December 22, 2008

NATIONAL CALL-IN DAY FOR HR 676, Universal Healthcare TODAY!

NATIONAL CALL-IN DAY FOR HR 676, Universal Healthcare this Monday 22, 2008

GIVE AMERICA A GIFT: One Nation. One Plan. Please call both our Senators
and your Representative in Maryland. (see below)

The first national call-in day is TODAY, Monday, December 22nd. The
second national call-in day will be Thursday, January 15th. Please call
your representative and senators today and next month. Share this
message with fellow Marylanders.

Also, please call Senator Kennedy's office today. In a letter he
explained, "In recent weeks I have been working on legislation that will
have bipartisan support and guarantee quality, affordable health care
for all Americans and their families." Let him know the only way to
achieve this is through expanded and improved Medicare: national health
care for all. Call/Fax Kennedy's office: 617-565-3170 / Fax:
617-565-3183. A draft message to his office is below as well.

If your Representative is not Rep. Elijah Cummings or Rep. Donna
Edwards, then he or she is not a cosponsor of HR 676. If either of these
two represent you, please thank them and encourage them to ask their
colleagues to join the HR 676 effort. If your Representative is not yet
a cosponsor, ask him or her to contact Rep. Conyers to become a
cosponsor. No Senators have cosponsored yet. Ask Sen. Cardin and Sen.
Mikulski to take the lead on this essential effort.

Keep calls brief and to the point. Send a clear message: you want your
elected official to cosponsor H.R. 676--not a weak "compromise" that
will pay our tax money to private for-profit insurance companies which
overcharge and deny medically necessary care. Tell the staffer they can
get more information from Rep. Conyers' office or Healthcare-NOW--email
address: info@healthcare-now.org

Please keep track of your outreach efforts. This information is critical
as we track support for HR 676. Please report results to
info@healthcare-now.org

Find your Senators and Representative using this link:
http://capwiz.com/pdamerica/dbq/officials/ Find their phone number below.

Ask to speak to the Chief of Staff or Health Care Legislative Aide,
rather than leaving the message with whomever answers the phone.

Senator's Name-Phone Number
Senator Barbara Mikulski 202-224-4654
Senator Benjamin Cardin 202-224-4524

Dist.-Representative's Name-Phone Number
1 Rep. Wayne Gilchrest* 202-225-5311
2 Rep. "Dutch" Ruppersberger 202-225-3061
3 Rep. John Sarbanes 202-225-4016
4 Rep. Donna Edwards 202-225-8699 (HR 676 Cosponsor)
5 Rep. Steny Hoyer 202-225-4131
6 Rep. Roscoe Bartlett 202-225-2721
7 Rep. Elijah Cummings 202-225-4741 (HR 676 Cosponsor)
8 Rep. Chris Van Hollen 202-225-5341
* Lost bid for re-election. Incoming Congressperson is Frank Kratovil
phone: 410-643-8201

Draft scripts:

HR676 Co-sponsor call:

Hi, my name is ----------------. I am calling to thank Rep.
___________________ for his/her support of HR676, John Conyers' National
Health Insurance Act. Rep. Conyers plans to reintroduce HR676 shortly
after the Congress is back in session in January, but I want to reaffirm
my support for HR676, single payer healthcare legislation and ask Rep.
____________________ to do the same by signing on again as a co-sponsor
working for true reform of this terrible healthcare system. I say no to
Massachusetts style health care, and yes to single payer health care as
proposed in HR 676. Single payer gives more freedom of choice and access
to quality care for patients and it is the most economical way to make
sure we all can access care when we need it. Now is the time to give the
gift of healthcare for all to every American. Happy holidays and thank
you. If you have any questions about single payer or about me, please
call me at __________________.

Non-co-sponsors call:

Hi, my name is ----------------. I am calling to urge Rep.
___________________ to support of HR676, John Conyers' National Health
Insurance Act. Rep. Conyers plans to reintroduce HR676 shortly after the
Congress is back in session in January, and I want to reaffirm my
support for HR676, single payer healthcare legislation and ask Rep.
____________________ to do the same by signing on as a co-sponsor and
working for true reform of this terrible healthcare system. I say no to
Massachusetts style health care, and yes to single payer health care as
proposed in HR 676. Single payer gives more freedom of choice and access
to quality care for patients and it is the most economical way to make
sure we all can access care when we need it. Now is the time to give the
gift of healthcare for all to every American. Happy holidays and thank
you. If you have any questions about single payer or about me, please
call me at __________________.

Message to Senator Kennedy:

Hi, my name is ----------------. I am calling to urge Senator Kennedy to
make his proposed legislation for health care reform single-payer. The
current reform in Massachusetts is leaving thousands uninsured and is
far too expensive to be sustained because it leaves profit in the middle
of our health care system. In the most recent election, local ballot
initiatives supporting single payer and opposing individual mandates
passed by landslide margins in all ten legislative districts where they
appeared. With almost all precincts tallied, roughly 73 percent of
181,000 voters in the ten districts voted YES in support of a
single-payer system. Say no to Massachusetts style health care, and yes
to single payer health care as proposed in HR 676. Happy holidays and
thank you. If you have any questions about single payer or about me,
please call me at __________________.