House Republican Conference Chairman made the following remarks regarding the Declaration of Health Care Independence:

I'm Mike Pence; I'm the House Republican Conference Chairman.
 
Tonight the President of the United States will come to the People's House and deliver his report on the state of the union, and we will find out as a nation whether or not this President got the message on health care, spending, and this economy.
 
On the subject of health care, House Republicans - thanks to the leadership of my colleague Michele Bachmann, Steve King, Louie Gohmert, and, I'm now informed, everyone up here - are vividly displaying that we are not opposed to health care reform. House Republicans, like millions of Americans across this country, oppose a government takeover of health care.
 
Let us say with conviction: the American people want health care reform that lowers the cost of health insurance and lowers the cost of health care in the long term, but the American people don't want a government takeover of health care that interrupts the relationship between the doctor and the patient, that mandates that everyday Americans purchase health insurance whether they want it or need it or not, that doesn't even lower the cost of health insurance for most Americans, it just grows the size of government.
 
Today, House Republicans - thanks to the leadership of all these colleagues here - are asking the American people to join us in this declaration of health care independence that says: ‘we want to achieve health care reform in this country that meets the challenges facing the American people;' but we don't want an answer that says ‘yes' to government and ‘no' to freedom.

I'm grateful to have the opportunity to sign this, I'm grateful to all my colleagues for their leadership and I urge every American take the opportunity to sign the Declaration of Health Care Independence.

Find more about the declaration on Congressman Pence's personal page.