She also said via Twitter:
The costs of healthcare are outrageous and not sustainable. Our Congress allows people to die and face financial ruin while insurance companies and pharmaceutical companies profiteer. I will be fighting to change the system in Congress so everyone has basic healthcare.
~ Renee Hoagenson
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I support the FAMILY Act, which would guarantee nearly all workers 12 weeks of paid medical or family leave. I oppose the alternative proposal to support paid medical and family leave by raiding funds that are currently designated for Social Security.
~ Renee Hoagenson
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My goal is to help people know I care about Missouri district 4. The things that they care about at their kitchen table, that’s what I want to help them with.
~ Renee Hoagenson
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Funding our infrastructure is one of the government’s most basic responsibilities. I support Senator Sanders' $1 trillion infrastructure program which would expand high-speed Internet, improve road, bridges and water systems as well as increase access to clean energy sources.
~ Renee Hoagenson
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Pharmaceutical and healthcare prices have skyrocketed in the last ten years. I believe pharmaceuticals and healthcare payments should be treated more like utility payments. Drug companies can make a reasonable profit without causing American patients to choose between food or meds.
~ Renee Hoagenson
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Medicare should be expanded so there is no yearly fee or supplement needed.
Our country has the healthiest people in the world, 65+ because Medicare works. The US is dead last in outcomes for those below age 65.
~ Renee Hoagenson
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Number of people who go bankrupt every year because of medical bills:
- Britain - 0
- France - 0
- Germany - 0
- Netherlands - 0
- Sweden - 0
- Japan - 0
- Canada - 0
- The United States - 643,000
~ Renee Hoagenson
You can learn more about Renee Hoagenson — who she is and what she stands for — on her campaign website.
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Elizabeth Fiedler won the Democratic primary for a seat in the Pennsylvania state legislature, district 184. Her chance of winning the seat in November is excellent since she is running unopposed.
I am the mother of two young sons who will one day attend our neighborhood public school. I am running for State Representative because I am frustrated by our current political system.
I am not a typical political candidate. I have never run for office before. My family and I have health insurance through the Affordable Care Act, one of my children is on CHIP and the other is on Medicaid. When I’m in Harrisburg, I won’t be fighting for vague policy but for changes that directly affect my life and the health of my children. I announced my run for State Representative when my youngest son was just three months old and he’s often with me in the baby carrier while I’m out in the community. I believe elected officials should work every day to meet our needs, not the desires of the super rich or corporate and special interests. Until recently, I didn’t expect that I would run for office, but I am stepping up because I believe we need transformative change to build a government that truly works for my family, our community, and all of us.
I have worked as a reporter at public radio station WHYY for a decade, covering community affairs and politics. I spent my days asking tough questions of people in power and holding politicians and leaders accountable. But the part of the job I loved most was helping regular people like us share stories of struggle and success. I have talked to thousands of people all over Philadelphia and Pennsylvania who are struggling, and whose voices are not being heard in Harrisburg. Leaving my career was not an easy decision, but after a lot of thought I committed to run for State House because I know that we need more people in office truly fighting for us.
~ Elizabeth Fiedler
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So many of us are held back just by that feeling that like, “Hmm, maybe there’s someone else out there who is more qualified. Maybe there’s someone else who would be better at this.” And in some cases: sure, there is. In many cases, there is not. It’s us! We’re the ones.
—Elizabeth Fiedler
No one should profit off of our health, education, our need for clean water or clean air.
I’m tired of being told that’s a radical idea. It’s not radical — it’s human.
~ Elizabeth Fiedler
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Here’s a quote from an interview in Environmental Health News with Summer Lee, who won a seat in the Pennsylvania state legislature by defeating a 5-term incumbent (part of a political family dynasty) almost 2-1. In the interview Summer Lee talks about how issues of race, class and gender are intrinsically connected with economic and environmental issues.
