As a young American, the health care bill is really important to me. As someone who is currently dealing with no longer being covered by my parents' insurance policies and trying to figure out my own, the health care bill is really important to me. As a woman who cares about having control over my own body , the health care bill is really important to me.
There are so many issues at hand with this health care bill. Our lives are literally on the line, so it is no wonder that people are scared and worried. It's especially scary because it's just not feasible for the average citizen to wrap his or her mind around the entirety of this bill, no way to read every page and provision, no way to understand every proposed amendment.
Still, several issues have managed to make their way to the forefront because of their partisan and controversial nature. I am not registered with an political party because I am unable to align myself enough with any one to justify doing that, but I am very sure of my thoughts on many of the issues being currently discussed by our Senators today.
When the bill went through Congress, Congressmen Stupak (D-MI) introduced an amendment that was subsequently accepted by Congress. To overgeneralize, this amendment bans any coverage of abortion in the public option and also stops those who receive a federal subsidy from getting an insurance plan that covers abortion. What it comes down to is a huge, likely impossible, hurdle for many women to get an abortion in America. Is that fair? Me thinks no.
So I decided to do something about it. I, like many people, am often angered by the actions of our politicians. I talk about what I wish Congresswoman Soandso had done or how I wish Senator Fillintheblank had voted. But I, like most people, never told my Congressperson or Senator that. I came to realize today that this was silly and Senators Gillibrand and Schumer should know exactly what I thought about Stupak and his ideas.
I was super nervous at first, but I called the general operator that can connect you with any Congressional office. She told me that the line at Senator Gillibrand's office was busy but offered me the direct number so I could call myself, and then proceeded to also give me the number for Senator Schumer. This woman was totally awesome and, without actually saying it, totally encouraged me to continue on my mission.
I called Gillibrand first because I knew that she is very set on preventing Stupak-esque language from entering this health care bill. I was put on hold and after a few minutes a young sounding aide answered and listened to me talk about how this health care bill is really important to me as a young American woman and he assured me that the Senator is working hard to make sure my voice and opinion is heard, at which point I asked him to thank her and wished him a great day. Not only was it easy, it was super exciting! When I put down the phone I had such a rush!
Unfortunately, Senator Schumer's office had a busy signal that I could not get past even though I called repeatedly throughout the day. Still, I am happy that I did something rather than sitting idly by, hoping Congress does not take away my reproductive rights.
I was in DC yesterday lobbying against Stupak, and I got to see what Gillibrand and Schumer both actually have to say about it - in the flesh! And they both were pretty amazing. Gillibrand is super duper pro-choice, and stressed how the senate language is better and that we should urge our reps to concede to the senate language during the discussions. (after seeing them speak, I ran over to the house building, and nita Lowey's office, my rep who is the best ever - and told them in the office how she should concede to senate language, which they assured me she would, more or less). Gillibrand also said the best way to help is to get our voices out there, blog about it, talk about it - that she still has trouble getting good press, but she's super pro-choice and won't stand for Stupak.
ReplyDeleteAnd Schumer is such a great dude, he spoke about how one of the things we can be doing is telling people that live in states with swing senators and reps to call or email their people - since new york senators know where it's at. He also, said, surprisingly candidly, that if stupak-esque language makes it into the final bill, he will use his political leverage in the senate to make sure it doesn't pass, and make sure his colleagues urge the bill back into discussions if that's the case. And that was really refreshing, and made me feel much better about the whole thing.
About trouble getting in touch with Schumer's office, he said email is good if you're having trouble getting through on the phone - that he gets a big sheet every day with all the opinions expressed in emails and phone calls all day, and that he reads them all.
He also said Go Orange, and asked how our basketball team was doing. I'll be blogging more about the whole day on a host of blogs in the upcoming days, and posting pictures, so keep an eye out for me.