NOTICE! February BTCNP Meeting Date Change

February's Be The Change - North Penn meeting date has changed to Wednesday, February 10th!

DATE: Wednesday, February 10th
TIME: 7:00 PM-9:00 PM
LOCATION: Holy Trinity Church, 407 N. Broad St., Lansdale
(Please use the side entrance on 4th Street.)

PARKING: The best available parking is in the former PNC Bank parking lot at the corner of 5th & Broad Streets. (Some limited parking may also be available off of 4th St.)

Please be sure to RSVP to Peter if you're joining us. We hope to see you there!

National Day of Service!

On Saturday, January 16, Be the Change- North Penn celebrated the Martin Luther King, Jr. National Day of Service in a big way!

Northwestern Human Services in Lansdale provides addiction and recovery oriented mental health services to the local community. It focuses on empowering clients to take charge in their lives. Being an organization that helps people enhance and improve the quality of their lives, it was chosen for our MLK service day event. It was in need of a makeover to brighten and clean the gathering areas for the clients.

Dedicated BTC-NP members answered President Obama's call for service with a strong turnout. Twenty seven members with some new faces arrived at Northwestern Human Services ready to repair, paint and clean. Several members brought their children who gave up their Saturday to follow in their parent's footsteps in giving back. Supplies were freely donated. We prepped and painted 2 group rooms and the large lobby which is a gathering place for social interaction. Repairs were made where needed and an extensive clean-up followed the completion of the painting.

Aubrey Daam, the Intensive Outpatient Program Manager at NHS was there to work along with our group to get the job done. She was gracious enough to also provide breakfast snacks and a light lunch. Her dedication to her program is clear and unwavering. She reports the clients and staff where pleased to see the fresh paint and cleaned interior. NHS will be a brighter and more cheerful place for months to come.

As usual, everyone went above and beyond in answering our President's call to service. However, not only did we have a very successful MLK service day event, we had great fun and fellowship. Be on the lookout for our next service event and please join us! Check out the photos here:

http://picasaweb.google.com/BeTheChange.NorthPenn

Check us out in The Lansdale Reporter here: http://thereporteronline.com/articles/2010/01/17/news/srv0000007351557.txt

Posted by Abigail Kerrigan

January BTCNP Meeting Information

Our monthly Be The Change - North Penn meeting is this Wednesday, January 6th. Help us start out the year right - join us!

DATE: Wednesday, January 6th
TIME: 7:00 PM-9:00 PM
LOCATION: Holy Trinity Church, 407 N. Broad St., Lansdale
(Please use the side entrance on 4th Street.)

PARKING: The best available parking is in the (former) PNC Bank parking lot at the corner of 5th & Broad Streets. (Some limited parking may also be available off of 4th St.)

Please be sure to RSVP to Peter if you're joining us. We hope to see you there!

Twenty Ten

As we leave 2009 with its challenges behind us let's welcome 2010 with optimism and determination. Happy New Year to all Be The Change North Penn members, supporters and friends.

Health Care Reform Debate Continues

For those of you who feel the President must sign a bill during the next few weeks please remember that your vote mattered in November 2008 and you still matter and your voice can make a difference.

The Republicans in the House and Senate will almost without exception, as a matter of policy, vote against any health care reform bill so for the purposes of this piece they are, with two exceptions, totally irrelevant. The two senators from Maine, Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins seem to be the only Republicans who are prepared to consider the Democrats’ proposals.

The two senators who pose the biggest obstacle to healthcare reform are Joseph Lieberman, the Independent from Connecticut who caucuses with the Democrats and holds chairmanships of Democratic committees, for example the Committee on Homeland Security, and Ben Nelson the very conservative Democrat from Nebraska. Please consider writing to the senators and expressing your feelings. If you wish to email them you may need to use Connecticut/Nebraska zip codes which can be found on the USPS website. Just needs a little ingenuity. Pick a town in the state and a common street name (e.g. Main Street). New Haven CT gives 06513 and Lincoln Nebraska 68521. The second set of 4 digits can also be used if necessary. You get the idea.

