March, 23 2012, 01:05pm EDT
The Affordable Care Act: An Appeal to the Repealers
WASHINGTON
Mary Kay Henry, President of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), representing more than 2.1 million working families dedicated to quality, affordable healthcare for all issued the follow statement today on the two-year anniversary of the passage of the Affordable Care Act.
"Today, millions of working families across America are saying 'thank you' for the Affordable Care Act as it continues to deliver on its vision of providing quality, affordable, secure healthcare to all, regardless of age, race, income, faith or profession. The law is the great equalizer - no one man or woman is more or less deserving than another. In the eyes of the Affordable Care Act, there is no 1% or 99%. There are only Americans who all deserve an equal chance to live longer, healthier lives.
"The Affordable Care Act is working. If you care about the future of this country, move on to a real challenge. Stop playing politics with the health of Americans and stop engaging in threats in the form of lawsuits, refusal of federal dollars and legislative foot dragging. That will not make America great; it will make us broke and sick.
"If you are running false ads against the Affordable Care Act, stop them. If you are undermining the foundation of Medicaid and Medicare and attempting to embarrass American taxpayers and veterans who depend upon on these essential services, take a moment and remember who built this country.
"While this week underscored that Republican extremists in Congress are happy to continuing stacking the deck against our struggling middle-class and aging parents and grandparents, I would appeal to leaders in our government who truly want America to recover from this recession to focus on what matters most: creating good jobs."
With 2 million members in Canada, the United States and Puerto Rico, SEIU is the fastest-growing union in the Americas. Focused on uniting workers in healthcare, public services and property services, SEIU members are winning better wages, healthcare and more secure jobs for our communities, while uniting their strength with their counterparts around the world to help ensure that workers--not just corporations and CEOs--benefit from today's global economy.
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