Yesterday, the Huffington Post picked up a story that the Delaware Democratic party passed a health care reform resolution. One purpose of the resolution was to put pressure on Tom Carper to support the public option for health care. Below is the text of the resolution. The full press release can be found here.
Delaware Democratic Party – State Executive Committee Resolution on Health Care Reform
WHEREAS, 20,000 die each year in the United States because they cannot afford to see a doctor, 700,000 go bankrupt because of their medical bills, almost fifty million Americans lack any health insurance at all, and millions more who do have private coverage pay increasingly unaffordable premiums; and
WHEREAS, every developed country except the United States has concluded that providing health care for all their citizens is a right not a privilege; and
WHEREAS, health care in the United States is now in major crisis and affordable health care for all Americans is a matter of the utmost urgency in our time; and
WHEREAS, despite efforts by well funded extremists to disseminate false and misleading information about health care reform, public polls show that an overwhelming majority of Americans want health care reform to include, as a matter of choice, a robust public option similar to Medicare in order to create, as President Obama has said, significant competition for the medical insurance industry; and
WHEREAS, co-ops or so-called “triggers” are inadequate in and of themselves to generate either the kind or the amount of competition needed to keep medical and insurance costs down;
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that the Delaware Democratic Party urges Senator Thomas Carper, Senator Edward Kaufman and Representative Michael Castle to vote for such healthcare reform proposals as contain a robust public option at all stages of the legislative process including conference and reconciliation, and encourages legislators to use any available parliamentary means to pass such reform;
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Delaware Democratic Party shall send a copy of this resolution to all members of Congress who represent its members.