News Release

PROGRESSIVE GROUP AT FOREFRONT OF FIGHT TO FIX THE NATION’S HEALTH CARE SYSTEM EMBRACES HOUSE REFORM BILL

Jennifer Ettinger — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 11:01:18 -0800

Historic health care overhaul legislation Democratic leaders predict will pass in the House on Saturday marks a “momentous step toward making a guarantee of quality health care a reality for all Americans,” according to Campaign for America’s Future health care project director Diane Archer who declared her organization’s strong public support for the bill today.

Democratic leaders predict that they will have the 218 votes needed to pass the sweeping bill that President Obama has made his top domestic priority. The “Affordable Health Care for America Act of 2009” (H.R. 3962) would extend coverage to millions of uninsured Americans and ban insurance companies from turning people away because of pre-existing conditions.

STATEMENT OF DIANE ARCHER AND ROGER HICKEY
CAMPAIGN FOR AMERICA'S FUTURE

The Campaign for America's Future declares our strong public support for the "Affordable Health Care for America Act of 2009" (H.R. 3962).

While we would’ve preferred stronger provisions in some key areas, this legislation constitutes a momentous step toward making a guarantee of quality affordable health care a reality for all Americans. And we hope that it serves as a model for action by the Senate.

The bill calls for shared responsibility by individuals, employers and government. It retains and strengthens employer-sponsored insurance, which currently provides the majority of Americans under the age of 65 with health coverage. It provides progressive financing and promotes good health policy by requiring employers to share responsibility for health care costs and the wealthiest one percent of Americans to pay their fair share instead of taxing health care benefits.

The Campaign for America’s Future is particularly supportive of the provisions in the bill that make health insurance and health care services more affordable, and those that make health insurance companies more accountable.

The inclusion of premium assistance, reduced cost-sharing, an annual out-of-pocket limit and comprehensive benefit packages, will help ensure that low- and middle-income individuals and families with health insurance will no longer have to file for bankruptcy when they have a medical crisis.

In addition, the inclusion of a public health insurance option will increase competition and set a benchmark for transparency and efficiency that will help lower the current unsustainable health care cost curve. Stronger federal regulations, including repealing the antitrust exemption for health insurers, as well as complementary federal oversight and enforcement of insurance regulations, will also assist in keeping insurance companies competitive and more responsive to the needs of their members over those of Wall Street.

Congressional Moves to Protect Consumers and Provide Financial Oversight Good First Step

Jennifer Ettinger — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 13:11:55 -0700

WASHINGTON – Campaign for America's Future co-director Robert Borosage today praised the House Financial Services Committee for taking steps to protect consumers from predatory financial practices by approving the creation of a new Consumer Financial Protection Agency. In praising the legislation, Borosage noted that the bill should be strengthened as it moves through Congress to prevent another economic crisis.

STATEMENT OF ROBERT BOROSAGE

Although the legislation has far to go, the committee created a much-needed independent agency to protect consumers from predatory lending and deceptive practices. Now the House and Senate must strengthen and pass the bill.

Chairman Frank should be complimented for fending off a fierce effort against the legislation by the big banking lobby. They couldn’t kill it, but they did weaken it significantly.

The Committee limited enforcement authority for 98 percent of the nation’s banks, which control 20 percent of assets; exempted auto loan and insurance products; and omitted provisions to enforce important community lending standards. Most damaging, it replaced President Obama's proposed independent oversight board with an advisory committee of financial regulators who failed to protect the American public from Wall Street in the first place.

The House bill is a good first step. It should be strengthened on the floor of the House. It will take a major mobilization to protect it against obstruction in the Senate.

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**NOTE: Media representatives interested in interviewing Campaign for America’s Future co-director Robert Borosage should contact Jenn Ettinger at jettinger@ourfuture.org. **

Netroots Nation 2009 Straw Poll Results

Toby Chaudhuri — Sat, 15 Aug 2009 09:22:23 -0700

PITTSBURGH, PA. – Progressive bloggers and activists are focused on pushing comprehensive health care reform this year and overwhelmingly support Rep. Joe Sestak, D-Pa., over Sen. Arlen Specter, D-Pa., for the Pennsylvania Democratic Senate nomination, according to a straw poll at this year’s Netroots Nation convention conducted by the Campaign for America’s Future and Democracy Corps.

