A STEP FORWARD, MUCH WORK LEFT TO DO
STATEMENTS BY PSI AFFILIATES
AFSCME
President Gerald W. McEntee, Vice President of the AFL-CIO
"Tonight's historic vote marks a major milestone in the struggle to break the power of the insurance industry and provide quality, affordable health care for millions of American families. Democrats in the House, with the determined leadership of President Barack Obama and Speaker Nancy Pelosi, demonstrated the courage that is necessary to defeat the special interests and do what is right for the American people.
AFSCME members will remember those who stood with us and those who stood with the insurance industry.... Together, we will not fail. Tonight, we celebrate a monumentally important victory for our country. Tomorrow, we get back to work in the fight to make health care reform happen."
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A Monumentally Important Victory for Our Country
AFSCME launches ad campaign
SEIU
Anna Burger
SEIU Secretary Treasurer, Vice President Change to Win
"For the child who was denied coverage because she got too sick, too young – tomorrow is a new day for our country. The 5.5 million members of Change to Win, united in their commitment to bring the change our families, our communities and our country needs, earned this victory the old fashioned way: they worked for it. It is because of their passion and their steadfast belief in doing what's right that Congress stood and delivered the change they demanded."
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Landmark Health Care Bill Signed Into Law
Timeline of the immediate benefits of health insurance reform
AFT
Randi Weingarten,
President, American Federation of Teachers
"We applaud... [the] action by the U.S. House of Representatives that brings us to the cusp of affordable and accessible healthcare and prevents insurance companies from denying coverage to millions of Americans.
The House package will allow 32 million more Americans to receive healthcare coverage... And insurance companies will not be able to deny benefits because of pre-existing conditions or cancel policies because of illness.
While this is not a perfect bill...it makes a significant start at getting costs under control and moves the nation toward the goal of affordable, high-quality healthcare for all Americans."
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CNA
Rose Ann DeMoro
Executive Director, National Nurses United, AFL-CIO and California Nurses Association
"Passage of President Obama's healthcare bill proves that Congress can enact comprehensive social legislation in the face of virulent rightwing opposition. Now that we have an insurance bill, can we move on to health care reform?
As an organization of registered nurses, we have an obligation to provide an honest assessment, as nurses must do every hour of every day. The legislation fails to deliver on the promise of a single standard of excellence in care for all and instead makes piecemeal adjustments to the current privatized, for-profit health care behemoth."
Read more:
Diary of a Wimpy Health Care Bill
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