Here are welcome news for a change--Senators Casey and Brown are moving to restore the COBRA subsidies for the unemployed by offering it as an amendment to the tax extenders bill.
"Millions of Americans have been hard hit by the recession and lost their jobs through no fault of their own," said Senator Casey in a statement Wednesday. "Unfortunately, some people in Washington want to pull up the ladder and take away help for these struggling families. Not extending COBRA premium assistance will hurt hundreds of thousands of people in Pennsylvania and across the country and it will add further strain on our recovering economy."
Thank you, Senators Casey and Brown, for standing up for millions of unemployed Americans and their families. They sincerely care about preventing these Americans from going without health insurance, and they are an example of what is right with Washington, D.C.
Here's more from The Huffington Post on this developing story with the amendment offered by Senators Casey and Brown:
Extending COBRA will cost $8 billion, but Casey, who led the last effort to extend benefits , is unphased. "It's an emergency and when you're in an emergency you use emergency spending," he said in a conference call with progressive media Wednesday. "My amendment will make sure that we have eligibility for COBRA extended through November. To do otherwise would be a terrible mistake for real people, for real families, and a terrible mistake for our economy."
The amendment was introduced just a day after President Obama pressed Congress to extend COBRA subsidies in a statement during a town hall question and answer session. The President suggested that while not a long-term solution, COBRA subsidies are necessary since the major provisions of health care reform have yet to kicked in.
A letter from Casey and Brown sent Wednesday to Majority Leader Harry Reid and Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus calls for support for adding COBRA to the extenders bill though November of 2010.
Please don't stop standing up for millions of unemployed Americans and their families---all you have to do is click on this link below to send a message to these Senators:
TELL THE SENATE TO RESTORE THE COBRA SUBSIDIES FOR THE UNEMPLOYED!
Will you also please donate $5, $10, or $20 to help us whip the Senate into restoring COBRA subsidies for unemployed Americans and their families?
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