ALL HANDS ON DECK: Vote on Weiner amendment now on again -- call your congressperson ASAP

[Bob Goodman]

 

 

Because of massive grass-roots pressure, including a sit-in in Pelosi's office, Pelosi has again agreed to schedule a debate and vote on the Weiner amendment before the House votes on the whole "healthcare reform" bill Saturday.  The Weiner amendment would substitute Improved and Expanded Medicare for All, as proposed in H.R. 676, for the mishmash of mandates, subsidies and the transfer of hundreds of billions of taxpayer dollars which now make up the House bill.  Improved and Expanded Medicare for All would establish universal health care as a basic human right, which could never be taken away -- not a commodity which can be bought, sold, gained and lost, as in the present House bill.

 

Improved and Expanded Medicare for All would provide publicly-funded, privately-delivered healthcare for ALL Americans.  Everybody in, nobody out, cradle-to-grave.  No deductions, co-pays, lifetime maximums or other barriers to care, because Medicare for All would be financed from taxes.  Improved and Expanded Medicare for All would cover "all medically necessary services, including dental, vision, primary care and prevention, prescription drugs, long-term care, palliative care, mental health, substance abuse treatment, chiroproactic, hearing aids and other services not presently covered by Medicare.  No supplemental or "medigap" coverage would be needed, so private, parasitic insurance companies who contribute NOTHING to health care would no longer be needed.

 

See the attached flyer by the Labor Campaign for Single-Payer for more reasons to urge your Congressperson NOW to vote for the Weiner amendment.

 

 

CONGRESS WILL VOTE ON WEINER AMENDMENT

WE NEED YOU TO ACT TODAY

 

Calling on Congress to "Send the insurers a message they won't forget," the attached full-page ad signed by the AFL-CIO, 8 national unions and the Labor Campaign for Single Payer, appeared in today's edition of Roll Call.  The ad calls for the support of the Weiner Amendment which would substitute HR 676 Medicare for All legislation for the main House healthcare reform bill.

 

The Weiner Amendment will provide an historic opportunity to have a straight up-and-down vote on single payer "Medicare for All" healthcare reform in Congress.  Supporters of single-payer contend that a strong showing for the amendment will help set the stage for future healthcare reform activities and send the insurance industry a message that there is a strong single payer block in Congress that will not tolerate their stranglehold on the delivery of healthcare to the American people.

 

House Speaker Pelosi has agreed to schedule a debate and vote on the Weiner Amendment prior to Saturday's vote on the main bill.    Pelosi's action followed a week of intense presure from single payer supporters after she appeared to renege on her earlier agreement with Weiner to bring the amendment up before the full house.  Thousands of callers flooded congressional phone lines. In San Francisco, 13 activists--including members of AFSCME, CSEA and CNA--were arrested at a demonstration in Pelosi's office.  Similar demonstrations targetted House Education and Labor Committee Chair George Miller and Energy and Commerce Chair Henry Waxman.

 

The Weiner Amendment could be considered as early as the afternoon of Friday, November 6 so we need you to act today.  Call every member of your congressional delegation and visit their field offices, if possible.  Tell them that you support the AFL-CIO's endorsement of the Weiner Amendment.  Explain that, however they vote on the main bill, support for the Weiner Amendment is crucial for the future of the movement for real healthcare reform.  Ask them to put themselves on the record in support of healthcare as a fundamental human right!

 

You can reach the Washington office of your Representatives by calling the Capitol Switchboard: 202-225-3121.

 

Labor Campaign for Single Payer  www.laborforsinglepayer.org

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