Working Families Take Health Care Reform Message to Capitol Hill

by James Parks, Oct 8, 2009

With the Senate poised to consider comprehensive health care reform soon, more than 100 workers and activists from two dozen states converged on Capitol Hill yesterday to remind lawmakers that the union members and working families who worked so hard on their campaigns last fall are the same people who strongly back health care reform.

They delivered more than 42,000 personally written letters from members of unions and Working America calling on Congress to pass comprehensive health care reform legislation.

California Labor Federation Executive Secretary-Treasurer Art Pulaski was encouraged after his meetings with members of the Golden State delegation. He said both senators and a large number of representatives, including Blue Dog Democrats, are coming out in support of health care reform.

 Everybody recognizes that we have to do something now. They made promises in the election campaign [to reform health care] and now they’re keeping those promises. We all recognize that health care is a major component of the economic crisis. 

Missouri AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer Herb Johnson agrees. Johnson, who met with Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.), says health care costs are “taking down the country and the economy.”

We can’t compete on the world stage with health care costs being what they are.

Meanwhile, some 157 members of the House sent a letter to Speaker Nancy Pelosi opposing the idea of placing an excise tax on high-cost health care benefit plans. Led by Rep. Joe Courtney (D-Conn.), the letter was signed by more than 60 percent of the House Democratic Caucus.

 In a Washington, D.C., press conference yesterday, Courtney said:

As Congress continues to work on comprehensive health care reform, it is important that we remember who we are fighting for and ensure that the people we are trying to help the most, aren’t hurt the most. This letter should send a clear signal to House Leadership that an excise tax on health plans will be an additional and substantial tax burden on working families. 

Rep. Betty Sutton (D-Ohio) added:

In these challenging economic times, our middle-class families cannot be asked to carry the burden of extra taxes or higher premiums, while large insurance companies continue to make record profits.

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