Labor Delegation Persuades John Murtha To Co-Sponsor HR 676

Labor Delegation Persuades John Murtha To Co-Sponsor HR 676

Labor Delegation Persuades John Murtha To Co-Sponsor HR 676

Johnstown, Pennsylvania.   After meeting with western Pennsylvania labor
leaders on June 29, Representative John Murtha agreed to sign on as a
co-sponsor of HR 676, national single payer health care legislation
introduced by Congressman John Conyers (D-MI).  Eighty-five House members,
in addition to Conyers, now have their names on HR 676.

Murtha, who has represented Pennsylvania's 12th CD since 1974, is the
eighth most senior member of the House of Representatives, and chairs the
Defense subcommittee of the House Appropriations Committee.

Those who met with Murtha came from the Greater Westmoreland County Labor
Council in Greensburg and the Johnstown Regional Central Labor Council.
The group included Ed Grystar, Harriet Ellenberger and Rosemary Trump, all
Executive Board members of the Westmoreland Council, and Terry Havener of
the Johnstown Council.  Also in the delegation was Father Bernard Survil,
a Catholic priest active in labor affairs.

Ed Grystar said, after learning that Murtha has signed on as a co-sponsor,
"The fact that Murtha, from a relatively conservative middle of the road
district, signed on as a co-sponsor signifies that the grass roots
movement for single payer is growing and opportunities exist to get others
from similar districts to sign on."

In addition to Murtha, Congressman Anthony Weiner (D-NY) also signed on to
HR 676 on July 9.  Weiner is a member of the Energy & Commerce Committee
which is one of three committees writing the House bill.    #30#

HR 676 would institute a single payer health care system by expanding a
greatly improved Medicare system to everyone residing in the U. S.

HR 676 would cover every person for all necessary medical care including
prescription drugs, hospital, surgical, outpatient services, primary and
preventive care, emergency services, dental, mental health, home health,
physical therapy, rehabilitation (including for substance abuse), vision
care, hearing services including hearing aids, chiropractic, durable
medical equipment, palliative care, and long term care.

HR 676 ends deductibles and co-payments.  HR 676 would save hundreds of
billions annually by eliminating the high overhead and profits of the
private health insurance industry and HMOs.

In the current Congress, HR 676 has 83 co-sponsors in addition to Conyers.
Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders has introduced SB 703, a single payer bill
in the Senate.

HR 676 has been endorsed by 552 union organizations in 49 states including
128 Central Labor Councils and Area Labor Federations and 39 state
AFL-CIO's (KY, PA, CT, OH, DE, ND, WA, SC, WY, VT, FL, WI, WV, SD, NC, MO,
MN, ME, AR, MD-DC, TX, IA, AZ, TN, OR, GA, OK, KS, CO, IN, AL, CA, AK, MI,
MT, NE, NY, NV & MA).