Use Our Public Plan Whip Tool

Response has been positive. Remember: We’re asking progressive members of Congress to commit to vote AGAINST any health care bill that doesn’t have a public option that is:

  1. Available nationwide
  2. Starting on day one
  3. and answerable to Congress and the voters
Name State Member of Congress Spoke with?
 What they said
Keith VT Peter Welch staffer His staffer said he is a strong supporter of a public plan. I asked them to come out publicly and say he would not vote for a bill without a public plan. They said they would get back to me.
James OR David Wu One of his staff I explained the concept which he had not heard of and told him that one of Congressman Wu’s constituents wants him to join/form/support such a group.
Francine FL Corrine Brown aid she has made NO statement and the office knows nothing!

CALL CALL CALL!
Michael MA Ed Markey An aid No position at this point but the for requires one. There needs to be a "No Position" option on this form.
Francine FL Alan Grayson David Intern supports public option, but which plan – not specified yet. but wants it available to all citizens nationwide while also reducing the costs
Torr CA Howard Berman Receptionist He said Berman wants the public option, however he did not know whether Berman was pledging to vote against any bill that does not contain this.
Dave KY John Yarmuth Receptionist/Intern Called and talked to the receptionist. Asked about the plan, didn’t get an answer, but they said they would send a letter to my parents’ address. The receptionist appeared to understand the question, after a few iterations.
Joan WA Jim Mc Dermiott "Heidi" I was told that Congressman McDermott was working very had in support of a public health care plan. I asked if he would commit to voting against any bill that does not contain a public plan that is "nationwide, available immediately and accountable to Congress and voters." I was told that he will not commit to that specifically. I am not sure how you would categorize this response. I selected "leaning yes." Although that is not totally accurate, it seemed to be the most appropriate selection, given your choices.
Lee NY Jerrold Nadler Office Assistant NOTE: THERE NEEDS TO BE AN OPTION ON THIS FORM FOR CONGRESSPEOPLE WHO HAVE TAKEN *NO* POSITION NOR ARE EVEN GIVING INFO ON HOW THEY’RE "LEANING"

Nadler’s assistant said that the congressman hadn’t taken a position on the public plan option yet. I asked her how any self-respecting liberal Democrat could be on the fence about this, and she just reiterated that he hadn’t taken a position yet. Sigh.
Rocco FL Robert Wexler Robert Wexler Your questionnaire leaves something to be desired – like what each of the responses mean.

I met with Wexler on Sunday and he said he would ONLY support a health plan WITH a public option. So that would mean (I hope) he would vote AGAINST a plan that did NOT have that as an option.

So you decide that the proper response is to you FDL poll
Peggy HI Maziei Hirono Pam Pam wasn’t sure about Day one, nationwide and accountable, but she said she would tell Mazie that’s what the voters want.
Marion   Lloyd Doggett no one Why isn’t Doggett of Texas on this list?
William CA Mike Thompson CA-1 Director of Communications for D.C. Office I called yesterday, June 22. The phone answerer didn’t know Thompson’s position. I said put on someone who does. That person told me it was unequivocal that Thompson supports a "strong public option". Said Thompson on Ways and Means and helped put together the House Dems’ proposal.
Anthony CA Sam Farr Troy (DC Office) Doesn’t know position – will reply by email.
Peter NY Jerrold Nadler Kim Corbin, Legislative Counsel Nadler strongly supports the public option, but Ms. Corbin could not confirm yet that he would take this pledge. She will consult with him and took my email address. I am also sending her links to this url and the Kos diary that referred me here.
Tim WA Dave Reichert One of his staff I requested Congressman Reichert’s opinion, and they said they weren’t privy to his thoughts on the subject. They then requested my opinion. I told them that I wanted single payer, but since the insurance companies and big pharma had bribed so many congressmen, that wasn’t going to happen. Therefore, I wanted a strong public option. No co-ops or other garbage to weaken it. I mentioned that polls across the country support a strong public option, and that it is likely his district is the same.
Jason UT Rob Bishop’s Office Office Staffer Mr. Bishop has this information on his webpage (where it says basically "let the market do it’s job to bring down costs"
Janet WI Herb Kohl staff supports a public option w/o hedging
Judith MD Elijah Cummings Harrison, a staff assistant Cummings supports single payer, but, doesn’t know about willingness to vote against bill without public plan. I can call back after 3, when their health care person is there, to find out.
Donald MD Elijah Cummings Receptionist Just got a thank you.
Diana NY Yvette Clark staffer "we get a lot of calls on health care and we keep a tally. Email is the best way for us to get back to you"
Michael MA Ed Markey Aid He recently signed on as a co-sponsor
Amanda NY Tim Bishop (NY1) staffer (forgot to ask his name) Curious to know why Rep. Tim Bishop (NY-1) was not included on this list as a progressive member, I called his DC office to find out his position on the public option.

The staffer who answered told me that Rep. Bishop supports a public option, but wouldn’t commit on details as there are "various plans out there" and would "need to see the legislation first."
brendan PA Chaka Fattah d’andrea call #2: Chaka Fattah’s office won’t say one thing or the other, which is disappointing considering his betrayal on the supplemental vote.

Chaka Fattah needs more calls. I’ll be doing my part to amplify this by reporting his fecklessness in my weekly column.
Mark VA Jim Moran, D-VA/8 Heath (Keith?) Baumgartner He said Moran is very supportive of a public option, but until there’s a specific piece of legislation available, he can’t commit to a specific vote yea or nay. I urged that Moran continue his support for a strong public option and vote against any bill that doesn’t meet the 3 bulleted criteria outlined here, which I listed for him. My assessment is that Moran is "leaning yes." FWIW, the aide did NOT ask for my name or other particulars, though I’d identified myself as a constituent.
Danie VT Peter Welch Staffer I told the staffer my story about running my own business since 2007. Insurance would have cost me around $25000 to cover my family and one employee (this summer). Thankfully, Vermont offers Catamount Health (for me and my wife) and Dr. Dynasaur (for the kids) at a sliding (income-based) scale. If not for this, I would have closed my doors and gone to work for someone else. The staffer told me he would share my story with Congressman Welch and that he was glad I called.
Warren PA Kathy Dahlkemper Sarah Sarah could not and would not speak on Dahlkemper’s position.
Robert MA Stephen Lynch (MA-09) Staffer answering the phone She said she would pass on the message but did not give a position for Lynch.
Martha CA Lynn Woolsey Emma I cant speak for her – none of us staffers can speak for her- send fax – 202-225-5163
Bradley FL Ed Pastor Dan Dauplaise Dan would not say either way. "The bill has not been written."
Bradley FL Raul Grijalva Anna Maldonado Undecided because of language. There are lots of details on the bill. I am not going to answer that.