Missouri’s only President, Harry S. Truman, is credited with saying that it’s amazing what you can accomplish when you don’t care who gets the credit. Not surprisingly, in Washington, that bit of common sense is rarely followed.

When Congress returns to Washington this week, one issue is set to dominate the stage: health care reform. House and Senate leaders have said it is their intention to have each chamber pass its own version of the bill by the August recess. The Administration has said that it wants a bill completed and signed into law by the end of September.

I believe that we can and should reform our health care system. However, it’s important that we keep a few principles in mind. Any plan will need to make health care more affordable for Americans. We should also make sure that more individuals have access to health care and the ability to choose their own doctors. We also want to make sure that Americans continue to have high quality health care.

There are a lot of plans floating around Washington right now. Many of those plans are missing important details, like how to pay for the reforms they propose. It’s important for any health care reform to be a bi-partisan effort. I do not believe the Republicans or Democrats have all the right answers.

We have real differences on our ideas to reform health care. But I hope that Republicans and Democrats are able to work together on a bill that improves our health care system.

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