Archive for September, 2009

Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders and Representative Peter DeFazio planned a news conference today to introduce a bill helping senior citizens weather the economic turmoil we are currently experiencing. The press release below announces the news conference.

Any little bit helps keep the promise made to all who paid into the social security system all those years with the promise of some sort of economic security.

Thanks again Bernie Sanders and Peter DeFazio - Every Day 8,000 people are turning 60 years old! They want and need the promise made to them be kept.

Congress and Seniors Fight for Social Security Benefits

News Conference at 10:30am on Wednesday

WASHINGTON, September 29 – Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Rep. Peter DeFazio(D-Ore.), the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare, and others will hold a press conference at 10:30 a.m. on Wednesday.

 Sanders and DeFazio recently introduced the Emergency Senior Citizens Relief Act to provide Social Security recipients an extra one-time payment next year of $250.  Without the legislation, millions of seniors will see their Social Security checks shrink because – for the first time since 1975 – there will be no cost-of-living adjustment.

Also speaking will be Esther Lenette, 91, of Bethesda, Md.  She is a widow living independently whose only source of income is Social Security. She receives some housing assistance and is on Medicare.

Who: Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.); Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-Ore.); former Congresswoman Barbara Kennelly, president and CEO of the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare; other members of Congress; and Social Security recipients.

What: News Conference on Social Security Benefits

When: 10:30 a.m., Wednesday, September 30, 2009

Where: Upper Senate Park at the corner of Constitution and Delaware Avenues, Washington, D.C.

Contact:

Michael Briggs (Sanders) 202-224-5141

Molly Simmons (DeFazio) 202 226-5740

Pamela Tainter Causey (NCPSSM) 202 216-8378

Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders is not giving up on the public option in the Health Care reform debate. As Congress (the Senate & House) get down to the actual work of drafting a bill, Senator Sanders offers this:

Sanders: Public Option Clearly Needed   

WASHINGTON, September 29 – Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) issued the following statement today after the Senate Finance Committee rejected two amendments to add a public option plan to major health care legislation:

“I am disappointed, although not surprised, that the effort to pass a public option failed in the Senate Finance Committee. Fortunately, there is a public option in the health committee bill and my hope and expectation is that that provision will be part of the final bill. Clearly, if we are serious about cost containment, private insurance companies must have competition from a public plan.”

Contact: Michael Briggs or Will Wiquist (202) 224-5141

Jeff, a visitor to our site recommended viewing the top 10 questions surrounding Health Care reform: http://toptenhealthcarequestions.com/

As Congress debates, the rhetoric from both sides is hitting the wall at an unbelievable pace. What is the true, real and transparent information? What are the real data? What is really at stake?

Why can’t Washington give us accurate and real information instead of political spin?

Thanks for the link Jeff. We hope everyone participates.

Subsequent to our 9-17-09, post about a 20% increase in Health Care costs based upon an “age adjustment” , we received the following response to our e-mail sent to President Obama. Thanks Barack Obama for your efforts on behalf of the people of this country.

Thank you for sharing your thoughts with me. I have heard
from countless Americans struggling to afford health insurance and
health professionals striving to provide care. I appreciate your
perspective.

There is broad consensus among the American people on
the need for affordable, high-quality health care. The rising cost of
health care is the most pressing financial challenge for families and
for our Nation, and controlling this cost is essential to bringing
down the Federal deficits we inherited. We must end unfair
insurance practices that leave millions of Americans without
coverage, denying them access to care, and exposing them to
extraordinary burdens. And we should ensure that all small
business employees have access to affordable, high-quality health
plans so that we can make our economy–and our small businesses-
-more competitive. Now is the time to move forward, and I am
working to get health insurance reform done this year.

Since I took office, we have done more to improve health
care than we have in the previous decade. In February, I signed
H.R. 2 to provide coverage for millions of children through the
Children’s Health Insurance Program, and I signed the American
Recovery and Reinvestment Act to make key investments in
computerized medical records and preventive services.

