December 21, 2009

by Peter Asen, Executive Director

Moving Ahead on Health Care, One Step at a Time
We are still locked in a long, exhausting battle for health care reform. We’re not giving in to the conservative Democrats in the Senate who have greatly weakened the bill—we’re urging Rhode Islanders to contact Congressmen Kennedy and Langevin, and pressing them to fight for the stronger provisions of the House bill in the conference committee. The congressmen, along with progressive Senate allies like Senators Reed and Whitehouse, can help pass a final bill that truly makes coverage more affordable for all Americans and that holds big insurance accountable—and that protects women's access to reproductive health care from being held hostage to politics in the Capitol and at the Rhode Island state house.

Our delegation certainly knows how many Rhode Islanders support real health care reform! Since May alone, we have worked with more than 1,500 of you to contact our members of Congress numerous times, to ensure that our voices were heard strongly throughout this process.  More than 1,200 supporters have been part of dozens of public events and action days over this time. We have released reports on health equity, how to make coverage affordable, and the conduct of the insurance industry.  We have conducted 20 lobby meetings, in person and on-the-phone, to members and staff of our Congressional delegation support of health insurance reform.

Many of us are deeply frustrated about the senate legislation that will be voted on in the next few days, given how long and hard we have fought for a public option and ensuring that larger employers pay their fair share. While I truly believe we can and will end up with a final health care bill that is better than what is in the Senate now, I also know that we will have only taken one major step towards truly winning quality, affordable coverage for everyone. That’s why Ocean State Action will continue to work with a broad range of community, provider, small business, and consumer organizations to improve upon federal reform at the state level. Rhode Island has long had a health care system that was stronger than that in many other states – and we will once again not settle for the national baseline.

With the state’s budget woes what they are, protecting public investments in health care and further making coverage affordable will require some creative solutions – especially, ramping up our efforts for greater accountability from major health care institutions in the state. Please contribute today to help Ocean State Action continue to fight for health care, until we truly provide each and every person in Rhode Island with quality, affordable coverage.

Righting the Ship of [The Ocean] State
Last week saw Governor Carcieri put forward a budget proposal that would slash more than $125 million from our cities and towns, forcing harsh cuts to education and other key services and inevitable increases in the unfair property tax. Combating this change – as well as the inevitable efforts the governor will make in his final year to further shift our tax system towards being less fair – will take an energetic effort to engage as many Rhode Islanders as possible.

Ocean State Action was a leader with our allies to oppose two separate proposed rounds of cuts to cities and towns during the 2009 session, in the earlier case supporting successful efforts by progressive legislators to prevent $25 million in cuts. We also succeeded in convincing the Assembly to reform the capital gains tax, so that capital gains are no longer given preferential tax treatment to regular income – the first tax increase specifically targeted to wealthy taxpayers in years.

We had a successful march and rally for Jobs and Dignity Now with our partners at Jobs with Justice in February, and continued to build grassroots pressure on the assembly to maintain critical investments in the state budget and to undo tax cuts on wealthy Rhode Islanders and businesses – rather than further squeezing the poor and middle class.

In addition, we worked with close allies to put forward budget amendments that each received 23 votes – one during the supplemental 2009 budget and one in the 2010 budget – to repeal and freeze the alternative flat tax, respectively, and to use these fair tax reforms to restore funds to cities and towns. All in all, more than one-third of the Assembly’s members voted for one of the amendments. We have made major progress advancing the argument that cuts to municipalities get us further away from the urgent goal of fair school funding, and that these cuts increase the pressure on the property tax.

Despite the deeply challenging budget deficits that Rhode Island faces, we can and must take meaningful steps towards a fairer tax system that depends less on the property tax and is based more on what businesses and individuals are actually able to pay. To support this campaign for a fair budget, please contribute to Ocean State Action today.

Building the strength of the progressive movement
While we saw the General Assembly becoming more progressive in certain areas in 2009, the challenges we faced in the legislative session – on the budget but also on environmental, women’s rights, workers’ rights, and LGBT rights issues – reflect the ongoing need to build a stronger progressive movement in Rhode Island. This September, Ocean State Action convened our second-ever “New Voices Campaign Leadership Institute,” which brought together more than 30 progressive activists from throughout the state to learn the nuts and bolts of political campaign leadership.

Many of these activists will play a meaningful role in our ongoing organizing work for health care and fair budgets, but they will also grow the core of progressive political activism in Rhode Island around the 2010 elections and beyond.

We’re not done building the infrastructure of this movement for real political change in Rhode Island – and your contribution can help us continue to build skills and capacity for Rhode Island’s progressive movement. Click here now to donate.