There is some real progress to note on the health care bill that will be coming out of the HELP committee, currently being led by Sen. Dodd in Sen. Kennedy's continued absence.
As Sen. Dodd hinted last week, he went back to the Congressional Budget Office after their initial $1+ trillion price tag for a plan with no public option to get a plan with a public option scored. The result? With a public option now included, the cost has been cut significantly:
Democrats on a key Senate Committee outlined a revised and far less costly health care plan Wednesday night that includes a government-run insurance option and an annual fee on employers who do not offer coverage to their workers.
The plan carries a 10-year price tag of slightly over $600 billion, and would lead toward an estimated 97 percent of all Americans having coverage, according to the Congressional Budget Office, Sens. Edward M. Kennedy and Chris Dodd said in a letter to other members of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee. The AP obtained a copy....
"We must not settle for legislation that merely gestures at reform," the two Democrats wrote. "We must deliver on the promise of true change."
Sen. Dodd promised the MLN community last month that he would stand up for the absent Sen. Kennedy and fight for a strong public option in the HELP committee, and from all appearances he is delivering on that promise. This new CBO score should change the debate significantly.
In the meantime, there is more good news coming out of the HELP committee fight. One is the massive pressure being brought to bear against the lone holdout for the public option in that committtee, Sen. Kay Hagan (D-NC), by NC breast cancer survivors and the local and national netroots:
Kay Hagan has been the sole obstacle keeping a public plan from coming out of the Senate HELP Committee. On Friday, Pam Spaulding and breast cancer survivors of North Carolina will go to Kay Hagan's office carrying their signatures and those of the people who stand with them, asking Hagan to stand with us, too. We want to get 20,000 signatures of support for them to deliver in the next 48 hours.
We survived because we had the medical treatment that many of our sisters who died did not. As survivors we want to speak out and demand access to health care for the women whose battle is before them.
And finally, early next week, Sen. Al Franken (D-MN) will finally be sworn in. One of the Senate committee slots being reserved for him? Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions. He will be replacing Sen. Whitehouse (D-RI) who has been temporarily filling his empty slot there, but will hopefully be an invaluable ally for Sen. Dodd and Sen. Kennedy as they continue their fight to get to get a strong public option out of committee.
After having similar Democratic attempts shot down in the previous GOP-dominated Congress, Senator Chris Dodd (D-CT) has proposed legislation that would raise the maximum amount available under the Federal Pell Grant program to fund college educations for students from low and moderate-income families.
Dodd's S.899 would raise the maximum annual grants from the current $4,310 to $7,600 for the 2007-2008 academic year and would gradually increase the Pell Grant to $11,600 by the 2011-2012 school year.
"The benefits of Pell grant aid cannot be overstated. Pell grants are beneficial to individual students as well as our society as a whole," said Dodd. "By increasing the Pell grant, we make a college education more affordable, and thus, make it more likely that qualified and hard working low- and moderate-income students will attend. It would be a significant loss to this great Nation if a generation of individuals were not able to earn a college degree simply because they could not afford to pay for it."
Prepared to answer Republican criticism that the increase is too large initially and over the next five years, Dodd cites the fact that the buying power of the current grant is significantly smaller than it was 30 years ago. In 1975, the maximum Pell grant covered 80 percent of the average student's tuition, fees, room, and board at 4-year public universities, while in 2006 the typical grant covered just 33 percent of the total charges at the same schools.
"That's not just a drop in aid, it's a free-fall," said Dodd. "The cornerstone of American democracy is providing all citizens with access and opportunities so that through hard work they can achieve the 'American dream.' We must keep that dream alive by providing students the financial opportunity to attend college."
Click through to read the full article at Geiger's site, it's stellar coverage of the Senate as usual.
Ted Kennedy also introduced a National Sick Leave Bill yesterday. Put in parallel, it's clear that having Democrats hold the majority in the Senate means that legislation that this country's working families need will finally start getting attention from Congress. Not every problem we face today is created by the Bush administration's propensity for an authoritarian executive branch and a cloak of secrecy. Bill's like Dodd's and Kennedy's serve to restore the social support network needed to keep the American Dream alive for all of our citizens. What's more, this is the kind of legislation that makes the Democratic Party great, as it defines what our vision for government is in a positive way that helps people and protects families. Kudos to Senators Dodd & Kennedy!