Ben Nelson

720 HART SENATE OFFICE BUILDING WASHINGTON DC 20510
(202) 224-6551
Web Form: bennelson.senate.gov/contact-me.cfm


Joseph Lieberman

706 HART SENATE OFFICE BUILDING WASHINGTON DC 20510
(202) 224-4041
Web Form: lieberman.senate.gov/contact/


At this time the Senate appears to have replaced a government run public option with a miscellany of various measures and regulations, including not-for-profit insurance companies and caps on the percentage of premiums which can be designated for administration, advertising and profit in existing health insurance companies. These Senators are possibly problematic to the final passage of a Senate bill:

Max Baucus (Montana) 511 HART SENATE OFFICE BUILDING WASHINGTON DC 20510 TEL: (202) 224-2651

Evan Bayh (Indiana) 131 RUSSELL SENATE OFFICE BUILDING WASHINGTON DC 20510 TEL: (202) 224-5623

Tom Carper (Delaware) 513 HART SENATE OFFICE BUILDING WASHINGTON DC 20510 TEL: (202) 224-2441

Kent Conrad (North Dakota) 530 HART SENATE OFFICE BUILDING WASHINGTON DC 20510 TEL: (202) 224-2043

Mary Landrieu (Louisiana) 328 HART SENATE OFFICE BUILDING WASHINGTON DC 20510 TEL: (202) 224-5824

Blanche Lincoln (Arkansas) 355 DIRKSEN SENATE OFFICE BUILDING WASHINGTON DC 20510 TEL: (202) 224-4843

Bill Nelson (Florida) 716 HART SENATE OFFICE BUILDING WASHINGTON DC 20510 TEL: (202) 224-5274
yes there is a Bill and a Ben!
Mark Pryor (Arkansas) 255 DIRKSEN SENATE OFFICE BUILDING WASHINGTON DC 20510 TEL: (202) 224-2353

Ron Wyden (Oregon) 223 DIRKSEN SENATE OFFICE BUILDING WASHINGTON DC 20510 TEL: (202) 224-5244



The Senate has voted 54-45 to kill an amendment by Senator Ben Nelson, D-Nebraska regarding the ban on federal abortion funding. Critics said the measure would go too far and curb access to abortion coverage, even if women buy insurance with their own money. Nelson (Methodist) was supported by 6 other Democrats, all men. They were Evan Bayh, Robert Casey of PA (Roman Catholic), Kent Conrad, Byron Dorgan, Ted Kaufman who replaced Joe Biden in Delaware (Roman Catholic) and Mark Pryor. Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins voted with the majority of the Democrats and as Susan Collins is a Roman Catholic she definitely proved that she is an independent thinker.

Here are some facts I came across:

Only 10% of Republican senators are women (4 out of 40)
No Republican Senators are Jewish (Specter of PA is now a Democrat)
About 23% of Democratic Senators are women (13 out of 58).
Both Independents are Jewish.

Don’t forget to keep contacting your own Senators and Representatives too. Let them know when you approve and when you disapprove.

Be the Change- North Penn Celebrates FIRST Anniversary!

It's been a wonderful year of community service and involvement in local and national politics! Best of all has been working with a group of dedicated and passionate people. Here's a list of some of our highlights from the past year:

