Tampa Votes to Support Medicare for All, Urges Congress to Act
Statement of Melinda St. Louis, Director, Public Citizen’s Medicare for All Campaign
Note: Today, the Tampa City Council passed a resolution in support of Medicare for All. With a city population of about 400,000, it is the third most populated city in the swing state. Neighboring St. Petersburg, Fla., passed a similar resolution earlier this year. Other recent resolutions were passed in Tucson, Ariz. and Lucas County, Ohio, which includes Toledo. Public Citizen is part of a coalition urging citizens to press their local governments to pass similar resolutions.
First, we won in Tampa; next we’ll win in Congress.
Yet another major city in one of the most purple states in the country has endorsed this important policy that would finally make health care a human right in the United States. Resolutions like this are continuing to pass in localities across the country and signal just how strong this movement is and how quickly it’s growing.
This is how change happens, with grassroots efforts from activists and regular Americans educating their neighbors in their communities and demanding action from their elected officials.
Today’s resolution sends a powerful message to Congress that Americans demand that health care be treated as a right, not a privilege. It’s only a matter of time until that becomes a reality.