AFL-CIO: Public Option is a must
(Labor Unions are pushing for Public Option too. MSNBC reports.)
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(Politico’s Alex Burns talks about whether President Barack Obama will drop public option to regain more momentum on the Health Care Reform battle.)
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From NBC's Mark Murray:
Speaking with reporters today, leaders of the AFL-CIO argued that any final health-care legislation must contain the so-called Public Option to compete with private insurers, and that any Democrats who stand in the way won't receive its support.
"It is an absolute must," said AFL Secretary-Treasurer Richard Trumka, who likely will become the organization's next president when it gathers two weeks from now in Pittsburgh. "We won't support the bill if it doesn't have a public option in it."
Trumka also implied that members of Congress, including Democrats, who don't back health-care legislation with a public option risk losing the labor group's support -- something he mentioned yesterday when he said, "Today, more than ever, we need to be a labor movement that stands by our friends, punishes its enemies, and challenges those who, well, can’t seem to decide which side they’re on."
Today's remarks came at an event where the AFL-CIO released a poll, conducted by the Democratic firm Hart Research, showing the plight of younger workers (those 18-34) in this economy.
Per the poll, just 31% of these workers said they earned enough money to pay their bills and put some money aside; an additional 31% said they didn't have health insurance; and 51% said they had no retirement plan (pension/401k) at work.
The survey, said outgoing AFL-CIO President John Sweeney, "shows just how broken our economy is for young people and what is at stake if we don't fix it."
Nancy Pelosi: No Public Option, No Bill
As the White House signals that it is willing to move forward on a health reform plan without a public option, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) sent a strong message Thursday evening: not so fast.
In her strongest statement yet, Pelosi said that any bill "without a strong public option will not pass the House":
“Any real change requires the inclusion of a strong public option to promote competition and bring down costs,” Pelosi said. “If a vigorous public option is not included, it would be a major victory for the health insurance industry.”
Pelosi’s remarks come less than one week before President Barack Obama delivers an address to a joint session of Congress as part of a re-launched campaign effort to sell his health care reform bill to both lawmakers and the public. White House aides have said the president will use the speech to offer more detail than he has so far about what sort of bill he'd like to reach his desk.
“President Obama has said that a public option will keep the insurance companies honest. If someone has a better idea for promoting competition and reducing health care costs, they should put it on the table,” Pelosi said. “But for the past month, opponents of health insurance reform have demonstrated that they are afraid of the facts. They have only offered distortions, distractions and misrepresentations to try to kill this historic legislation.”
“A bill without a strong public option will not pass the House,” Pelosi said. “Eliminating the public option would be a major victory for the insurance companies who have rationed care, increased premiums and denied coverage.”
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Sources: First Read, MSNBC, Politico, AFL-CIO, Today Show, Wikipedia, Google Maps
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