Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Commissioner Doak Praises President Obama, Senator Coburn
Oklahoma Insurance Commissioner John Doak on Tuesday commended President Barack Obama for a State of the Union address delivered in a conciliatory tone, to a Congressional body that chose to emphasize civility and unity on a night that typically is devoted to partisan agendas and rhetoric.
The president called for input on his 2010 Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. Commissioner Doak pledged to work with Oklahoma’s Congressional delegation and the National Association of Insurance Commissioners to express Oklahomans’ concerns about the law.
“Oklahomans don’t want health care decisions taken out of their hands and placed in Washington’s hands,” Doak said. “Oklahomans don’t want distance put between them and their doctors. Oklahomans do want quality health care and increased access to insurance coverage, but Washington cannot deliver those without steep tax increases and more deficit spending.”
Among the members of Congress who led the move to attend the State of the Union as Americans, not as Republicans and Democrats, was Oklahoma Republican Sen. Tom Coburn, who accepted an invitation to sit for the address with New York Democratic Sen. Charles Schumer when the two appeared together recently on television’s “Meet the Press.” Schumer noted that he and Coburn agree on little by way of policy, but that Coburn has “always been civil, he’s always been a gentleman.”
Commissioner Doak agreed, and applauded Coburn for his distinguished leadership.
“Sen. Coburn is a strong conservative voice for Oklahoma, but just as important, he has always been a dignified representative of our state, first in the U.S. House of Representatives and now in the Senate,” Doak said. “It pleases me, but doesn’t surprise me, that Tom Coburn was one of the first to venture across the aisle for this State of the Union speech, putting partisanship in its place for the evening and replacing it with friendship.”
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ABOUT THE OKLAHOMA INSURANCE DEPARTMENT
The Oklahoma Insurance Department, an agency of the State of Oklahoma, is responsible for the education and protection of the insurance-buying public and for oversight of the insurance industry in the state.
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For more information contact:
Shawn Ashley
(405) 521-4525
(405) 568-6004
e-mail: shawn.ashley@oid.ok.gov