Movement against Senator Lieberman receiving Health Insurance Companies' campaign contributions

** Civil disobedience going on now at Senator Lieberman's office **
** Participants wearing Lieberman mask, giving away insurance "money" **

MOBILIZATION FOR HEALTH CARE FOR ALL: Yesterday 11/10/2009, 9:20 AM
Contact: Lacy MacAuley, (202) 445-4692, lacy@massey-media.com
Katie Robbins, Healthcare-NOW! (330) 618-6379, info@healthcare-now.org
Kevin Zeese, Prosperity Agenda, (301) 996-6582, kzeese@earthlink.net

Health care supporters commit civil disobedience, theatrics at Senator Lieberman's office today, demand he stop taking insurance company money

• Sit-in, theatrics happening now at Senator Lieberman's office
• 160 arrests in 24 cities so far for health care for all
• Nine arrests at Lieberman’s office last week
• Two still in jail waiting for Lieberman to speak with them
• Kai Newkirk on hunger strike waiting on Lieberman
• ABC World News VIDEO of Lieberman office arrests on 11/5

Washington DC – A sit-in began at Senator Lieberman's office at approximately 9:20 AM yesterday with 8-10 participants risking arrest and several dozen more rallying outside the office. They will demand to speak to Lieberman and ask that he stop accepting campaign contributions and other donations from health insurance companies. Organizers planned to don a large mask cutout of Senator Lieberman and demonstrate for him and his staff what they would like him to do, stop taking the money. One participant risking arrest is Sam Pullen, 31, whose mother was many years ago denied a lifesaving bone marrow transplant by an insurance company. (View Democracy Now! VIDEO of Sam Pullen.)

"Insurance company money is killing our democracy and holding the health of the country hostage," said Sheila Dvorak, a Los Angeles resident risking arrest at today's sit-in. "When insurance companies bribe our elected officials like they have Lieberman, our officials behave badly. These bribes keep our legislators from supporting real reform such as Medicare for All, a universal health care bill. Lieberman needs to stop acting like the Senator from Aetna and start acting like the Senator from Connecticut."

Aetna insurance company is one of Lieberman's top ten contributors. Lieberman has accepted over $110,000 from Aetna in campaign contributions so far this year. Participants in today's sit-in point out that health insurance companies should be paying for treatment and care for those who need it, not lobbying funds that undermine the democratic process.

Last week there were nine arrests at Senator Joseph Lieberman’s office (view ABC World News VIDEO of the arrests, click on 11/05/2009 and click on health care protest), where health care supporters peacefully sat down in the Senator’s office and refused to leave until Senator Lieberman announce publicly that he would immediately stop accepting all insurance company money. Participants chanting “patients not profit,” and “universal health care now” were brought into Capitol Police custody and charged with trespassing. Arrestees included two Connecticut residents.

Two arrestees are still in jail following the arrests at Senator Lieberman’s office last week. The two, Kai Newkirk, national coordinator of the Mobilization for Health Care for All, and John Mohrbacher, a Connecticut resident, are refusing to give information to the police that would lead to their release until Senator Lieberman has a public discussion with them on his acceptance of insurance company money. Newkirk is also on a hunger strike.

Newkirk’s hunger strike began on Thursday at the sit-in in Senator Lieberman’s office and will continue until the Senator agrees to speak with him. Reports from Newkirk's lawyer indicate that he is weak but determined.

"I am going to stay in jail and refuse food until Lieberman at least speaks with us about his taking insurance company money that equates to bribes," stated Newkirk. "All he has to do is speak with me publicly about these campaign contributions which are keeping us from enacting real reform. He should stop accepting all insurance company money now."

160 people in 24 cities across the US have been arrested since the end of September at sit-ins at health insurance companies and legislators’ offices to support aggressive health care reform. The actions are part of a national movement being coordinated by the Mobilization for Health Care for All. Participants say that the real cause of the health care crisis is insurance companies, decrying insurance lobbying dollars. They call for legislators to stop accepting insurance company money and approve reforms that treat health care like a human right, such as Medicare for All.