Responds to Local Concerns at Historic Bethel AME Church

MEDIA, PA - Democratic Senate candidate, Congressman Joe Sestak discussed health care reform at Bethel African Mehtodist Episcopal Church in Lancaster with more than 400 congregants Sunday morning.  At the church, he addressed the congregation's  concerns about the health care reform bill, specifically focusing on the impact on the African American community.

"This is a time for leadership and I believe one's leadership can be judged by the size of the problems they take on," Joe said.  "We have waited while the political establishment has made excuses.  Leaders need to step forward and explain -- better than they have been -- how the proposed legislation works and why it is critical for our future health and economic security. That is why I held my first Summit to discuss health care - with more than 400 attendees - the day after Congress went out of session and why I am participating in town halls and other events throughout the state to make the case for real health reform."

Health care is a personal issue for Joe Sestak, a former 3-star Vice Admiral, who served in the Navy for 31 years.  While serving, the Congressman's daughter was diagnosed with brain cancer at the age of 4.  The military's TRICARE health program allowed her to receive the best possible treatment.  One of his top priorities is to make sure that every other American has access to the same quality coverage as his daughter.

Joe explained the details of the current health care bill, which he worked on and voted to pass out of the Education and Labor Committee.  He emphasized several other key points about the bill: if you like your plan, you can keep it; there will be lower costs by eliminating co-pays for preventive care, which will increase the quality of care while decreasing health care costs due to early diagnosis of illnesses, which would have been more expensive to treat had they been acute; the public option is only a choice - not a mandate -- and will be subsidized by people's own premiums and co-pays, not the government, while increasing competition and driving down insurance costs because of the lack of administrative overhead that a public health care option has.

"Now we have an opportunity with a President who understands the impact of an inefficient system not only on the health of millions of Americans, but also on our economy," Joe continued. "There will be political pressures after this year that make it harder to pass the comprehensive reform we desperately need and I do not believe we were elected to sit on our hands as more Americans lose their health insurance and costs go up for everyone else."

Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church was founded in 1817 as St. James African Methodist Church, a separate house of worship for Africans in Lancaster.  In its early days, the congregation was an original station on the Underground Railroad, and recognizes that part of its storied history with "Living The Experience," a "spiritual reenactment" of that era that honors the members of the church during that time.