President Barack Obama Delivers Remarks at a Townhall in Grand Junction, Colorado

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President Barack Obama Delivers Remarks at a Townhall in Grand Junction, Colorado

PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA DELIVERS REMARKS AT A TOWNHALL IN GRAND JUNCTION, COLORADO, AS RELEASED BY THE WHITE HOUSE

AUGUST 15, 2009

SPEAKER: PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA

[*] THE PRESIDENT: Thank you. Thank you. Hello, Grand Junction! (Applause.) Thank you so much. Thank you. Everybody please have a seat. It is good to be back in Southwest Colorado. (Applause.) Last time I was here I had some really good peaches. (Laughter.) Somehow, though, Michelle and the girls got to go pick peaches -- and I'm hoping they bring some back for me.

It is nice to take a break from the back and forth in Washington. I want to especially want to thank Nathan for his introduction and sharing his story. (Applause.) It's not easy to talk about an illness in the family. It's not easy to talk about such a painful experience. Because it's important that we understand what's at stake in this health care debate he's been willing to share it with us. And so I'm very grateful to him.

We've got a couple of other special guests that I want to acknowledge. First of all, I stole him from you to make him what I believe will be the best Secretary of the Interior in the history of the United States, Ken Salazar. (Applause.) But I left things in good hands with the outstanding congressman and brother of Ken, John Salazar. (Applause.)

Your outstanding governor of this great state, Bill Ritter, is here. (Applause.) As well as the extraordinary First Lady of the state, Jeannie Ritter is here as well. (Applause.)

Two of the finest young senators that we've got in Washington right now: Senator Mark Udall. (Applause.) And Senator Michael Bennet. (Applause.)

I want to thank the hospitality of Grand Junction Mayor Bruce Hill. (Applause.) And finally I want to thank Tillie Bishop for the invocation. (Applause.) And I want to thank the Central High students Elise Beckstead, Crystal Rossman, Axel Urie and Amelia LyBarger for their National Anthem and Pledge of Allegiance. Thank you, guys. (Applause.)

Oh, and Central High principal Jody Diers is here. (Applause.) And it turns out school starts in two days. (Laughter.) You know, when I was going to school we always had until Labor Day. (Laughter.) It's rough for kids these days. But it's important for us to be able to compete internationally, so it's great to see dedicated educators like we have here at Central High. (Applause.)

You know, Nathan's story is the kind of story that I've read in letters and heard in town halls all across America. And on Tuesday I was in New Hampshire talking about people denied coverage because of preexisting conditions. Yesterday, I was in Montana talking about people who've had their insurance policies suddenly revoked, even though they were paying their premiums, just because they got sick. Today we're talking about people like Nathan and his family who have insurance but are still stuck with huge bills because they've hit a cap on their benefits or they're charged exorbitant out-of-pocket fees.

And when you ...

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