RAC Action Alert<\/a> and send emails to your Members of Congress. You can also write a letter, send a fax, or reach the Capitol switchboard at 1-888-210-3678 to make a call.<\/p>\nRead the letter and see its signatories below. <\/p>\n
Dear Member of Congress:<\/p>\n
We are communities of faith who have supported comprehensive health care reform for decades. We have also offered vocal support – and occasional constructive criticism – of the health care reform effort over the last year. We write to you at this critical juncture to urge you to complete the task at hand on behalf of the millions who are left out and left behind in our current health care system.<\/p>\n
Opportunities to comprehensively address our broken health care system are rare. Decades of failed attempts at reform testify to the difficulty of this task, and we know that the current effort has not been easy. However, we now stand closer than ever before to historic health care reform. Turning back now could mean justice delayed for another generation and an unprecedented opportunity lost.<\/p>\n
We know that no comprehensive health care reform bill will be perfect. (Indeed, if any piece of legislation ever fulfills our full vision, our vision is far too small.) However, we also know – as providers and consumers of services and care – that inaction at this critical moment is no way forward:<\/p>\n
\u2022\tWithout reform, tens of thousands will continue to die needlessly each year for lack of access to care.
\n
\n\u2022\tWithout reform, tens of millions will remain uninsured and without adequate access to a full range of services.
\n
\n\u2022\tWithout reform, health costs will continue to grow much faster than wages.
\n
\n\u2022\tWithout reform, many millions of hard-working people and their children will join the ranks of the uninsured and underinsured.
\n
\n\u2022\tWithout reform, businesses, staggered by increasing employee health costs, will either drop coverage or will be unable to make needed investments.
\n
\n\u2022\tWithout reform, the nation’s economy – and its ability to create jobs – will suffer. <\/p>\n
As people of faith, we envision a society where every person is afforded health, wholeness and human dignity. Martin Luther King, Jr., whose birthday we just commemorated, famously wrote in his “Letter from Birmingham Jail” that “justice too long delayed is justice denied.” Less well known is his admonition that “of all the forms of inequality, injustice in health care is the most shocking and inhumane.” <\/p>\n
Let us not delay health care justice any longer. This is your moment for political courage, vision, leadership and faith. We urge you to take heart and move meaningful health care reform forward.<\/p>\n
Sincerely,<\/p>\n
National Organizations:
\n
\nAfrican Methodist Episcopal Church
\n
\nAmerican Association of Pastoral Counselors
\n
\nAmerican Baptist Churches, USA
\n
\nAmerican Friends Service Committee
\n
\nAmerican Muslim Health Professionals
\n
\nBuddhist Peace Fellowship
\n
\nChurch Women United
\n
\nCommunity of Christ Ecumenical Ministries
\n
\nDaughters of Mary and Joseph
\n
\nDisciples Justice Action Network
\n
\nThe Episcopal Church
\n
\nEvangelical Lutheran Church in America
\n
\nFaithful America
\n
\nFaithful Reform in Health Care
\n
\nIslamic Medical Association of North America
\n
\nJewish Women International
\n
\nMennonite Central Committee U.S. Washington Office
\n
\nNational Council of Churches of Christ USA
\n
\nNational Episcopal Health Ministries
\n
\nNational Ministries, American Baptist Churches, USA
\n
\nNETWORK, A National Catholic Social Justice Lobby
\n
\nPresbyterian Church (U.S.A.) Washington Office
\n
\nProgressive National Baptist Convention
\n
\nRESULTS Faith in Action Project
\n
\nSojourners
\n
\nThe National Advocacy Center, Sisters of the Good Shepherd
\n
\nUnited Church of Christ, Justice and Witness Ministries
\n
\nUnited Methodist Church, General Board of Church in Society<\/p>\n
State\/Regional Organizations:
\n
\nArizona Ecumenical Council
\n
\nArkansas Interfaith Alliance
\n
\nCalifornia Council of Churches
\n
\nColorado Council of Churches
\n
\nDelaware Ecumenical Council on Children and Families
\n
\nEcumenical Ministries of Oregon
\n
\nFlorida-Bahamas Synod, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
\n
\nFlorida Council of Churches
\n
\nIllinois Campaign for Better Health Care Faith Caucus
\n
\nInterfaith Fellowship for Universal Health Care of Connecticut
\n
\nJustice & Witness Commission of the Kansas\/Oklahoma Conference of the United
\nChurch of Christ
\n
\nKentucky Council of Churches
\n
\nLutheran Advocacy Ministry – Colorado
\n
\nLutheran Advocacy – Illinois
\n
\nLutheran Advocacy Ministry in Pennsylvania
\n
\nLutheran Advocacy Ministry of Oregon
\n
\nLutheran Office for Public Policy in Wisconsin
\n
\nLutheran Office of Governmental Ministry in New Jersey
\n
\nLutheran Office of Public Policy – California
\n
\nLutheran Public Policy Office of Washington State
\n
\nMichigan Unitarian Universalist Social Justice Network
\n
\nMissouri Health Care for All
\n
\nMissouri Jobs with Justice
\n
\nNew Mexico Conference of Churches
\n
\nNorth Carolina Council of Churches
\n
\nParish Nurse Ministries of New York, Inc.
\n
\nPennsylvania Council of Churches
\n
\nVirginia Interfaith Center for Public Policy
\n
\nWashington Association of Churches
\n
\nWisconsin Council of Churches<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Yesterday evening, 56 national and state faith organizations, including the Union for Reform Judaism, sent a letter to Congress, urging members to move forward with comprehensive health insurance reform. Faith communities have long supported health insurance reform, and while individual organizations promote a wide variety of different policy priorities, we are unified in our belief […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4317,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-234892","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/234892","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4317"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=234892"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/234892\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=234892"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=234892"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=234892"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}