Change to Win Chair and SEIU Secretary-Treasurer Anna Burger Statement
on President Obama's address to Congress

Change to Win Chair and SEIU Secretary-Treasurer Anna Burger issued the following statement after attending President Obama's address to Congress this evening:

Tonight, I was reminded of why working men and women all around this country cast their vote last November for Barack Obama. President Obama demonstrated vision, courage and the bold leadership America needs as he confronts the broken healthcare system that has become a tremendous burden on working families and a constant threat to an already fragile economy.

"As our nation faces the greatest economic crisis since the Great Depression, President Obama signaled that our government is ready to make the big reforms necessary to put working families back on the path of prosperity and the economy back on the road to recovery. It is clear that we cannot solve our nation's economic crisis without fixing our broken healthcare system, and our President laid out a framework to address the daunting healthcare challenges before us.

"Too many working families are one healthcare crisis away from financial ruin - families like that of Paula Hall, a child care worker from Spokane, who--failing to qualify for state aid and unable to afford COBRA--lost her home to spiraling medical debt. Piecemeal reform won't work for Paula, and it won't work for America.

"The working men and women of SEIU stand ready to work with the President, Democrats and Republicans, business, and workers from across the nation to find real solutions that achieve comprehensive healthcare reform this year. With 14,000 more Americans losing their health coverage every day, we've reached the death knell of the status quo. Now is the time for all of us to get to work and make the big reforms necessary to bring about real solutions and deliver affordable and accessible healthcare to every man, woman and child in America."

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