Ted Kennedy on Healthcare

At the 2008 Democratic Convention,
after being diagnosed with a brain
tumor, Sen. Ted Kennedy said:

This is the cause of my life -
new hope that we will break
the old gridlock and guarantee
that every American - north, south, east,
west, young, old - will have decent, quality
health care as a fundamental right
and not a privilege.

Kennedy chaired the Senate Committee on Health,
Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP).
On July 15, Kennedy's committee passed the
Affordable Health Choices Act,
which "will reduce health costs,
protect individuals' choice in doctors and plans,
and assure quality and affordable heath care for Americans."

It also includes a "strong public option that responds
to the wishes of the American people to have a
clear alternative to for-profit insurance companies."

Tell your Representatives to honor Sen. Kennedy
by passing real health reform:
http://www.democrats.com/
|honor-ted-kennedy?cid=ZGVtczU3MjcwNmRlbXM=

Senator Kennedy was too ill to vote for this bill,
but he praised its passage:

Americans are an extraordinary people.
We have created a nation of liberty and justice.
We have defeated forces of oppression,
and we have spread prosperity and progress
across the globe. When the American people
are on the march, there is no barrier that can
resist them, no obstacle that can block their path.

The American people are on the march once more,
and they will not stop until quality, affordable health
care is the birthright of every American.
And we are with them every step of the way.

We, the American people, are "on the march."
As my Representative, I urge you to act quickly to
honor Senator Ted Kennedy by passing real health reform -
including a strong public option that offers "a clear
alternative to for-profit insurance companies."