FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:                CONTACT:
April 24, 2008                                      Stephanie Mueller, 202-730-7842 
                                                          Marcus Mrowka, 202-730-7759

Congress Must Not Hedge on Health Care Reform

-SEIU Members, Leaders Respond to Congressional Leaders Who Are Backing Away from Reform-

Washington , D.C. — SEIU members and leaders responded strongly to statements by congressional Democrats that health care reform is unlikely in the new Congress.

“This is a moment of change, and voters sent these politicians to Washington to get results, not to make excuses,” said SEIU President Andy Stern. “In every poll, in nearly every evening newscast, in every state across the country, we see the effects of America’s health care crisis and voters’ demands for a solution. Senators Obama and Clinton have plans, and Congress should be planning now how they’re going to get it done.”

Paula Hall, a child care provider in Spokane, Washington, was the first SEIU member to deliver the Weekly Democratic Radio Address last year. She talked about losing her house and her daughter’s college savings because she had no way to pay the hundreds of thousands of dollars in medical bills it took to save her life. She hoped that the new Congress would make health care reform a priority.

“Nobody in America should have to lose their house and all their savings like I did just because they get sick,” said Hall. “But my story is becoming all too common. I worry about my daughter who turns 18 this year and won’t be covered by my insurance anymore. What happens if she gets sick? We don’t have time to wait—we need to make health care for all a reality now.”

SEIU members are launching a national bus tour next week to keep the focus of the presidential campaign on winning access to affordable health care for all Americans. Thousands of SEIU members and health care voters are staging events across the country to share their own health care stories and make sure candidates promise to make health care for all their top priority. SEIU members will also keep the pressure on John McCain to release a plan that provides access to affordable health care to all Americans.

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With 1.9 million members, SEIU is the fastest-growing union in North America. Focused on uniting workers in three sectors to improve their lives and the services they provide, SEIU is the largest health care union, including hospitals, nursing homes, and home care; the largest property services union, including building cleaning and security; and the second largest public employee union.