The message that these issues are all connected has helped Lee reach people who historically have been too disillusioned with politics to bother voting. Her district saw a nearly 54 percent increase in voter turnout from previous primary races in May, according to her campaign data, whereas voter turnout stayed about the same for Allegheny County as a whole.
"Conventional wisdom says go talk to the voters who are sure to vote, the 'super voters,'" Lee said. "But we said 'no,' instead we're gonna talk to the people who have felt disconnected from politics. We're gonna talk to the people who are actually more impacted by these policies than the folks who do vote every time, but have never had someone come and say 'Hey, this is how this system works. This is what's going on, and this is how we can see some more power in our community.' So we went to those people and we brought them out."
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UPMC [the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center] wants to invest 2 billion dollars to (over)develop our community and in specialty care that would admittedly serve folk from not just outside our community but the country…
Meanwhile, UPMC has disinvested in the communities that relied on them the most, abandoned us for their bottom line. Rebuilt in affluent communities and left behind the marginalized.
UPMC one of, if not the biggest employers of state, would ask our workers to settle for slave wages while the "non profit" brings in a billion in profits.
Were here to remind UPMC that they are guests in our community. And when we say that we need a seat at the table it’s because that’s our table.
~ Summer Lee
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My cousin Kasey worked as a server until she was nearly 9 months pregnant. She’s one of the many reasons I fight for working people.
~ Sara Innamorato
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Cities shouldn’t be falling over one another to attract Amazon; they should be demanding more — better working conditions, allow workers to unionize and demand they pay a living wage to ALL employees, not just tech workers at the top.
~ Sara Innamorato
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Here’s another quote from Elizabeth Fiedler I just have to share. I shared a short version over in TRT, but here’s a longer version:
So big picture, for people who don’t know, Pennsylvania is 49th in the nation in women in elected office. So that’s every level of elected office, Pennsylvania is second worst only to Mississippi in that stat. So we obviously have a very long way to go.
It was quite intimidating in the beginning. The thing that has motivated me from the very, very beginning when I first started telling people I was doing this through us opening our campaign office last weekend was the response that I’ve gotten from people. I knew in the very beginning that I had very strong values, very strong desires of what sort of legislation I wanted to work toward, a strong reason for doing this, but I really did not know exactly how people would respond.
And it has been so absolutely amazing. So people I know, people I see at the park, and then all these people who I knock on their door and I introduce myself and I say, “Hi, I’m here to meet you. I want to hear what’s important to you. What’s working in your life, what’s not working in your life, what would you like to see elected officials thinking about and government doing?” Honestly, the response that I’ve received from people has been really, really positive. It’s been: “Thank you for stepping up,” “Yes, oh my goodness! We need more women in elected office. We need more people who really have our interests in mind.”
So those are the sorts of conversations that I work hard to remember when I am part of difficult situations and difficult discussions where I don’t necessarily feel particularly welcome. There were some people in the beginning who when I told them what I was doing, they were like, “Woah!!!” [Laughing]
I mean I think they were pretty surprised because it is … yeah, you know, I’m a mom and a former journalist and someone who’s active with my local public school. I don’t have a lengthy insider political pedigree, I haven’t been thinking about this for decades, you know? I’m someone who’s stepping up because I really feel called to do it because I want a better health insurance system for all of us. Because I want all of us to have clean water and clean air.
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Talked to a Republican woman yesterday who said l was too “liberal” to earn her vote. We then discussed student debt, the GOP tax plan that increased the deficit, and the many benefits of her Medicare plan. She asked for more info and a donation envelope.
~ Kara Eastman
Kara Eastman is running for congress in Nebraska’s 2nd district.
- 77.35% of members of Congress are white men.Only 31% of Americans are.
- 67% are over 55. Only 28% of Americans are.
- 50.8% are MILLIONAIRESOnly 5% of Americans are.
These are the people "representing us" in the federal government. THIS IS A PROBLEM.
~ Amanda Douglas
Amanda Douglas is running for congress in Oklahoma’s 1st district.
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