← Tell Michael Bennet: Introduce

the Public Option in the Senate UPDATE: After delivering the petition with over 30,000 signatures, Bennet tells local news stations he will not budge, and that he "doesn't confuse the blogosphere with real people and real voters." Sign our petition to Senator Michael Bennet: "You led the fight for 51 votes for a public option in the Senate. Now it's up to you to make sure it comes up for a vote at all. Introduce the public option for a vote during the Senate's debate." If the health care bill passes the House, is signed by the President and returns to the Senate for tweaks, all it takes is one Senator to introduce a public option amendment. So far, no one's stepping up to the plate. Senator Michael Bennet of Colorado led the effort to show that a majority in the Senate supports the public option. Was it all for show? Did Michael Bennet only champion the public option when he thought it didn't matter? If Bennet introduces the public option during reconciliation debate, according to its own rules the Senate has to hold a vote.

Bennet's recent efforts led to 51 Senators saying they would like to vote for a public option. We don't know if all 51 will follow through and vote yes, however. We do know that, after months of being told that everyone supports a public option but "the votes just aren't there," we need to see who can keep that commitment.



This is our only chance if we want to have a vote on a public option. By offering the amendment, there's no harm done - the bulk of health care reform will already be signed into law. This is just our chance to fix it. Senator Bennet has also said he wouldn't want to endanger the reconciliation "fixes" by introducing an amendment that would send the bill back to the House. But now that the bill is already being sent back to the House for reconsideration, there's no reason NOT to add the public option.



Will Michael Bennet show his leadership and force a vote for a public option? Or is his opponent, Andrew Romanoff, someone who is more likely to stand up to leadership and stick to his guns in the Senate?



Tell Senator Michael Bennet to introduce the public option for a vote in the Senate. We'll deliver your signatures to him on Wednesday. Photo via flickr ( aflcio





Email: * First Name: Last Name: Zip: * Your Message to Michael Bennet: Please leave this field blank: * required