WASHINGTON: Rep. Joe Barton, R-Ennis/Arlington, and ranking member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, made the following statement Thursday after House Democrats released another version of their government-run health care bill:

“Today Speaker Pelosi introduced another government-run health care plan, supposedly improved by a better version of government health care. All I see in this 1,990 page bill is more government, in which Washington will dictate what insurance you get, which doctors you can see, and how much you will have to pay.

“We should not tear down what works; instead, we should fix what doesn’t work, like containing health care costs so American families do not have to worry about whether they can afford insurance next year. And we must implement policies to ensure that every American regardless of pre-existing conditions or high health costs can find affordable health care coverage.

“However, it looks like the only lesson Democrats have learned from the August town hall meetings was that if the American people know what’s in the bill, they probably won’t like it. So the practical application of the lessons learned is this: Write it in private, withhold it until the last moment, and then rush it through before people know too much.”

Watch Rep. Barton’s statement at Republican Leadership Press Conference.