The AFL-CIO and its millions of members are joining the Million Voices Campaign! From the AFL-CIO blog:
Join Today’s Virtual March on Congress for Health Care Now
by Mike Hall, Feb 24, 2010
Today, you can join in a million-person march for health care in Washington, D.C., without traipsing through our leftover snow banks. Our friends at MoveOn, Health Care for America Now! (HCAN) and other groups are staging a virtual march on the nation’s capital to tell Congress it’s time to stop stalling and pass real health care reform.
AFL-CIO Blog
CAN YOU PLEASE SIGN IN HERE SO WE CAN TALLY THE NUMBER OF KOSSACKS WE ARE SENDING TO THE VIRTUAL MARCH.
You can now see this on the AFL-CIO homepage:
http://www.aflcio.org/
This is in addition to the many great organizations contributing to the 1,000,000 Voices for Health Care Reform effort. This means that both the AFL-CIO and the SEIU have joined together to make sure Washington is hearing from us on Health Care Reform. The SEIU homepage also has the Virtual March front and center:
Other groups joining the effort include MoveOn, ProgressiveCongress, HCAN, DFA, TrueMajority, USAction, UFCW, EQUAL, Campaign for America’s Future, MomsRising.org and FixItandPassIt.com.
So, please add your voice to the other several hundred thousand (about 800,000 at the time of posting).
CAN YOU PLEASE SIGN IN HERE SO WE CAN TALLY THE NUMBER OF KOSSACKS WE ARE SENDING TO THE VIRTUAL MARCH.
Borrowing from nyceve's diary, here is what you can do:
Suggested Talking Points For Calls to Washington:
The US Capitol switchboard:
1-800-828-0498
1-866-338-1015
1-866-220-0044
1-866-311-3405
Senate phone directory
House of Representatives Directory
If you want to pass the Senate bill as it currently stands, you are welcome to advocate for that in your phone calls.
What matters more than any specific message, is that these politicians in Washington, D.C., hear LOUD AND CLEARLY from all of us about the need for comprehensive health care reform!
Just tell them to finish their job on health care reform. We all can agree on that. And thank you for taking a stand for health care reform!
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES:
When you call your Representative, ask him or her to pass the reconciliation bill, and then to pass the Senate bill after the fix is passed by the Senate.
"I’m calling to demand that you support the passage of the reconciliation fix package as proposed by President Obama, and to pass the Senate bill after the reconciliation fix is done by the Senate."
You can include these additional asks for the reconciliation package in your call:
· Inclusion of the public option
· The Medicare buy-in
· Fixing the excise tax
· Front loading the legislation so it kicks in before 2013
· National exchange
· Drug re-importation
· Drug price negotiation in Medicare Part D
· Increasing subsidies.
SPEAKER PELOSI:
(202) 225-4965 - Washington
(415) 556-4862 - District Office
When you call Speaker Pelosi’s office, please tell her to get everyone on the same page on the reconciliation fix and to pass the Senate bill.
"I'd like to tell Speaker Pelosi that I support the reconciliation package proposed by the President and I want this bill passed and signed into law."
Let her know that Americans are dying, need access to affordable health care, and that the crisis is too great to allow delay on this great issue of our time.
If you want a public option, please also say:
"I want a public option because I believe in competition, I don't want an individual mandate without a public option and because only a public option will keep the private insurance industry honest"
SENATE:
Tell your Senator, you demand passage of healthcare reform. If your Senator is one of those who has signed the Bennet public option letter thank him/her.
If your Senator has not signed the Bennet Letter, ask that they do so immediately.
If your Senator is a Republican, remind them that they work for you, and that you demand and are entitled to the same health care they have.
If you do not support the public option then tell your Senator to get the job done and pass health care reform.
Senator Majority Leader Harry Reid:
(Nevada constituents, please call!)
Washington: 202-224-3542
District: 775-686-5750 775-882-7343 702-388-5020
If you support the public option:
If you call Senator Reid, tell him to put the public option in the reconciliation package, and that he can do it!
Tell him not to be afraid,but to be bold, and remind him that the people in his state overwhelmingly prefer the public option to the Senate bill.
WHITE HOUSE:
White House Comment Line: 202-456-1111 (9:00 AM - 5:00 PM ET)
When you call the White House:
Support the Public Option:
" I support the public option. I believe in competition, and I think only a public option will keep the private insurers from harming the American people. I urge President Obama to support the public option, which the overwhelming majority of Americans still support, and which can pass the Senate via reconciliation if he throws his weight behind it"
Don't support the public option:
"I support the Presidential Summit, and I want President Obama to use reconciliation and all the powers of his office to fulfill his campaign pledge of guaranteed and affordable healthcare for all Americans."
For everyone:
"No more bipartisan compromises that Americans don’t want---just stand up and FIGHT for the majority of Americans on real comprehensive health care reform!"
Please lend your voice to the effort:
CAN YOU PLEASE SIGN IN HERE SO WE CAN TALLY THE NUMBER OF KOSSACKS WE ARE SENDING TO THE VIRTUAL MARCH.
Progressive Congress Action Fund has a goal of 100 donations today! Don't forget to pitch in $5, $10, or $25 to help them finish out finish this awesome campaign. Without your awesome support, this campaign would not have been possible, so thank you, kossacks! (This is the group that slinkerwink and eve are working with)
Disclosure:
The funds donated to the Progressive Congress Action Fund, a 501(C)4 not for profit, will be used to advocate on behalf of the progressive agenda, to advance progressive legislation, and may include payments to individuals engaged in fund raising