Archive for September, 2009:
On the Health Insurance Reform Now Bus Tour: Salt Lake
Wheels down in Salt Lake City. I rarely get out from behind my computer and I’m excited to leave DC and meet incredible OFA supporters, the backbone of our fight for health reform.
Rusty greets me at the baggage claim. Rusty’s new to Salt Lake – but he's one of the thousands of people who volunteered countless hours to help elect Barack Obama. He tells me about his year in Salt Lake, looking for work, as we drive to the event.
We get to Sugarhouse Park nearly an hour and a half before the event starts, but hundreds of people are already making their way across the grass to the site of the rally.
It’s a beautiful day and spirits are high. The crowd is a good mix of young people, seniors with lawn chairs, kids with soccer balls and families with dogs in tow. OFA volunteers are combing the crowd with clip boards, inviting folks to sign up and get further involved.
The bus roars up, honking, and the event starts. The speakers hop off, waving, and line the stage. After the State Director, Nikki Norton, welcomes folks she turns it over to Steve Hatch. Steve is a small business owner of a chocolate shop with medical concerns of his own.
Kristin Garbett – one of OFA’s volunteer community organizers in Salt Lake City and a mother of five – tells her story of action and conviction, and encourages folks to get involved.
State Senator Karen Mayne then speaks from the heart:
Millions are uninsured, we need national health reform, and we need it now. I’m a state senator and I’m working for reform…we need to conquer this together. We need to be brave, [our leaders] need to be brave, our leaders Order Generic Cialis Online without Prescription need to be wise and they should not be afraid. Together we can get this done.
Jeremy Bird, OFA’s Deputy Director, takes the mic and gets the crowd going by reminding everyone how far we’ve come.
He asks the crowd to whip out their cell phones and plug in the numbers of Utah Senators Orrin Hatch and Robert Bennett, as well as the general number for the House of Representatives. Pens and cell phones are out, pledging to call.
The rally ends on a high note as the beautiful Salt Lake sunset fades into twilight. People stay and chat late into the night about next steps. On to Vegas.
Host or Attend a Health Reform Phone Booth
From Organizing for America Deputy Director, Jeremy Bird:
Last week the President laid out his health reform plan and challenged Congress to act. OFA volunteers leapt into action, generating hundreds of thousands of signatures and calls to show grassroots support. Now we need to reach out in our communities, spread the facts about the President's plan, and bring new voices of support into Washington.
If you can spare your lunch hour (or a couple of hours whenever you're free), you can help make it happen. Here's how: Organize or attend a "Health Reform Phone Booth."
It's simple: Just join up with other supporters in a public area where people will pass by, distribute fact sheets about the President's plan, and help folks call their members of Congress on the spot to voice their support.
You can search online to see if there's a booth Buy Accutane already set up near you. But if not, just host your own! We'll give you all the materials, phone numbers, and step-by-step instructions you need to make it a success -- and when you register your Phone Booth online, other OFA volunteers can join you to lend a hand:
http://my.barackobama.com/SeptPhoneBooth
Passing health reform won't be easy -- they've been talking about it in Washington for almost a century. But we know that when ordinary people who believe in change reach out, spread the facts, and help folks from all walks of life make their voices heard, we can make history.
Thanks for making it happen,
Jeremy
Jeremy Bird
Deputy Director
Organizing for America
P.S. -- In August we asked a few OFA volunteers to test out running a Health Reform Phone Booth in their area, and we got great reports -- even from folks who were pretty nervous before they began. Here are just a couple:I will confess that I questioned my decision to host an event the instant I hit the send button. I imagined myself on a street corner, handing out fliers like the guys hand out restaurant flyers. Relief struck when the first volunteer signed up with me. Imagine how thrilled I was when 15 had signed up!... We distributed 300 phone booth sheets and 600 info sheets... The best part, one of our volunteers was 79 1/2 years old. She was remarkable. Thank you for this opportunity. I am very glad I did it, no matter how nervous I was.
-- Mark P. from New York, New York
We had two veterans tell us that they were very happy with the VA system, and one vowed to write a letter to the editor to dispel the myths that that system doesn't work. Many people thanked us for having a booth and for trying to dispel the lies being spread by opponents of reform.
-- Mike O. from Bozeman, Montana
“We can’t wait any longer for health care reform in this nation”
The Health Insurance Reform Now Bus continued its cross-country journey today in Omaha, Nebraska, where a crowd turned out to hear health care stories and learn how they can get involved. They heard first from Kieran McCarney, who tends bar at a local watering hole and spent most of his childhood without health insurance.
As a volunteer for Organizing for America, Kieran was pleased to deliver signatures in support of the President's plan to his elected officials last week.
Last Wednesday, we delivered the names of over 6,000 Nebraska residents to Senator Nelson...who came out and publicly showed their support for the President's three core principals surrounding health care reform.
