Why rally?
We voted for change. Get it done right. Get it done now.
Now is the time to mobilize across the nation for the change we voted for and the change we need. We voted to reform health care, rein in Wall Street, create good jobs, win workers’ rights, and beat climate change. We must demand that Congress stand with us against corporate greed, against the highly-paid lobbyists, and against the Republicans determined to undermine the President’s entire agenda.
It’s time for Congress to deliver health care we all can count on. We’ve had enough of insurance companies’ inflated profits, denied claims, and soaring premiums.
President Obama and Congress are one step away from making comprehensive health care reform a reality. We’ve worked hard enough and waited long enough, and we expect health care reform to pass now. It’s the change we voted for, and it clears the path for more big change in jobs, the economy, the environment, and immigration. If Congress drops the ball on health care reform, the entire Obama agenda will suffer.
We must fight back against Wall Street, the big banks, the oil companies, the insurance companies, and the other corporate interests that are running wild. The insurance industry alone spent $180 million last year to kill reform with virtually every Republican taking its side. Republicans want to derail the entire Obama agenda so they will do whatever it takes to block reform.
The truth is that delay has deadly consequences. Every day we don’t pass health care reform:
- More than 6,300 people lose their health insurance. [pdf]
- More than 1,800 families go bankrupt due to medical bills.
- More than 120 people die because they can't get the care they need.
Passing health care reform means:
- People won’t be denied health coverage because of pre-existing conditions.
- Tens of millions of people will pay less for health coverage than they do now.
- More than 30 million uninsured people will get coverage.
- Seniors will benefit as the donut hole shrinks in Medicare prescription drug plans.
- Young people will be able to stay on their parents’ insurance plans until they turn 27.
- We will create 4 million jobs over 10 years.
It’s now up to Congress to finish the job. Democrats have majority votes in the Senate and House for comprehensive reform and can fix and improve the Senate bill. They can employ a common, frequently-used process called “budget reconciliation.” Budget reconciliation has been used 19 times by both political parties since 1980. The Senate will pass a budget reconciliation bill that improves the Senate bill by scaling back the excise tax, making health care more affordable, closing the donut hole, and setting up a national exchange and a public option. The House will pass that same reconciliation bill along with the bill passed by the Senate in December.
Democrats must finish health care reform now and finish it right. We voted for change; we marched for change; we made phone calls and knocked on doors for change; and after a year, we expect our leaders to get it done now and get it done right. We’re here today to stand up to the powerful business interests and Republican political gamesmanship and do what’s best for our country. Our Democratic Congress must do the same. Do it now. Do it right.
