U.S. Senator Jim Risch issued the following statement after the Senate Finance Committee approved its health care bill today:

"Today's vote is, unfortunately, another step toward government-run health care at the expense of America's families. Instead of responsible reform, the proposal raises taxes, increases the cost of insurance premiums for all Americans and employers, imposes a larger Medicaid burden on states and cuts Medicare benefits by half of a trillion dollars. As expansive and socialistic as it is, it still fails to accomplish the original goal of providing insurance coverage to every American. Health care needs reform, but this is not the right way to do it. Fortunately, this is only one in a series of efforts at reform and there is a long road ahead before final passage. How the final bill will look, no one yet knows."