Kieran called on those assembled to not rest on their laurels, because "there is much work to be done" in order to secure insurance reform. As he told the crowd, "The cost of inaction is still too high."
He was followed by Camille Johnson Arthur, who spoke about her trials in obtaining insurance for her family and her children. She noticed that as soon as her monthly costs were more than her premiums, she was cut off:
Time and time again, we got bumped. Our policy got bumped. So it left me with a child who needed $300 a month in ADHD medication, and a daughter who was in the process of being diagnosed with asthma even though she was less than a year old. And I had no coverage for prescription meds.
Camille Buy cheap online Provigil was eventually able to get care for her children, but not for herself or her husband. And to her, that means something's wrong with the system.
If my children can be healthy, but their parents can't, have we really solved the problem? I want my children to be healthy, but I want their parents to be healthy as well...
So I ask you to continue to stand together for insurance reform. There are a whole lot more of Camille Johnson Arthurs out there who are waiting and hoping and pleading and begging that reform happens now.
Finally, Omaha heard from State Senator Brenda Council. Even though she's a practicing lawyer, she couldn't afford her COBRA coverage. She told the crowd that "We can't wait any longer for health care reform in this nation."
The bus spent the day in Salt Lake City today, and will be in Las Vegas tomorrow. Nevadans: we hope to see you there!
Open Thread
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“Nobody should go broke just because they got sick”
Earlier today, the President traveled to Pittsburgh, PA for the annual AFL-CIO convention. He addressed the gather union members, thanking them for their support and laying out his priorities. He spoke about the Recovery Act, his priorities for rebuilding a new, greener economy, and how health insurance reform will help all Americans achieve security and stability when it comes to their medical care.
Here are some excerpts from the speech:
For over half a century, the success of America has been built on the success of our middle class. It was the creation of the middle class that lifted this nation up in the wake of a Great Depression. It was the expansion of the middle class that opened the doors of opportunity to millions more. It was a strong middle class that powered American industries and propelled America's economy and made the 20th century the American century....
Because of the Recovery Act, we're keeping a promise I made to give all of you -- 95 percent of working Americans -- a tax cut -- a tax cut that will benefit nearly 5 million families in Pennsylvania. We increased and extended unemployment insurance to 12 million Americans -- including hundreds of thousands of Pennsylvanians. We made sure that they could get health insurance if they were looking for a job, because COBRA was too expensive; reduced the cost of it by 65 percent. So a lot of families out there were able to hang onto their health care even during the downturn.
We're putting Americans to work across this country rebuilding crumbling roads and bridges and waterways with the largest investment in our infrastructure since Eisenhower created the Interstate Highway System in the 1950s. (Applause.) All in all, many middle-class families will see their incomes go up by about $3,000 because of the Recovery Act, helping them get back much of what they've lost due to this recession.
And, yes, we'll grow our middle class by finally providing quality, Buy cheap Accutane Online affordable health insurance in this country. Health care can't wait. (Applause.) It can't wait. Few have fought -- few have fought for this cause harder, few have championed it longer than you, our brothers and sisters in organized labor. You're making phone calls, knocking on doors, showing up at rallies -- because you know why this is so important. You know this isn't just about the millions of Americans who don't have health insurance, it's about the hundreds of millions more who do; Americans who worry that they'll lose their insurance if they lose their job; who fear their coverage will be denied because of a preexisting condition; who know that one accident or illness could mean financial ruin.
In fact, a new report from the Kaiser Family Foundation was released today showing that family premiums rose more than 130 percent over the last 10 years -- three times faster than wages. They now average over $13,000 a year, the highest amount on record, which is why when you go in to negotiate, you can't even think about negotiating for a salary -- a wage increase because the whole negotiation is about trying to keep the benefits you already have...
The plan I announced will offer more security and more stability to Americans who have insurance. It will offer insurance to Americans who don't. And it will slow the growth of health care costs for our families, our businesses, and our government.
If you already have health insurance through your job -- and because many of you are members of unions, you do -- nothing in this plan will require you or your employer to change your coverage or your doctor. Let me repeat: Nothing in this plan will require you to change your coverage or your doctor.
What this plan will do is make your insurance work better for you. It'll be against the law for insurance companies to deny you coverage because of a preexisting condition. (Applause.) It will be against the law for insurance companies to drop your coverage when you get sick, or water it down when you need it the most. (Applause.) They won't be able to place some arbitrary cap on how much coverage you can receive in a given year or a given lifetime. (Applause.) We'll place a limit on how much you can be charged for out-of-pocket expenses -- because in the United States of America, nobody should go broke just because they got sick. (Applause...)
And because there will be one big group, these uninsured Americans, they have leverage and they can drive down the cost of care and get a better deal than they're getting right now. That's how large companies and government employees get affordable insurance. It's how everybody in Congress -- including those who are always critical of government -- get their insurance. (Applause.) It's time to give every opportunity to Americans that members of Congress give to themselves. (Applause.)
