WASHINGTON -- Rep. Andre Carson, D-Ind., said he and other black Congressmen endured racial slurs shouted by protesters opposing health care legislation.

Carson said that as he left the Cannon House Office Building on Saturday with Rep. John Lewis, D-Ga., a leader during the Civil Rights era, protesters shouted the "N" word several times.

Carson, a staunch supporter of the health care bill, said vigorous debate should never stoop to that level.

"The events of yesterday were certainly shocking and disappointing," Carson said in a statement released on Sunday. "We've come so far as a nation to advance race relations and worked so hard to raise the bar on our civil discourse, but yesterday's incident reminds us all that we still have more work ahead of us."