STATEMENT OF GOVERNOR HALEY BARBOUR

"At the meeting of the National Governors Association in Washington this past weekend, it became clear that many states are making progress in health care reform, and governors have many ideas and policies on which consensus could be based at the national level.

"I am extremely disappointed to learn today that governors will be excluded from the Obama Administration’s so-called health care summit tomorrow. If there really is to be a serious effort to develop a bipartisan agreement on health care reform, governors are critical to the equation."