Aren’t healthy kids worth the cost?

Posted Sept. 25, 2007 – More than 9 million children in the United States are trying to survive without health insurance, and if President Bush has his way, more kids will be added the rolls of the uninsured.

Last night, Congress passed a bill that would keep coverage for 6 million of the 9 million children currently covered by the State Children’s Health Insurance Plan (S-CHIP) now up for renewal.  If passed and signed by the president, the bill would give coverage to 3.5 million more children.  

Rep. Bobby Scott (D-Va.) like all the members of the Congressional Black Caucus, supported the bill. “We still have a long way to go,” he said.

Bush thinks the bill goes too far and has made it clear that when it lands on his desk it faces a veto.  What does Bush have against poor children?  His fear is if we start covering all children, who’ll be next?  The bill “pushes many children who now have private coverage into a government-run system, part of the Democrats’ incremental plan toward government-run health care for all Americans,” a White House statement charged.

That’s not really true, according to the authors of the bill.  The bill would allow for more of the working poor without healthcare and those who must purchase insurance for family members to qualify, they say.  

House Majority Whip James E. Clyburn (D-S.C.) said, “This bipartisan legislation safeguards the health of our nation’s most vulnerable youths.”

The “most vulnerable youths” according to the Congressional Budget Office, includes close to 10 million uninsured children.  Two and a half million are children of color:  About 1.4 million are Hispanic children; 800,000 are African American; and 130,000 are Asian American.   

Bush isn’t making friends on either side of aisle with his veto threat.  No doubt children will be the ultimate victims as he plays political football with their health coverage. But those running for re-election in 2008 with feel the “ill”-effects as well.

 In a statement released by the White House, Bush calls for lawmakers to give him another bill that won’t include so many kids. 

Can’t we spend at least what we’re spending for the children in Iraq and Afghanistan on our kids’ right here at home?

By Pamela Gentry, Senior Political Producer

Do you think your tax dollars would be well spent providing healthcare to these children who need it? 

Are Black folks finding it hard to love? One Black lawmaker thinks so.  Read and respond.     

Posted Sept. 25, 2007 – It’s not every day that members of Congress set aside time to talk about Black folks’ emotions and their relationships, but that’s just what Democratic Illinois Congressman Bobby Rush is planning to during do. It’s time for us “to love the skin we’re in” and get to the “core issue” as to why some folks don’t, he told me.

“In the African-American community, the question of love has been a question that we’ve had to struggle with since slavery,” he said.

  That’s why he’s dedicating a workshop on the topic Friday, Sept. 28, to examine what he called “the political realm and governmental realm” of the problem and to find solutions.

Rush contends the social issues plaguing Black communities are rooted in “self-hate,” with skin color often being the catalyst.  “The pre-condition for enslavement of a people was to deny those people any obvious mechanism that would promote love of oneself,” Rush said. 

The Black community can’t come together, Rush warns, “with relationship issues, male -female, young and old, light skin-dark skin, working class-upper class, you know; we’ve got to resolve and dissolve some of these issues and come together as a people.”

He describes the break down of family and violence as “psychological divisions” that must be eliminated.

A workshop on “Black love” may be a first for the Congressional Black Caucus Legislative Weekend, but Rush says it won’t be the last.  “It is the biggest issue we have as a people – this question of loving each other.”

The conference will start tomorrow.  Here’s a link to the planned events through Sunday.
 
http://www.alc2007.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=29&Itemid=55

Is Congressman Bobby Rush right, are we just haten who we are?   

Posted Sept. 24, 2007 – On Wednesday, more than 20,000 folks will come to Washington to attend the four-day conference “Unleashing Our Power” hosted by Black lawmakers.
The 37th Annual Legislative Weekend will be jumping, from the opening prayer breakfast to evening networking receptions and gatherings around town.  This is also the week Hollywood kicks it with the Capitol Hill crowd.  This year is no different; actors Lou Gossett, Victoria Rowell and Gabriele Union will join music producers Quincy Jones and Russell Simmons,  adding their voices to issues they care about.

