Booksellers Urged to Contact Lawmakers About Health Care Reform

As the debate over health care reform heats up, this week, in an e-mail from CEO Oren Teicher, the American Booksellers Association called on member booksellers to contact their elected representatives to let them know that they support health care reform. Noting that health care reform is a critical national issue, Teicher wrote: "As you know all too well, unless measured and effective health care reform efforts are undertaken, the escalating costs of a broken system will only make a crisis situation even more critical."

In his e-mail to booksellers, Teicher stressed that booksellers should contact lawmakers to ensure legislators consider the health insurance concerns of indie booksellers. "[The current debate] provides an important opportunity for you to help make sure that legislators in Washington understand that the time to act is now -- and that health care reform must be structured in a way that is equitable and effective for small business. There are many different opinions being voiced in this health care debate. Small businesses like yours are the drivers of our economy so let's be sure that legislators hear the health care concerns of independent booksellers loud and clear."

To help in this important advocacy outreach, ABA has prepared a letter that booksellers can adapt and send to their representatives and senators. To access the letter, click here. ABA also asks members to notify David Grogan, ABA public policy liaison, via e-mail at [email protected], when they have sent their letters, as this will help the association's ongoing advocacy efforts.

Late last week, Sen. Max Baucus (D-MT), Senate Finance Committee chair, unveiled a health care bill, and on Wednesday, September 23, the committee began reworking the proposed legislation, following initial criticism from some Democrats, as reported by the Los Angeles Times.

And, in an effort to increase support for health reform, this past Sunday, President Obama appeared on five television news shows to make his case for health care reform, acknowledging that he had not yet persuaded the American public and Congress to support his plan, as reported by the Los Angeles Times. Though on CBS' Face the Nation, Obama stressed, "We know that standing still is not an option," the Times article noted.