Jeff Bingaman United States Senator from New Mexico

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Jeff Bingaman today visited the White House for a discussion with President Obama about health care reform.

As the only Democrat who sits on the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee and the Finance Committee, Bingaman will play a key role in writing health care reform legislation. 

“President Obama has made health reform a priority for the country.  Our goal now is to write legislation that ensures Americans have access to affordable and meaningful health care.  This will not be an easy task, but Americans deserve a strong bill that both reins in health care costs and demands quality care,” Bingaman said.

Earlier in the day, Bingaman was asked to present his views to the Senate Democratic caucus about how legislation should be shaped.   He told the caucus that Congress should work to significantly decrease the number of uninsured Americans while providing as little disruption as possible to existing sources of coverage. 

Bingaman said he hopes Congress can pass legislation through both chambers by August recess.