Posted on 04/14/2004 6:42:16 PM PDT by Theodore R.
Casper Dem runs for House John Henley devoted most of his announcement to health care but feels strongly about other issues
By Jessica Lowell rep5@wyomingnews.com Published in the Wyoming Tribune-Eagle
CHEYENNE – Casper attorney John Henley says the nation’s health-care pricing system is broken and that, in part, is why he’s seeking Wyoming’s seat in the U.S. House of Representatives.
“I am running because there are problems on the horizon, most of which neither the incumbent nor any of the other announced candidates have raised for discussion,” he said at a news conference here Tuesday.
Henley is the latest candidate with an eye on the state’s lone seat in the House of Representatives. There are six other candidates in the race, including incumbent U.S. Rep. Barbara Cubin.
“When the cost of a family’s monthly health premiums rivals the cost of that same family’s mortgage payment, something is wrong,” Henley said.
He added that about one out of every six dollars spent in this country is for health care. He said he is concerned that the aging baby boom generation with its expected spate of hip and knee replacements, will drive up the costs of health care further.
At the same time, he said, Medicare is not reimbursing doctors adequately, and that could drive up health-care costs in the long run.
While he devoted most of his announcement to health care, he said he feels just as strongly about the economy, the federal budget deficit, the Social Security and Medicare systems and the absence of a national energy policy that incorporates conservation.
While many of these issues were going on during the last congressional cycle, he said, the time wasn’t right for him to run.
“I didn’t have the fire to do it then,” he said.
Henley, 48, is the fourth Democrat to announce for the seat, which means a primary will be held in August. He’s now in a field of three as Ron Akin bowed out of the race Monday due to lack of funds.
Henley said he plans to run an open-minded and intelligent campaign and keep focused on the issues that Wyoming cares about.
“I think we’ll have a fighting chance,” he said.
Raised in Evanston, Henley is a Wyoming native. He earned a bachelor’s degree in accounting from American University and a law degree from the University of Wyoming. He is the president of Vlastos, Henley and Drell P.C., his law firm.
He and his wife have two sons.
The salary for rank-and-file members of the U.S. House of Representatives is $158,100.
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