WASHINGTON – U.S. Rep. Joe Barton, R-Texas, and ranking member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, released the following statement today at the beginning of the committee’s markup of additional amendments to H.R. 3200, the America’s Affordable Health Choices Act of 2009:

“We had a very extended and spirited debate on the health care proposal in this committee in July. We did report that bill but at the end of that markup your members had a number of amendments and my members had a handful and we both agreed we would have a supplemental markup even though we were going to report the bill. We’ve never had that happen in the 25 years I’ve been in Congress. I would assume you and Mr. Markey and Mr. Dingell, who have been here longer than me, have had that happen.

“In any event, we’re here today not marking up a bill, not introducing a new bill, but considering a motion from Mr. Dingell to instruct you to instruct the Rules Committee to add whatever we decide to add to the comprehensive bill. That’s unusual to say the least, but we’re going to work with it.

“You and I also had an agreement on what could and couldn’t be offered and we’re going to honor that. We had seven amendments that were pending. I think we’re only going to offer two of them. We have two other amendments that we would wish to offer and had we known then what we know now, we would have had them pending but we didn’t have the benefit of our August town hall meetings. We’re going to encourage an adequate amount of time to debate those and see what the will of the committee is on whether they should be offered or not. We’re going to operate in good faith. I hope you and I can reach agreement on the transparency amendment that we had agreement on yesterday but there’s been a few snags since then.

“The main point we as Republicans want to make in this markup which is the last time we’re going to have committee consideration before the bill goes to the Rules Committee is when the president said two weeks ago to the country and to the Congress in joint session, what he felt he could support, we listened very carefully.

“When the president said that he wouldn’t sign a plan that adds a dime to the deficit, we support that, so the Rogers amendment, if made in order, will have that provision in it.

“When the president said, ‘Not a dollar of the Medicare Trust Fund will be used to pay for this proposal,’ we believed that. Again, Mr. Rogers has a part of his amendment that encompasses that.

“When the president said, ‘If you are among the hundreds of millions of Americans who already have health insurance through your job, Medicare, Medicaid or the VA, nothing in this plan will require you or your employer to change the coverage or doctor you have,’ we believed that, and we’ve got a provision in the Rogers amendment that does that.

“And then when the president said, ‘The reforms I’m proposing would not apply to those who are here illegally,’ we believed that and again, the Rogers amendment has a provision that encompasses that.

“What we hope, Mr. Chairman, is that you and the majority have listened as closely to the president and the American people as we in the minority have. And if you have, at the appropriate time, you will agree with us to include those items that the president is for, and we’re for, and the American people are for, in this motion to instruct to the Rules Committee.

“I look forward to this process and I yield back my time.”