Gohmert questions Obama's health plans

By STEVEN ALFORD
The Lufkin Daily News

Friday, September 11, 2009

On Wednesday, President Barack Obama spoke before Congress in an effort to unite both sides of the health care debate.

In his speech the president laid out new details for his proposed health care legislation, while asking Republican opponents to work toward a finished plan — but not everyone was happy to hear it.

CNN video image

(ENLARGE)
In a video that aired Thursday on CNN.com, Rep. Louie Gohmert, R-Tyler, can be seen displaying a sign during a congressional address by President Barack Obama on the issue of health care reform. Gohmert also appeared on Fox News to give his opinion of the president's speech.


During a remark about illegal immigrants, U.S. Rep. Joe Wilson (R-South Carolina), shouted "you lie" at the president, which could be seen and heard Thursday in a video on CNN.com.

Also visible in the Internet video is U.S. Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-Tyler) who can be seen holding a sign in his lap that read "What Bill?"

In a press release issued Thursday from Gohmert's office, he touches on the outburst by Wilson, his ideas for health care reform and what he meant by the handmade sign.

"To use such language on the floor of the House is inappropriate and there are rules that prohibit this," Gohmert stated in the release. "I was surprised when I heard the comment had come from Joe Wilson.?That just doesn't sound like him, but Joe apologized for his actions that same night."

After Wilson's outburst, which caused the president to pause and say "that's not true," Gohmert can be seen in video footage from the speech with the sign and holding his hands out in frustration.

"There is a sense of frustration that many of us feel when the president says, prior to appearing as a guest before Congress, that his critics are lying about 'his' plan, when all we're doing is reading directly from the only one we have, the House Democrats' health care bill HR 3200," Gohmert stated in the release.

"So, if this is not his plan that we're reading, we want to know: What is his plan? Because what he described in his speech last night clearly contradicts the provisions in the bill we're reading and this is what I was expressing through the signs I wrote that said, 'What Bill?' and 'What Plan?'"

After Obama's health care speech, Gohmert had a few words of his own regarding the debate.

"Many Members, including myself, have put forth plans to provide Americans with greater access to quality health care coverage at a price that is affordable and covered," Gohmert stated in the release. "Our solutions give Americans complete control and ownership of their health care decisions while ensuring that the government or insurance companies don't interfere with their vital doctor-patient relationships."

Gohmert responded to Obama's statements regarding a lack of input from opponents to a government-run health care plan.

"For the president to make the inflammatory remarks that nothing has been offered must mean he is either knowingly spreading false information, or he is completely ignorant of what is going on around him in the health care debate," Gohmert stated in the release.

"Every day, more and more people oppose the government takeover of health care and for months we have pushed solutions that Americans are demanding, yet these ideas are shut out of the process."

Thursday afternoon, Gohmert made a brief appearance on the Fox News channel to further discuss his opinions of the administration's push for health care reform. Fox News host Neil Cavuto asked Gohmert if he received the same "death stare" from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi that she gave to Wilson after his outburst.

"I didn't get the stare, but it looked like the president might have looked at my sign when he paused during his speech," Gohmert said on the show. "I just wanted to know what bill he's talking about. When he said there haven't been any solutions offered, I held up my bill."

Shortly after the president's address Wednesday, Wilson offered an apology to the president and his staff, which was accepted Thursday.

Gohmert said there is still work to be done in the name of health care reform.

"The president needs to start listening to other ideas instead of trying to ram a government takeover down America's throat, because our citizens have overwhelmingly shown they don't want this and speech number 28 isn't going to change that," Gohmert said in a release.

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