Sixty percent of respondents said overhauling the nation’s health care system is one of their top two priorities. Fifty-three percent said they will not support a health care bill that does not include a public insurance option. Passing clean energy and environmental protection measures came in second with 22 percent.

President Clinton, former Gov. Howard Dean and White House senior advisor Valerie Jarrett all spoke this week at this year’s convention, which attracted more than 1,500 progressive bloggers and activists. Sen. Specter and Rep. Sestak both addressed the convention on Friday. Sen. Specter, who did not support a public health insurance option before, told the audience he supports it now.

In a match-up between the two candidates vying for the Pennsylvania Democratic Senate nomination, neither candidate reached 50 percent. A third remained undecided while 48 percent choose Rep. Sestak and 10 percent choose Sen. Specter. Rep Sestak was viewed more positively with a favorability rating of 46 compared to 15 for Sen. Specter.

President Obama received a 95 percent approval rating among the group. Not surprisingly, Sarah Palin was extremely unpopular with participants. Only 1 percent of attendees rated Palin favorably while 88 percent rated her unfavorably. Thirty-six percent rated Palin as the easiest Republican presidential nominee to defeat in 2012, followed by former Sen. Rick Santorum, R-Pa., who was rated as easiest to beat by 20 percent, and Gov. Bobby Jindal, R-La., who was the choice of 12 percent.

This year’s convention marked the second year that Campaign for America’s Future and Democracy Corps conducted a straw poll at the Netroots Nation bloggers convention. More than 250 attendees participated in this year’s straw poll between Thursday, Aug. 13 and Friday, Aug. 14.

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**NOTE: An electronic copy of the straw poll results are available online at http://www.ourfuture.org/fact-sheets-briefs/2009083314/netroots-nation-straw-poll-health-care-no-1-issue.**

THOUSANDS OF PROGRESSIVE BLOGGERS, ACTIVISTS TO GATHER IN STEELTOWN FOR “NETROOTS NATION” CONVENTION

Toby Chaudhuri — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 11:50:55 -0700

**Netroots Nation to Feature Straw Poll, Steel Plant Tour, Pirates Stadium Party**

PITTSBURGH, PA. – With more than 1,500 progressive bloggers and activists streaming into Pittsburgh this week, Sen. Bob Casey, D-Pa., joined United Steelworkers president Leo Gerard, Campaign for America’s Future co-director Robert Borosage and Netroots Nation spokesperson Mary Rickles on a conference call today to set the scene and preview this year’s “Netroots Nation” convention.

In addition to major addresses from President Bill Clinton, Gov. Howard Dean, White House senior advisor Valerie Jarrett and a match-up between Sen. Arlen Specter, D-Pa., and Rep. Joe Sestak, D-Pa., the gathering will feature several activities sponsored by the Campaign for America’s Future, including a straw poll, a tour of a modern steel plant and a party with batting practice at Pirates Stadium.

National and international attention is turning to Pittsburgh with the arrival of the Netroots Nation convention, followed next month by the AFL-CIO annual conference and the G-20 Summit. Attention is also turning towards the city’s struggle to forge new jobs in an economy where millions have disappeared.

Pittsburgh’s economic revival is due to a high degree of collaboration between industry, labor and government, according to a new report by the Campaign for America’s Future. The report explains how Pittsburgh is an example of a city that has made the transition from the old to the new economy, citing lessons for the nation.

Sen. Casey, who welcomed delegates to the city for the major gatherings on today’s conference call, said that a specifically designed industrial policy brought Pittsburgh back, not market forces, citing the Campaign for America’s Future’s report.

“Pittsburgh faced challenges as early as the 1950s, but by the 1970s it was losing tens of thousands of jobs,” said Sen. Casey “Pittsburgh had to transition out of that to the economy we have today, which includes a new manufacturing base that is unheralded in the nation. This recovery was the result of deliberate planning. You have to have government leadership but you also have to have corporate leadership and industrial leadership that's willing to work together to give meaning to words like ‘collaboration’ and ‘strategic planning.’”

