Thank you for visiting my website to share your thoughts about health care reform and the current debate taking place in Congress. Your participation in this conversation is important to me as we move forward in the legislative process.

After the January 19 Massachusetts election of Republican Senator Scott Brown, I was the first Democrat to call on Senate leadership to suspend all votes on health care reform until he was seated. In many ways the campaign in Massachusetts became a referendum not only on health care reform but also on the openness and integrity of our government process. It is vital that we restore the respect of the American people in our system of government and in our leaders.

Having said that, I voted December 24 in favor of health care reform legislation in the Senate. I did so despite my disappointment with some sections of the bill, which I will continue to address in the future. But the final package presented by the Majority Leader reflects many improvements that take into consideration the concerns that I and others brought forward during the debate.

Now that two different pieces of legislation have successfully emerged in each house of Congress, I intend to examine closely the conference report produced at the next stage of the legislative process. Significant deviations from the core principles I insisted upon in the Senate compromise will lead me to withhold my support.

Over the past year, my staff and I have met with Virginians, health care experts and community leaders from across the ideological spectrum. In addition, my office has received and responded to more than 200,000 e-mails, letters and phone calls from Virginians on the health care debate.

As the debate moved forward in the Senate, I and my staff worked through thousands of pages of legislation, and did our best to shape the bill as well as to bring proper focus to key areas. I repeatedly took a number of difficult votes, often breaking with my party, in order to strengthen the bill.

Our country needs health-care reform. While a strong percentage of Americans are satisfied with their health care, the system is not working for millions of others. Spiraling costs for health care also have placed our biggest industries at a severe competitive disadvantage worldwide, and have become unsustainable for many small businesses.

But true reform must be done in an effective and responsible fashion, without creating a cumbersome, overly bureaucratic system. The bottom line should be to achieve a more cost- effective health-care system that increases accessibility, affordability, and quality of care, and which does not burden our economy along the way.

The managers’ package which passed in the Senate addresses a number of the most troubling concerns. The new language demands greater accountability from health insurers. It reins in excessive overhead costs that go strictly to administration instead of patient care. It immediately makes available a health care tax credit for small businesses. It forces competition through a multi-state, government-administered insurance option. It immediately bans 'pre-existing condition' exclusions for children. It incorporates a measure that I sponsored to reward quality, instead of quantity, of Medicare services offered to patients.

I will closely examine the conference report produced at the next stage of the legislative process to ensure the inclusion of the core principles I insisted upon in the Senate compromise.

I want to continue to hear continue from Virginians on this pressing issue. I invite you to share your thoughts and ideas with me, and to continue to check my website for updated information about the health care reform debate.

(Sen. Jim Webb, Official website, March 24, 2010)