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HEALTH CARE FOR AMERICA NOW
NEW YORK CITY ORGANIZING COMMITTEE
Closing Statement by Mark Hannay
Press Conference, August 21, 2009
Ryan-Chelsea Community Health Center, New York City
Thank you all for joining us here today. And we want to thank Rep. Nadler for being with us today -- he is a true champion for health care justice in Congress.
My name is Mark Hannay, and I am Director of the Metro New York Health Care for All Campaign, a citywide coalition of community groups and labor unions founded in 1993 to fight for fundamental health care reforms leading to a universal health care program here in New York and in America. We are partnering with Citizen Action of New York to help lead Health Care for American Now’s New York City Organizing Committee.
If you listen to the media this week, you'd think that the public option is already dead and off the table. All of us stand here to say nothing could be further from the truth.
A solid core of Representatives and Senators are fighting back, stating that they will not vote for any bill that does not include a strong public option. We New Yorkers stand in solidarity with them, and stand behind them – in short, “we got your back!” A robust public option will not be off the table unless we fail to take action. This fight is far from over, and there will be many twists and turns as the legislative process moves forward over the coming weeks.
The public option makes reform work. It is at the core of health care reform. A strong public option is one of the essential “game changers” that makes health care reform real and not illusory. As all the forces in America who strongly believe in a strong public option stand up for it together, we are formidable and Yes We Can win the fight for REAL, comprehensive health care reform. The battle for real reform and the public option has now only just begun.
Nothing about the political theatre of recent Town Hall meetings has worked for the opponents of true democracy and health reform. The "huff & puff" crowd huffed, and they puffed, but nothing happened, and we’re still standing. We have not been intimidated. A large majority of the public continues to support a choice of a public health insurance plan as a means to rein in the abuses of the insurance companies. The health care movement is growing stronger, broader, and deeper as more and more individuals, community organizations, and trade unions are mobilizing to speak out to demand a strong public option. The recent assaults were loud and nasty, but our opponents can't win because we all continue to stand together, community and labor, with President and Obama and the majority in Congress.
It's been a tumultuous few weeks, but starting right now we – community and labor advocates for health care for all - are redefining the national debate. The next month as Congress returns to work is our opportunity to dig in and really be part of what will someday be viewed as a pivotal moment in our nation's history. Someday we will tell our kids and grandkids how we stood up for what was right in the face of fierce opposition, and helped change the direction and character of our country.
New Yorkers voted for change last fall. To continue last fall’s campaign slogan, “si se puede, yes we can!”
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