DJOU: REACTION TO THE U.S. HOUSE VOTE ON HEATH CARE REFORM

Charles K. Djou is the only major candidate in the special election for Hawaii's 1st Congressional District who opposes the costly health care bill that Democrats rammed through the U.S. House tonight.  Unlike Ed Case and Colleen Hanabusa, had Charles been in Congress today, he would have voted against the measure.  In response to the passage of the health care bill, Djou released the following statement:

“Earlier today, Congress committed our nation to a massive $1 trillion health care bill that will do little to improve health care for most Americans.  The 75 percent of Americans, who already have health insurance, will not see any significant benefit, and will likely see an increase in their taxes and insurance premiums.  It will also increase Medicare costs to Hawaii with no means for Hawaii to pay for such costs, as the House bill raids Medicare and Social Security to grow the size of government and pay for a new entitlement.”

“Congress should instead have enacted medical malpractice reform, allowed for the interstate sale of health insurance, and reformed the tax code to allow for an individual deduction on health insurance premiums.  We must continue to fight for responsible health care reform that lowers costs and offers greater access to affordable health care.”

“What is interesting is that this health care bill carves out an exemption for Hawaii.  If the health care bill is so good, Hawaii should not need an exemption from it.  If, however, this bill is bad for our nation, Hawaii certainly needs to be exempted, but it begs the question as to why this bill should have passed at all.  I look forward to hearing Hawaii voters speaking directly on this bill in the upcoming special election."

Djou, a law professor and Army Reserve officer, currently serves on the Honolulu City Council and previously served as the Minority Floor Leader in the State House.  Ballots for the special election will be mailed out on April 30th.  The special election will be “winner-take-all” with all candidates, regardless of party, running in the election and the candidate with the highest votes declared the winner.  Djou is the only major candidate in the Congressional race, who lives in the 1st Congressional District and the only major candidate who would have voted against this bill.

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