As Congress today begins a round of hearings that should focus on fixing and strengthening the law, Americans deserve to know that members of Congress are hard at work on solutions that will smooth out the healthcare law's implementation, not using this moment to return to the GOP playbook that brought on a government shutdown.

"The tens of thousands of Americans signing up for healthcare plans through state marketplaces reflect what SEIU members are seeing on the front lines of outreach efforts, including in African American and Latino communities where many will gain the security of healthcare coverage for the first time in their lives:

• Healthcare and education workers in California have talked to more than 100,000 people, and in heavily Latino East L.A., three brothers pushed the number of people enrolled in that neighborhood alone past the 2,000 mark.


• Healthcare workers and allies in the Bronx, Queens and Brooklyn are knocking on 3,600 doors a day.


• In Oregon, SEIU members are on track to reach out to 25,000 hardworking, low-income people to help them gain coverage through Medicaid.

"In states where Governors, healthcare providers, faith leaders, labor and business are working together, the law is working and saving lives. Where obstructionism and foot-dragging rule the day, hard-working Americans are being left behind.

"If the hearings on Capitol Hill today and tomorrow are just more extremist Republican political theater, it is middle class Americas who will pay, with their health or even with their lives. Now is the time for Congress to press forward to fix what needs fixing in the Affordable Care Act and make sure that includes delivering healthcare to Americans who need it the most."

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