I've also said that one of the options in this exchange should be a public option. (Applause.) Now, let me be clear. Let me be clear, because there's been a lot of misinformation out here about this. This would just be an option. Nobody would be forced to choose it. No one with insurance would be affected. But what it would do is offer Americans more choices, and promote real competition, and put pressure on private insurers to make their policies affordable and treat their customers better. (Applause.)
Check out the full speech at WhiteHouse.gov.
Listen Live: President Obama Speaks at the AFL-CIO Convention
New Orleans Rallies for Reform
When we woke up yesterday, we weren't sure that the New Orleans event was going to happen. The sky had opened up and a torrential downpour filled the city's storm drains and turned our planned site into a swampland. We thought that no one would turn out with that much rain, especially during a Saints game.
New Orleans sure proved us wrong. We moved the event, and even though it wasn't ideal and the rain didn't let up until an hour before the start, hundreds of people turned out to rally for health insurance reform. Let me tell you: New Orleans sure knows how to get fired up.
The crowd heard from members of their own community who have been hurt by the current state of health care in America, including a particularly touching story told by Rosalind Davis. Rosalind spoke to the crowd about she is unable to buy insurance because she has Crohn's disease, which is considered a pre-existing condition. She lived with Crohn's and without health insurance for thirteen years, until she was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2007.
I had no insurance and couldn't get any insurance, because I had the pre-existing condition of Crohn's disease. I was dealing with what I called the Battle of Three Cs: Crohn's, cancer, and chemo at the same time. Cheap Cialis With no health insurance!
Rosalind was able to get free care for her cancer, but it wasn't a great experience. "It's a scary thing going through chemo and radiation under free care," she said, "because half the time your doctor doesn't even know your name. You're just a number."
Rosalind finished by urging everyone to talk to their friends, neighbors, and fellow churchgoers. She was followed by OFA National Director Mitch Stewart, who commended the crowd for adding over 12,000 signatures to the nationwide tally of those in support of the President's plan.
Today, the bus was in Dallas. Tomorrow, Omaha. We hope to see you out there.
President Obama Speaks on the Financial Crisis:”Normalcy cannot lead to complacency”
September 15th marks the one-year anniversary of the collapse of Lehman Brothers, an event that, for many, brought home just how serious the financial crisis had become. One year later, President Obama Provigil online No prescription spoke at the Federal hall in New York City to both look back and look forward:
While full recovery of the financial system will take a great deal more time and work, the growing stability resulting from these interventions means we're beginning to return to normalcy. But here's what I want to emphasize today: Normalcy cannot lead to complacency.
Unfortunately, there are some in the financial industry who are misreading this moment. Instead of learning the lessons of Lehman and the crisis from which we're still recovering, they're choosing to ignore those lessons. I'm convinced they do so not just at their own peril, but at our nation's. So I want everybody here to hear my words: We will not go back to the days of reckless behavior and unchecked excess that was at the heart of this crisis, where too many were motivated only by the appetite for quick kills and bloated bonuses. Those on Wall Street cannot resume taking risks without regard for consequences, and expect that next time, American taxpayers will be there to break their fall.
And that's why we need strong rules of the road to guard against the kind of systemic risks that we've seen. And we have a responsibility to write and enforce these rules to protect consumers of financial products, to protect taxpayers, and to protect our economy as a whole. Yes, there must -- these rules must be developed in a way that doesn't stifle innovation and enterprise. And I want to say very clearly here today, we want to work with the financial industry to achieve that end. But the old ways that led to this crisis cannot stand. And to the extent that some have so readily returned to them underscores the need for change and change now. History cannot be allowed to repeat itself.
So what we're calling for is for the financial industry to join us in a constructive effort to update the rules and regulatory structure to meet the challenges of this new century. That is what my administration seeks to do. We've sought ideas and input from industry leaders and policy experts, academics, consumer advocates, and the broader public. And we've worked closely with leaders in the Senate and the House, including not only Barney, but also Senators Chris Dodd and Richard Shelby, and Barney is already working with his counterpart, Sheldon Bacchus. And we intend to pass regulatory reform through Congress.
And taken together, we're proposing the most ambitious overhaul of the financial regulatory system since the Great Depression. But I want to emphasize that these reforms are rooted in a simple principle: We ought to set clear rules of the road that promote transparency and accountability. That's how we'll make certain that markets foster responsibility, not recklessness. That's how we'll make certain that markets reward those who compete honestly and vigorously within the system, instead of those who are trying to game the system.
The President went on to lay out the specifics of the new regulations and oversight that the largely Wall Street audience would come under.
Read the President's full remarks, as prepared for delivery . . .
Open Thread
Highlights from the President's remarks before Congress on health reform: