In a diary a couple of days ago it was revealed that Freshmen House members Polis and Pingree had written a letter to Harry Reid asking him to include the public option as part of reconciliation. At that time the letter had garnered 30 votes from members of the House.
As of today, however, the number has grown to 78!
Update: Also some movement on the Senate side.
Appearing before cameras and reporters for a photo opportunity, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said the House and Senate are pushing ahead on health care reform.
"I had a conversation with the speaker today, and we are moving forward," Reid said as reporters were ushered out of the leader's conference room.
Senators Baucus and Conrad were also quoted today as supporting moving ahead with reconciliation for health care.
Here is the letter:
The Honorable Harry Reid
Office of the Majority Leader
United States Senate
S-221, The Capitol
Washington, DC 20510
Dear Majority Leader Reid:
As the Senate continues to work on health reform legislation, we strongly urge you to consider including a public option.
Here are the reasons for this request:
- The public option is overwhelmingly popular.
A December New York Times poll shows that, despite the attacks of recent months, the American public supports the public option 59% to 29%. And a recent Research 2000 poll found 82% of people who supported President Obama in 2008 and Scott Brown for Senate last week also support the public option. Only 32% of this key constituency is in favor of the current Senate bill – with more saying it "doesn’t go far enough" rather than it "goes too far."
Support for health care legislation started to fall as popular provisions like the public option were stripped out and affordability standards were watered down. The American people want us to fight for them and against special interests like the insurance industry, and it is our responsibility to show them that their voices are being heard.
- The public option will save billions for taxpayers, speaking to the fiscally-responsible sensibilities of our constituents.
The Congressional Budget Office estimates that the public option will save taxpayers anywhere from $25 billion to $110 billion and will save billions more when private insurers compete to bring down premium costs. The stronger the public option, the more money it saves.
By including the public option, we can simultaneously reduce tax increases and the deficit. This is a common-sense way to temper the frustration of Americans who question whether Congress is spending their money wisely and fighting for the middle class.
- There is strong support in the Senate for a popular public option.
It is very likely that the public option could have passed the Senate, if brought up under majority-vote "budget reconciliation" rules. While there were valid reasons stated for not using reconciliation before, especially given that some important provisions of health care reform wouldn’t qualify under the reconciliation rules, those reasons no longer exist. The public option would clearly qualify as budget-related under reconciliation, and with the majority support it has garnered in the Senate, it should be included in any healthcare reform legislation that moves under reconciliation.
As Democrats forge "the path forward" on health care, we believe that passing the public option through reconciliation should be part of that path. We urge you to favorably consider our request to include a public option in the reconciliation process.
Sincerely,
And here are the signers, according to PCCC/Democracy for America/Credo Action: Whip Congress.com:
Please click on the link above to easily contact your Representative if they are not yet listed as a signer. And call your Senators too. What do we have to lose?
Rep. Neil Abercrombie HI-01
Rep. Tammy Baldwin WI-02
Rep. Earl Blumenauer OR-03
Rep. Robert Brady PA-01
Rep. Corrine Brown FL-03
Rep. Michael Capuano MA-08
Rep. Andre Carson IN-07
Rep. Judy Chu CA-32
Rep. Yvette Clarke NY-11
Rep. Steve Cohen TN-09
Rep. John Conyers MI-14
Rep. Elijah Cummings MD-07
Rep. Susan Davis CA-53
Rep. Danny Davis IL-07
Rep. Peter DeFazio OR-04
Rep. Bill Delahunt MA-10
Rep. Lloyd Doggett TX-25
Rep. Michael Doyle PA-14
Rep. Donna Edwards MD-04
Rep. Keith Ellison MN-05
Rep. Eliot Engel NY-17
Rep. Sam Farr CA-17
Rep. Chaka Fattah PA-02
Rep. Bob Filner CA-51
Rep. Barney Frank MA-04
Rep. John Garamendi CA-10
Rep. Alan Grayson FL-08
Rep. Raul Grijalva AZ-07
Rep. Luis Gutierrez IL-04
Rep. John Hall NY-19
Rep. Phil Hare IL-17
Rep. Jane Harman CA-36
Rep. Alcee Hastings FL-23
Rep. Maurice Hinchey NY-22
Rep. Rush Holt NJ-12
Rep. Mike Honda CA-15
Rep. Hank Johnson GA-04
Rep. Carolyn Kilpatrick MI-13
Rep. James Langevin RI-02
Rep. Rick Larsen WA-02
Rep. Barbara Lee CA-09
Rep. John Lewis GA-05
Rep. Zoe Lofgren CA-16
Rep. Carolyn Maloney NY-14
Rep. Ed Markey MA-07
Rep. Jim McGovern MA-03
Rep. Gregory Meeks NY-06
Rep. George Miller CA-07
Rep. Gwen Moore WI-04
Rep. James Moran VA-08
Rep. Scott Murphy NY-20
Rep. Chris Murphy CT-05
Rep. Jerrold Nadler NY-08
Rep. Grace Napolitano CA-38
Rep. Jim Oberstar MN-08
Rep. John Olver MA-01
Rep. Donald Payne NJ-10
Rep. Chellie Pingree ME-01
Rep. Jared Polis CO-02
Rep. David Price NC-04
Rep. Laura Richardson CA-37
Rep. Lucille Roybal-Allard CA-34
Rep. John Sarbanes MD-03
Rep. Janice Schakowsky IL-09
Rep. David Scott GA-13
Rep. Robert Scott VA-03
Rep. Jose Serrano NY-16
Rep. Carol Shea-Porter NH-01
Rep. Brad Sherman CA-27
Rep. Paul Tonko NY-21
Rep. Edolphus Towns NY-10
Rep. Nydia Velazquez NY-12
Rep. Diane Watson CA-33
Rep. Anthony Weiner NY-09
Rep. Peter Welch VT-01
Rep. Lynn Woolsey CA-06
Rep. David Wu OR-01
Plus: Delegates Donna M. Christensen (D-VI) and Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC).