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Washington, DC - The political action committee of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), representing 2.2 million members with more than a million healthcare workers, released new independent expenditure television ads on cable and broadcast in six congressional districts calling for support of members of Congress that stood up to insurance companies and other special interests and stood with working families.

The ad Stood with Us will start today in the following members of Congress' districts with a buy of $700,000: Tom Periello (VA-05), Dina Titus (NV-03), Betsy Markey (CO-XX), John Boccieri (OH-16), Kathy Dahlkemper (PA-03), and Earl Pomeroy (ND-AL).

"Fundamental change is rare and, as we have all witnessed, it is difficult. But these members of Congress all said "yes we can" even when the insurance industry and Wall Street threw everything it had their way. Their commitment to working families and to a new day for our country is why we are getting the change we voted for," said SEIU President Andy Stern.

The ads start today and run through next week. Along with the television ads, an extensive online ad campaign starts today for these members thanking them for standing up to special interests.

In New York, 1199 SEIU will start issue ads tomorrow to thank members of Congress for standing up for New Yorkers. The ads will air for: Scott Murphy (NY-20), Bill Owens (NY-23), Dan Maffei (NY-25), Tim Bishop (NY-01), and Steve Israel (NY-02).

AD SCRIPT	DOCUMENTATION
While Republicans in Washington stand withnsurance companies and Wall Street. Congresswoman Tom Perriello is on our side.	Research Cited By GOP Paid For By Health Insurance Company. The Washington Post reported that the Lewin Group, a firm whose research has been frequently cited by Republicans like House Republican Whip Eric Cantor and Sen. Orrin Hatch, is "part of Ingenix, a UnitedHealth subsidiary that was accused by the New York attorney general and the American Medical Association, a physician's group, of helping insurers shift medical expenses to consumers by distributing skewed data." [Washington Post, 7/22/09] Republican Fundraisers Targeting Insurance Industry. The Hotline reported that a fundraising presentation by the North Dakota Republican Party showed that Republicans are targeting the insurance industry for campaign money which "could open the party up to charges that it is in the pocket of an industry that would be hurt by health care reform." [Hotline, 3/4/10]
Perriello stood up to the powerful health insurance companies.	Perriello Voted To Provide Coverage For 32 Million Uninsured Americans, Prohibit Insurance Companies From Denying Coverage For Pre-Existing Conditions. In March 2010, Rep. Perriello voted in favor of the Senate version of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. According to the Congressional Budget Office, the bill is estimated to provide coverage for 32 million uninsured people and cost estimates showed the bill would reduce the federal budget deficits by $143 billion in the next 10 years. The bill would also prohibit insurance companies from denying coverage based on a pre-existing condition. [Vote #165, 3/21/10; CBS News, 3/21/10] In 2009, Five Largest Insurance Companies Increased Their Profits By $12.2 Billion While Dropping Coverage For 2.7 Million. In February 2010, Politico reported that the top five largest for-profit insurance companies increased their profits by $12.2 billion last year while dropping coverage for 2.7 million Americans. [Politico, 2/11/10]
So now, you can't be denied or lose coverage because you're sick and families and small businesses will be able afford the health care they need.	U.S. House Passed Bill To Make Health Care Affordable, Prohibit Insurance Companies From Denying Coverage For Pre-Existing Conditions. On March 21, 2010, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Senate version of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, a bill that would allow the uninsured and self-employed to purchase insurance through state-based exchanges with subsidies for low-income families. According to CBS News' analysis of the bill, separate exchanges would be created for small businesses to purchase coverage and insurance companies would be prohibited from denying coverage based on a pre-existing condition. [Vote #165, 3/21/10; CBS News, 3/21/10]
And Tom Perriello stood up for consumers when greedy Wall Street Bankers took billions.	Perriello Voted To Restrict Executive Pay And Give Shareholders A Say In Compensation. In July 2009, Rep. Perriello voted in favor of "legislation to restrict the pay of top corporate executives and employees and give shareholders a vote on executive compensation as reports of Wall Street traders and bankers getting 7-figure bonuses stoked public anger. The 237-185 vote came a day after New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo released a report that Wall Street's largest financial institutions paid awards of at least $1 million to roughly 4,800 executives and employees. Many of those institutions received funds from the government's $700 billion bank-bailout program." [Vote #686, 7/31/09; MarketWatch, 7/31/09] Perriello Voted To Bar Excessive Executive Compensation At Bailed-Out Firms. In April 2009, Rep. Perriello voted against a bill that would prohibit firms that were bailed out by the federal government "to make payments to executives as part of new or existing compensation packages that are deemed 'unreasonable or excessive.'" "The bill would go a step further than executive compensation limits approved in the $787 billion economic-stimulus package by allowing compensation packages approved before enactment of the stimulus to be curtailed. Compensation limits in the bill would last until firms repay rescue funds received from the federal government." [Vote #182, 4/1/09; Wall Street Journal, 4/2/09]
Support Tom Perriello - he's standing with us. SEIU COPE is responsible for the content of this advertising.

With 2.2 million members in Canada, the United States and Puerto Rico, SEIU is the fastest-growing union in the Americas. Focused on uniting workers in healthcare, public services and property services, SEIU members are winning better wages, healthcare and more secure jobs for our communities, while uniting their strength with their counterparts around the world to help ensure that workers--not just corporations and CEOs--benefit from today's global economy.

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