Ted Kennedy at a recent D.C. press dinner, quoted in the (ugh) Moonie Times:
[Kennedy] took a few shots at himself, particularly how long he has served in Congress (44 years, to be exact).
When the Massachusetts senator first took office, "Hillary Clinton was a Republican, Ronald Reagan was a Democrat, Joe Lieberman hadn't even thought about having it both ways and J. Edgar Hoover had picked out his first Cross Your Heart bra," Mr. Kennedy joked.
This looks promising - going beyond traditional "drum-circle"-type alliances/coalitions, Ted Kennedy, the Progressive States Network and a lot of other groups including MoveOn have an action plan for action at the state-grassroots level to stop escalation. As pointed out in the text, there is a precedent for state legislatures taking up the flag and with many Democrats in the US Congress not willing to fulfill their constitutional obligation to check a power-intoxicated monarch president we need as many avenues as possible to apply and maintain pressure.
Progressive States Network, MoveOn, Women Legislators' Lobby, Americans Against Escalation in Iraq, and Sen. Ted Kennedy Announce State Response to President Bush's Proposal to Escalate the War in Iraq
National State Legislative Campaign Highlights Impact to States of Escalation
...snip...
"States have the power and authority to speak out on issues that will impact them and their citizens," said Steve Doherty and David Sirota, Co-Chairs of Progressive States Network. "This escalation will have major costs - in terms of human lives, in terms of state budgets, and in terms of National Guard readiness."
The Progressive States Network will work with legislators to introduce and pass resolutions calling on Congress to use its power to prevent President Bush's escalation.
MoveOn will launch a major campaign, mobilizing Americans across the country to contact their state legislators, urging them to take action on the escalation.
Americans Against Escalation in Iraq, a coalition that includes US Action, Service Employers International Union (SEIU), Win Without War, Vote Vets, Center for American Progress, Campaign for America's Future, MoveOn, and United States Student Association, will join the call to provide guidance and grassroots support for the resolutions.
The case for state-level action is well laid-out, as is the model language for legislation (scroll down to the end).
Keep checking the link and your email... In the meantime, 1) maybe some intrepid MLN'er who is free Wednesday at 11:30 AM may want to sign on for the conference call, and 2) we should check to see if any such resolution has already been introduced (I haven't found anything yet on cga.ct.gov but I'm not familiar which databases to search) and 3) identify state legislators to target for sponsorship (O'Brien?).
Ideas?
UPDATE:Wayne's diary supplies tools to look at local costs for the war. This is the underlying principle of this grassroots action; states - and municipalities - pay the costs in lives lost and funds lost, and therefore have a valid voice and obligation to use that voice. Here's an excerpt of language from the model legislation specifically geared towards getting people to make the federal - states connection:
WHEREAS, This proposed escalation will further extend National Guard tours in Iraq, that the costs to the states of the call-up of National Guard members for deployment in Iraq have been significant, as reckoned in lost lives, combat injuries and psychic trauma, disruption of family life, financial hardship for individuals, families and businesses, interruption of careers and damage to the fabric of civic life in our communities; and
WHEREAS, The American troops have valiantly upheld their duty in Iraq under dire circumstances; and
WHEREAS, More than $357 billion has been appropriated by Congress to fund military operations and reconstruction in Iraq to date, money that could fund desperately needed education, health care, housing, nutrition and other social services in our communities in the United States or humanitarian assistance abroad; and
WHEREAS, Previous budgets that have prioritized Iraq have led to cuts in critical block grants for states and have increased the federal debt, which compounded by interest payments, will likely lead to even larger cuts in funding for critical needs in the States...
Today I am introducing legislation to reclaim the rightful role of Congress and the people's right to a full voice in the President's plan to send more troops to Iraq. My bill will say that no additional troops can be sent and no additional dollars can be spent on such an escalation, unless and until Congress approves the President's plan.
On a related and extremely signifcant point, this will not be the first such "surge" in Iraq. Rand Beers' National Security Network runs down the four similarly-sized "surges" that have led us to where we are today, illustrated by this great graphic:
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