NEWS

Activist Groups Back Obama’s Budget

03/20/2009

A laundry list of Virginia   activist groups are coming together to support President Barack Obama’s   budget.

Jewel Royal is one of those   supporters. She works at a Virginia nursing home as a certified nurse’s   assistant. She hurt her back on the job and doesn’t have insurance.

"I have no medical   coverage," she said in an interview. "I have a bunch of bills, a   bunch of doctor bills."

With more than $100,000 in   medical bills, Royal tried to get insurance on her own.

"I’ve talked to a couple   agents about health care, getting it on my own. There’s no way I can afford   that," she said.

So Royal is lobbying for the   president’s proposed budget, which includes money to help people in her   situation. She’s part of a growing list of Virginia advocacy groups pushing   Congress to vote for the Obama spending plan.

"His proposal is a   transformational blueprint for how to move this country forward," said   Jessica Lee, of the Virginia League of Conservation Voters, at a news   conference Thursday in Richmond.

Lee’s group joins the AFL-CIO,    the National Education Association and the Sierra Club in pushing Congress   to adopt the budget.

The groups plan to tap into   volunteers who supported Obama’s goals on the campaign trail.

"This is the very first   step in seeing them accomplished," Lee said.

Volunteers will spend this   weekend knocking on doors across the Commonwealth, trying to get you to   sign petitions to send to Virginia’s congressional delegation.

Royal says she hopes the hard   work will pay off because it’s her only option.

"Nobody else has tried to   give us a shot," she said. "Nobody else is thinking about working   people; nobody else is thinking about the middle class people."

Reported by Adam Rhew

              http://www.nbc29.com/Global/story.asp?S=10037229&nav=menu496_2_5