Fifty people rallied for health care reform outside the offices of Senators Casey and Specter in downtown Pittsburgh. Senators Casey and Specters sent local staff, Gabe Morgan from SEIU spoke and Georgeanne Koehler, among others spoke. The event was covered by three TV stations.
We had a great rally in Philadelphia today. Over 225 people turned out to say that it’s time for Congress and the President to finish work on health care reform.
We rallied at Love Park at 11 , marched to the steps of the Philadelphia Art Museum where, to the theme song from Rocky, we ran up the steps and held our posters aloft once we got to the top.
Here is video of the first half of the rally at Love Park, with speeches by Marc Stier, PA State Director of HCAN and Dr. Angeles Gonzalez, a representative of National Physician’s Alliance.
Here is video of the second part of the Love Park rally, with speeches by Lakash Hines, a CNA and member of SEIU Healthcare PA and Kati Sipp, Political Director of SEIU HealthcarePA. And then there is some video of our march to the steps of the Art Museum.
At the Art Museum, we ran up the steps to the theme of Rocky. John Meyerson talked about the recent Massachusetts election and pointed out that voters there demanded change and the change they most want is health care reform. Congressman Chaka Fattah, who rushed to our event from the Teddy Pendergrass funeral delivered a positive message. He said that health care reform could and had to get done soon. He called on the the Senate to pass a bill through the reconciliation process that incorporates fixes in the Senate bill agreed to by House and Senate negotiators and sais that then the House will pass both the Senate bill and the bill that amends it and send them both to President Obama’s desk.
Here is the “director’s cut” that is the longer version of the same video.
We had press coverage from the NBC, Fox, and ABC as well as the Philadelphia Tribune.
Pictures of the entire event.
Congressman Kanjorski’s Scranton Office
Fifteen people including members of UFCW and SEIU rallied outside of Congressman Paul Kanjorski’s office at Spruce and Adams street in Scranton at noon on January 22. The group delivered a letter to Congressman Kanjorski seeking his continued support for health care for reform Congressman Kanjorski had a prepared statement for us from the Congressman expressing his support for health care reform.The group held signs on the corner and received good visibility.
Congressman Carney’s Clarks Summit Office
Seven people rallied for health care reform outside Congressman Chris Carney’s office in Clark’s Summit on 2:00 pm.
Video of both events.
Photos of Both events
Congressman Carney’s Williamsport Office
A small group met at Congressman Carney’s office in Williamsport at noon on January 22. They delivered 20 cards/letters supporting reform.
The Sun Gazette sent a photographer.
Health care activists in Bucks County, PA did two events in the last few days at two different offices of Congressman Patrick Murphy, who has become a strong champion of health care reform.
At noon on January 21, over 30 concerned Bucks County residents rallied at the Doylestown office of Rep. Patrick Murphy (PA-08) to thank him for all his work this far on healthcare reform and to encourage him to finish healthcare reform right by passing the Senate bill through the House. Pass it and fix it, was the message.
On Saturday, January 23, over 20 health care activists got up early to meet with Representative Murphy at his Bristol office. Congressman Murphy thanked the group for their continued efforts on behalf of health care reform.
The Erie Health Care coalition held an event at Congresswoman Kathy Dahlkemper’s office demonstrating the urgent need for health care reform on Saturday January 23.
Youtube Videos
WJET News Coverage: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3SZkfyuXggI
We progressives are distraught over losing something that is important to our vision of health care reform: a public option that would compete with private insurance and hold down health insurance costs. Make no mistake, that was, indeed a loss. But the public option was not the only important feature of the legislation we have been supporting. Indeed, while holding down costs are important to this country, the fundamental moral issue is making sure that everyone can get affordable health care. And, if the conference committee process goes as we expect, on that critical issue we are going to win a major victory.
The reform bills before Congress will take this country close to the ideal of making health care a right not a privilege.
They will make health insurance affordable for almost all Americans and do more to help working and middle class Americans than any government program since Social Security. And they will do more to improve the well-being of working age Americans than any government program in our entire history.
