Barbara Lee joined fellow U.S. Reps Pramila Jayapal and Ro Khanna, and CA Assemblymand Ash Kalra at Our Revolution’s Healthcare for All Town Hall, where thousands tuned in to help chart a path for healthcare justice on every front – from ending medical debt to guaranteeing healthcare as a human right in California and nationwide.
Congressional Progressive Caucus Chair Pramila Jayapal emphasized the importance of electing “more true universal healthcare champions to the Senate just like my friend Barbara Lee.”
“She’s someone who will build the coalitions we need and do the organizing on the inside in the Senate to get more senators to recognize what we all know: the healthcare system is broken and we need Medicare for All,” Jayapal said.
“Together, we can finally give Americans what they deserve: universal comprehensive healthcare prioritizes people not profits – with everybody in and nobody out,” she added. “I’m thrilled about Barbara Lee running and that Our Revolution is doing the organizing on the ground to help her win.”
Rep. Ro Khanna served as a campaign co-chair for Bernie Sanders’ 2020 run for President, and now he’s chairing Barbara Lee’s campaign for Senate.
He said she’s well-positioned in the race and much-needed in the seat because she has been a fearless trailblazer – not only on Medicare for All, but also on foreign policy, which sets her apart from her opponents.
“She was for Medicare for All and eliminating medical debt before anyone, and she’s been the only person who opposed the war in Afghanistan expanding,” Ro said.
“When I used to say that 2 months ago, you know that’s great, but now we NEED her voice,” he said. “She’s the only person talking clearly and loudly about the Palestinians also who are being killed in Gaza. She’s condemned the brutal Hamas attacks, but she’s also calling to end the cycle of violence.”
“This is the time that we need a candidate who is going to caution against another expanded war, and candidate who’s going to stand up for Medicare for All,” Ro stated.
California Assemblyman Ash Karl also joined the conversation – layout out the path passing his bill for CalCare single-payer healthcare, which was first authored by Barbara Lee.
“The bottom line is: CalCare is how we can get the greedy insurance companies out of our healthcare system – the same doctors, nurses, providers, they’re just funded through one source,” Ash explained. “Small businesses and individuals are getting ripped off.”
“Even with the most expensive healthcare system in the world, we have people dying and medical debt is the number one cause of bankruptcy for families in our state,” he said. “With our movement and a senator like Barbara Lee, we can get it done. We can’t stop, lives depend on it, so thank you Our Revolution for being the wind behind our sails to continue to push us.”
