What: Continuation of Tea Party Patriots "Health Care Freedom To Do List"

CNN reports that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi signed off Thursday on a key component of a health care deal reached with conservative Democrats this week, potentially paving the way for a new consensus among the fractured House majority. The deal between four fiscally conservative congressmen -- part of the so-called Blue Dog Coalition -- and the chamber's Democratic leadership allowed debate to resume in the critical House Energy and Commerce Committee. A vote on the health care plan before the full House of Representatives has been delayed until after the August congressional recess in part because the committee's fiscal conservatives had threatened to defeat the bill if several of their concerns were not addressed. The Energy and Commerce Committee is the last of three panels required to clear the bill before the full House can consider the legislation. It is not clear if any 52 House Blue Dogs beyond the four who made the agreement will sign on. House Republicans appeared unswayed by the deal. House Minority Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio, criticized the overall bill Thursday for increasing the tax and regulatory burden on small businesses.

While momentum may have accelerated in the House, prospects have grown more cloudy in the Senate. On Wednesday night, two key Senate Republicans negotiating a bipartisan agreement said they consider a deal out of reach before the August recess. Sens. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, and Michael Enzi, R-Wyoming, said that they had spent weeks behind closed doors, trying to hammer out an agreement with their Democratic counterparts on the Finance Committee. But they said too many issues remain unresolved, making it impossible to sign on to a deal before the break. On Thursday, however, Grassley appeared to reopen the door to a possible deal before the Senate breaks August 7. "It would be better for me to say that instead of saying there's no way we can cut a deal, there's no way we can get all the compromising that needs to be done by an artificial deadline of Friday of this week," he said. "So we're going to continue to work together this week and next week. But we're getting close."

When: All Day Friday July 31st

Actions:

1) Call the Blue Dog Democrats again.

2) Call the Local Offices and the DC Offices of your own Congresspeople and Senators.

You can use the above lists to find the reps and senators names, then Call the Capitol switchboard toll free at 1-[masked] or 1-[masked] and ask for each Representative's or Senator's office.

Please remember to record the number of emails, faxes, and calls you are making. (I forgot to include this in yesterday's Meetup)

NOTE: I SCHEDULED THIS MEETUP FOR 6:00PM TO GIVE PEOPLE AMPLE TIME TO RSVP.

THANK YOU AGAIN FOR YOUR DEDICATION AND EFFORTS!! WHATEVER YOU'RE ABLE TO DO IS GREATLY APPRECIATED AND IT ALL HELPS.

-- Gary