Fifteen Senators That Need a Lesson in “Providing for the…General Welfare of the United States”

The US Constitution, contrary to the opinions of the “Tenthers” out there who cite the 10^th

Amendment as evidence that Congress has no right to act on healthcare legislation, includes healthcare reform in Article I Section 8, an enumeration of the powers and responsibilities of Congress. To wit:

“The Congress shall have Power To lay and collect Taxes, Duties, Imposts and Excises, to pay the Debts and provide for the common Defence and general Welfare of the United States; but all Duties, Imposts and Excises shall be uniform throughout the United States.”

Click on “Wefare” for a definition. Yes, “health” is there.

However, there are fifteen US Senators who call themselves Democrats who have either vowed to oppose a “public option,” supported it with reservations, or have remained silent on where they stand on this pivotal issue.

Pivotal because it stands as the only thing that will truly reform healthcare in this country, and is the single one thing that Republicans, insurance lobbies, and the health insurance industry all oppose.

Who are these people, these fifteen, who put themselves and their campaign contributions ahead of the wishes of a majority of Americans?

We need to know who these people are because it is they, and not the Republicans, who are scheming to deny Americans their fondest desire, and at the same time plotting to bring down the greatest American presidency in a generation. So here they are, all 15 of them prioritized by the degree to which they do not support a public option. I include a mailing address and their office phone number and fax number. Email is iffy because some of them (like Lieberman) filter out email not from their state, but what the heck.

First, listed below are the “public option haters.” These are the true turncoats from small population states who have taken lots and lots of money from the healthcare industry:

Max Baucus (D - Montana)

511 Hart Senate Office Bldg.
Washington, D.C. 20510
Tel: (202) 224-2651(Office)
Fax: (202) 224-9412

Email webpage:

http://baucus.senate.gov/contact/emailForm.cfm?subj=issueissue

Blanche Lincoln (D – Arkansas)

355 Dirksen Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
Tel: (202) 224-4843
Fax: (202) 228-1371

Email webpage: http://lincoln.senate.gov/contact/email.cfm.cfm

Kent Conrad (D – North Dakota)

530 Hart Senate Office Building
United States Senate
Washington, DC 20510-3403
Tel: (202) 224-2043
Fax: (202) 224-7776

Email webpage: https://conrad.senate.gov/contact/webform.cfm

Ben Nelson (D - Nebraska)

720 Hart Senate Office Building
United States Senate
Washington, DC 20510
Tel: (202) 224-6551
Fax: (202) 228-0012

Email webpage: http://bennelson.senate.gov/email-issues.cfmfm

Joe Lieberman (I - Connecticut)

706 Hart Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
Tel: (202) 224-4041
Fax: (202) 224-9750

Email webpage:

http://lieberman.senate.gov/contact/index.cfm?regarding=issue

Mary Landrieu (D - Louisiana)

328 Hart Senate Building
United States Senate
Washington, DC 20510

Tel: (202)224-5824
Fax: (202) 224-9735

Email webpage: http://landrieu.senate.gov/contact/index.cfm

The rest of these I am calling the “fence sitters.” Those who either haven’t come down for or against the public option, or have qualified their support somehow, usually with the provision that the public option will be deficit-neutral – something that Barack Obama has publicly guaranteed (so why continue with the reservations? Only McCaskill is from the “Show Me State.”).

Claire McCaskill (D - Missouri)

Hart Senate Office Building, SH-717
Washington, D.C. 20510
Tel: (202) 224-6154
Fax: (202) 228-6326

Email webpage: http://mccaskill.senate.gov/contact/

Dianne Feinstein (D - California)

331 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20510
Tel: (202) 224-3841

Fax: (202) 228-3954

Email webpage:

http://www.feinstein.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=ContactUs.EmailMeAction=ContactUs.EmailMe

Evan Bayh (D - Indiana)

131 Russell Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
Tel: (202) 224-5623
Fax: (202) 228-1377

Email webpage: http://bayh.senate.gov/contact/email/ntact/email/

Jon Tester (D - Montana)

724 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510-2604
Tel: (202) 224-2644
Fax: (202) 224-8594

Email webpage: http://tester.senate.gov/Contact/index.cfm/Contact/index.cfm

Mark Warner (D - Virginia)

459A Russell Senate Office Building

Washington, DC 20510

Phone: (202) 224-2023
Fax: (202) 224-6295

Email webpage:

http://warner.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?p=Contactdex.cfm?p=Contact

Mark Pryor (D - Arkansas)

55 Dirksen Senate Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20510
Tel: (202) 224-2353
Fax: (202) 228-0908

Email webpage: http://pryor.senate.gov/contact/act/

Mark Begich (D - Alaska)

144 Russell Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
Tel: (202) 224-3004
Toll Free: (877) 501 - 6275
Fax: (202) 224-2354

Email webpage:

http://begich.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?p=EmailSenatorndex.cfm?p=EmailSenator

Thomas Carper (D - Delaware)

513 Hart Building

Washington, DC 20510

Tel: (202) 224-2441

Fax: (202) 228-2190

Email webpage: http://carper.senate.gov/contact/

Kay Hagan (D – North Carolina)

521 Dirksen Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
Tel: (202) 224-6342
Fax: (202) 228-2563

Email webpage: http://hagan.senate.gov/?p=contact

Let’s make this a “teachable moment” for these Senators. When a majority of Americans support a public option, these people need to sit up and take notice.