WASHINGTON – The three top Republican members of the House Education and Labor, Energy and Commerce and Ways and Means committees today asked the respective chairmen to hold bipartisan hearings on the health care reform legislation from which Democrats have excluded their Republican counterparts.

U.S. Reps. Howard P. “Buck” McKeon, R-Calif., ranking member of Education and Labor, Joe Barton, R-Texas, ranking member of Energy and Commerce, and Dave Camp, ranking member of Ways and Means, want the committees to hold hearings to fully vet the health care proposals, “which could fundamentally alter how millions of Americans pay for and receive their health care.”

The Republicans want to examine the following three issues:

• Will a government created and/or managed plan force millions of Americans to lose their current health care coverage?
• Will a government created and/or managed plan, or any other aspect of the health care reform legislation, limit patients’ ability to receive treatments or pick their own doctor?
• Will the presence of mandates increase the cost of health care for employers, forcing them to eliminate jobs for American workers?

“We are mindful that the Speaker has pledged to the President that the House will vote on a bill before the August recess. While this artificial timeline certainly requires we work quickly, it cannot undermine our responsibility to produce the best possible legislation on behalf of the American people,” the lawmakers said.

A copy of the letter can be found here.

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