AFSCME - Senator Grassley’s Destructive Attacks on Health Care Reform

Statement of AFSCME President Gerald W. McEntee on a fundraising letter recently sent by U.S. Senator Charles Grassley (R-IA), the ranking Republican on the Senate Finance Committee, which attacks President Obama’s effort to solve the health care crisis.

Washington, D.C. — “While President Obama and Democrats in Congress are working to lower health care costs and stop insurance company abuses, Sen. Grassley has made it clear that he is not trying to accomplish real reform. He is not negotiating in good faith. He has effectively broken off the negotiations.

“Senator Grassley is lucky he’s not being prosecuted for mail fraud. His letter is full of misrepresentations and lies. He says that President Obama wants to nationalize health care. He says that government would ration health care. He says that government would take individual health care decisions away from doctors and patients. And he even attacks Sen. Ted Kennedy for taking the lead on this desperately needed reform.

“Senator Grassley is not being the honest broker the people of Iowa or the nation need. It’s time for him to put an end to this kind of division and misrepresentation of the facts. America can’t wait for quality, affordable health care for all.”

AFSCME’s 1.6 million members provide the vital services that make America happen. With members in hundreds of different occupations – from nurses to corrections officers, child care providers to sanitation workers – AFSCME advocates for fairness in the workplace, excellence in public services and prosperity and opportunity for all working families.

###

American Federation of State, County
and Municipal Employees, AFL-CIO
1625 L Street, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20036-5687
Telephone (202) 429-1145
Fax (202) 429-1120