Congressman Al Green welcomed a thousand people to a health care reform town hall meeting on August 25. Hosted at Houston’s Power Center, the Congressman engaged a standing room only audience in a meaningful discussion about healthcare reform.

While most attendees were his constituents from Congressional District 9, Congressman Green openly welcomed other people from Texas, as well as people from as far away as Oklahoma. In his opening statement, the Congressman greeted the audience and proclaimed, “While we may not always agree with each other, we can always respect each other.” Congressman Green responded to approximately 30 questions and comments ranging from what the public option entailed, to how veterans’ healthcare benefits would be impacted by the proposals that Congress is currently deliberating.

“I am thrilled with the success of this town hall meeting,” Congressman Green said. “With nearly a thousand people in attendance, I am equally pleased with the degree of respect everyone showed each other, despite having differing opinions with respect to healthcare reform.”

Congressman Green saw the town hall as an excellent opportunity to answer many of the concerns his constituents had about healthcare reform and the proposals currently pending in Congress. He said the audience posed thoughtful questions and seemed genuinely receptive to much of the information he had to share.

“As we continue to work towards an amenable solution, we cannot afford to lose sight of the features of healthcare reform that are critical to meaningful change,” said Congressman Green. “We must make coverage more affordable and more accessible. This can be done through a robust public option that will encourage competition, consumer choice and improve quality of care. In addition, we have proposed reforms to Medicare that will result in increased savings and more efficient delivery systems. This will ultimately help control the overall costs of healthcare for the American people.”

“As healthcare costs continue to rise at unsustainable rates, the need for healthcare reform can no longer be ignored” Congressman Green continued. “Millions of Americans are already without healthcare coverage, and millions more are projected to lose their coverage if we continue to be paralyzed by partisan politics. We in Congress have been given the opportunity to improve the quality of life for all Americans and I believe that it is our duty to do all we can to this end.”