12 arrested at Pelosi’s San Francisco office to demand single-payer amendments go to vote!

Sit-In at Pelosi’s Office After Breaking Promise on Kucinich Amendment

By Kevin Gosztola | opednews.com

Ten to twenty people engaged in a sit-in at Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi’s San Francisco Office in the afternoon on Tuesday. The sit-in was a response to Pelosi’s decision to not bring health care reform legislation to a vote with the Kucinich Amendment, an amendment that would have gave states the option to enact single-payer health care.

Buff Whitman, who was arrested for participating in the direct action, explained that the individuals engaging in the action “wanted to have a conversation with Nancy Pelosi” and they knew she was in Washington but wanted staff to call her and allow her to talk to them about breaking a promise she had made on the Kucinich Amendment.

Those participating in the action also wanted to draw attention to the fact that the Weiner Amendment had been dropped. The Weiner Amendment would have given representatives in the House a chance to vote on single-payer health care.

The action began as something not confrontational. Those concerned about health care reform walked in, asked to speak with Pelosi, were told nobody was available, and decided to wait and sit down in the waiting area.

According to Buff, a young man came out a while later and told them again that she was not available. They once again said they would wait.

The group of individuals chanted and sang songs while they all hoped somebody would change Pelosi’s mind so the group could “have a dialogue with her.”

After an hour and a half in the office, the group decided they “should block some doors.” Individuals blocked one door going into the office and then another door coming out of the office.

The Homeland Security police came up and told the activists to stop what they were doing. When the individuals refused to leave, around 13-15 were arrested, taken to the basement of the Federal building Pelosi’s office is in, and cited for refusing to obey a lawful order.

The sit-in at Pelosi’s office came together very quickly. It was the product of a coalition including citizens from Direct Action for Single Payer, the California Employees Association, Single Payer Now, and a retired Americans association in California.

The sit-in came about a week after a blockade at BlueCross/BlueShield, which was organized as part of MobilizeforHealthCare.org’s actions for real health care reform for all.

During the summer, Pelosi said she would allow a vote on a single payer plan if Rep. Weiner removed his single-payer amendment from the House Committee on Energy and Commerce’s health care bill.

The Institute for Public Accuracy (IPA) put out this statement from executive director of Health Justice, Clark Newhall:

“While we have been pushing for a debate on the House floor for single payer, and been calling for the representatives to keep the Kucinich [Amendment]. … It seems House Speaker Nancy Pelosi lied. … [The Kucinich Amendment] allowing states to create state-level single-payer healthcare has been stripped out of the House healthcare bill, after having passed in committee back in July by a vote of 27 to 19.”

The IPA also released a statement from a California Nurses Association spokesperson:

“In July, the House Labor and Education Committee approved an amendment introduced by Rep. Dennis Kucinich that would exempt states that enact Medicare for all / single-payer bills from the onerous limitations contained in the federal ERISA law governing employer sponsored health plans.

Since then a rogues’ gallery of Fortune 500 corporate interests and insurance lobbyists have put a lot of pressure on the House leadership to strip the Kucinich Amendment from the final bill going to the House floor.”

Pelosi and Democrats plan to block amendments to health care reform when health care reform is debated and comes to a vote on the House floor.

Stay tuned for photos and additional reports on the action. Make OpEdNews your source for all information and news on the citizen actions for real health care reform in America.