As have these other organizations:
AARP
AFL-CIO
American Medical Association
Consumers Union
FamiliesUSA
Main Street Alliance
From the AFL-CIO:
http://edlabor.house.gov/documents/111/pdf/letters/20090714-HR3200-AFLCIO.pdfSTATEMENT BY AFL-CIO PRESIDENT JOHN SWEENEY ON HOUSE
HEALTH CARE REFORM BILL
July 14, 2009
Working Americans saw real and historic action today in the efforts to fix our
broken health care system with the release of the House of Representatives bill,
“America’s Affordable Health Choices Act.” We applaud the House Ways and
Means, Energy and Commerce, and Education and Labor Committees for their
hard work and solid work product. We especially recognize the contributions of
Chairmen Rangel, Waxman and Miller in coordinating Herculean efforts to
produce a single bill for committee consideration so that reform efforts can move
forward smoothly and expeditiously.
The House proposal meets President Obama’s goals by controlling runaway
health care costs, offering the American people real choices and expanding access
to quality health care. It has a high quality public health insurance plan that
provides real choices and real competition for private insurance from day one. It
calls on corporations to pay their fair share. Like the President’s proposal, it calls
on those who can afford it to contribute to funding health coverage expansion – in
the House bill through a modest tax surcharge. It does not ask the American
people to pay more for what they already have. In fact, this legislation offers the
real promise of improving quality, increasing access and reducing costs, all at the
same time.
Voters want their elected representatives to guarantee quality affordable health
care. They want a quality public plan that will provide a real alternative to
confusing private plans that profit from denying care and shortchanging
coverage. They want everyone to pay their fair share. We urge the
Representatives to move forward with reform and vigorously resist any attempt to
dilute this bill during the legislative process. We call on Congress to act swiftly
on health care reform and deliver much needed relief to working families.