2008.1213: ”Change is Coming” meeting, 13 people attend
2008.1229: Developed mission statement
2008.1229: Hosted a lively Health Care meeting with guidance from the administration transition team
2009.0124: First Service Event- PEAK Center Painting, 21 people attend
2009.0213: Featured in The Reporter and launch of BTCNP Blog
2009.0304: Organized into several teams including Administration Liaison team, Candidates Committee, Public Relations team, Township & Borough Meetings team, and Volunteer Coordination team
2009.0304: Announced “Bring the Change” tutoring group at NP High School
2009.0404: Held a “Learn for a Change!” seminar on the President’s budget proposal
2009.0404: Hosted 11 democratic and republican local candidates
2009.0506: BTCNP logo chosen
2009.0506: Guest Speakers: Volunteer Coordinator for Project HEARTH and Executive Director of North Penn United Way
2009.0531: BTCNP T-shirts unveiled
2009.0531: Service Event: Project HEARTH Cleanup, 31 people attend
2009.0627: Bring the Change featured in The Reporter
2009.0627: Service Event: Participated in National Health Care Day of Service event run by North Penn United Way
2009.0701: Hosted candidates running for Montgomery Township supervisor
2009.0701: BTCNP bags unveiled
2009.0704: Service Event: Giving Thanks to Those Who Serve at Lansdale Farmers Market
2009.0801 & 0905: School Supply Drive at Lansdale Farmers Market
2009.0808: Held a “Learn for a Change!” discussion on healthcare reform
2009.0808: Held a “Learn For a Change!” discussion on PA House Bill 300, Pennsylvania Human Relations Act (PHRA)
2009.0902: Guest Speaker: Regional Field Director for OFA (Organizing for America)
2009.0912: Held BTCNP phone bank for healthcare reform with OFA
2009.1003: Hosted candidates for district court judge, school board & court of common pleas judge
2009.1104: BTCNP healthcare reform editorial developed
2009.1128: BTCNP healthcare reform editorial published in The Reporter
2009.1205: BTCNP celebrates 1st anniversary!

Some Political Facts About Pennsylvania

Have you ever sat with your computer to do a little research and been really surprised? I'd like to share what my research turned up.

Pennsylvania has 19 Congressional Districts. The Democrats hold 12 and the Republicans hold 7.

There are 17 men and 2 women, both Democrats.

There are 11 Roman Catholics, 7 of other Christian denominations, and Congresswoman Allyson Schwartz of our own 13th District is Jewish. Chuka Fattah, a Baptist, is the only other Democrat who is not a Roman Catholic.

Last night there were two votes in the House of Representatives. The first was the Stupak Amendment which puts restrictions on healthcare plans being able to cover abortions. This amendment passed with the help of all 7 PA Republicans and 7 Democrats including Kathy Dahlkemper.

The Healthcare Reform Bill was narrowly passed with the help of 10 PA Democrats. Even with the Stupak Amendment 2 Democrats, Tim Holden of the 17th District, and Jason Altmire of the 4th District voted against Healthcare Reform.

Are you surprised by these statistics?

A Message From Allyson Schwartz

Here is an excerpt from an email I recently received from Congresswoman Allyson Schwartz. I urge you to phone or email your support for her efforts on Health Care Reform, even if you have already done so, as a vote in the House is expected very soon and there is still enormous lobbying from opponents who have much to lose if there is reform. Her Washington number is (202)-225-6111. Want to read the bill? Representative Schwartz includes a web link.

"Finding a uniquely American solution to ensuring that all Americans have access to meaningful, affordable health coverage has been a national goal for decades. Action is both a moral and economic imperative for our nation. Last week new health reform legislation, The Affordable Health Care for America Act, was introduced in the House. It builds on the hard work done by the three health care Committees over many months, including the Ways and Means Committee on which I sit, and responds to feedback from the American people. I encourage you to visit my website, house.gov/Schwartz, where you can find a link to the bill, or to stop by one of my district offices where copies of the bill are available for constituents to pick up.

This legislation which builds on America's private-public system, also meets our commitment of fiscal responsibility. It is paid for and will not add to our federal deficit.
It also meets our goals of health reform:

. Enhanced consumer protection for those with health coverage
. New, affordable choices for individuals and small business
. Strengthened Medicare for seniors
. Improved delivery of care with better health outcomes for all Americans, and
. Containment of the rapidly rising cost of health care.

We know that the status quo is unaffordable and unsustainable. Passing health reform benefits all of us - families, seniors, businesses, and the nation, and this week we moved one step closer. Once again, thank you for expressing your opinions during this process - we could not have crafted this well-balanced, centrist bill without your input.

Sincerely,Congresswoman Allyson Schwartz