PRESS RELEASE
September 21, 1996

STATEMENT BY JOE LOCKHART
NATIONAL PRESS SECRETARY

Bob Dole’s idea of health care reform is promoting the politics of gridlock by making sure nothing gets done. As Senate Majority Leader, Bob Dole could not pass a single piece of significant health care reform legislation.

Now that Bob Dole is no longer in the Senate the entire landscape has changed. The Kennedy Kassebaum bill, held hostage by Bob Dole’s special interest friends, is now the law. And this week, Congress passed significant legislation on hospital stays for new mothers and extending coverage for mental health.

Bob Dole as Senate Majority Leader gave us gridlock, in fact, Bob Dole introduced the word "gridlock" into the political dictionary. Without Bob Dole blocking health care reform, America is benefiting from significant reforms that are extending important benefits to all Americans.

The lesson of 1994 was health care reform must move forward on an incremental basis. The lesson of 1996 is by removing the guru of gridlock, Bob Dole, health care reform is a reality.

America’s health cannot afford a return to the Dole politics of gridlock, special interest favors and partisanship.

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