VERY URGENT INFO. SEN SCHUMER HAS MET WITH SINGLE PAYER NY FOLKS AND HAS AGREED TO PUSH TO SEAT SINGLE PAYER AT THE TABLE. BUT WE NEED YOUR HELP TO HELP SCHUMER. SCHUMER WOULD LIKE ANOTHER CMTE MEMBER FOR PROCEDURAL PURPOSES TO LET US HAVE OUR VOICE. SO WE ARE TAGETING ANOTHER CMTE MEMBER TO SIDE WITH SCHUMER ON THIS. IM THINK SEN KERRY MAY BE OUR BEST BET BUT IF U ARE IN A STATE WHO HAS A SENATOR ON THE CMTE YOU HAVE EXTRA POWER IN GETTING ALL THIS DONE. BELOW ARE ACTION ITEMS I NEED EACH OF YOU TO TAKE-FAX MEMBERS, A 800 NUMBER WHICH WILL LET U RECORD A VOICEMAIL FOR YOUR SENATOR AND IT WILL BE AUTOSENT TO HIM OR HER! THE TIME IS NOW TO MOVE ON THIS. CONGRESS WONT JUST GIVE US SINGLE PAYER-WE MUST FIGHT FOR IT.

Friends:

Clark Newhall of Health Justice, 1payer.net, who brought us the Mike Farrell TV ads has urged us to use the simple fax feature on his website.  Please circulate this announcement to your local coalitions listserves.  

FAX THE SENATE FINANCE COMMITTEE:  Demand single-payer have a seat at the table: http://www.1payer.net/campaigns/finance- committee.html

LEAVE A VOICE MESSAGE FOR THE SENATE FINANCE COMMITTEE: Call the Health Justice hotline to have  a message delivered directly to your Senator. When you call this number 1-800-578-4171, state where you live and that you want a single-payer expert in the Senate Finance Committee Roundtable on May 12th.  The messages will be delivered as voice messages but will also be transcribed and delivered by fax on monday.  Call NOW! 1-800-578-4171.  

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(Please forward widely)

Dear Single-Payer Friends:

It's National Nurses Week and there are many single-payer festivities in Washington DC.   Help us celebrate the leading role nurses play in the single-payer movement by joining us in Washington DC and / or making a call to get single-payer experts into the Senate Finance Committee Roundtable discussion!

This Tuesday, May 12, the Senate Finance Subcommittee is holding its final roundtable on healthcare reform. The California Nurses Association / National Nurses Organizing Commmittee has issued a request to include Roseann Demoro, Executive Director of CNA / NNOC and longtime leader in the single-payer movement. PNHP has formally submitted the names of two outstanding physicians, Drs. Marcia Angell and Steffie Woolhandler, to testify as expert witnesses. These voices must be heard.  Nurses and doctors are on the front lines of our broken health care system, and they should be the first in line to testify on health reform.  

As you probably heard, at the last Senate Finance Committee hearing, physicians and single-payer advocates stood one-by-one to ask to have a seat at the table.  The Senators laughed and had each one arrested.  We need to end the exclusion of the only plan that will be truly universal and contain costs. Our health depends on it.

Here is what you can do: Single-Payer New York met with Senator Schumer, member of the Senate Finance Committee, on Friday evening.  He agreed to ask Chairman Baucus to include a single-payer expert if we can get another Senator on the committee to join him.  If you are a constituent of the following Senators, you can call and ask them to join Senator Schumer [NY] of the Senate Finance Committee to ask Senator Baucus to include a single-payer expert in Tuesday's Hearing:

Stabenow [MI] - Washington DC office 202-224-4822
Kerry [MA] - Washington DC office (202) 224-2742
Rockefeller [WV] - Washington DC office (202) 224-6472
For a full list of Senate Finance Committee members, go here: http://finance.senate.gov/sitepages/comm ittee.htm

If you are not a constituent of Senators on the Finance Committee, please call Sen. Baucus' office in Washington and urge him to extend the invitations at 202-224-2651, or fax him at (202) 224-9412.

Thank you for your support at this critical time in our nation's health!

Health & Justice,

Katie Robbins
Healthcare-NOW!