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I just recieved this message from the National Writer's Union. Please
pass it on to all your self-employed friends and colleagues through
newsgroups, mailing lists, telephone calls, and email.

Message from the National Writers Union:

FREELANCE WRITERS & FRIENDS: 
CONTACT CONGRESS NOW
ABOUT 100% TAX DEDUCTION 
OF HEALTH INSURANCE PREMIUMS

Dear NWU members, writer colleagues,
and all self-employed persons,

Whatever your take on the current legislation in Congress regarding
managed health care, most of us can agree that freelance writers and
similarly self-employed people could benefit greatly from a 100
percent tax deduction for the health insurance premiums that we pay.

The fate of this deduction is up for grabs in a House-Senate
conference on the health care bill which could be decided as soon as
next week.

STATUS OF THE TAX DEDUCTION

Current law, which was adopted just two years ago and implemented this
year, allows for a 60 percent deduction of health insurance premiums
for self-employed people.  The NWU was among the many groups that
lobbied for its passage. But we have always believed that a 100
percent deduction would allow more freelance writers and others who
work for themselves as we do to escape the ranks of the medically
uninsured.

The version of the health care bill that passed the House this month
(HR 2990.EH) contains a provision for the 100 percent deduction. That
provision received support from both Democrats and Republicans,
although they differed strongly on other content in the bill.

The very different version that passed the Senate however, does not
contain this deduction. Although it is missing from this version,
there does not appear to be opposition to the idea in the Senate.

As of Friday Oct. 22, the Senate had named its conferees, but the
House had not. The purpose of the conference will be to hammer out a
bill that would meet approval in both House and Senate and then go to
the President.

Of course, given the debate over other provisions, there is no
certainty that a bill able to leap all hurdles to enactment will
result. In theory, the tax deduction could be made a separate bill
from the more controversial managed health care provisions, but at
this late date in the session that is unlikely.

Nevertheless, the NWU urges our members, colleagues and friends to
contact your representatives immediately to tell them that the tax
deduction is important to you. If it is not won in this session, we
will put them on notice for the next.

ACTION YOU SHOULD TAKE: 

MAKE TELEPHONE CALLS TO YOUR SENATORS AND YOUR REPRESENTATIVE IN THE
HOUSE. At this time, letters may be too late and email may be lost in
the huge backlog in Congress. Telephone calls reflect the importance
of the issue. 

CALL THE HOME DISTRICT OFFICES. Calls from constituents in the home
districts have influence. Ask for the legislative aide who specializes
in health care issues. Tell the aide that your message must be
delivered pronto because the question could come up any day. 

To find out who is your representative in the House:
<<http://www.house.gov/writerep>http://www.house.gov/writerep>
To find out who are your state's Senators:
<<http://www.senate.gov/>http://www.senate.gov>
To find their district phone numbers:
<<http://thomas.loc.gov/>http://thomas.loc.gov>
Choose in menu on the left side either House Directories or Senate
Directories.

ASK YOUR SENATORS to make sure House-Senate conference includes the
deduction in any version of the bill they produce. 

IF YOUR SENATOR IS A CONFEREE, tell him or her you strongly that want
the deduction included in any bill that results from the conference.
The Senate conferees are:

Sen. James Jeffords, Vermont
Sen. Judd Gregg, New Hampshire
Sen. Peter Fitzgerald, Illinois
Sen. Tim Hutchinson, Arkansas
Sen. Don Nickles, Oklahoma
Sen. Phil Gramm, Texas
Sen. Mike Enzi, Wyoming
Sen. Edward Kennedy, Massachusetts
Sen. Christopher Dodd, Connecticut
Sen. Tom Harkin, Iowa
Sen. Barbara Mikulski, Maryland
Sen. John Rockefeller IV, West Virginia

ASK YOUR REPRESENTATIVE IN THE HOUSE to contact the House conferees
once they are appointed to tell them the tax deduction should be
retained in the conference bill.

IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO CONTACT THE HOUSE CONFEREES WHEN THEY ARE
APPOINTED, let us know at the National Writers Union and we will send
you the names. Send a message to <nwu@nwu.org> with "Tax Deduction" in
the subject line.

LET US KNOW HOW YOUR CONTACTS WENT. You can help the effort to win
this and future legislation by letting us know how your
representatives or their aides respond. 

Thanks for your help with this and feel free to forward this message
to others who may be interested.

National Writers Union
<nwu@nwu.org>