Gerard, who along with Borosage is setting up this week’s steel mill tour for bloggers and reporters, said that the manufacturing sector in Pittsburgh, which pays much higher than its service counterparts, is defining a national model.

“I take issue with the term Rust Belt. There is no rust,” said Gerard. “The modern steel mill is a very high-tech and space-aged facility. They release a small fraction, less than one-third, of the carbon that a steel mill in China lets loose. Some say we can forget about manufacturing and move to a services economy, but a service economy won't produce good-paying jobs.”

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**NOTE: An electronic copy of the Campaign for America’s Future’s report on Pittsburgh is available online at http://makingitinamerica.org .**

“NETROOTS NATION”
CONVENTION HIGHLIGHTS

THURSDAY, AUG. 13

10:30 a.m. - Bloggers and labor leaders discuss how to hold Wall Street accountable together.

12 p.m. - Bloggers and media representatives tour a modern steel plant.

8 p.m. - President Bill Clinton delivers remarks to thousands of bloggers and activists.

FRIDAY, AUG. 14

9 a.m. - Gov. Howard Dean holds a health care town hall meeting with bloggers.

11 a.m. - Sen. Arlen Specter, D-Pa., and Rep. Joe Sestak, D-Pa., debate key issues.

7 p.m. - Bloggers and activists hold a party and batting practice at Pirates stadium.

SATURDAY, AUG. 15

Straw poll results will be released on Saturday morning.

9 a.m. - White House senior advisor Valerie Jarrett has a conversation with bloggers.

**NOTE: An updated and detailed agenda is available online at http://www.netrootsnation.org/agenda. Media representatives interested in covering the “Netroots Nation” blogger convention, should pre-credential by emailing their name, outlet and phone number to Mary Rickles at mary@netrootsnation.org. Reporters and bloggers interested in participating in the steel plant tour should contact Mike Elk at melk@ourfuture.org and 412-613-8423.**

HOUSE HEALTH REFORM BILL WOULD DELIVER ON PRESIDENT OBAMA’S VISION, SAYS CAMPAIGN FOR AMERICA’S FUTURE

Nathan Maton-Parkinson — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 08:37:33 -0700

WASHINGTON – Campaign for America’s Future health care project director Diane Archer today praised the House for introducing a health reform bill that delivers on President Obama’s vision. Archer declared that America's Affordable Health Choices Act is designed to control costs and deliver quality affordable health care to all. She said the bill, if passed without serious changes, can accomplish these goals.

STATEMENT OF DIANE ARCHER

The House bill makes it possible to achieve quality, affordable health care for all.

We’re determined to make sure that the House bill sets the standard for achieving necessary change. We urge the House to pass this bill and encourage members of the Senate to emulate its key provisions. We must reject efforts by conservatives to erode or weaken its key elements.

The House bill would strengthen employer-based insurance and allow people to keep what they have if they like it, while giving people without employer coverage the choice between public and private insurance plans.

It would create a national public health insurance plan option to compete on a level playing field with private insurers, reining in costs and delivering better value.

It would create a national insurance exchange with both private and public plan options to give everyone access to affordable, reliable and comprehensive health care coverage.

And it would help people with low incomes afford health insurance.

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**NOTE: Campaign for America’s Future health project director Diane Archer and Campaign for America’s Future co-director Roger Hickey are available to discuss the House and Senate health bills. To schedule an interview, please contact Jennifer Ettinger at jettinger@ourfuture.org or 202-587-1614.**

NEW COMMISSION MUST AGGRESSIVELY INVESTIGATE CAUSES OF FINANCIAL COLLAPSE, SAYS CAMPAIGN FOR AMERICA’S FUTURE

Nathan Maton-Parkinson — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 10:32:12 -0700

WASHINGTON – The Congressional Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission members named by Congress today must drive an aggressive investigation of the systematic frauds and excesses that caused last year’s collapse, said Campaign for America’s Future co-director Robert Borosage. The Democratic congressional leaders chose six of the Commission’s members and Republicans selected four.

