Fwd: A Message from Congressman Pete Stark
Clint Johns
Continued success in all you do,
Begin forwarded message:
From: "Pete Stark" <pete...@mail.house.gov>
Date: June 21, 2010 7:40:52 PM PDT
To: piRsqu...@comcast.net
Subject: A Message from Congressman Pete Stark
JUNE 2010: LEGISLATIVE REPORT
FREMONT
9:00-10:30 am
Fremont Senior Center
Wing A
40086 Paseo Padre ParkwaySAN LEANDRO
11:00 AM to 12:30 PM
San Leandro City Hall
Council Chambers
835 East 14th StreetBUILDING GREEN JOBS IN THE EAST BAY
Tesla Motors’ recent announcement that the NUMMI factory in Fremont will return to production by building electric cars is further evidence that the East Bay is becoming the new hub for green manufacturing in the country. From companies that manufacture solar panels to those developing next-generation biofuels, energy efficient building products, and clean power systems for trucks and heavy equipment, our community is the new poster child for emerging technologies.
On June 7th, I joined Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis to announce $19 million in funds that will provide transitional employment and retraining services to workers impacted by the NUMMI closure. These funds will ensure that our skilled workforce is ready to fill the positions created by companies expanding in our community.
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act has created thousands of jobs in the East Bay and saved many thousands more, including teachers, police officers, and firefighters. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 290,000 jobs were created in April, 29,200 of which were in California. At this rate, more jobs will be created this year than were created during the eight years of the previous Administration.
Despite the success of the Recovery Act in creating jobs for our area, there are still too many families struggling to keep their homes and put food on their tables. That’s why I support extending unemployment benefits and increasing funding for states to subsidize employment while transitioning people back into the workforce.
If we’re going to have a strong workforce, we must also continue to invest in education. I remain deeply concerned about our state’s education budget. Hundreds of teacher lay-offs and increased class sizes will occur throughout our community unless the Congress steps in. I support funding that will prevent teacher lay-offs and ensure quality education for our children from cradle to career.
The East Bay’s growing green economy is a direct result of sound federal policies combined with innovative companies and highly skilled workers that call the East Bay home. I will continue to work to uphold the federal commitment to create good jobs in our community.
HEALTH CARE REFORM SIGNED INTO LAW This spring, Congress and President Obama made history by passing comprehensive health reform that guarantees affordable, quality coverage for all Americans.
For 38 years, I have been a forceful advocate for health care reform. As Chair of the House Ways and Means Health Subcommittee, I helped write the House health care reform bill.
The legislation:
- Builds on what works in today’s system, protecting people who like the coverage they have.
- Reforms the health insurance marketplace by creating Health Insurance Exchanges in 2014, where individuals can comparison shop for coverage. Letting people buy individual coverage together will make the marketplace more competitive.
- Ends insurance plans’ ability to deny coverage based on pre-existing conditions; drop coverage when people get sick; and charge people more based on their gender or occupation.
Requires shared responsibility among individuals, businesses, and government.- Assures that health care is affordable by providing financial assistance to low- and middle-income families.
Provides tax credits to small businesses to help them provide coverage to their employees.- Ends the Medicare prescription drug donut hole, provides free preventive services in Medicare, and extends the life of the Medicare Trust Fund by more than a decade.
Pete meets with members of the California Nurses Association about health care reform The non-partisan Congressional Budget Office estimates that the Affordable Care Act will extend health insurance coverage to 32 million more Americans. When fully enacted, more than 94 percent of Americans will be insured.
Importantly, the Act provides security to those who already have coverage, and helps lower costs for individuals and families. According to CBO, the bill is projected to reduce the deficit by $143 billion over the next ten years, and $1.2 trillion over the following decade.
While the bill that passed is not perfect, I supported it because it finally establishes in law that every American should have quality, affordable health care. That’s a strong platform on which to build.
REFORM STARTS THIS YEAR
Health care reform will take time to implement. The Health Insurance Exchanges and tax credits will be set up by the beginning of 2014. However, you should start seeing the first effects of health reform soon. Here are some provisions in health care reform that take effect this year:
MORE FOR YOUR PREMIUM DOLLAR - Requires all health plans to put more of your premiums into your care, and less into profits. The law requires that insurers spend at least 80 percent of premiums on medical services. Insurers that don’t meet the required thresholds must provide rebates to policyholders.
EXTENDED COVERAGE FOR YOUNG PEOPLE – Requires health plans to allow young people through age 26 to remain on their parents’ insurance policies at their parents’ choice.
END RESCISSIONS – Prohibits insurance companies from dropping patients’ coverage when they get sick.
SMALL BUSINESS TAX CREDITS – Small businesses who offer health care for their employees are eligible for tax credits – up to 35 percent of employer premium contributions.
IMMEDIATE HELP FOR THE UNINSURED — Creates a new, temporary insurance program until the Exchanges open that provides insurance for people who have been uninsured for six months and have a pre-existing condition.
BEGIN CLOSING THE MEDICARE PART D DONUT HOLE – Medicare beneficiaries who hit the donut hole in 2010 have already started receiving $250 rebates. There will be a 50 percent discount on brand-name drugs in the donut hole starting January 2011. The donut hole will be fully phased out by 2020.
