HEALTH CARE FOR AMERICA NOW
NEW YORK CITY ORGANIZING COMMITTEE

Press Statement by Mark Hannay
at Rally at J. Owen Grundy Park
Exchange Place Pier, Jersey City, New Jersey

December 18, 2009

We stand here today midst the holiday season when people of various faith traditions the world over pause to celebrate a season of light and hope. And we gather here today on the shores of the Hudson River looking out onto the Statue of Liberty, a beacon of hope to generations of new-arrivals to our shores for over a century. 

For many, the Statue of Liberty is not only a symbol of hope, but also a symbol of freedom.  Nearly 69 years ago, an American president who wanted to provide health care for all in America, spoke of the essential Four Freedoms in an historic address to a joint session of Congress.  President Franklin D. Roosevelt spoke of freedom of speech and expression, freedom of religion, freedom from want, and freedom from fear.

For millions of Americans, access to health care for all is about freedom from want and freedom from fear.  President Obama and our Congressional leaders have a unique opportunity during this season of hope to move toward universal health care here in the United States, to finally deliver on the freedoms from want and fear.  But to do so, they must stand up to the vested special interests that have a stranglehold on our political process and are threatening the entire health care reform process going on in the Senate at this very moment.  Our nation’s leaders face a choice: stand up for freedom, or succumb to politics-as-usual and the forces of the status quo.

Right now, the Senate is engaged in a mighty battle between the forces of change and hope, and the forces of the status quo that currently leaves over 46 million in America without health care, millions more under-insured, and the rest of us at the mercy of those who profit at the misfortune of the sick and the injured.  The outcome of this fight is not yet known, but it will likely conclude within the next week.  We want to acknowledge and thank our Senators for leading the fight for reform: Senators Lautenberg and Menendez from New Jersey, and Senators Gillibrand and Schumer from New York.  We urge them to keep on fighting for hope and health care justice.

We also want to acknowledge the historic vote taken by the House of Representatives last month:  the first time ever that a house of Congress had passed a major national health care bill. We want to thank the members of the New Jersey and New York delegations who voted for it.  They set a standard that we call on the Senate will follow, for in many ways, the House bill is much superior to that now being debated in the Senate.

We here today call on Senators Gillibrand, Lautenberg, Menendez, and Schumer, and all members of the New Jersey and New York Congressional delegations to deliver on REAL health care reform in this season of hope.  REAL health care reform means:

• A REAL public health insurance option, as an alternative to the failed commercial health insurance market
• Provisions to guarantee that health coverage is truly affordable for all New Jerseyans and New Yorkers, including adequate subsidies to obtain coverage if mandated, and limits on out-of-pocket costs so that people can afford to use their coverage when care is needed.
• New taxes should only be assessed on those who can afford them –the wealthier among us— and not on everyday working people with good health plans, or those with serious health conditions who need comprehensive insurance coverage
• Requiring employers to pay their fair share for coverage for their workers
• Including immigrants by ending the current 5-year waiting period for legal immigrants, and allowing all immigrants to access health insurance markets
• Coverage for comprehensive reproductive health care, with no new limits on coverage for abortions
• Supporting states like New York and New Jersey who have “done the right thing” by expanding their public programs to cover the uninsured

 It is a tradition during this season of hope for the exchange of gifts. For millions across America, especially during this time of severe economic crisis, the only gift they truly want is the gift of health and well-being, health security for themselves and their families, and freedom from want and fear. 

 President Obama and Congress stand on the brink of giving that hope and freedom.  But like the shepherds out in the field and the magi crossing the deserts, as conveyed in the biblical Christmas stories, they must “fear not.”

 People all across America, and we here in New Jersey and New York, stand with you, Mr. President, Mr. Majority Leader, and Madame Speaker, and all our Senators and Representatives as this year you give the gift of hope to millions across America currently facing hopelessness and despair.  We call on you to respond to the spirit and blessings of the season, and thank you for your leadership
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