Borosage said the investigations should not be a question of partisan divide. All Americans suffered the damage of Wall Street’s excesses, and demand and deserve a thorough public investigation. Borosage specifically praised the appointment of Phil Angelides as chair, and Commission members Brooksley Born and Byron Georgiou, for having the experience and temperament needed for a serious investigation.

STATEMENT OF ROBERT BOROSAGE

May the grand inquest begin. The country needs answers. We deserve to know the truth.

The commission must act boldly to investigate and expose the abuses of Wall Street that left millions of Americans suffering. This is our best opportunity to identify the people and practices that got the country into this mess.

I’m pleased that Phil Angelides was named as chairman of the Commission by the Speaker and Majority Leader. The environmental and labor communities have benefited from his leadership of the Apollo Alliance, which has laid the groundwork for real economic growth based on investment in a new generation of energy technologies, not speculative bubbles. Angelides’ work as California state treasurer gives him the expertise to lead the commission effectively and make him particularly aware of how important an aggressive public inquiry is.

Brooksley Born, was the hero of those who have been making the case that the new era required better regulation – not the deregulation that got us into this mess. She was ahead of other government leaders in calling for strong oversight of financial derivatives products, such as credit default swaps.

Byron Georgiou has the business, legal and financial acumen to play a significant role in the Commission.

I trust that both the Democratic and the Republican appointees will reflect the mandate provided by the vast majority of Americans who want a no holds barred investigation that exposes the practices, legal and illegal, that are at the base of the financial collapse.

The Commission should hold public hearings across the country, from California to Wall Street, exposing the systematic malfeasance that inflated the housing bubble, and gave bankers multimillion dollar personal incentives to gamble recklessly with other people’s money.

Only by exposing the systematic malpractices that got us to where we are can we gain a foundation for broad reform. If we don't get comprehensive reforms now, we'll have created an even greater peril -- banks and hedge funds officially recognized as too big to fail, assuming that they can pocket their winnings and the public will cover their losses. The Commission can play a critical role in insuring the public understanding and support for the change that we need.

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PRESIDENT OBAMA’S COMMUNITY COLLEGE INITIATIVE KEY FOR JOBLESS WORKERS DURING ECONOMIC UNCERTAINTY

Jennifer Ettinger — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 12:32:19 -0700

Campaign for College Affordability coordinator Robert M. Brandon said today that President Obama’s public investment in the nation's community colleges is especially important for jobless workers during periods of economic uncertainty. President Obama proposed a $12 billion effort to help institutions reach, teach and train more people for "the jobs of the future" today at Macomb Community College in Warren, Michigan.

STATEMENT OF ROBERT M. BRANDON

The president’s commitment to investing in community colleges is a testament to the value these institutions have in communities across the nation for a number of reasons.

They allow an affordable pathway to a four-year college or university for many Americans. Community colleges are at the forefront in training the next generation of workers in new-economy jobs. And particularly in these times of economic uncertainty, they provide opportunities for retraining and skill enhancement for those who have lost their jobs.

PROMINENT HEALTH EXPERTS WHO SUPPORT PUBLIC INSURANCE OPTION AVAILABLE FOR INTERVIEW

Jennifer Ettinger — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 12:17:14 -0700

As the health reform debate heats up in Congress, the Institute for America’s Future today released the names of prominent health care experts and economists available for analysis and interviews. All the experts favor a public health insurance option to compete with private plans, but they are good sources on all developing issues related to the health care debate.

“Conservatives and health industry forces are putting forward their experts to attack the public insurance option,” said Diane Archer, director of the Institute for America’s Future Health Care Project. “We want to make sure the media has ready access to experts who see the public insurance option as critical to health reform and cost control. These experts don’t agree on everything, but they have helped shape key elements of reform – the public option, affordability, universal coverage, regulation of insurance companies and equal access to good benefits.”