There are a couple of big changes in store for regular attendees.  The two biggest differences: Folks attending the conference will be charged a small entrance fee, and lobbyists will not be able to give tickets to their events directly to a member’s office. 

The reason for the admission fee is simple.  Charging folks attending the workshops, town hall meetings and policy pow-wows will allow the foundation to raise money for scholarships, fellowships and internship programs.  But folks close to the planning are worried this change might not be well-received.  

The other change is a direct result of the new ethics laws passed by the Democratic majority this year.  The new law won’t allow lobbyists to give tickets to their events to a member of Congress.  Now tickets from corporate partners will be donated to and distributed by the foundation.  

This new system will make it difficult for members to invite specific guests from their districts.  This is just one of several new obstacles facing lobbyists under new ethics laws.

Delegate Donna M. Christensen (D-V.I.) and Rep. G. K. Butterfield (D-N.C.) are the co-chairs of this year’s Legislative Weekend, and Rep. Kendrick Meek (D-Fla.) is the caucus foundation president.

 Meek told BET that he wants folks to get motivated so they’ll get busy when they return home. We’re “not just talking about congressional power; we’re talking about the power of the participants of the conference, unleashing our power back home,” he said. 

By Pamela Gentry, Senior Political Producer  

Posted Sept. 20, 2007 – Today several members of the caucus are traveling to Louisiana to attend the rally being held for the so-called “Jena Six,” the group of African-American teens facing extensive prison sentences for a schoolyard fight with a White school mate.  

I spoke with Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.)  right before she left for Jena to join others at the protest.  She told her role was to show support for the young folks who planned the rally. “It’s their time, I’m so proud of them - this may be the new Civil Rights Movement for this generation. ”

 Rep. William Jefferson (D-La.), who represents the city of New Orleans, will carry a message from caucus Chairwoman Rep. Carolyn Kilpatrick and the rest of the Black members of Congress.  Like the protests of the 1960s, “It often takes a non-violent display of solidarity to bring about change,” Jefferson said.

Jefferson, who faces legal challenges of his own, said, “It is my hope this event will be a catalyst of fairness in the justice system of Jena.”

The themes of “fairness and justice” are why several workshops will address the number of African Americans in prison.   Rep. Danny Davis (D-Ill.) told me that the incarceration trend must change because those serving time for non-violent crimes can be rehabilitated.  “Now, we’re not going to put a pedophile in a day care, or a bank robber as a teller, but just because someone robbed a bank, doesn’t meant they can’t do construction,” he said.

The number of Black folks in prison continues to climb and, even more disturbing, Black women are the fastest growing segment of the prison population.  Rep. Donald Payne (D-N.J.) said the “cycle must be interrupted early. We need to create a pathway to prosperity, not prison.”

Rep. Charles Rangel (D-N.Y.), chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, and Rep. John Conyers, (D-Mich.), who heads the House Judiciary Committee, are founding members of the Black Caucus.

 As pilots of arguably the two most powerful committees in the House, they say they have watched conditions for African Americans worsen under President Bush.  “We know pain and sacrifice, we know the struggle continues for us even here,” Rangel said.

Next week, the 43 members of the Congressional Black Caucus host its Legislative Weekend, an annual conference focusing on issues affecting the Black community. This year’s topics include Black love, rap music and preserving equal rights.

The workshops and town hall meetings are designed as a wake-up call to constituents and America as a whole. Some issues hit the radar every year – i.e., education, health care and economic independence – but some topics from the past are now the topic of today and call for immediate attention.

Posted Sept. 17,  2007 – This week students at the University of Maryland were given a history lesson without opening a text book.  The campus was swarmed by the media and the administration was up in arms over a noose found hanging from a tree outside campus building where Black student organizations were headquartered.  

This incident, coupled with the now famous case of the “Jena Six,” who are facing prison time for their reaction and retaliation to a similar display of racism on their high school campus in Louisiana, is reminiscent of the post-Reconstruction Era. ?

