The Executive Board of the Progressive Caucus of the California Democratic Party denounces the "eleventh hour" decision of Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon, beholden to Governor Brown, to hold S.B. 562, single-payer healthcare, within the Assembly Rules Committee "until further notice."
We believe that this lack of political courage by Speaker Rendon, specifically announcing the bill's fate at 5 p.m. on a Friday, is a clear example of moral cowardice. The overriding question to Governor Brown and Speaker Rendon is why weren't the thousands of Californians, who have been organizing around the bill for over six months, not consulted prior to this decision?
We find the excuse of labeling the bill "woefully incomplete" to amount to nothing more than smoke and mirrors. Indeed, indefinitely holding the bill hostage in the Rules Committee, thwarting its movement to other standing committees, prevents the work of amending the bill to address areas including funding, governance, and cost control.
However, we are aware of the fact that since 2010, 24 lawmakers involved in the committees that have or will hear the bill, have received over $819,000 in collective donations from groups officially opposing single-payer, and that the insurance and pharmaceutical industries are among the top donors to Governor Brown's campaign coffers. We also know that behind the scenes, Governor Brown has been actively lobbying the Legislature against this bill.
With Senate Republicans in Washington having constructed legislation in secrecy that would leave millions of Americans without health coverage, and threaten nearly 14 million Californians covered by Medi-Cal, time is of the essence for the California Legislature and Governor Brown to be proactive and prevent senseless pain and death to countless people.
We call upon Speaker Rendon, beholden to Governor Brown, as well as members of the Legislature, to send S.B. 562 out of the Rules Committee and on to Governor's desk, so that the important work of creating a single-payer, universal healthcare system that protects all Californians, a major plank of our California Democratic Party platform, can continue without interruption.
We dare to ask, which side are you on?
Karen Bernal
Chair
Thomas Tellner
Vice-Chair, Northern Region
Zach Denney
Vice-Chair, Central Region
Susie Shannon
Vice-Chair, Southern Region
Marlin Medrano
Treasurer
Marcy Winograd
Secretary
Katrina Bergstrom
Parliamentarian
Glenn Glazer
Communications & Social Media Officer
Phillip Kim
Officer-at-Large
Elizabeth Lavertu
Officer-at-Large
We find the excuse of labeling the bill "woefully incomplete" to amount to nothing more than smoke and mirrors. Indeed, indefinitely holding the bill hostage in the Rules Committee, thwarting its movement to other standing committees, prevents the work of amending the bill to address areas including funding, governance, and cost control.
However, we are aware of the fact that since 2010, 24 lawmakers involved in the committees that have or will hear the bill, have received over $819,000 in collective donations from groups officially opposing single-payer, and that the insurance and pharmaceutical industries are among the top donors to Governor Brown's campaign coffers. We also know that behind the scenes, Governor Brown has been actively lobbying the Legislature against this bill.
With Senate Republicans in Washington having constructed legislation in secrecy that would leave millions of Americans without health coverage, and threaten nearly 14 million Californians covered by Medi-Cal, time is of the essence for the California Legislature and Governor Brown to be proactive and prevent senseless pain and death to countless people.
We call upon Speaker Rendon, beholden to Governor Brown, as well as members of the Legislature, to send S.B. 562 out of the Rules Committee and on to Governor's desk, so that the important work of creating a single-payer, universal healthcare system that protects all Californians, a major plank of our California Democratic Party platform, can continue without interruption.
We dare to ask, which side are you on?
Karen Bernal
Chair
Thomas Tellner
Vice-Chair, Northern Region
Zach Denney
Vice-Chair, Central Region
Susie Shannon
Vice-Chair, Southern Region
Marlin Medrano
Treasurer
Marcy Winograd
Secretary
Katrina Bergstrom
Parliamentarian
Glenn Glazer
Communications & Social Media Officer
Phillip Kim
Officer-at-Large
Elizabeth Lavertu
Officer-at-Large