Institute for America’s Future co-director Roger Hickey said that many of the 33 health experts listed recently published work directly relevant to the current health care debate, citing the following examples: Jacob Hacker, the first to put the public insurance option on the agenda, has an article about what America would look like without it in The New Republic. The Urban Institute’s John Holahan and Linda Blumberg released a new report on how a public insurance plan would increase competition and lower costs. The Economic Policy Institute’s Elise Gould wrote a new paper on the drawbacks of taxing public insurance. Hickey has an oped in Sunday’s New York Times opposing taxing health benefits.

A searchable list of experts, complete with photos, biographies and contact information is available at www.ourfuture.org/healthexperts. Experts available to the media include:

--Gerard Anderson, Ph.D., director, Center for Hospital Finance and Management and Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, 410-955-3241, ganderso@jhsph.edu

--Diane Archer, director, Institute for America’s Future Health Care Project, 212-866-0908, darcher@ourfuture.org

--Valerie Arkoosh, MD, MPH, president-elect, National Physicians Alliance, 215-694-0885, valerie.arkoosh@npalliance.net

--Dean Baker, co-director, Center for Economic and Policy Research, 202-293-5380 x114, baker@cepr.net

--David Balto, senior fellow, Center for American Progress, 202-789-5424, dbalto@americanprogress.org

--Robert Berenson, M.D., senior fellow, Urban Institute, 202-833-7200, rberenson@urban.org

--Linda Bergthold, consultant, Stanford University, 831-462-1334, lbergthold@sbcglobal.net

--Josh Bivens, economist, Economic Policy Institute, 202-755-8810, news@epi.org

--Sam Blair, director, Main Street Alliance, 603-831-1835, sblair@mainstreetalliance.org

--Linda Blumberg, Ph.D., senior fellow, The Urban Institute’s Health Policy Center, 202-261-5769, lblumberg@urban.org

--E. Richard Brown, Ph.D., director, UCLA Center for Health Policy Research, erbrown@ucla.edu

--Lisa Dubay, associate professor, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, 410-502-0985, ldubay@jhsph.edu

--Elise Gould, director of Health Policy Research, Economic Policy Institute, 202-755-8810, news@epi.org

--Thomas Greaney, director, Center for Health Law Studies and law professor at St. Louis University; greanetl@slu.edu

--Jacob Hacker, professor, Yale University, 914-372-2225, Jacob.hacker@yale.edu

--Roger Hickey, co-director, Institute for America’s Future, 202-587-1604, hickey@ourfuture.org

--John Holahan, director, The Urban Institute’s Health Policy Center, 202-261-5666, jholahan@urban.org

--Ken Jacobs, chair, Institute for Research on Labor and Employment and UC Berkeley Center for Labor Research and Education, 510-643-2621, kjacobs9@berkeley.edu

--Timothy Jost, law professor, Washington and Lee University School of Law, 540-458-8510, jostt@wlu.edu

--Richard Kirsch, national campaign manager, Health Care for America Now, 202-454-6196, rkirsch@healthcareforamericanow.org

--Maggie Mahar, fellow, The Century Foundation, 202-293-5380 x114, healthbeat@tcf.org

--Ted Marmor, professor, Yale School of Management and adjunct professor at Harvard John F. Kennedy School of Government, 203-432-3238, Theodore.marmor@yale.edu

--Jim Morone, professor of Political Science and Urban Studies, Brown University, 401-863-1573, james_morone@brown.edu

--Vivek Murthy, MD, MBA, president, Doctors for America and instructor, Harvard Medical School, 786-245-4550, vivekmurthy@post.harvard.edu

--Jonathan Oberlander, assistant professor, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, 919-843-8269, oberland@med.unc.edu

--Frank Pasquale, law professor, Seton Hall University, 973-642-8485, pasquafa@shu.edu

--Harold Pollack, associate professor, University of Chicago School of Social Service, 708-275-6841, haroldpollack@gmail.com

--Karen Pollitz, project director, Health Policy Institute, Georgetown University, 202-687-3003, pollitzk@georgetown.edu

--Robert Reich, professor, Goldman School of Public Policy, UC Berkeley, 510-642-0560, rreich@berkeley.edu

--Mark Schlessinger, Ph.D., professor, Yale School of Public Health, 203-785-4619, mark.schlesinger@yale.edu

