The Unions have the backs of the Progressive Caucus 65:
AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer Richard Trumka on Rachel Madddow last night. (about 2 minutes in).
""Without the public option in this bill, it is no longer health care reform."
Andy Stern of SEIU and Change to Win on twitter:
While Congress " deliberates" Americans suffer. Leadership is about making choices-and the longer we wait the worse it gets.
6 minutes ago
We should not lower our expectations on health care. We won the election and a bad plan could lose the next one-America needs real reform.
7:10 PM Aug 17th
SEIU_AndyStern
The public option is a core principle of SEIU on healthcare reform:
PUBLIC HEALTH INSURANCE OPTION
The option of a public health insurance plan is necessary to ensure appropriate and adequate coverage, to foster choice and competition, to bring down costs, and to assure consumers have a stable marketplace where they can find quality, affordable coverage.
SEIU: Principles for Health Care
Two days ago, AFL-CIO President John Sweeney said the public health plan option was "a crucial part " of health care reform:
A quality public health insurance option is a crucial part of health care reform to keep private insurance companies honest, hold down costs and ensure that everybody has a health care choice available. Key to holding down costs for families, for businesses and for the federal budget is forcing insurance companies to compete.
And the only way to force real competition on the insurance companies is a strong public plan option.
Huff Po: Public Option Must Be Part of Health Care Reform
Trumka, Sweeney and Stern are speaking with one voice. AFL-CIO and Change to Win are together on this. All of labor is. And they are with us. Unions are stepping up to prevent a sell out of the public option.
Labor and the netroots have the backs of the Progressive Caucus. The blue dogs should be worried, though:
If Senate and House members vote against including a public health insurance plan option in health care reform, they very well could lose the backing of working families and their unions in the next elections, says AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer Richard Trumka.
Huff Po: Public Option Must Be Part of Health Care Reform
The best way we can help is to give to the Eve, Jane, and Slink's effort to reward the Progressive Caucus 65:
DONATE HERE: Standing Up For The Public Option
Just give $10 or $25 if it's all you have. It all helps.
These are the progressive members of Congress with the guts to stand up to Big Insurance, Big Pharma and to the pressure from their own party bosses. They stood with the American people and ordinary working families when push came to shove and both political parties decided propping up a disastrous health care system and a corrupt Insurance Industry was more important than keeping the promise made over and over to working families. These were the men and women who promised to vote against any health care reform bill that didn't include, at the minimum, a robust public option. 57 signed a letter to Speaker Pelosi and 18 took the FDL Pledge.
Democratic members of Congress need to understand that a healthcare reform bill with a Public Option is simply not an option-- it's a requirement. The congressmembers on this list have said in no uncertain terms that they will not vote for a bill without a public option all the way through Conference. That takes courage, and we need to show them how much we appreciate them for doing so. Please make a contribution-- and thanks for everything else you're doing for the public option.
Almost $110,000 now.
Our money doesn't talk, Rahm, it swears!
And you better get used to it. This is not the 1990s. Obama campaigned on people power and that is what you are seeing.
Please also check out firedoglake, which is the HQ of this people powered movement, and thank Jane and all the people there.