Washington, DC - Congressman John D. Dingell (D-MI15) made the following comments today about H.R. 15, Congressman Dingell’s national health insurance legislation, and the swearing-in of the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the Honorable Nancy Pelosi.

“Today, as I have done each Congress for over 50 years, I re-introduced H.R. 15, legislation that will establish a single-payer national health insurance plan.  This is legislation my father first introduced and I have been proud to introduce myself at the beginning of each successive Congress.  I am a supporter of a single-payer system. Unfortunately it is unlikely that it will pass in that form during the 111th Congress and I am not going to let the perfect be the enemy of the good.  I know there will be many proposals regarding how we can best reform our healthcare system and I look forward to working with Members of Congress with many different ideas on how to write the best plan for the nation. H.R. 15 represents my view as the best answer to the problem of providing healthcare coverage for all Americans. We need to look at other countries’ national healthcare systems, ranging from Canada to Japan and all points in between, so that we can learn from their successes and failures while creating our own unique national healthcare system.

“We have made interim steps towards expanding healthcare access and while I am proud of the work we have done, I believe that now is the time for extensive reform.  While we must move boldly and quickly, I also believe we must move carefully to ensure that the legislation we craft is legislation that can pass and be signed by President Obama.  I intend to work closely with the new Administration, as well as Chairman Waxman and our colleagues in the Senate to ensure that we achieve this goal in the 111th Congress.  Together, through collaborative thinking and collective action, we can relieve some of the worry from our American families by relieving them of the healthcare burden.  It is my hope that this time next year all families will have access to a doctor of their choice, all seniors will have affordable prescriptions, and all children will have healthcare coverage.

“I want to add how much I look forward to working with Speaker Nancy Pelosi on this landmark legislation. As Dean of the House, I had the honor of swearing-in the Speaker today. I am committed to working to make Speaker Pelosi’s next term as successful as the last one, during which we passed historic legislation and increased the number of Democratic Members in the House.”