WASHINGTON - August 30 - At 10:00 A.M. on Tuesday, August 31st, during the "Health Care Crisis and Election 2004" rally to be held three blocks from the Republican Convention, several members of Congress are expected to speak out on the current ravaged health care system in the United States. At a speak out in the CUNY Graduate Center, they will also endorse the National Health Insurance Act (H.R. 676) which would provide much-needed solutions to the U.S. health care crisis.

CONGRESS MEMBERS will challenge the Bush administration record which has increased health care costs for everyone by 42% in the last three years and has seen an increase of 9 million in the number of uninsurred. Bush's record includes the destruction of the public health system; the destruction of Occupational Health and Safety (OSHA) regulations, the undermining of environmental health standards, and rising drug costs. Congress members will also discuss Bush proposals around medical malpractice lawsuits and his advocacy of vouchers and tax credits to reduce the cost of health care to the uninsured and the almost uninsured.

CONGRESS MEMBERS expected to present their alternative to the Bush program will include: Eliot Engel, (D-NY); John Conyers, (D-MI); Maurice Hinchey, (D-NY), and others.

SPEAKERS AT THE RALLY AND CONFERENCE on August 31 and September 1 include: The Reverend James Forbes, Riverside Church; Dr. Quentin Young, Physicians for a National Health Program; Leo Gerard, President of the United Steelworkers of America; Nurah W. Ammat'ullah, Muslim Women's Institute; Cheri Honkala, Poor People's Economic Human Rights Campaign; Hector Figueroa, SEIU32bj; Marilyn Clement, National Coordinator of the Campaign for a National Health Program NOW; Adrienne Maree Brown, the League of Indypendent Voters; Kim Gandy, President of the National Organization for Women; Medea Benjamin, Code Pink; and Michael Moore, invited guest speaker.

See the full program for the conference attached or go to: www.cnhpnow.org

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