Nyceve has just reported the good news that Representative John Conyers will be among the 120 invited guests at the White House summit on the reform of the health care system. This is indeed good news, but there have been concerns raised about whether Conyers will live up to expectations in advocating for the position of single payer healthcare. A proactive action plan is advocated for this critical need.
John Conyers is the sponsor of HR 676, a bill that outlines a complete and well thought out plan for conversion to a single payer health care system. Sponsorship of this bill alone earns him a position of respect and knowledge in sitting at the table in the discussion of health care reform.
Congressman Conyers has a track record of progressive reform as well, having held hearings to hold the Bush administration accountable for a number of violations of laws and regulations. As Chair of the House Judiciary Committe, he has been in a position to be a stong advocate for the Constitution and for civil liberties.
Yet despite his record of strong statements of advocacy, Congressman Conyers has earned criticism for his failure to achieve action on behalf of his positions. His critics have argued that when his voice is most urgently needed, he has failed to persuade and to achieve.
John Conyers is the best hope that those who favor single payer health care have of being heard at the White House summit on health care reform tomorrow, March 5. We have worked hard to put the pressure on the White house to include him in the summit. Now we must finish the job by contacting John Conyers office to let him know that we support his efforts on behald of single payer heath care, and that we have high expectations for his participation and his performance. Everyone who called to advocate for his inclusion should contact him by telephone or by email tonight or tomorrow morning to let him know that we are watching and that he carries our hopes.
You can contact John Conyers at
john.conyers@mail.house.gov
or you may call his office at
Washington Office: 202-225-5126
Detroit Office: 313-961-5670
Trenton / Downriver Office: 734-675-4084
or you may go to
John Conyers Blog and post a message to him.
Do it tonight. It's important.
Update 1. John Conyers is specifically asking for input at his blog site. Let's help him understand what matters. If we don't do it now, then when?
Update 2 If you have some information or experience with John Conyers that will help others to decide whether this action is warranted, please write of your experience in the comments. The more information people have, the more likely they are to respond in an appropriate way.
Update 3. This is the text posted today on John Conyer's blog site. So far, no one has bothered to respond. He is asking for our help.
Tomorrow I will attend President Obama's Health Care summit. I will spend most of my time tonight preparing notes for this meeting. I want to know what you think I should bring up at the meeting. I will work very hard tomorrow to make sure single-payer is taken seriously. I know that single-payer has inherent cost-containment, guarantees universal access to all, and give patients a choice of provider.
What else about single payer should I mention tomorrow? I want to know what your thoughts.