Governors in D.C. vow to press ahead with healthcare reform

By GottaLaff

Hey, somebody's gotta do it, and do it now:

The nation’s 50 governors pledged Saturday not to wait for a federal healthcare fix to start enacting reforms of their own.

Despite continued unemployment and tens of billions of dollars in state budget deficits that a majority of the nation’s governors are facing, how to provide better healthcare at lower costs is taking center stage at the three-day National Governors Association winter meeting in Washington [...]

Governors Association Vice Chairman Joe Manchin III (D-W.V.) repeatedly cited the need for any federal law to give the states flexibility in implementing certain reforms, including individual insurance coverage mandates.

In addition to sharing their individual state experiences and hoping to learn from one another about various reform proposals, the governors said they were looking forward to the opportunity to hopefully influence the federal debate ...

As for Congress's glacial pace and endless (mis)handling of pushing legislation through:

“Congress, they talk about it,” said Gov. Brian Schweitzer (D-Mont.). “And worse yet, when they talk about it, they say, ‘Maybe what we ought to do is kick it all out to the states and see if they can figure this out.’ Well, we’d be more than happy to figure this out, but the only time they listen to us is when we come to town. And by the way, Congress is on vacation.”

Oh, suh-nap!