In a letter today, 130 members of the House of Representatives urged President-elect Obama to "keep in mind the necessity of maintaining the economic health of our nation's hospitals as a very real and viable part of the solution" to the current economic crisis. While hospitals are "a critical part of our nation's economy as the largest private sector source of jobs," the crisis in the credit markets coupled with other payment pressures "is leading to a decline in hospitals' financial health at a time when demand for health care services in growing," the letter states. "…Providing capital investment to hospitals is a perfect vehicle for the type of infrastructure improvements you envision" to put Americans to work and quickly lay the groundwork for sustained economic growth. Initiated by Reps. Robert Brady (D-PA) and Joe Wilson (R-SC), the letter calls on the new administration to increase resources and flexibility in the Department of Housing and Urban Development's Section 242 program; invest immediately in health care information and technology systems; grant hospitals access to federal government loan guarantees for construction, renovation and upgrades; and place moratoria on the Medicaid hospital outpatient rule and Medicare indirect medical education capital payment cut.