Progressive Caucus draws a line in the sand on health care public option.

[madfloridian]

Good to hear from them on this issue. Chris Bowers has the details at Open Left.

Progressive Caucus Draws a Line on Health Care

Chris's statement:

"Something unexpected just happened on Capitol Hill today--the Congressional Progressive Caucus drew a line in the sand on something. In a letter sent to Speaker Pelosi, Representatives Woolsey and Grijalva stated that most of the 77-member progressive caucus will not support a health care plan that lacks a public option with a level playing field. I like it:

Dear Madam Speaker and Majority Leader,

Regarding the upcoming health care reform debate, we believe it is important for you to know that virtually the entire 77-Member Congressional Progressive Caucus (CPC) prefers a single-payer approach to healthcare reform. Therefore, it will come as no surprise as you work to craft comprehensive health care reform legislation, that we urge the inclusion of a public plan option, at a minimum, in the final legislation. We have polled CPC Members and a strong majority will not support legislation that does not include a public plan option that is supported on a level playing field with private health insurance plans.

We look forward to working with you to ensure inclusion of a public plan option and the successful passage of healthcare legislation that will provide a choice of quality healthcare for all Americans

Sincerely,
Lynn Woolsey, Co-Chair, Congressional Progressive Caucus
Raul Grijalva, Co-Chair, Congressional Progressive Caucus

Today I noticed that Governor Howard Dean sent a message out through MoveOn in addition to the one he sent through DFA last week. Here is the page with the petition and video request, in case you have not signed.

Stand with Dr. Dean

If Barack Obama's healthcare plan gets changed to exclude a public option like Medicare, then it is not healthcare reform. Legislation rises and falls on whether the American public is allowed to choose a universally available public option or not."

...."Give America a choice. We support healthcare reform that allows individual Americans to choose either a universally available public healthcare option like Medicare or for-profit private insurance. A public option is the only way to guarantee healthcare for all Americans and its inclusion is non- negotiable.

Any legislation without the choice of a public option is only insurance reform and not the healthcare reform America needs.

We need to stand our ground on this issue since there are so many conservative Democrats and Republicans working to get only private options and to make insurance mandatory to the benefit of insurance companies.

[drm604]

1. K&R

Demand a public option!

[madfloridian]

2. According to wikipedia, here are the present members..Don't see a date.

And I can never find their website. ON EDIT...I did find their website, looks up to date

http://cpc.grijalva.house.gov/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Congressional_Progressive_Caucus

Arizona

* Ed Pastor (AZ-4, Phoenix)
* Raul Grijalva (AZ-7, Tucson) - Co-Chair

California

* Lynn Woolsey (CA-6, Petaluma) - Co-Chair
* George Miller (CA-7, Martinez) - Chairman, House Education and Labor Committee
* Barbara Lee (CA-9, Oakland) - Chairwoman, Congressional Black Caucus
* Pete Stark (CA-13, Fremont)
* Michael Honda (CA-15, San Jose)
* Sam Farr (CA-17, Monterey)
* Henry Waxman (CA-30, Los Angeles) - Chairman, House Oversight and Government Reform Committee
* Xavier Becerra (CA-31, Los Angeles)
* Diane Watson (CA-33, South Los Angeles)
* Lucille Roybal-Allard (CA-34, Los Angeles)
* Maxine Waters (CA-35, Inglewood)
* Laura Richardson (CA-37, Long Beach)
* Linda Sanchez (CA-39, Lakewood)
* Bob Filner (CA-51, San Diego) - Chairman, House Veterans Affairs Committee

Connecticut

* Rosa DeLauro (CT-3, New Haven)

Florida

* Corrine Brown (FL-3, Jacksonville)
* Alan Grayson (FL-8, Orlando)
* Robert Wexler (FL-19, Boca Raton)

Georgia

* Hank Johnson (GA-4, Lithonia)
* John Lewis (GA-5, Atlanta)

Hawaii

* Neil Abercrombie (HI-1, Honolulu)
* Mazie Hirono (HI-2, Honolulu)

Illinois

* Bobby Rush (IL-1, Chicago)
* Jesse Jackson, Jr. (IL-2, Chicago Heights)
* Luis Gutierrez (IL-4, Chicago)
* Danny Davis (IL-7, Chicago)
* Jan Schakowsky (IL-9, Chicago)
* Phil Hare (IL-17, Rock Island)

Indiana

* André Carson (IN-7, Indianapolis)

Iowa

* Dave Loebsack (IA-2, Cedar Rapids)