CURBING UNREASONABLE RATE HIKES – Provides funding for state efforts that require health insurance companies to submit justification for premium increases, and arms the federal government to collect and post data.
FREE PREVENTIVE CARE IN MEDICARE – Eliminates co-payments for preventive services, and preventive services will be exempt from deductibles in Medicare.
HELP FOR EARLY RETIREES – Creates a temporary re-insurance program for employer health plans providing coverage for early retirees.
NO DISCRIMINATON AGAINST CHILDREN WITH PRE-EXISTING CONDITIONS – Prohibits all employer plans and new plans in the individual market from denying coverage to children with pre-existing conditions.
PROTECTING THE BAY
The recent disaster in the Gulf of Mexico shows the dangers of offshore oil drilling. We still don’t know the total magnitude of the damage to the ecosystem and to the livelihood of families who work in the region, but early estimates are frightening.
I have co-sponsored legislation that would hold BP accountable, and make sure they pay to clean up the Gulf. However, this disaster is also a reminder of how important it is to protect our nation’s waterways, including the San Francisco Bay.
I co-sponsored legislation that will prevent a disaster of this scale off our coast, and devote more resources to restoring and protecting the San Francisco Bay:
- The West Coast Ocean Protection Act (H.R. 5213) stops all new offshore drilling in federal waters on the West Coast.
- The San Francisco Bay Improvement Act (H.R. 5061) would devote approximately $1 billion to fund efforts to restore and improve the environmental health of the San Francisco Bay.
In addition to these two pending bills, the House recently passed the Clean Estuaries Act of 2010 (H.R. 4715). This bill will support the San Francisco Bay Estuary Partnership and dozens of projects in our area.
It isn’t enough to protect and restore our Bay and wetlands. We must also end our country’s excessive dependence on fossil fuels that helped lead to the disaster in the Gulf. I support strong global warming legislation that will put a price on carbon emissions.
I will continue to work to reduce our addiction to oil and preserve our precious environmental resources.
LEADING ON NUCLEAR NON-PROLIFERATION There is good news for supporters of nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation. The President and Congress have been working together to promote efforts to reduce our nuclear stockpile and prevent nuclear weapons from getting into the hands of terrorists.
This April, President Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev signed the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START). This treaty will reduce both countries’ nuclear stockpiles by 30 percent within seven years. The treaty still must be approved by the Senate.
The Administration also released its Nuclear Posture Review — a document that sets the direction of our nation’s nuclear weapons policy. I led a group of 27 Members of Congress in writing to the Administration to ask that the Review support the goals of disarmament and non-proliferation, and am pleased that our concerns were addressed in the Review.
The Review made several positive steps — for the first time, ruling out the use of nuclear weapons against a conventional attack from a non-nuclear nation. The Review also refocused our national nuclear policy from responding to a nuclear attack from another country, to non-proliferation to prevent nuclear weapons from getting into the hands of terrorists.
As a result of this work on the Nuclear Posture Review, this Spring I received an award from the Alliance for Nuclear Accountability. The group is a network of grassroots and national groups like Peace Action West.
While the President has taken steps to promote nuclear non-proliferation, more can be done. For example, I think Congress should appropriate resources to dismantle nuclear weapons and am organizing my colleagues to join me
in this ask of the House Appropriations
Committee.I will continue to be a leader in the effort to rid the world of nuclear weapons.
KEY VOTES
2011 Defense Authorization (H.R. 5136) — $726 billion in defense spending for 2011, including billions for programs the Pentagon doesn’t want.
Voted NO, passed the House 229-186, pending in the Senate.
Amendment to H.R. 5136 to End “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” — Creates a pathway to repeal the policy of discrimination against gays and lesbians in the military.
Voted YES, passed 234-194, was included in H.R. 5136, pending in the Senate.
Student Loan Reform (H.R. 4872) — Ends government subsidies to private student loan companies, and uses the money to fund college affordability programs.
Voted YES, passed the House 220-207, signed into law.
America COMPETES Act (H.R. 5116) — Doubles funding for research programs and Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics education over the next ten years.
Voted YES, passed the House 262-150, pending in the Senate.
Home Star Energy Efficiency (H.R. 5019) — Provides immediate rebates of up to $3,000 for consumers who renovate their homes to become more energy efficient.
Voted YES, passed the House 246-161, pending in the Senate.
Veterans Health Services (S. 1963) — Provides assistance to caregivers of disabled, ill or injured veterans; enhances health coverage for women veterans.
Voted YES, passed the House 419-0, signed into law.
---
If you do not want further emails from Congressman Stark, click here to unsubscribe. PLEASE NOTE: If you do not fill out the form, we cannot confirm your identity, and cannot remove you from the list.
Washington Office
239 Cannon Building
Washington, D.C. 20515
(p) 202-225-5065
(f) 202-226-3805Fremont Office
39300 Civic Center Drive,
Suite 220
Fremont, CA 94538
(p) 510-494-1388
(f) 510-494-5852
