Grassroots Supporters Call on Republicans to Compromise and Not Wreck Our Economy to Protect Tax Breaks for Millionaires, Billionaires, Big Corporations

Washington, DC – Health Care for America Now (HCAN), the nation’s largest grassroots health care advocacy group, will join other progressive organizations today to stage more than 100 events nationwide to demand a debt deal that protects seniors and the middle class while making sure the wealthy and big corporations pay their fair share.

Republicans in the House and Senate are on the verge of inflicting major damage on our economy by refusing to drop a radical plan to balance the budget on the backs of seniors and the middle class by slashing Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security and preserving outlandish tax breaks for millionaires, private jet owners and big corporations.

“The Republicans are waging an all-out assault on the middle class in order to protect the super-rich and big corporations when we need a balanced approach to avert a crisis that will wreck the economy,” said HCAN Executive Director Ethan Rome. “People are fed up with the Republicans, who want to slash Medicaid, Medicare and Social Security just to protect tax breaks for millionaires, billionaires and big corporations. People are taking action because they want Congress to create jobs and the Republicans to stop wasting precious time pushing their extremist agenda.”

HCAN is joining with project coordinator MoveOn.org and a host of progressive organizations, including AFL-CIO, AFSCME, Alliance for Retired Americans, National Education Association, Protect Your Care, SEIU, and USAction.

Today’s events are the continuation of a massive grassroots lobbying campaign that jammed telephone lines to Congress, brought picketers to congressional district offices coast to coast and engaged tens of thousands of people opposed to a debt-ceiling deal that slashes Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security while giving tax breaks to millionaires, private jet owners and big corporations.

In the past two weeks HCAN has held more than 50 events across the country demanding members of Congress stop protecting millionaires and billionaires and preserve Medicaid, Medicare and Social Security for middle-class Americans. HCAN supporters this month also made 5,000 calls to senators and representatives' offices.

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Health Care for America Now is the nation’s leading grassroots health care advocacy organization. HCAN led the fight over the past two years to win passage of health reform and to keep Congress from being steamrolled by corporate special interests.