THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, July 31, 1994 TAG: 9407310097
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B4 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
LENGTH: Short : 40 lines
Two busloads of health care reform supporters were met Saturday in Bristol, Tenn., by protesters who chanted in opposition to the president's proposals.
The buses, which are to roll across Virginia today, are part of a caravan that will arrive in Washington next week to urge Congress to pass reforms.
Secretary of Commerce Ron Brown will miss the Health Security Express, but Virginia opponents of the president's health care plan will be on hand for its arrival.
Brown had been scheduled to ride a bus this morning from Bristol to Roanoke, along with three busloads of people supporting President Clinton's proposed health care reforms. Brown canceled the trip Friday because of a scheduling conflict, according to a Commerce Department spokesman.
Rep. Thomas Bliley Jr., R-7th, who made the Republican response Saturday to the president's weekly radio address, called the bus tour a ``sell job.''
Bliley said Americans should consider Republican alternatives to the president's plan. ``Americans do not want a socialized, government-run health care system.''
In his radio address Saturday, Clinton called on Congress to stop ``hemming and hawing'' and adopt a comprehensive health care plan.
The caravan is to be met today by Roanoke city officials.
But as has been the case at several stops around the country, the buses won't be rolling into completely friendly territory.
A counterdemonstration is scheduled to take place after the buses arrive. The event was organized by Rep. Bob Goodlatte, R-6th; the Roanoke Regional Chamber of Commerce; and Citizens for a Sound Economy, a group affiliated with former Republican Senate hopeful Jim Miller. by CNB