Maine

* Chellie Pingree (ME-1, North Haven)

Maryland

* Donna Edwards (MD-4, Fort Washington)
* Elijah Cummings (MD-7, Baltimore)

Massachusetts

* John Olver (MA-1, Amherst)
* Jim McGovern (MA-3, Worcester)
* Barney Frank (MA-4, Newton) - Chairman, House Financial Services Committee
* John Tierney (MA-6, Salem)
* Ed Markey (MA-7, Malden)
* Mike Capuano (MA-8, Boston)

Michigan

* Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick (MI-13, Detroit)
* John Conyers (MI-14, Detroit) - Chairman, House Judiciary Committee

Minnesota

* Keith Ellison (MN-5, Minneapolis)

Mississippi

* Bennie Thompson (MS-2, Bolton) - Chairman, House Homeland Security Committee

Missouri

* William Lacy Clay, Jr. (MO-1, St. Louis)
* Emanuel Cleaver (MO-5, Kansas City)

New Jersey

* Donald Payne (NJ-10, Newark)

New Mexico

* Ben R. Luján (NM-3, Santa Fe)

New York

* Jerry Nadler (NY-8, Manhattan)
* Yvette Clarke (NY-11, Brooklyn)
* Nydia Velazquez (NY-12, Brooklyn) - Chairwoman, House Small Business Committee
* Carolyn Maloney (NY-14, Manhattan)
* Charles Rangel (NY-15, Harlem) - Chairman, House Ways and Means Committee
* Jose Serrano (NY-16, Bronx)
* John Hall (NY-19, Dover Plains)
* Maurice Hinchey (NY-22, Saugerties)
* Louise Slaughter (NY-28, Rochester) - Chairwoman, House Rules Committee

North Carolina

* Mel Watt (NC-12, Charlotte)

Ohio

* Marcy Kaptur (OH-9, Toledo)
* Dennis Kucinich (OH-10, Cleveland)
* Marcia Fudge (OH-11, Warrensville Heights)

Oregon

* Peter DeFazio (OR-4, Eugene)

Pennsylvania

* Bob Brady (PA-1, Philadelphia) - Chairman, House Administration Committee
* Chaka Fattah (PA-2, Philadelphia)

Tennessee

* Steve Cohen (TN-9, Memphis)

Texas

* Sheila Jackson-Lee (TX-18, Houston)
* Eddie Bernice Johnson (TX-30, Dallas)

Vermont

* Peter Welch (VT-At Large)

Washington

* Jim McDermott (WA-7, Seattle)

Wisconsin

* Tammy Baldwin (WI-2, Madison)
* Gwen Moore (WI-4, Milwaukee)

Non-voting

* Madeleine Bordallo (Guam)
* Donna Christian-Christensen (Virgin Islands)
* Eleanor Holmes Norton (District of Columbia)

[HowHasItComeToThis]

4. A LIST OF PATRIOTS

[Stinky The Clown]

5. My Congressman is on that list

[NikolaC]

23. *Sigh* Neither is Mine

:mad:

[Stinky The Clown]

3. K&R#9

[eridani]

6. Message from Dr. Dean

have an announcement. After four exciting years in Washington, I'm hitting the campaign trail again! Only this time, I'm campaigning to help President Obama win health care for all.

During the election, President Obama proposed a health care plan that would give every American the freedom to choose between keeping their private insurance—if they have any—and choosing a universally available public health insurance option like Medicare.

But for-profit insurance companies and HMOs are already working hard to strip this public health insurance option from any upcoming health care bill. They don't want us to have a choice, and they'll stop at nothing to kill real reform. Trouble is, some in Congress are siding with the insurance companies—and against what's best for the rest of us.


Today, we draw a line in the sand. A public health insurance option is the only way to guarantee health care for all Americans. And to show that we mean business, we all need to tell Congress we won't settle for less.

If 250,000 of you sign this petition, I will personally deliver it to Congress. Clicking here will add your name:


http://pol.moveon.org/standwithdrdean/o.pl?id=15863-5613343-pIyuN3x&t=1

Here's our message to Congress: "Give America a choice. We support health care reform that allows individual Americans to choose either a universally available public health care option like Medicare or for-profit private insurance. A public option is the only way to guarantee health care for all Americans and its inclusion is non-negotiable. Any legislation without the choice of a public option is only insurance reform and not the health care reform America needs."


The fight is heating up over whether or not to include the public health insurance option. This is going to be the biggest fight in the debate over health care reform. It would take the power away from the private insurance companies that have driven up costs and denied coverage for years—and they're dead set against it.

