<span times="" new="" roman="" ,="" serif="" ;="">RICHMOND, VIRGINIA, January 20, 2010 <span times="" new="" roman="" ,="" serif="" ;=""> –  Delegate Barbara Comstock (R-McLean) released the following statement on Senator Webb’s  call to halt the health care votes in Washington:

<span times="" new="" roman="" ,="" serif="" ;="">“Last night has already been called ‘the shock heard round the world.’  With the Republican Senate victory, even the voters of Massachusetts have sent a strong message against government run health care and the budget busting, job killing agenda that has been promoted from Washington.   

<span times="" new="" roman="" ,="" serif="" ;=""> As Thomas Jefferson observed in 1789: “It is to me a new and consolatory proof that whenever the people are well-informed they can be trusted with their own government, that whenever things get so far wrong as to attract their notice, they may be relied on to set them to rights.’  

<span times="" new="" roman="" ,="" serif="" ;="" color:="" #1f497d;="">“<span times="" new="" roman="" ,="" serif="" ;="">As someone who was born in Massachusetts and interned for Ted Kennedy 30 years ago, I never thought I’d live to see the day that a Kennedy Senate seat would be won by a Republican.  But in the past several months, not only have the voters of Virginia and New Jersey made their voices heard, now the citizens of Massachusetts have said loud and clear – ‘CAN YOU HEAR ME NOW?’

<span times="" new="" roman="" ,="" serif="" ;="">“Like so many of those I heard from in the 34^th District of Virginia, I was disappointed that our U.S. Senators  voted for the budget busting health care bill in December, even though this unfunded mandate would do tremendous harm to our state budget, would cost us billions and was opposed by an overwhelming number of our fellow Virginians.  But it is encouraging that Senator Webb now apparently has heard the voices of Virginians as well as those of citizens all around the country and wisely called for a suspension on further votes onthe trillion dollar health care bill until Senator-elect Brown is seated.  Senator Webb said, “In many ways the campaign in Massachusetts became a referendum not only on health care reform but also on the openness and integrity of our government process.” 

<span times="" new="" roman="" ,="" serif="" ;="">“While some in Washington may still want to takeover health care with backroom deals and destroy our state budgets with billions in unfunded mandates, we hope that Senator Webb and our other Virginia delegation members would focus on the priority issues that matter to Virginia families with Job #1 being creating jobs and revitalizing our struggling economy.”