Progressive Caucus Will Pitch Public Option for Health Care in Meeting With Obama Tomorrow

[babylonsister]

http://www.cqpolitics.com/wmspage.cfm?parm1=5&docID=news-000003104008

Progressive Caucus Will Pitch Public Option for Health Care in Meeting With Obama
By Alan K. Ota, CQ Staff


Progressive Democrats plan to remind President Barack Obama of his liberal roots in a meeting Tuesday and press him to deliver on an expanded federal role in providing health care coverage.

Obama has caught the attention of liberals by wooing centrists and vowing to cut deals on issues such as health care. Last month, he raised eyebrows when he described himself as a New Democrat at a meeting with members of the more moderate New Democrat Coalition.

Now, liberals are pressing Obama to make sure that any deal includes a government alternative to private insurers. Raúl M. Grijalva , D-Ariz., co-chairman of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, says the 78-member group will push for a government-run insurance option in a scheduled meeting at the White House.

“Some of our members want a single-payer system. But at a minimum, as a caucus, we want a public plan option,” Grijalva said. He and Lynn Woolsey , D-Calif., another CPC co-chairman, warned party leaders in an April 2 letter that CPC members “will not support legislation that does not include a public plan option.”

For his part, Obama hopes to drum up support for his $83.4 billion request of supplemental war funds. Grijalva said he and some other progressives were undecided and wanted more details about growing military efforts in Afghanistan.

Grijalva said progressives see Obama as an ally based on triumphs such as the economic stimulus law (PL 111-5) and an expansion of the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (PL 111-3). Now, they want Obama to stick to his liberal game plan rather than veering to the center.

“It’s possible to be both a progressive and a New Democrat. Some lawmakers do that,” said Darcy Burner, the new executive director of the American Progressive Caucus Policy Foundation, a support group for the CPC.

“He can be many things to many people,” Grijalva said.

[annabanana]

1. They have a pretty good-sized House delegation

I hope they all show up and make a lot of noise!

Arizona
Ed Pastor (AZ-4, Phoenix)
Raul Grijalva (AZ-7, Tucson) - Co-Chair

California
Lynn Woolsey (CA-6, Petaluma) - Co-Chair
George Miller (CA-7, Martinez) - Chairman, House Education and Labor Committee
Barbara Lee (CA-9, Oakland) - Chairwoman, Congressional Black Caucus
Pete Stark (CA-13, Fremont)
Michael Honda (CA-15, San Jose)
Sam Farr (CA-17, Monterey)
Henry Waxman (CA-30, Los Angeles) - Chairman, House Oversight and Government Reform Committee
Xavier Becerra (CA-31, Los Angeles)
Diane Watson (CA-33, South Los Angeles)
Lucille Roybal-Allard (CA-34, Los Angeles)
Maxine Waters (CA-35, Inglewood)
Laura Richardson (CA-37, Long Beach)
Linda Sanchez (CA-39, Lakewood)
Bob Filner (CA-51, San Diego) - Chairman, House Veterans Affairs Committee

Connecticut
Rosa DeLauro (CT-3, New Haven)

Florida
Corrine Brown (FL-3, Jacksonville)
Alan Grayson (FL-8, Orlando)
Robert Wexler (FL-19, Boca Raton)

Georgia
Hank Johnson (GA-4, Lithonia)
John Lewis (GA-5, Atlanta)

Hawaii
Neil Abercrombie (HI-1, Honolulu)
Mazie Hirono (HI-2, Honolulu)

Illinois
Bobby Rush (IL-1, Chicago)
Jesse Jackson, Jr. (IL-2, Chicago Heights)
Luis Gutierrez (IL-4, Chicago)
Danny Davis (IL-7, Chicago)
Jan Schakowsky (IL-9, Chicago)
Phil Hare (IL-17, Rock Island)

Indiana
André Carson (IN-7, Indianapolis)

Iowa
Dave Loebsack (IA-2, Cedar Rapids)

Maine
Chellie Pingree (ME-1, North Haven)

Maryland
Donna Edwards (MD-4, Fort Washington)
Elijah Cummings (MD-7, Baltimore)

Massachusetts
John Olver (MA-1, Amherst)
Jim McGovern (MA-3, Worcester)
Barney Frank (MA-4, Newton) - Chairman, House Financial Services Committee
John Tierney (MA-6, Salem)
Ed Markey (MA-7, Malden)
Mike Capuano (MA-8, Boston)

Michigan
Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick (MI-13, Detroit)
John Conyers (MI-14, Detroit) - Chairman, House Judiciary Committee

Minnesota
Keith Ellison (MN-5, Minneapolis)

Mississippi
Bennie Thompson (MS-2, Bolton) - Chairman, House Homeland Security Committee

Missouri
William Lacy Clay, Jr. (MO-1, St. Louis)
Emanuel Cleaver (MO-5, Kansas City)

New Jersey
Donald Payne (NJ-10, Newark)

New Mexico
Ben R. Luján (NM-3, Santa Fe)

New York
Jerry Nadler (NY-8, Manhattan)
Yvette Clarke (NY-11, Brooklyn)
Nydia Velazquez (NY-12, Brooklyn) - Chairwoman, House Small Business Committee
Carolyn Maloney (NY-14, Manhattan)
Charles Rangel (NY-15, Harlem) - Chairman, House Ways and Means Committee
Jose Serrano (NY-16, Bronx)
John Hall (NY-19, Dover Plains)
Maurice Hinchey (NY-22, Saugerties)
Louise Slaughter (NY-28, Rochester) - Chairwoman, House Rules Committee

North Carolina
Mel Watt (NC-12, Charlotte)

Ohio
Marcy Kaptur (OH-9, Toledo)
Dennis Kucinich (OH-10, Cleveland)
Marcia Fudge (OH-11, Warrensville Heights)

Oregon
Peter DeFazio (OR-4, Eugene)

Pennsylvania
Bob Brady (PA-1, Philadelphia) - Chairman, House Administration Committee
Chaka Fattah (PA-2, Philadelphia)

Tennessee
Steve Cohen (TN-9, Memphis)

Texas
Sheila Jackson-Lee (TX-18, Houston)
Eddie Bernice Johnson (TX-30, Dallas)


Peter Welch (VT-At Large)

Washington
Jim McDermott (WA-7, Seattle)

Wisconsin
Tammy Baldwin (WI-2, Madison)
Gwen Moore (WI-4, Milwaukee)

Non-voting
Madeleine Bordallo (Guam)
Donna Christian-Christensen (Virgin Islands)
Eleanor Holmes Norton (District of Columbia)

Senate member
Bernie Sanders (VT)

[HopeOverFear]

2. Wonderrful!

[annabanana]

3. kicking because this meeting is TODAY

[Vinca]

4. I sure hope they have an impact on this process.

Healthcare reform without a public option is nothing more than an expansion of big insurance's victim base.

[babylonsister]

5. Any word on this meeting? nt