I've started a liveblog diary for the committee mark-ups today. The first committee mark-up starts at 9AM at the Ways and Means Committee in 1100 Longworth Building. The second one starts at 10AM at the Education and Labor Committee at 2175 Rayburn Building. The last third committee mark-up of the day is at 2PM at the Energy and Commerce Committee at 2PM at 2123 Rayburn Building.
If you can make it to stand in line with Nyceve and Jane Hamsher, please click on this link to SIGN UP to fight the insurance lobbyists! If you can't make it to Washington, D.C., then please DONATE to help us out in this fight.
I'm pretty exhausted, but I'm ready to keep on fighting today, so will you help me by continuing to make phone calls?
C-SPAN will cover the mark-up at the Committee at Ways and Means at 9AM, so keep watching out for that link when it goes live so we all can participate in the committee mark-up process! The Committee on Education and Labor has a live webcast on their website that you can click on at 10AM ET to follow along with the process. There's no word yet about the Committee on Energy and Commerce but I'll update this diary if there's a live webcast.
Here's what we can do today to help Nyceve and Jane Hamsher in this incredible David vs. Goliath fight against the insurance lobbyists:
First, CALL Speaker Nancy Pelosi's office at (202) 225-0100 to demand that ALL AMENDMENTS in the three House Committees be posted online before the mark-up!
Here are the talking points below for that phone call to Nancy Pelosi's office below:
Hi, I'm calling Speaker Pelosi to ask that ALL amendments being offered in the three House committee mark-ups on health care reform, the Affordable American Health Choices Act, be posted online. We deserve to have transparency in this important legislative process! We have the right to know what sort of amendments will alter the health care reform bill for better or for worse.
Also, don't let up on the phone calls to the Democratic Members of the three House Committees! I've included the link below to a spreadsheet that has all of their numbers.
PLEASE CALL THESE DEMOCRATIC MEMBERS OF THESE THREE HOUSE COMMITTEES to request that they, you know, not screw up health care reform.
You can use the talking points below when you call these Democratic Committee Members of these three House Committees.
I'm calling to thank [Name of Member] for supporting the House health care plan, and for supporting the public option and the national insurance exchange. As an American who's faced denials of claims and has been facing higher insurance premiums, the public option and the national insurance exchange is NECESSARY to hold down the costs of private insurance and give us the kind of care we need. Please DO NOT vote for any amendments during the mark-up process that would weaken the public option and the national insurance exchange! I'm an American who needs the choice of the national insurance exchange and the public option.
And here are two Blue Dog Democrats who should have their asses KICKED HARD for their comments in the Politiconewspaper:
In the House, Democrats continued to lodge their complaints with the Democratic bill, with one prominent Blue Dog telling reporters that he has the votes to defeat the legislation in the Energy and Commerce Committee. The distaste was so strong that some House Democrats even offered rare praise for the Senate.
"A number of us would rather support the Senate Finance package, much as we’re loath to say that," said North Dakota Rep. Earl Pomeroy, a Democrat on the Ways and Means Committee — which has had a longtime rivalry with the Senate Finance panel.
....
Arkansas Rep. Mike Ross, who has been negotiating the legislation on behalf of the conservative Blue Dog Coalition, went a step further, telling reporters Wednesday that he has enough votes at this point to defeat the bill when it comes up for a vote in the Energy and Commerce Committee unless drastic changes are made.
Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) promised to work with Ross and others before he brings the bill up for a vote.
CALL REP. EARL POMEROY AT 202-225-2611 and tell him that YOU DO NOT WANT THE CRAP FINANCE BILL. TELL HIM TO VOTE FOR THE HOUSE TRI COMMITTEE HEALTH BILL, and NOT TO VOTE FOR ANY AMENDMENTS THAT WOULD WEAKEN IT!
ALSO CALL REP. MIKE ROSS AT 202-225-3772 and tell him that YOU DO NOT WANT THE CRAP FINANCE BILL. TELL HIM TO VOTE FOR THE HOUSE TRI COMMITTEE HEALTH BILL, and NOT TO VOTE FOR ANY AMENDMENTS THAT WOULD WEAKEN IT!
Good heavens. These damn Blue Dogs. I've outlined their names in RED on the spreadsheet of the phone numbers. So, when you call, try and target these Blue Dogs if you can along with the other members of the committees.
We really need you to CALL the White House and tell them that the Blue Dog Democrats must UPHOLD the majority view of Americans who need a strong, robust Medicare-like public option, and not to give into their demands to weaken the public option in health care reform!
CALL The White House at 202-456-1111 and E-MAIL THEM!
The Ways and Means Committee mark-up is starting now LIVE at this link, so click to watch and live-blog!
LIVE COMMITTEE WEBCASTS BELOW
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UPDATE: Senator Max Baucus just said on MSNBC that President Obama is killing health care reform by taking the tax on health care benefits off the table. He's blaming President Obama for blocking health reform in the Senate Finance Committee.
You know what to do, people.
CALL Senator Baucus at (202) 224-2651.
PLEASE RECOMMEND THIS DIARY SO OTHERS CAN SEE THE PHONE NUMBERS AND CALL TODAY!