Snappy newsletters. Simple Facebook sharing. Spirited comments. Sweet features are waiting… GET THEM NOW!

Hot on Facebook

Uproar After NC State Agent 'Fixes' Girl's Lunch Preschooler has to eat chicken nuggets instead of mom's meal »

Grayson Weeps on House Floor

Bemoans casualties of lack of health insurance

By Polly Davis Doig, Newser Staff

Posted Oct 29, 2009 6:55 AM CDT

(Newser) – Alan Grayson continued with his penchant for the dramatic yesterday, shedding copious tears on the House floor as he read letters from families of people who died because they didn't have health insurance. “For god's sake, I look forward to a time when we have finally done our jobs,” the Florida congressman concluded, pushing his peers to finish the “work of universal health care in America.”

The names were submitted through namesofthedead.com, a website Grayson unveiled last week to highlight the consequences of the lack of health insurance. He later caught ethics flak for including a link to his campaign website, reports Roll Call.

[Images (5)]

[Videos (2)]

House Financial Services Committee member Rep. Alan Grayson, D-Fla., takes part in the committee's markup on the financial overhaul bill, Wednesday, Oct. 21, 2009. (AP Photo/Harry Hamburg)

Rep. Alan Grayson, left, D-Fla., greets supporters after a town hall meeting on health care in Tavares, Fla., Monday, Oct. 12, 2009. (AP Photo/John Raoux)

Rep. Alan Grayson, D-Fla., leads a round of applause for physicians that attended a town hall meeting on health care in Tavares, Fla., Monday, Oct. 12, 2009. (AP Photo/John Raoux)

Rep. Alan Grayson, D-Fla., speaks at a town hall meeting on health care in Tavares, Fla., Monday, Oct. 12, 2009. (AP Photo/John Raoux)

Rep. Alan Grayson (D-Fla.) listens to Federal Reserve Board Chairman Ben Bernanke testify during a House Financial Services Committee hearing on October 1, 2009. (Getty Images)

« Prev« Prev | Next »Next » Slideshow

Rep. Alan Grayson, D-Fla., on October 28, 2009 C-SPAN (MoxNewsDotCom)

Rep. Alan Grayson talking about health care with Chris Matthews on Hardball on 10/22/09. (RepAlanGrayson)

View larger videos >>

« Prev« Prev | Next »Next »

To report an error on this story, notify our editors.

OTHER STORIES ON OUR RADAR

AP Photo

35 Brutally Honest Reasons Men Say No to Sex (The Stir)

Which Entertainer Pulled Out of 'Inappropriate' Whitney Tribute? (NewsOne)

The French Government Wants to Tone My Vagina (Slate)

Obama Photo on Facebook Helps Catch Drug Dealer (HuffPost)

Hottest Women to Ever Appear in the SI Swimsuit Issue (Bleacher Report)

Partner Links

A snapshot of the day's best news stories.

View Larger Grid

All Today Yesterday Pick a Date

COMMENTS

Read the comment policy

Showing 3 of 49 comments

kokuaguy

Nov 2, 2009 11:08 AM CST

I finally watched this. Just when it seemed that the Congressman may be about to become emotional, the video ended, The second video was an interview on Hardball with Chris Matthews. Seems like newser's headline is dishonest, like the dishonest, homophobic (and racist) ad against teaching "Homosexual Marriage" in public schools that I'm disappointed to find here still though I've been protesting against it for a week. Guess newser has to accept advertising wherever it can be found-- there's a recession, don'cha know.

Face-Of-RNC

Nov 2, 2009 1:19 AM CST

And that from the Tin-Foil Hat Party.

RobN

Oct 30, 2009 6:05 AM CDT

Someday, Prag, you're going to look back on the fact that you were 23 years old and bragging about your high school SAT scores on the internet and be incredibly embarassed. Interesting, though, that you mention studying to be a lawyer and yet don't mention LSAT's; didn't manage the 98th percentile on those apparently? High school, college, law school. Yep, that's a lot of experience with the real world; we all bow to your greater knowledge.

What's Popular Now on Facebook

Rick Santorum: Birth Control Is 'Not OK'

Valentine's Day Role-Playing Goes Very Wrong

Roll Call (Source Grid »)

Politics • Health

Congress • health insurance • health care reform • House Democrats • Alan Grayson • politics as usual

More Newser Stories

Insider-Trading Probe Targets House Committee Chair

Rep. Spencer Bachus faces first-of-its-kind ethics investigation

(NEWSER) - Foxes have been found guarding hen houses on Capitol Hill in the past, but ethics investigators now believe they have identified a particularly greedy one. Rep. Spencer Bachus, chair of the House Financial Services Committee, is being probed for possible violations of insider-trading laws, reports the Washington Post . The investigation of the Alabama Republican is the first of its kind involving a member of Congress, and comes as lawmakers are taking steps to stamp out insider trading by legislators and executive branch officials . More»

Lawmakers Use Earmarks to Aid Own Properties

Just a coincidence that pork benefits own real estate, they say

(NEWSER) - Members of Congress are not only steering earmarks to their own districts, but also their own backyards, funding projects that boost the value of properties they own, a Washington Post investigation finds. Comparing disclosure forms against public records revealed that over the last few years, some 33 members of Congress have directed more than $300 million to projects within two miles of, and sometimes right next to, their own property. Another 16 sent earmarks to companies or projects where their family members are employed. More»

Health Reform Insured 2.5M Young People

Coverage up among 19- to 25-year-olds, now eligible for parents' insurance

(NEWSER) - Roughly 2.5 million people between the ages of 19 and 25 have gained health insurance since President Obama signed his health care reform bill, more than double the 1 million the White House had been expecting, according to a new administration analysis. The bump is almost entirely due to a provision in a law that allows young people to remain on their parents' coverage until age 26. More»

No More Co-Pay for Birth Control: Obama

New preventive health rules require insurers to cover cost

(NEWSER) - Women can say goodbye to co-pays on birth control: Health insurance companies will soon have to cover the cost themselves, the Obama administration says. It’s part of expanded preventive care for women , including coverage of breast pumps, “well woman” physicals, and STD counseling, the AP reports. Insurance firms will likely raise premiums a small amount to handle the cost. Religious institutions may opt out of birth control coverage under the new rules, many of which won't take effect until Jan. 1, 2013. More»

Book Scuttles Obama's Health Care Story

His mother had health insurance when she died, and it paid up

(NEWSER) - A recent book on President Obama’s mother undermines his oft-told story that his mother spent the final years of her life battling insurance companies over her medical bills. The book, by New York Times reporter Janny Scott, reveals that Ann Dunham actually had health insurance that readily paid her claims. She did have a dispute, but it was with her disability insurance, the Times reports. And Obama must have known that, because in one letter she turns the case over to “my son and attorney, Barack Obama.” More»

NEWS FROM OUR PARTNERS

What is Newser?

Face it: there's too much news. At Newser, we choose the most thought-provoking and entertaining stories from hundreds of US and international sources and reduce them to a headline, picture, and two paragraphs. And we do it 24/7—you can come back morning, noon, night (and in between) for something new that matters. Read less, know more.

Learn more »

Partnering with: Slate

View Newser on the mobile website

Grayson Weeps on House Floor