Dear Mr. President

Dear President Obama;

Here’s your script:

Good evening ladies and gentlemen.

As you are aware, this administration has been seeking to craft bipartisan legislation since we assumed office on January 20^th of this year. In most cases we have been able to reach across the aisle and garner Republican support for many challenges that the American people have faced. For that support we are grateful.

Now we are engaged in a national discussion about the future of healthcare in our great nation; how it impacts families, businesses and even the government itself. I do not need to reiterate the importance of getting it right. We owe our very best efforts to enact legislation that protects the middle class from the devastating financial impact of continuing the status quo. America’s middle class bears the brunt of healthcare costs that outpace inflation by a ratio of better than two to one. While wages have basically remained flat, healthcare costs have doubled and in some instances even tripled for the average American family.

While we are appreciative of the efforts of our Republican colleagues to craft comprehensive legislation in this vital area, and there have been many good, constructive ideas that the Republicans have brought to the table, it has not been possible to include the ‘public option’ as a component.

Let me state unequivocally that the ‘public option’ is key to bending the healthcare cost curve downward. That must be achieved if we are to avert the calamity of following a course of doing nothing or just nibbling around the edges of this challenge. The public option will keep the private insurance industry honest. There are other industrialized nations that have both private and government participation in the healthcare sector of their economies; they work harmoniously to deliver freedom of choice for their populations so that all citizens need not fear illness or crippling disease. And they do it for less, both on a cost as well as a percentage of gross domestic product compared to the United States. That is an irony we need to appreciate.

As your President, I am disappointed that we have not managed to get the Republicans to come on board in crafting this vital legislation. We have exhausted our energies to frame this legislation in a bipartisan manner.

Therefore, today I am directing both the House and Senate leadership to move this legislation to the floors of their respective bodies for full debate and a conclusive vote.

Let me be perfectly clear; the final product must have the component of a ‘public option’ in order for me to sign this legislation into law. I will accept nothing less. I remain hopeful that even at this late hour the minority will have a change in heart and see their duty to the American people and become part of the process. We would like nothing better than to have a bipartisan bill become law, but I am prepared to move ahead without their participation if they so choose. The stakes are too high not to move decisively.

You’ve heard me say before that unless you set a deadline, in Washington, things don’t get done. Therefore, I am directing the House and Senate leadership to have this legislation on my desk prior to the Thanksgiving recess. That is ample time, given the input of the American people that was received during the August recess, to craft the final legislation.

Thank you very much for your time this evening; and God Bless America!

Respectfully,

R. Roger Beck

Palm Desert, CA