Support the Weiner Amendment

Representative Anthony Weiner of New York has arranged for a vote by the full House of Representatives on a single payer national health insurance bill.

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi has promised Weiner that he would be allowed to offer an amendment on the floor of the full House to substitute the text of H.R. 676, the Conyers-Kucinich Improved and Expanded Medicare for All single payer bill, for the proposed text in H.R. 3200, the main health care reform bill in the House. 

We need to call upon our representatives in Congress to vote YES on the Weiner amendment. 

Unfortunately none of our Oregon Congressmen at present are co-sponsors of H.R. 676, so we need to persuade them to vote for it.

Some members of Congress have said they won’t work for single payer legislation because they don’t believe it has a realistic chance of passing.  Now, however, the work has been done for them, and the bill will come to the floor of the House.  All they have to do is vote. 

Unless they actually oppose a unified national health insurance program, they should vote YES, even if they think a strong “public option” is the best they can realistically hope for. 

If they vote yes and the amendment fails, they will still be able to vote in support of H.R. 3200.  But by making the yes vote as big as possible they will undermine the “politically unrealistic” claim and speed the eventual adoption of a single payer system. 

ACTION:  Call or fax your representative and ask him to vote YES on the Weiner Amendment to substitute the text of H.R. 676 into H.R. 3200 when the Weiner Amendment comes to the floor of the House. 

CONTACT INFORMATION:

David Wu- 1st District

Washington, DC, Office: 202-225-0855; Fax: 202-225-9497

Portland: 503-326-2901; Toll-free: 800-422-4003

Fax: 503-326-5066.

Greg Walden- 2nd District

Washington, DC, Office: 202-225-6730; Fax: 202-225-5774

Bend: 541-389-4408; Fax: 541-389-4452

La Grande: 541-624-2400; Fax: 541-624-2402

Medford: 541-776-4646; Fax: 541-779-0204.

Earl Blumenauer- 3rd District

Washington, DC: 202-225-4811; Fax: 202-225-8941

Portland: 503-231-2300; Fax: 503-230-5413.

Peter DeFazio- 4th District

Washington, DC: 202-225-6416; Fax: 202-225-0032

Coos Bay: 541-269-2609

Eugene: 541-465-6732; Toll-free: 800-944-9603

Roseburg: 541-440-3523.

Kurt Schrader- 5th District

Washington, DC: 202-225-5711; Fax: 202-225-5699

Salem: 503-588-9100;