Rep. Erin Murphy. Representing St. Paul District 64A

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Health Care Choices

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The Past. The Future.

THE WHITE HOUSE

Office of the Press Secretary

_______________________________________________________________________________________

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

September 9, 2009

Below is the text of the letter from Senator Edward M. Kennedy referenced in the President’s address to a Joint Session of Congress.

May 12, 2009



Dear Mr. President,

I wanted to write a few final words to you to express my gratitude for your repeated personal kindnesses to me – and one last time, to salute your leadership in giving our country back its future and its truth.

On a personal level, you and Michelle reached out to Vicki, to our family and me in so many different ways. You helped to make these difficult months a happy time in my life.

You also made it a time of hope for me and for our country.

When I thought of all the years, all the battles, and all the memories of my long public life, I felt confident in these closing days that while I will not be there when it happens, you will be the President who at long last signs into law the health care reform that is the great unfinished business of our society. For me, this cause stretched across decades; it has been disappointed, but never finally defeated. It was the cause of my life. And in the past year, the prospect of victory sustained me-and the work of achieving it summoned my energy and determination.

There will be struggles – there always have been – and they are already underway again. But as we moved forward in these months, I learned that you will not yield to calls to retreat - that you will stay with the cause until it is won. I saw your conviction that the time is now and witnessed your unwavering commitment and understanding that health care is a decisive issue for our future prosperity. But you have also reminded all of us that it concerns more than material things; that what we face is above all a moral issue; that at stake are not just the details of policy, but fundamental principles of social justice and the character of our country.

And so because of your vision and resolve, I came to believe that soon, very soon, affordable health coverage will be available to all, in an America where the state of a family’s health will never again depend on the amount of a family’s wealth. And while I will not see the victory, I was able to look forward and know that we will – yes, we will – fulfill the promise of health care in America as a right and not a privilege.

In closing, let me say again how proud I was to be part of your campaign- and proud as well to play a part in the early months of a new era of high purpose and achievement. I entered public life with a young President who inspired a generation and the world. It gives me great hope that as I leave, another young President inspires another generation and once more on America’s behalf inspires the entire world.

So, I wrote this to thank you one last time as a friend- and to stand with you one last time for change and the America we can become.

At the Denver Convention where you were nominated, I said the dream lives on.

And I finished this letter with unshakable faith that the dream will be fulfilled for this generation, and preserved and enlarged for generations to come.

With deep respect and abiding affection,

[Ted]

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Send Off for Health Care

Dear Mighty Citizens,

I want to thank all of you who attended our inspiring and thoughtful
Send Off for Health Care meeting this past Tuesday at Mt. Zion Temple.
For those of you who weren't able to attend, I want to provide you with
some of the information that was discussed.

The purpose of our Send Off for Health Care was to hear about from real
Minnesotans about their challenges with our broken health care system,
to discuss how federal health insurance reform can solve these problems,
and use our productive, fact-based dialogue to together advocate for the
kind of health insurance reform Minnesotans and Americans need.

Several people shared stories about how our broken health care system
isn't working. We heard from a man who is currently uninsured. Both he
and his wife work, but neither of their employers offers health
insurance and it is too expensive for him to purchase. A nurse told
several stories of patients she had worked with weren't able to afford
the preventative care they needed to maintain adequate health. And a man
discussed how the rapid increased cost of health care for his employees
crushed his small business.

A panel of health care experts including, Rep. Tom Huntley, Pastor
Grant Stevenson, Dr. Lynn Blewett, State Heath Access Data Assistance
Center, and Dr. Mick Belzer, Medical Director of HCMC, discussed these
problems and shared their perspective on why federal health insurance
reform must be passed now. Later, we also heard from U.S. Rep. Betty
McCollum and Saint Paul Mayor Chris Coleman about the need for health
insurance reform.

The panel answered questions about health care reform that had been
filled out by those attending. There were so many good questions, that
we were unable to get to all of them. However, I will put out another
update soon that answers the questions that we were unable to get to at
the meeting.

Our productive meeting ended with a call to action. Everyone in
attendance was asked to send off a postcard to our congressional
delegation that showed their support for federal health insurance
reform. The post card read:

Dear Senator Klobuchar, Senator Franken, and Congresswoman McCollum,

Our nation is in crisis. Our health care system is broken. More than 47
million of our
fellow citizens don’t have health insurance; those who are fortunate
enough to have insurance are denied coverage for treatments because of
preexisting condition exclusions and other bureaucratic hurdles. The
cost of health coverage continues to grow at an unsustainable rate,
putting individuals, families, and small businesses in peril. The time
to act is now, and I am counting on you! Together I believe we can meet
this challenge. Please do all you can to ensure all Americans have
access to quality, affordable health care.

Sincerely,
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Thank you all so much for staying engaged in these important times for
our state and country. As always, call, e-mail, or write me with your
questions, concerns and input and I will get back to you.

Keep Fighting!
Rep. Erin Murphy

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