Rep. Boustany to Give GOP Response to Obama Health Care Address

Rep. Charles Boustany will deliver the Republican response to President Obama's health care address Wednesday night before a joint session of Congress.

Boustany, R-La., is a cardiovascular surgeon who was first elected in 2004. He represents southwest Louisiana.

"As a doctor, I know we must lower costs and improve care, which we can accomplish by focusing on strengthening the doctor-patient relationship and working in a bipartisan way," Boustany said in a written statement.

"Health care is a kitchen table issue that affects all Americans, and I believe we need an honest discussion about how we come together to fix what's broken, while building on what works. That's why I'm pleased the president will speak to Congress tomorrow night, and I look forward to presenting commonsense reforms that Republicans and all Americans can stand behind," he said.

He is a member of the House Ways and Means Committee, and is a graduate of Louisiana State University Medical School.

This is the second time the Republican Party has drafted a Louisiana politician to respond to Obama. The GOP tapped Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal to respond to the president's address to Congress earlier this year. Jindal's performance was widely panned.

When President Clinton addressed both chambers of Congress to push his health care reform plan in 1993, the Republicans drafted then-Sen. Connie Mack, then-Rep. Nancy Johnson, and then-South Carolina Gov. Carroll Campbell to respond.