WASHINGTON, July 26 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — At the prompting of more than 2,000 people at yesterday’s Capitol Hill Advocacy Day rally, 86 lawmakers on both sides of the aisle signed the Divided We Fail pledge, committing to create meaningful bipartisan solutions to the health care and financial security crises plaguing America.

In an effort coordinated by the organizations of Divided We Fail — AARP, Business Roundtable and SEIU — more than 800 employers, workers and retirees fanned out across the Hill to meet with their elected officials and ask them to sign the pledge.

“How much worse does this problem have to get before our political leaders do something,” said AARP CEO Bill Novelli. “Enough is enough.”

“The collective voice of the public was heard on the hill today,” echoed SEIU President Andy Stern. “We look forward to working hand-in-hand with our nation’s leaders to put the full strength of our democracy behind addressing these priorities.”

Business Roundtable President John Castellani commended pledge signers for overcoming partisan politics in favor of action and urged other policymakers to follow their example. “Divided We Fail has taken the first step towards establishing a healthier, more financially secure path for America by coming together,” he said. “If our three organizations can put aside our ideological differences to create real solutions, than certainly Congress can too.”

Members who signed the pledge to-date include:

1.  Rep. Neil Abercrombie (D-HI)        

2.  Sen. Daniel Akaka (D-HI)        

3.  Rep. Michael Arcuri (D-NY)        

4.  Rep. Joe Baca (D-CA)        

5.  Rep. John Barrow (D-GA)        

6.  Rep. Roscoe Bartlett (R-MD)        

7.  Sen. Max Baucus (D-MT)        

8.  Sen. Bob Bennett (R-UT)        

9.  Rep. Shelley Berkley (D-NV)        

10. Rep. Judy Biggert (R-IL)        

11. Rep. Rob Bishop (R-UT)        

12. Rep. Sanford Bishop (D-GA)        

13. Rep. Tim Bishop (D-NY)        

14. Rep. John Boozman (R-AR)        

15. Rep. Dan Boren (D-OK)        

16. Rep. Nancy Boyda (D-KS)        

17. Rep. Vern Buchanan (R-FL)        

18. Rep. Chris Cannon (R-UT)        

19. Sen. Ben Cardin (D-MD)        

20. Rep. Russ Carnahan (D-MO)        

21. Del. Donna Christian-Christensen (D-USVI)        

22. Rep. Stephen Cohen (D-TN)        

23. Sen. Norm Coleman (R-MN)        

24. Rep. Jim Cooper (D-TN)        

25. Rep. Joe Courtney (D-CT)        

26. Sen. Mike Crapo (R-ID)        

27. Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-TX)        

28. Rep. Artur Davis (D-AL)        

29. Rep. Tom Davis (R-VA)        

30. Sen. Chris Dodd (D-MA)        

31. Rep. Jo Ann Emerson (R-MO)        

32. Rep. Phil English (R-PA)        

33. Del. Luis Fortuno (R-PR)        

34. Rep. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY)        

35. Rep. Raul Grivalja (D-AZ)        

36. Rep. Charles A. Gonzalez (D-TX)        

37. Rep. Bart Gordon (D-TN)        

38. Rep. Al Green (D-TX)        

39. Sen. Tom Harkin (D-IA)        

40. Rep. Stephanie Herseth Sandlin (D-SD)        

41. Rep. Mazie Hirono (D-HI)        

42. Rep. Paul Hodes (D-NH)        

43. Rep. Rush Holt (D-NJ)        

44. Sen. Daniel Inouye (D-HI)        

45. Rep. Hank Johnson (D-GA)        

46. Rep. Steve Kagen (D-WI)        

47. Sen. John Kerry (D-MA)        

48. Rep. Dale Kildee (D-MI)        

49. Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN)        

50. Rep. Nicholas Lampson (D-TX)        

51. Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-LA)        

52. Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ)        

53. Rep. Jim Matheson (D-UT)        

54. Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-MO)        

55. Rep. Jim McCrery (R-LA)        

56. Sen. Barbara Mikulski (D-MD)        

57. Rep. Jerry Moran (R-KS)        

58. Rep. Jim Moran (D-VA)        

59. Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK)        

60. Rep. Richie Neal (D-MA)        

61. Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC)        

62. Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL)        

63. Rep. James L. Oberstar (D-MN)        

64. Rep. Bill Pascrell (D-NJ)        

65. Rep. Donald M. Payne (D-NJ)        

66. Rep. Ed Perlmutter (D-CO)        

67. Rep. Todd Russell Platts (R-PA)        

68. Rep. Earl Pomeroy (D-ND)        

69. Rep. Jon Porter (R-NV)        

70. Rep. Tom Price (R-GA)        

71. Rep. Jim Ramstad (R-MN)        

72. Rep. Denny Rehberg (R-MT)        

73. Rep. Ciro Rodriguez (D-TX)        

74. Rep. Lucille Roybal-Allard (D-CA)        

75. Rep. John T. Salazar (D-CO)        

76. Sen. Charles Schumer (D-NY)        

77. Rep. Christopher Shays (R-CT)        

78. Rep. Albio Sires (D-NJ)        

79. Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ)        

80. Rep. Hilda Solis (D-CA)        

81. Sen. Ted Stevens (R-AK) 

82. Sen. Jon Tester (D-MT)        

83. Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD)        

84. Sen. David Vitter (R-LA)        

85. Rep. Joe Wilson (R-SC)        

86. Rep. John Yarmuth (D-KY)

The pledge language reads as follows:

I am committed to working with my colleagues across the aisle to develop and implement policies that provide all Americans with access to quality, affordable health care and lifetime financial security. I understand that Americans want answers, action and accountability from their elected officials — not legislative stalemate. The time has come to address these critical national priorities.

I pledge to work across party lines to sponsor or support legislation that seeks to:

– Provide every American with access to quality, affordable health care, including:

• Information about the quality, cost, and effectiveness of health care services
• Policies that prevent illness and promote good health
• Policies that reduce health care costs while maintaining quality of care
• The development of secure health information technology and electronic health records
• Choices when it comes to long-term care service delivery and affordable financing options;

– Strengthen Social Security in a manner that treats all generations fairly;

– Provide Americans with greater access to retirement plans, financial incentives to save, and tools to better manage their finances and help prepare them for retirement; and

– Develop policies that help ensure that all workers-regardless of age- can continue to work and contribute to society.

More information about the Divided We Fail efforts can be found at http://www.dividedwefail.org Divided We Fail Divided We Fail now has offices in four early primary and caucus states (Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina and Nevada) and encompasses traditional grassroots work, advertising, and online activities which will engage the public, business and elected officials in the debate, encouraging public leaders to offer solutions. More information about the Divided We Fail efforts can be found at http://www.dividedwefail.org.

AARP

AARP is a nonprofit, nonpartisan membership organization that helps people 50+ have independence, choice and control in ways that are beneficial and affordable to them and society as a whole. AARP does not endorse candidates for public office or make contributions to either political campaigns or candidates. We produce AARP The Magazine, published bimonthly; AARP Bulletin, our monthly newspaper; AARP Segunda Juventud, our bimonthly magazine in Spanish and English; NRTA Live & Learn, our quarterly newsletter for 50+ educators; and our website, http://www.aarp.org. AARP Foundation is an affiliated charity that provides security, protection, and empowerment to older persons in need with support from thousands of volunteers, donors, and sponsors. We have staffed offices in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Business Roundtable

Business Roundtable (http://www.businessroundtable.org) is an association of chief executive officers of leading U.S. companies with $4.5 trillion in annual revenues and more than 10 million employees. Member companies comprise nearly a third of the total value of the U.S. stock markets and represent over 40 percent of all corporate income taxes paid. Collectively, they returned $112 billion in dividends to shareholders and the economy in 2005. Roundtable companies give more than $7 billion a year in combined charitable contributions, representing nearly 60 percent of total corporate giving. They are technology innovation leaders, with $90 billion in annual research and development spending — nearly half of the total private R&D spending in the U.S.

SEIU

With 1.8 million members, SEIU (http://www.seiu.org) is the fastest- growing union in North America. Focused on uniting workers in three sectors to improve their lives and the services they provide, SEIU is the largest health care union, including hospitals, nursing homes, and home care; the largest property services union, including building cleaning and security; and the second largest public employee union.

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