Note: this is about 1800 words long. You might want to print it out. I’m working on an abridged version which should be ready in a day or two.
The health care reform legislation that will be enacted by Congress later this month contains a number a different elements. It’s not easy to grasp it in its entirety. But there are a few key parts that you should understand for two reasons: first, because there is still time to make the legislation better and second because you should understand how much this legislation will accomplish, even if it doesn’t contain everything we want.
Let me say one word on the last point before jumping into the details. We are not going to get everything we want in this legislation. But don’t let your disappointment about that blind you to how much we will accomplish, especially if we get most of the best provisions of the House and Senate bills in the final legislation.
Even if we don’t get a public option, this is the most important and most progressive legislation enacted in forty years. And as I explain at the end of this piece, this legislation points the way to further reform.
Senate consideration of health are is continuing. We’ll be alerting you when amendments come up on which you need to voice your opinion.
Here are the latest developments with regard to Senators Specter and Casey
Senator Specter mounts strong defense of the public option
As reported by Politico, Senator Specter made a strong defense of the public option at a press conference earlier today to announce a “’tri-partisan’ amendment aimed at boosting cost savings in the Senate health care bill.”
Specter, who was not initially billed to attend, launched into a defense of the public option during his turn at the microphone.
“There has been wide misunderstanding about the public option,” Specter said. “It does not drive the private sector out, it is an option, it is another choice.”
Lieberman and Collins said that they would not support a public option and attacked it.
However
Specter didn’t let the issue drop.
“One comment in rebuttal, I think we have learned a lot from the Maine plan, we know what not to do. We are not going to adopt the Maine plan,” Specter said. “And when Sen. Lieberman talks about single payer, I think he is putting his finger on the pulse of it, that is what people are confusing the public option with, it isn’t a single payer, and it is not going to add to the deficit and it is going to be a level playing field.
“So I would invite everyone to read the fine print,” he added. “And with Susan and Joe, to reread the fine print.”
I met with Senator Casey and Senator Specter’s chief health care staff person this week. Both of our Senators have been way out front in support of not only the public option in particular but a strong health care reform bill in general.
Senators Specter, Casey and Abortion
The one issue on which there is disagreement is on abortion. Senator Specter has long been pro-choice and will vote against any Stupak-like amendment in the Senate bill.
Senator Casey however has long been pro-life and while he said he hoped to be able to find some mid-point between the language of the Senate bill and the Stupak language, he also said to a room full of advocates for the right to abortion that he would vote for and possibly sponsor an amendment to the Senate bill that included the Stupak language.
We discussed the issue and all of us had to acknowledge that Senator Casey is being true to principles he has long held in taking this stand.
But while we were disappointed with that stand, Senator Casey did say that he does not expect this amendment to be successful and that he would nonetheless vote for health care reform. Reforming health care, he told us, is one of the reasons he wanted to run for the Senate in the first place. And a resolution to the abortion question that is unsatisfactory in eyes is not a reason to vote against legislation that would accomplish so much.
It’s not all we wanted from Senator Casey, but to have a principled opponent of abortion say this will help us move a Conference Committee bill without the Stupak language through not just the Senate but the House.
Members of the HCAN coalition are divided about the Stupak amendment to HR 3962. Some are pro-life. Most of are pro-choice.
As a organization, however, we are working to remove the Stupak amendment from both the Senate bill and the bill that comes out of the conference committee.
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Pennsylvania HCAN and our partners did another seventeen events to push health care reform along this week. Click on the links to go to detailed accounts of these events along with pictures and press reports.
Our Erie Coalition met Congresswoman Dahlkemper at the Erie Airport on Sunday November 8 to thank her for vote.
We held a health are forum in Williamsport the same day with citizens who have been active in lobbying Congressman Carney.
We did a thank you event for Representative Patrick Murphy on Tuesday November 10.
And we did nine other events on Thursday November 12, thank you events for Representatives Carney, Dahlkemper, Doyle, Kanjorkski and Schwartz who voted for the legislation and shame on you events for four Representatives who voted against it Altmire, Dent, Gerlach and Holden.
Over six hundred Pennsylvanians took part in these events!