But I've seen firsthand what people power can accomplish. And I know I can count on MoveOn members to help lead the charge.

Now is our moment to stand up. Together, we can generate broad-based support for a public health insurance option. We will need to canvass our neighborhoods, call our elected leaders, and arrange meetings with members of Congress in the coming months.

Our goal today is to show Congress that we are many and ready to fight. Can you click here to stand with me?

http://pol.moveon.org/standwithdrdean/o.pl?id=15863-5613343-pIyuN3x&t=2

After you add your name, spread the word to your friends, family, and co-workers. Send a personal email and include a link to the website, update your Facebook status to tell people about the campaign, write a blog post about why you support this campaign—we need all hands on deck to win this fight.

Thank you for all you do.

[xchrom]

7. recommend

[wroberts189]

8. KNR n/t

[sandyd921]

9. K & R!

Great to hear that we have at least some in Congress who will stand up for us!

[annabanana]

10. My most favorite caucas...

Has Obama met with them yet?

[tnlefty]

11. But, but I thought that I saw just the other day that you were free

to form your own party, with you, your husband and a cardboard cutout of Howard Dean.

Nevermind anything else of importance. Thanks madfloridian! :hi:

[madfloridian]

15. Ha Ha You never know what you will hear around these parts.

That sounds about right for several I know who might have said it. Glad I didn't see it, but I can almost guess who it was. I see the word "ignored" quite often. :evilgrin:

[pmorlan1]

12. A Shot Across the Bow to Evan Bayh

This looks like a great shot across the bow to Evan Bayh and his band of traitors.

[progressoid]

13. k/r!

[antigop]

14. K&R. Thanks, madfloridian. n/t

[madfloridian]

22. Hope they go through with it.

:hi:

[Zhade]

16. Excellent. They understand that Universal Insurance Care only helps corporations...

...who will DENY COVERAGE to fatten their bottom line, especially in this economy.

[mzmolly]

17. BRAVO!

:toast:

[kaygore]

18. Thank God! I thought that they were going to roll over on us again!

[chill_wind]

19. K & R and Thank you. n/t

[Mithreal]

20. K&R and signed, thank you. nt

[DKRC]

21. Sent email to Jim McDermott (WA)

because the form malfunctioned on the CPC website when I tried to contact them.
Here's what I wrote, kept it short & sweet:

Congressman McDermott,

I attempted to contact the CPC through the form at the website to no avail. I hope that you will share my message with all of the CPC members.

Thank you for standing up against the removal of a public health care option for all Americans. We are literally dying out here while the insurance companies take our money then find new & creative ways to deny coverage at the time we need it most. For Congress to pass a law making it even easier for them to do this to us is unconscionable.

Again, thank you for standing up. We need each & every one of you.

**************************

I was offline most of the afternoon/night so this was a wonderful surprise when I had a chance to catch up.
Thanks Madfloridian for posting the good news!

[psychmommy]

24. mad you know i love me some dr dean

i signed the petition and passed off a couple of bucks. does kaine seem lackluster in comparison to dean. i think that was a mistake. go progressive caucus!!! this is gonna happen-shut those conservdems down.

[LWolf]

25. too late to recommend, but I'll give it a kick.

:kick:

[slinkerwink]

26. that is great to hear!

[Time for change]

27. Good for them. I'm very glad to see this

Failing to provide a public insurance option will, I'm afraid, be worse than worthless. Probably anything that the private insurance industry supports will be worse than useless. They are a major source of the problem, and any effort to appease them can only make things worse IMO.

[bertman]

28. Too late to recommend, but here's a kick. Thank you for posting this, Madflo. This is

the best news I've heard in a LOOONNGG time regarding our Progressive Caucus.

Edited to say how disappointed I am to see that my Congressman, David Price, is not on the list. He comes from one of the most liberal districts in the country, yet he is not standing for the progressive agenda. Twenty-plus years in the House have turned him into a corporate-leaning middle-of-the-roader. He would not support impeachment hearings for Bush because they would be too distracting from Congress' business. Okay, no more whining.

[Wetzelbill]

29. If it doesn't include a public option, I can't be for it

at all. It's the least that can be done.

And Raul Grijalva is a true people's champion. He's the rep for the district next to mine. I met him before, a guy I went to the U of AZ with is one of his aides.

[quidam56]

30. We need a cure for health care in America

In East Tennessee, profit care comes before patient care. http://www.wisecountyissues.com/?p=62