--Jeanne Silver-Isenstadt, MD, Ph.D., executive director, National Physicians Alliance, 703-254-8972, jean@npalliance.org

--Judith Stein, executive director, Center for Medicare Advocacy, 860-456-7790, jstein@medicareadvocacy.org

--Joseph White, Ph.D., director, Center for Policy Studies and professor at Case Western Reserve University, 216-368-2426, jxw87@case.edu

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**NOTE: A searchable list of experts, complete with expert photos, biographies and contact information is available at http://ourfuture.org/healthexperts.**

ROBERT REICH CHALLENGES SENATE DEMOCRATS TO FIGHT FOR PUBLIC HEALTH INSURANCE OPTION TO CONTROL COSTS

Jennifer Ettinger — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 10:58:13 -0700

Former Labor Secretary Robert Reich today urged Senate Finance Committee Democrats to condemn false “bipartisanship” standing in the way of President Obama’s overhaul to the nation’s health care system. Reich said Democrats must support a public health insurance option because it’s the best way to control costs, citing evidence in a new report released today by the Health Care for America Now coalition.

With health care costs skyrocketing, the report shows that the number of Americans in families with problems paying medical bills climbed to 57 million, or one in five, up from one in seven in 2003. Millions of these people have health insurance but are forced to go without essential care. Further, the lack of health insurance coverage causes 22,000 deaths each year in the U.S.

“It’s time to forget the Republicans and to insist on a real public health insurance option,” said Reich. “The public health insurance option is the linchpin of quality, affordable health care for all. And it can pass with a majority vote, which is possible if we give up on trying to persuade a handful of Republicans to cross over.”

Reich made the remarks today on a conference call with reporters organized by the Campaign for America’s Future. Health care expert Jacob Hacker joined Reich on the call, previewing his testimony before the House Education and Labor Committee, one of the three key committees writing health reform legislation.

“A public health insurance option -- combined with drug-price competition and a requirement that businesses insure employees or contribute to the cost of their coverage – is the best way to reduce the overall cost of health reform and make coverage more affordable,” said Hacker.

Hacker also highlighted a series of public opinion polls conducted this month by the Kaiser Foundation, Employee Benefit Research Institute, NBC/Wall Street Journal and CBS/New York Times that shows broad public support for a public health insurance option. About three-quarters of people polled favor creating a public option to compete with private health insurance plans.

Hacker said that the cost of health care reform proposals would drop substantially if they included the public insurance option. He also explained why state or regional health insurance cooperatives will not control costs.

Campaign for America’s Future co-director Roger Hickey joined Reich and Hacker on the call. Hickey emphasized the Health Care for America Now report that shows that the nation is suffering from a “growing crisis of health care unaffordability,” underscoring the need for real reforms. The report documents how health insurance premiums and out-of-pocket costs are increasing much faster than wages, ranking the 50 states by the impact of these trends.

“Americans are paying more and more for health insurance -- and getting less and less coverage for themselves and their families,” said Hickey. “Skyrocketing premiums and out-of-pocket costs are threatening our standard of living and hurting our competitiveness around the world.”

The HCAN report shows that the cost of health insurance has risen 120 percent while wages grew only 29 percent from 1999 to 2007. Health insurance premiums have risen so high that experts forecast 52 million Americans will be uninsured next year.

Employees have seen their health insurance copayments and deductibles climb by 40 percent since 2004. The value of employer-based health benefits declined, forcing families to spend more of their own money on care. At the same time, health insurers resorted to saving money by limiting benefits, causing 45 percent of Americans to say they are “very” worried about having to spend more on health insurance premiums and medical costs.

On Thursday, these and other health care concerns will draw thousands of people from across the country to the nation’s capital for a large rally and day-long lobbying activities aimed at achieving quality, affordable health care this year for everyone in America. The rally will be held at 11:30 a.m. in Upper Senate Park.

The rally and lobbying activities are part of HCAN’s national grassroots campaign for health care reform. Its principles for reform, which are backed by President Obama and more than 190 members of Congress, include the creation of a strong public health insurance option to give people the choice on whether to keep their current private insurance plan or join a new public health insurance plan that would serve as a guaranteed backup for providing quality, affordable health care no matter what.

