And now a message from our President
- Friend --
I just finished laying out my plan for health reform at a joint session of Congress. Now, I'm writing directly to you because what happens next is critical -- and I need your help.
Change this big will not happen because I ask for it. It can only come when the nation demands it. Congress knows where I stand. Now they need to hear from you.
Add your voice: Ask your representatives to support my plan for real health reform in 2009:
http://my.barackobama.com/SupportReform
The heart of my plan is simple: bring stability and security to Americans who already have health insurance, guarantee affordable coverage for those who don't, and rein in the cost of health care.
Tonight, I offered a specific plan for how to make it happen. I incorporated the best ideas from Democrats and Republicans to create a plan that's bold, practical, and represents the broad consensus of the American people.
We've come closer to real health reform in the last few months than we have in the last 60 years. But those who profit from the status quo -- and those who put partisan advantage above all else -- will fight us every inch of the way.
We do not seek that fight, but we will not shrink from it. The stakes are too high to let scare tactics cloud the debate, or to allow partisan bickering to block the path. Your voice, right now, is essential.
See my full plan and call on your representatives to support it:
http://my.barackobama.com/SupportReform
Ours is not the first generation to understand the dire need for health reform. And I am not the first President to take up this cause, but I am determined to be the last.
Thank you,
President Barack Obama
The link takes you to a prewritten letter to your reps in Congress (the form looks them up for you if you fill in your street and zip code), and there is also a place where you can fill in your own message. I think everyone (in the U.S.) should do this, especially those that live in red states. Because this is important, this is possibly the single most important piece of legislation in the past fifty years, and he's right - we citizens have to ask for it en masse before it will happen.
If you haven't been following along on things, here's a flowchart that sums up what the plan says (click to get the big readable version):
Also, the speech he gave to Congress on the 9th:
Click to view... and the text version of it. Also, the full text of the bill.