If Black folks have forgotten why there was a Civil Rights Movement, these recent incidents in school yards and college campuses should be a reminder.

African American’s can’t begin to discount the impact of  the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s march on Washington, Rosa Park’s bus boycott in Birmingham or the 1955 lynching of 14 year-old Emmett Till.  These were turning points in America history.

Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.) spent his youth as a foot solider in the Civil Rights Movement, and he’s concerned about what’s ahead.  That’s why he’s  bringing attention to the danger of doing away with the Civil Rights Division in the Department of Justice. 

Lewis notes some disturbing reports about what’s to occur within the division under the Bush administration. For example, career civil rights attorneys have been pressured to change rulings about state election laws, which in turn violates the Voting Rights Act.  This type of behavior, like the firing of U.S. attorneys, which is now under investigation, could be the tip of the iceberg.

Earlier this month, Lewis testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee to stress the historic significance of the Civil Rights Division and the need for its service.  He also wanted to raise a red flag about department practices following the departure of former Atty. Gen. Alberto Gonzales.

 Lewis’s testimony was personal, practical and from first-hand experience as a young college student and activist.  “People of color couldn’t vote; they couldn’t register to vote.  They paid a poll tax.  Black people could not sit on a jury.  Segregation was the order of the day.  It was so real.  The signs were so visible.  People were told to stay in their place.  People were beaten; people came up missing.”

 I hope we haven’t loss the momentum of 50 years of struggle. I hope today’s youths  understand what’s at stake, and I hope Black folks realize the dangers ahead if they don’t actively participate in the system to guarantee what they take for granted.
 
Lewis reflected on his experience and told the committee, “In some instances it amounted to police – and state-sanctioned violence against people of color.  Black people were afraid and White people were afraid to speak out.  It truly was terror.”

Lewis is right racism is “terror.”

Which candidate do you think has the best plan for ending the War in Iraq?

Read and respond. 

Posted Sept. 14, 2007 – President Bush told the American people last night two things: His strategy is working, and the job of ending the war will be on the next president.

 As predicted the president called on Congress to “come together on a policy of strength in the Middle East” and to support the recommendations of Army Gen. David Petraeus on troop levels.

“Now, because of the measure of success we are seeing in Iraq, we can begin seeing troops come home.  The way forward I have described tonight makes it possible, for the first time in years, for people who have been on opposite sides of this difficult debate to come together,” Bush said.

 Congress, the American people and now the president agree bringing troops home is a good idea – but they differ on the important issues of how many should come home and when. 

Last night, the president called for decreasing the number of Americans in Iraq in 2008, which would reduce the the troop level by the time he left office.  But it would strap the next president 100,000 troops still in Iraq and the challenge of ending the war. In other words, Bush will leave office fighting the war his way and pass the aftermath of his stubborn approach to future presidents.  

Last night every presidential candidate was put on notice: The job you’re seeking will be a tough one, and this war will be your war.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) responded to the president’s speech saying, “The president has offered only a commitment to endless war that will continue to take American lives, deplete our treasury, and divert our focus from fighting an effective war on terrorism against Osama bin Laden and his al-Qaeda operatives.”

Sen. Jack Reed (D-R.I.), in his televised response to the president, reminded American’s of the domestic sacrifices. “We think it’s wrong that the president tells us there’s not enough money for our veterans and children’s health care because he is spending $10 billion a month in Iraq.” 

Democrats want a plan to begin a reduction of troops and place more responsibility on the Iraq government to run its country.  That message has been hard to get in the headlines. 

Now those seeking to take on the job as president in 2009 know what their getting into, but will they know how to get us out?

Posted Sept. 13, 2007 – Before President Bush can address the country tonight, Maryland Congressman Elijah Cummings  (D) is making it clear that he’s expecting the same old, same old.

