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URGENT: RN Calling Needed
— They said single-payer, guaranteed healthcare, was "off the table." But very soon there will be a floor vote on HR 676 in the U.S. House and another single-payer vote in the Senate. It is time for RNs to weigh in robustly. The nurses of the California Nurses Association/National Nurses Organizing Committee led the fight, along with hundreds of local unions that have already endorsed HR 676, for the AFL-CIO convention to adopt its first single-payer resolution in over 25 years. We know how powerful our voices are in this struggle. When they say a patient can't be saved, nurses keep trying. That's why we keep the pressure on those who can end this terrible cycle of profit-driven healthcare delivery. The next two weeks are crucial for healthcare reform. Rep. Anthony Weiner of New York is putting forward an amendment that would replace the current House bill (HR 3200) with single-payer reform. We need to get a strong vote for the Weiner amendment - Medicare for All, HR 676 - when it comes to a vote. It would solve the crisis with comprehensive benefits, a single standard of quality care for all, real cost control, fiscally conservative budgeting, and progressive financing. Knowing the odds are against us, we won't stop, and we're already planning for the next fight...in the states. Should federal reform pass with full implementation set for 2013, we'll have opportunities before then to win real reform in California, and Pennsylvania, Illinois, Maine, Ohio or Colorado. We just need to make sure states can legally implement single-payer systems. So Congressman Dennis Kucinich has secured a provision in HR 3200 - the leadership bill in the House - that resolves the biggest legal obstacles in the way of state single-payer. Call your Congressional Member to support both the Weiner amendment AND the Kucinich amendment. Let's make sure Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, and key committee chair Henry Waxman support these vital amendments. Reach them at the Capitol switchboard: (202) 225–3121. And on the Senate side, Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont will also offer a single-payer amendment to replace the pro-private insurance bills currently being offered in that Chamber. Again, we need to weigh in and strongly urge our Senators to support the Sanders amendment. These votes represent opportunities for real progress. Together, we WILL change healthcare. In solidarity, Deborah Burger, Zenei Cortez, Geri Jenkins, Malinda
Markowitz
www.CalNurses.org |
