Progressive Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal (D-WA) said Tuesday the time has come to begin laying the groundwork to vote on a “Medicare for all” bill as Democrats stand poised to lead the House in January.
“We are going to be pushing for it to get a hearing….to have this debate on the floor,” Jayapal told National Nurses United union members during a conference call. Jayapal, co-chairman of the House’s Medicare for All caucus, is likely to face headwinds regarding the potential legislation as Party leadership has yet to sign on to bill or show interest in bringing it to a vote.
The progressive lawmaker believes the issue can help maintain the Democrat majority in the House, telling the nurses’ union, “when we have that majority we need to make sure that we put it to use.”
“Organizers from liberal groups, led by National Nurses United, said on the call that they are going to be organizing grassroots support, including phone calls especially targeting the 13 House Democrats on the key committees of Ways and Means and Energy and Commerce who they said have not signed onto the Medicare for All bill yet,” The Hill reports.