americans and add another trillion dollars to our national debt.  Other than that it’s a great plan.

“I agree that our health care system needs improvement.  As your Congresswoman, I would lead the effort to allow Washingtonians to purchase health insurance across state lines, work to curb nuisance lawsuits that drive up costs for everyone and allow small businesses to pool together and purchase health insurance at lower prices.  Costs need to be reduced and reforms must be made but the proposal before Congress is not the kind of reform the people of Southwest Washington were seeking.

“Representative Baird made the right decision last November when he voted against the health care bill.  I hope he will again oppose this effort to steamroll the wrong bill through Congress.  There are solutions that will reduce health care costs while improving quality, but we need to hit restart and look at those piece by piece.  We can't afford to get this wrong.”