In response to state House Republicans’ rejection of a a bipartisan, free market health care plan, Florida Democratic Party Chair Allison Tant made the following statement:

“Tonight, Florida Republicans showed their true colors: abandoning the people they serve and siding with wealthy special interests and their rigid Tea Party ideology.

“These career Republican politicians illegally abandoned their jobs last month rather than even discuss expanding health care to working Floridians. These are the same wealthy Republican legislators who pay just $30 a month for health care insurance while hundreds of thousands of working Floridians — and tens of thousands of veterans — cannot afford quality care.

“Through thick and thin, Florida’s Democrats have stood by the cause of expanding access to health care. While House Republicans have tried to score political points and pander to their Tea Party base, Democrats in both chambers, as well as the Senate and business leaders from across the state, stood together in support of a commonsense compromise in an effort to help Florida’s middle class.

“The House GOP stood only for themselves.”