Protesters Disrupt Health Care Hearing

Simon McCormack
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2 min read
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Rabble rousers peppered Senators with pointed questions today during a hearing on health care reform.

The protesters wanted to know why no one in the committee supported single-payer health care. The Senators didn’t offer much of an answer, but Committee Chair Max Baucus did make a crack about how they needed more police.

He later tried to calm the activists by saying, "Everybody on the committee and everybody in the Congress deeply deeply respects the views of all members of the audience, and all Americans who feel deeply about health care reform, especially those who are worried about a single payer system or public option who really do fervently believe that is the proper result. We are going to get the best result here the more we can have an orderly discussion as to how we can best reform the health care system, so I want to say to everyone, especially those of you who might be inclined to stand up, I urge you not to so we can proceed with the hearing.

A joint news release from Physicians for a National Health Program and Healthcare-NOW! says, "Other methods of communication with elected officials have failed in delivering the demand for single-payer national health care as evidenced by the exclusion of single-payer advocates from official hearings on health reform."

Eight people were arrested and order was eventually restored.

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