Still, more must be done to lower costs, expand coverage,
and improve the quality of health care. My 2010 Budget makes a
major down payment on health insurance reform by implementing
efficiencies in government health care spending while improving
the quality of care. To help fulfill the debt we owe to our service
men and women, it includes the largest proposed single-year
increase in veterans funding in 30 years. It expands health care
coverage to an additional 500,000 veterans by 2013, implements
technology that eases the transition from military care to veterans’
care, and enhances screening and treatment services for those
suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and Traumatic
Brain Injury.

Looking forward, there are tough choices to be made, and I
will seek to bring employers and workers, health care providers
and patients, and Democrats and Republicans together to create a
system that delivers better care and puts the Nation on a
sustainable, long-term fiscal path. To learn more about my agenda
or to share a personal story, please join me online at:
www.healthreform.gov. For further information on health care and
assistance that may be available to you, you may call 1-800-
FEDINFO or visit: www.usa.gov.

I share the sense of urgency that millions of Americans have
voiced. I watched as my ailing mother struggled with stacks of
insurance forms in the last moments of her life. This is not who
we are as a Nation; together, we will fix it.

Sincerely,

Barack Obama

Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont made a statement on our role in the Afghan struggle. Below is the release from Senator Sanders press department. Each time we receive a release (on all issues) from Senator Sanders, he seems to be aligned with what We The People want from our Washington Representation. Where is everyone else in Congress? Thanks again Senator Sanders!

If you are fortunate enough to have health insurance, and many that do, say they are “happy” with their current health care coverage. Just wait!

Yesterday received a letter from Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois (our provider). Rates going up 20% six (6) weeks from today.

Why? “You have moved into a new age and premium category”. Is this not discrimination?

The response from the provider: “Everyone gets this increase in your age group, not just you. You can lower your cost by electing  a different policy.” This “Different Policy” translates to less coverage by increasing deductibles and lowering the amount of coverage available.

These companies are using any justification possible to increase rates in anticipation of what might come out of Washington. This is not only pathetic, but just plain wrong!

We will be writing our representation in the Senate, the House and President Obama. We will post up their responses on the site.

It’s time Congress quit playing political games with OUR health and OUR lives and get Health Care Reform done!

Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders has an excellent You Tube video - check it out:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dANmTKOO1oY .  Michael Briggs (Senator Sanders’ Communication Director) sent the video to us - thanks again Michael.

Senator Sanders is proposing caps for interest rates on credit cards at 15% while calling for reform on the way the folks on Wall Street have recently conducted themselves.

Three (3) banks (Wells Fargo, Chase, and Bank of America) hold 30% of the deposits in this country. That’s over $2 Trillion! We hear a lot of people saying “they are too big to fail”. Our response to that: If they are too big to fail, they are too big to succeed! If these institutions that are raising rates as high as 30% or more while not lending money are so fundamentally sound why has their stock been plummeted by investors? Raising rates and not lending is called loan sharking. My recollection is that loan sharks get put in jail.

Isn’t anyone besides Senator Sanders standing up to the lobbyists of the special interests that caused our financial mess by making bad bets with our money that they lost?

President Obama talked today to Wall Street - let’s hope that someone there really listens to what is being said. 

On behalf of We The People, thanks again Senator Sanders for your efforts.

Below you will find a comment from one of our members regarding the response they received from our Illinois House of Representative’s staff. We need to let Washington hear our voices as this member has done.

Our Country is in an uproar because OUR President wants to let every child in OUR educational system know how important it is to commit to their education and allow themselves an opportunity to provide for a better life.

And what are we doing? Spending countless hours, wasting money, wasting school administrators and teachers energy trying to determine if we should let OUR child hear a message from OUR President on how important their education is to them and the future of THEIR country.

We are woefully behind other nations in developing the next generation of doctors, scientists and mathematicians that will be able to solve many of OUR issues. And what are we doing? We either make it difficult or won’t let them hear motivation and expectations about becoming educated. What have we come to as parents, administrators and educators?

Let’s start paying attention to one of the really important things in life - like teaching our children!

Below is a response from our House Representative Bill Foster. If we let Congress know what we want they are listening and actually respond. Thank you Bill Foster for your efforts on our behalf!