This is a scary moment in our nation’s history, and, to be honest, we’ve debated what to say or do. Wednesday's violent insurrection at the Capitol was a disgrace, but we also felt hope and determination earlier this week watching Georgia organizers achieve a historic victory.
If Wednesday was a reminder of how fragile our democracy is, Georgia's victory was a reminder of the importance of organizing and what we can achieve when we join together and fight.
Thanks to the incredible work of grassroots organizers in Georgia, Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff will join the Senate giving Democrats control of the House, Senate, and Presidency for the first time in a decade. We know that many of you joined NNU nurses to send letters to Georgia voters and make calls – thank you.
Make no mistake, passing Medicare for All will still be an uphill battle – but with majority control, Democrats in Congress have one less excuse not to dig into this proposal, hold hearings, and have a serious debate about the future of health care in this country.
The corporate health care industry will fight hard to maintain the status quo – but our job is to use this window to push harder than ever for actual solutions and demand Medicare for All.
Not only will we have the chance to push for comprehensive hearings, but a new procedural change that passed this week helps clear one of the obstacles in the path for Medicare for All. Let us explain:
“Pay as you go” or PAYGO is a provision in the House rules that says any bill you propose must offset all its new spending with either a massive tax increase or a massive reduction in spending on other government services. For large bills like Medicare for All, this provision is a poison-pill.
Thanks to the work of progressives in Congress, bills like Medicare for All are now exempt from PAYGO. In other words, a major procedural roadblock, one that has been used to hamstring the passage of progressive priorities like Medicare for All, has been removed.
Between the new Senate majority, PAYGO reforms, and the potential for Medicare for All champion, Senator Bernie Sanders, to be Chairman of the Budget Committee, there’s a lot of reason to be hopeful – and we can’t afford to let up our movement building.
We’ve gotten this far because of our organizing, and we must use these next two years to organize harder than ever before. In the midst of a global pandemic, we need Medicare for All now more than ever.
Please RSVP now to join our call on January 21 and be part of this next chapter in our fight.
Thank you for your commitment to this fight and take care.
Max Cotterill
Organizer
Nurses’ Campaign for Medicare for All
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