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Kerry pushes health plan
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
March 15, 2004
BETHLEHEM, Pa. - Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry, arguing that voters "are hungry for a real discussion," promoted a health care plan that he said would save consumers $1,000 each as he focused yesterday on two important Rust Belt states that have been battered by the steady drain of manufacturing jobs.
The Massachusetts senator said the swing was the opening salvo in his effort to focus the campaign on issues like health care and jobs.
"Americans struggling to pay health care don't need misleading attacks, they need meaningful answers," Kerry said at a town meeting, where he heard from workers who lost health care coverage along with their jobs. "They didn't just lose their livelihoods; they lost the health care they depend on."
Kerry said the health care crisis has worsened under President George W. Bush, with more than 1 million people a year losing coverage at a time when average health insurance premiums have increased by $793 a year.
"The millions and millions of Americans with and without health insurance who fear opening their medical bills are the unheard majority in this debate," he said. "They're not silent, they've just been ignored."
A spokesman for Bush's re-election campaign charged that Kerry has done little during a long political career in Congress to improve the nation's health care system. "He never passed a major piece of health care legislation during his 19 years in the U.S. Senate," said Steve Schmidt, the spokesman. "The only thing he has done for seniors is vote for higher taxes on Social Security benefits."
Pennsylvania is a key state that Al Gore won in 2000. Bush plans his 26th visit to the state today as he stumps in the Philadelphia suburbs.
The town meeting was contentious at times, with 52-year-old Cedric Brown, who owns a sign-making business, repeatedly pressing the candidate to name the foreign leaders whom Kerry has said are backing his campaign.
"I'm not going to betray a private conversation with anybody," Kerry said. As the crowd of several hundred people began to mutter and boo, Kerry said, "That's none of your business."
After Pennsylvania, Kerry was headed to Ohio.
Copyright © 2004, Newsday, Inc.
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THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
March 15, 2004
BETHLEHEM, Pa. - Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry, arguing that voters "are hungry for a real discussion," promoted a health care plan that he said would save consumers $1,000 each as he focused yesterday on two important Rust Belt states that have been battered by the steady drain of manufacturing jobs.
The Massachusetts senator said the swing was the opening salvo in his effort to focus the campaign on issues like health care and jobs.
"Americans struggling to pay health care don't need misleading attacks, they need meaningful answers," Kerry said at a town meeting, where he heard from workers who lost health care coverage along with their jobs. "They didn't just lose their livelihoods; they lost the health care they depend on."
Kerry said the health care crisis has worsened under President George W. Bush, with more than 1 million people a year losing coverage at a time when average health insurance premiums have increased by $793 a year.
"The millions and millions of Americans with and without health insurance who fear opening their medical bills are the unheard majority in this debate," he said. "They're not silent, they've just been ignored."
A spokesman for Bush's re-election campaign charged that Kerry has done little during a long political career in Congress to improve the nation's health care system. "He never passed a major piece of health care legislation during his 19 years in the U.S. Senate," said Steve Schmidt, the spokesman. "The only thing he has done for seniors is vote for higher taxes on Social Security benefits."
Pennsylvania is a key state that Al Gore won in 2000. Bush plans his 26th visit to the state today as he stumps in the Philadelphia suburbs.
The town meeting was contentious at times, with 52-year-old Cedric Brown, who owns a sign-making business, repeatedly pressing the candidate to name the foreign leaders whom Kerry has said are backing his campaign.
"I'm not going to betray a private conversation with anybody," Kerry said. As the crowd of several hundred people began to mutter and boo, Kerry said, "That's none of your business."
After Pennsylvania, Kerry was headed to Ohio.
Copyright © 2004, Newsday, Inc.
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