A Message From Congressman Anthony Weiner
Four weeks ago, Representative John Boenher said he hasn’t met anyone who supported the public option. You responded to let him know that you did. All 60,000 of you.
Today, it is because of your response that the American people won a round against two of the most powerful forces in Washington: the health insurance lobby and the status quo.
A few weeks ago, the public option had been left for dead. But you refused to let the idea of choice, competition and lower cost die. You made your voices heard and created the space for a real debate on how to control costs and improve the quality of care.
And you prevailed.
The bad news is that I believe Congress should have gone further. Although this is far more than most thought we’d get, I still question why we can’t have a stronger public option. We’ve heard from experts, from some of my colleague in Congress, and from the American people why a strong public option will save taxpayer dollars and bring down health care costs.
Who is the advocate for a public option that saves taxpayers and enrollees less? Why would anyone but an insurance company want that?
I trust that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi pressed for the strongest public option possible. She clearly understands that the more a public option holds down costs, the more it will be real choice. She gets it.
This bill isn’t everything I would like, but it’s further than anyone expected and a victory for all of you who would not be silenced. Thank you for signing the petition and sending a message to Congress about how democracy is supposed to work.
Anthony
