After President Obama's State of the Union address Wednesday night, responses from the both sides of the political fence quickly followed. Many were waiting to see if the president would continue strong support for health care reform or back away from the issue. While not as urgent a priority as the economy, Obama did vow he would not walk away from the issue of health care and encouraged Congress to remain committed (See DM 14477).

Virginia Governor Bob McConnell delivered the official Republican response following the President's address. Concerning Obama's stance on health care reform, McConnell stated, "All Americans agree, we need a health care system that is affordable, accessible, and high quality. But most Americans do not want to turn over the best medical care system in the world to the federal government. Republicans in Congress have offered legislation to reform health care, without shifting Medicaid costs to the states, without cutting Medicare, and without raising your taxes. We will do that by implementing common sense reforms, like letting families and businesses buy health insurance policies across state lines, and ending frivolous lawsuits against doctors and hospitals that drive up the cost of your health care."

On the Democratic Congressional front, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) stated, "President Obama engaged America in a conversation about what has worked, what needs improvement and how we can move forward together.... Jobs are still too few, health care is still too scarce and expensive, foreclosures are still too frequent and our energy future is still too treacherous....As the President expressed tonight, we are moving full speed ahead in bringing about the meaningful change that we were sent to Washington to deliver."

In the other chamber of Congress, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) gave an upbeat message, also mentioning a commitment to health care reform: "Tonight, President Obama presented a vision to the American people of a stronger union, a new foundation for prosperity, and a thriving middle class. Working together, we will adopt a bold agenda for our economic growth -- founded on good-paying jobs, strong schools, quality, affordable health insurance, and critical investments in small businesses and our clean energy future....Addressing a critical challenge for our economy and millions of households, Congress will pass health insurance reform that lowers costs for American families and small businesses, creates jobs, and ends the insurance companies' worst practices."

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