Conference photos, health care on the move - and so is Hillary!!
In This Edition
- WHAT'S NEXT FOR HEALTH CARE?
- NO LIMITS NEWS
- WELCOME LEECIA EVE
- HILLARY'S TRAVELS
WHAT'S NEXT FOR HEALTH CARE?
Our goal of quality affordable health care for every American took a big step forward this weekend when the House passed the Affordable Health Care for America Act - but a step backward for women's health.
First the good news: No Limits Executive Director, Liz Wing, was in the gallery for the vote. As she said "the Affordable Health Care for America Act, is designed to make health insurance companies more honest, enacting regulations like prohibiting them from refusing coverage for pre-existing conditions and charging women more than men for the same coverage. It also offers a public option for those who aren't insured or aren't satisfied with their current coverage."
But Cecile Richards, President of Planned Parenthood Federation of America, says: "While there are some who are satisfied with the health care reform bill that passed in the House of Representatives late Saturday night, I am not one of them. When it came down to it, Congress passed a bill that will undercut women's access to comprehensive health care..."
Now the fight for health care reform moves to the Senate. The challenge will be to keep what is so valuable in the House bill - and get fair treatment for women's health!
NO LIMITS NEWS
You may have noticed that we had our first Public Policy Conference last Friday, November 6th in Washington, D.C. Those of you who were able to be with us know it was an informative, energizing and inspiring day - highlighted by the appearance of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. For those who could not be with us, we're working now on getting video clips and reports, so you can share the day!
A special thanks to our five Co-Chairs for their leadership with this great event: Jane C. Bergner, Betty Cotton, Leecia Eve, Susan Ness, and Beth Newburger.
"In the few hours between landing after a swing through Pakistan, the Middle East, and North Africa and taking off again for Berlin, Singapore, Japan, and the Philippines, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton found time on Friday to stop over in much friendlier territory... The occasion: a 'policy conference'- really more of a reunion - put on by a Hillary-centric advocacy group called NoLimits.org." "We have had some extraordinary times..." Hillary said, relaxed and smiling. "You're the ones who helped put all those cracks in the glass ceiling." - The New Republic November 8, 2009
"Secretary of State Hillary Clinton today addressed the first public policy forum of NoLimits.org, an education foundation focusing on issues like work-family policies, healthcare reform and human rights. ...Addressing the mostly female audience, Clinton spoke of a recent trip to Congo, where she visited a hospital for rape victims. 'It rips your heart,' she said, noting that raping young women has become 'a tactic of war' there. She stressed the importance of spreading awareness in America about humanitarian crises abroad, telling the audience that her job as Secretary of State is to 'explain to the laid-off auto worker why it is important to help people abroad....to educate their children.'" - MSNBC First Read, November 7, 2009
Click here for more photos from the conference! (Courtesy of Ed Kimmel)
WELCOME LEECIA EVE
I am both very proud and excited about serving as a Senior Fellow at No Limits. In this capacity, I will oversee No Limits' education and grassroots advocacy effort on issues including progressive economic and work-family policies and women's rights as human rights.
For me, this is very much about "coming home" and moving forward, as it gives me a wonderful opportunity to work again with Ann Lewis, our extraordinary No Limits President, and with all of you as we work together to remain as informed as possible and seek to make a difference about the issues that matter to us all. The challenges, both here at home and around the world, are now greater than ever, but I am optimistic and have tremendous faith in the extraordinary energy and commitment of No Limits members and what we can learn from each other and achieve.
I can be reached at Leecia@NoLimits.org and look forward to hearing from you! - Leecia Eve
HILLARY'S TRAVELS
Can't keep up with Hillary's travels? Neither can we. Two days after returning from her trip to Pakistan, Morocco, Israel, Bahrain and Egypt, Hillary left for Germany, and the 20th Anniversary celebration of the fall of the Berlin Wall:
"We owe it to ourselves and to those who yearn for the same freedoms that are enjoyed and even taken for granted in Berlin today. And we need to form an even stronger partnership to bring down the walls of the 21st century, and to confront those who hide behind them: the suicide bombers; those who murder and maim girls whose only wish is to go to school; leaders who choose their own fortunes over the fortunes of their people." -- Secretary Hillary Clinton, in Berlin, November 9, 2009
Click here to see Hillary's interview from Berlin with Charlie Rose
From Germany, Hillary goes East - to Singapore for meetings of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum; to Manila, for meeting with Philippine officials, and then back to Singapore. Click here to see the map.
THE LAST WORD
"...what's important about No Limits is your message. That is such an American message, but it shouldn't be only an American message. And what I've been trying to do is to help people separate their historical sense of limits from what is possible going forward, that it is hard in traditional societies, it is hard when the odds seem stacked against you, but it is part of the American message at core that we believe not just in a better life for our own people, but we think helping those around the world to a better life is good for America, that it gives us a chance to see our values in action." - Secretary Clinton at No Limits conference, November 6, 2009