“I am confident, before even hearing the president’s speech tonight, that it will entail more of the same deceptions and distractions from this administration to which we have become accustomed during the course of this War.“I expect the president to claim that the troop surge is working but that we need more time to see its full effects. I anticipate he will criticize Congress for demanding the will of the majority of Americans to change the course in Iraq,” Cummings said.

In his comments to the American people, Bush will likely point to the testimony of Army Gen. David Petraeus and a recent poll by Rasmussen that shows that  43 percent of the American people are also prepared for the predictable.     

The poll by Rasmussen found only 38 percent opposed the strategy to withdraw about 30,000 troops, as Petraeus outlined, and 71 percent said it’s likely that “a large number” will remain in Iraq for the next five years.

Cummings says Bush will ignore any news that doesn’t support that the surge is working.  “I will also not be surprised if the president uses his report tonight as an opportunity to paint this drawdown of troops as a change in strategy or as an indicator of success,” he said.

We’ll all be watching to see just what Bush has to say.  I don’t think anything can surprise the American people. 

Do you think the war in Iraq will help to end terrorist attacks? 

Posted Sept. 11, 2007 – The timing of Army Gen. David H. Petraeus’ report to Congress was no mistake. Congress and the Bush administration were smart enough to get the report 24 hours before the anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks.  Why?  It only gave Petraeus one day on the front pages of American newspapers before attention turned to the “reason” for the war.  ]

Yesterday, Petraeus gave the country mixed reviews on the “war on terror,” proposing a reduction in troops following the “surge” of an additional 30,000 troops.  Petraeus recommended that the United States begin bring about 30,000 troops home beginning next year. He fell short on doing much more.

 “Our military cannot sustain its current deployments without crippling our ability to respond to contingencies around the world,” Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) said in response to Patraeus’ report. “It’s time for a change of direction that brings our troops home.”

Shouldn’t our troops be more focused on Osama Bin Laden?  The leader of al-Qaeda is still making videotapes and has successfully avoided capture since the attacks on 9/11. 

Presidential hopeful Sen. Chris Dodd (D-Conn.) said it’s time for the United States to  “quickly and safely” end the war in Iraq and use “the resources we had been expending there to reinforce our efforts to secure Afghanistan and hunt down the real terrorists responsible for the 9/11 attacks.”

Six years after 9/11, Congress is working to pass the 9/11 Commission Recommendations Act.  The bill will enact the recommendations of the bipartisan commission into law and work toward securing our ports and protecting the most vulnerable cities in country from terrorist attacks.  

Time is of the essence; let’s hope the next anniversary will be able to mark the capture of bin Laden.

Posted Sept. 4, 2007 – The Congressional Black Caucus will welcome its newest member today when Rep. Laura Richardson (D-Calif.) is sworn into the 110th Congress.  Richardson, 45, won the special election Aug. 21 to fill the seat in the 37th District left open when Rep. Juanita Millender-McDonald (D-Calif.) passed away from cancer April 22, 2007. 

Richardson will be a welcomed addition for the caucus.  There was never any doubt the seat would remain on the Democratic side of the aisle, but speculation ran high that the seat might leave the Black Caucus.  The 37th District is undergoing a change in racial makeup of the community.  When Millender-McDonald won the seat, the community was predominantly African American. By the time she died, the district had a much larger Latino population, which meant that it was no longer a lock for a Black candidate. Broad interest in the seat meant it could wind up in anyone’s hands. Early interest in running for the seat was from a broad base of candidates.  (See my Blog May 1.)

Today will be busy for Richardson because Congress is in full swing.   A former California state representative and member of the Long Beach City Council, she understands what being busy is all about  Richardson began public service after working in the corporate world for Xerox.  She holds a bachelor’s degree from UCLA and an M.B.A. from the University of Southern California. 

Congressional staffers are working to get Richardson settled into her new office in the Rayburn Building, and the customary swearing-in ceremony will take place later today.  When I called the office to request an interview with the congresswomen, I was put on hold for a few seconds. An out-of-breath receptionist said, “I just started today.”

“No problem,” I thought… “Just imagine what his boss’ first day is like.”