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**NOTE: An electronic copy of the Health Care for America Now report and state-specific data are available at http://www.ourfuture.org/affordability. **

COALITION VOWS TO BUIILD ON OBAMA'S CALL FOR REAL REGULATORY REFORM

OurFuture.org Staff — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 13:32:46 -0700

Americans for Financial Reform, a national coalition of more than 200 state and local organizations, including the Campaign for America's Future, dedicated to reforming the financial system and rebuilding our economy., released the following statement today in response to President Obama's proposals for financial industry reform.

President Obama has proposed sweeping, important, and positive changes to the ways in which financial markets are regulated.

Real reform means reining in the anything-goes atmosphere that has characterized this era on Wall Street, replacing it with a comprehensive system to police the financial industry and protect the public. To provide real security for the American people this regulatory system must be truly airtight, leaving no room for leaks and loopholes that the hedge funds, derivatives traders and others are already trying to carve out. Congress must ensure that what comes out of the legislative process is not just window dressing.

We are pleased that the President recognizes that real reform also means putting in place a watchdog to ensure that ordinary Americans have the same level of security when they sign on the dotted line for products like home mortgages and credit cards that they rightly expect when buying anything from a toy to a toaster oven.

As the legislative process moves forward, we hope to strengthen and build on the President’s proposal. We will work toward more meaningful reform of credit rating agencies. We will also be fighting for stronger measures than the Administration has put forth to help keep struggling families from losing their homes. Without more effective strategies to keep people in their homes, our nation will continue to face the catastrophe of millions of mortgage foreclosures. We are pleased that the President’s plan calls for the new watchdog agency to work with the Department of Justice to enforce the nation’s civil rights statutes. However, any regulatory reform proposal must include broader measures to further fair housing and ensure that under-served markets will not continue to be incubators for predatory behavior that can ultimately imperil wider markets.

The Administration’s proposal vests the Federal Reserve with many new powers aimed at controlling system-wide risk. To that proposal, Congress must add strong measures to ensure the Federal Reserve is truly independent and responsive to the public. We must open up and democratize the Federal Reserve so that it is publicly accountable.

President Obama has taken an important first step toward restoring integrity and fairness to our financial system, but the battle for reform has only just begun, and we have no illusions about the difficulty of the fight to come. Our principles will only prevail if the voices of the public are heard over those of bankers, traders, mortgage brokers and their armies of lobbyists.

News Release

PROGRESSIVE GROUP AT FOREFRONT OF FIGHT TO FIX THE NATION’S HEALTH CARE SYSTEM EMBRACES HOUSE REFORM BILL

Congressional Moves to Protect Consumers and Provide Financial Oversight Good First Step

**Netroots Nation 2009 Straw Poll Results**

THOUSANDS OF PROGRESSIVE BLOGGERS, ACTIVISTS TO GATHER IN STEELTOWN FOR “NETROOTS NATION” CONVENTION

HOUSE HEALTH REFORM BILL WOULD DELIVER ON PRESIDENT OBAMA’S VISION, SAYS CAMPAIGN FOR AMERICA’S FUTURE

NEW COMMISSION MUST AGGRESSIVELY INVESTIGATE CAUSES OF FINANCIAL COLLAPSE, SAYS CAMPAIGN FOR AMERICA’S FUTURE

PRESIDENT OBAMA’S COMMUNITY COLLEGE INITIATIVE KEY FOR JOBLESS WORKERS DURING ECONOMIC UNCERTAINTY

PROMINENT HEALTH EXPERTS WHO SUPPORT PUBLIC INSURANCE OPTION AVAILABLE FOR INTERVIEW

ROBERT REICH CHALLENGES SENATE DEMOCRATS TO FIGHT FOR PUBLIC HEALTH INSURANCE OPTION TO CONTROL COSTS

COALITION VOWS TO BUIILD ON OBAMA'S CALL FOR REAL REGULATORY REFORM

Netroots Nation 2009 Straw Poll Results