Members of Congress urged to sign Congressional Pledge

The Divided We Fail leadership sent letters on October 2nd to all Members of Congress who had not yet signed the Congressional pledge to demonstrate their support of the Divided We Fail platform.

Many Members of Congress have already signed the pledge, which asks them to commit to working in a bipartisan way to provide Americans with actions and answers on health and lifetime financial security..

The text of the letter follows.

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October 1, 2007

Dear Member of Congress:

AARP, Business Roundtable and SEIU have joined together in our Divided We Fail campaign to focus attention on critical issues facing America. We believe that it is time for individuals, businesses, nonprofit organizations and government to come together in a bipartisan manner to improve America's health care and financial security.

Thousands of volunteers and staff from AARP, Business Roundtable and SEIU have visited your Capitol Hill and district offices to discuss the importance of Divided We Fail. Already, over 100 Members of the Senate and the House have demonstrated their support of our principles by signing the Divided We Fail pledge.

We are asking you to sign the enclosed pledge and to uphold our shared vision for the nation. In return, AARP, Business Roundtable and SEIU will inform our members in our publications and on our websites which Members of the Senate and House have pledged their support to our Divided We Fail initiative.

We launched Divided We Fail to amplify the voices of millions of Americans who believe that affordable, quality health care and lifetime financial security are the most pressing domestic issues facing our nation. Although our three organizations often hold different views, we are coming together under the Divided We Fail banner to urge action. Collectively, our organizations, representing tens of millions of Americans, are promoting broad- based, bipartisan solutions to these challenges and leading the charge for positive change.

The Divided We Fail platform that accompanies this letter lays out the principles underlying our effort (Click here to read the Divided We Fail Platform). It includes our belief that solutions must be fair to all generations. We are encouraging committed individuals from across the political spectrum to join us. Currently, tens of thousands of Americans have joined Divided We Fail to demonstrate their belief that the American Dream should not be limited to the healthy and wealthy.

If you would like to be recognized for your commitment to finding long-term solutions to health care and financial security by Divided We Fail, AARP, Business Roundtable and SEIU, please sign the pledge and return it to ... AARP's Congressional Relations & Political Affairs Department.

We hope you will join us in making a commitment to help find solutions that we can all embrace on these critical issues. Divided we fail, but together we can accomplish anything.

Sincerely,

William D. Novelli
Chief Executive Officer
AARP

John J. Castellani
President
Business Roundtable

Andy Stern
President
SEIU