Political Quotes

“Mr. President, I rise today to introduce the Community Hospital Jobs Act of 2011, legislation that gives Fairmont General Hospital, a small community hospital in West Virginia, the chance to make an important transition. Many of Marion County's residents were born at Fairmont General Hospital--founded in 1939. And many of the hospital's 700 employees are from the surrounding area. That is why, when Fairmont's leaders told me the hospital was going to lose a large portion of its Medicare payments because it was going to lose its status as a Sole Community Hospital, I knew it was important to make sure Fairmont General maintained its role as a vibrant health care leader in our community--and I began looking for ways to help. Over the last couple of years, I have worked extensively with Fairmont officials and with other members of the West Virginia delegation to identify possible solutions to Fairmont's problem, which the hospital did nothing to cause. First we looked for a regulatory solution. However, after speaking extensively with federal and hospital officials, scrutinizing every regulation, we determined that without intervention from Congress, Fairmont would lose its status as the sole community hospital--and with it, additional federal payments that are helping the hospital stay afloat and maintain jobs, as many as 70 of which may be at stake. Once it became clear that legislation was necessary, I got to work again on behalf of Fairmont.…”