Danville, CA  - As Congress prepares to pass the largest entitlement program in the history of our country, Elizabeth Emken is challenging Congressmen McNerney to read the healthcare bill before he votes for it.

“Congressman McNerney has voted with Nancy Pelosi 97% of the time,” remarked Emken. “It is bad enough he voted for the House bill without reading it. So, I am issuing a challenge to McNerney when the final bill comes before Congress: Read the bill before you vote for it, Congressman!”

Elizabeth Emken is a candidate for Congress in California’s 11th district. She declared her candidacy after a particularly disheartening conversation with Congressman McNerney outside an Energy and Commerce Committee meeting last year. While trying to discuss an amendment to the current healthcare bill that deals with autism, Emken realized that McNerney had “absolutely no understanding about the context of the amendment in the larger proceedings.” Emken credits that conversation as the turning point in her decision to run, “I couldn’t understand how he could vote on a bill, especially one of this magnitude without even knowing what was in it. That is when I decided to enter the race.”

Since declaring her candidacy last October, Elizabeth has immersed herself in the issues facing the 11th district. She believes her experience in the corporate sector as a budget and finance expert and as an advocate for the developmentally disabled shaping legislative policy in Washington makes her uniquely qualified to represent the economically diverse 11th Congressional District.