Thank You to Senators for “Yea” Votes on Sen. DeMint’s Health Care Freedom Amendment
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Dear Senators,
On behalf of half a million FreedomWorks members nationwide, including many in your state, I thank you for agreeing to Sen. DeMint’s Health Care Freedom amendment—S. Amdt. 963 to S. Con. Res. 13, an amendment to provide for a point of order against any legislation that eliminates the ability of Americans to keep their health plan or their choice of doctor. This important amendment reinforces the mandate voters gave to President Obama and respects the right of the Senate minority to have their constituents’ opinions heard in the Senate in one of the most important debates of our time.
President Obama was elected promising to protect the ability of Americans to keep their health plans and choose their doctor. This idea resonated so powerfully because our health, and our ability to freely choose how we care for it, are of the ultimate importance. When he said, “No government bureaucrat will second-guess decisions about your care,” the American people noticed.
And they noticed your support of this amendment. Your support says you believe health care reform legislation that may alter how we receive care is so important that it deserves robust debate. It says you believe such legislation needs to be good enough to earn the support of the traditional number of senators—60—rather than be pushed through under “reconciliation” rules with narrow partisan support from 51 senators. We agree.
And, according to the New York Times, Sens. Conrad and Baucus have taken the position that, “it would be too divisive to use the Senate short-cut on policy as fundamental as health care changes.”
Naysayers suggest this vote may not be important because reconciliation language will be snuck back in during the conference process. After the recent outrage over similar conference tactics that guaranteed AIG bonuses, we doubt savvy Senators would again expose themselves to such a blunder. We also believe Senators who prefer the long term benefits of a hearty democracy to short term partisan gains would oppose such a move whether or not the recent scandal happened.
Thank you again for your important support of the DeMint amendment, and please know that FreedomWorks activists in your state will stand up with you as you stand up to ensure the budget conference report does not allow for health care to be reformed under the debate-limiting rules of reconciliation.
Sincerely,
Matt Kibbe
President and CEO
FreedomWorks.org
