“This is all about politics from the Republican side,” says Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.). Van Hollen pointed to rhetoric from GOP Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) and RNC Chairman Michael Steele as examples of Republicans deliberately stalling health care reform in order to “bring down President Obama and the whole agenda.” (0:27)
“There is no Republican health care plan out there,” says Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) in response to what he described as the Republican “misinformation campaign” that is slowing health care reform efforts. He says Republicans are satisfied with the status quo and “don’t want to show the American people where they stand on these issues.” (0:33)
By Sam Wechsler – Talk Radio News Service
House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) stated Monday that “when you look at the Democrat proposal [for health care reform], it’s clear that it’s going to drive the cost of health care even higher.”
A few minutes later, down the hall of the Capitol, House Majority Whip James Clyburn (D-S.C.) said, “I don’t think we ought to be talking about what it’s going to cost us to do this plan. What we should be talking about is what is it going to cost us if we don’t do this.”
The differing partisan opinions didn’t end there.
Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) pointed out that the CEO of a top insurance company earned $24 million in compensation this past year. “It’s time to add more competition and more choice,” he said.
“If the Democrats get their way on health care, you’ll probably lose your health insurance and you might just lose your job,” House Republican Chair Mike Pence said Monday (R-Ind.). Pence cited White House chief economic advisor Christina Romer in saying that the business tax hikes alone will kill up to 4.7 million jobs. Boehner added that the tax hikes will disproportionately hit small businesses the most.
Meanwhile, House Democratic Chair John Larson (D-Conn.) estimated that close to 16,000 small business employees in Boehner’s district would be able to get health insurance thanks to Democratic health care reform. Larson also claimed that 91,000 people would have access to health insurance in Pence’s district.
Said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), “This is about the American people. It’s about making them healthier, more economically secure, and to have more choices in their lives.”
Boehner, however, disagreed with the Speaker.
“At a time when most Americans are asking the question ‘where are the jobs?’ we don’t need to be instituting policies that will drive the cost of employment higher….and raise the unemployment rate,” he argued.
Congressman Peter Welch (D-Vt.) unveiled a new piece of legislation regarding the retrofitting of buildings to increase energy efficiency, which was targeted directly at the middle class. The crux of the bill involves the use of progressive financial incentives to encourage homeowners and small business owners to make their property more energy efficient. The national government would give $10 billion over four years so that the state can decide the type of program that they would like to implement. Mr. Welch found inspiration from a similar plan implemented in his home state of Vermont, and he cited an example where a small family was able to save $1300 merely from retrofitting their home. Asserting that this plan would be another form of stimulus, Mr. Welch stated that families would have more money to spend due to a decrease in energy charges. Additionally, the bill would help increase workers in the construction industry because they would be needed to install materials, such as solar panels.
Several individuals who the bill directly affects spoke after Mr. Welch. Jeff Presswood, an analyst for the Natural Resources Defense Council, commended Mr. Welch for having the foresight to create such legislation because the world is approaching a “point of no return” in regards to the detrimental affect of global warming. Also, Mr. Presswood stressed how such a plan would put money back into the local economy, as the construction jobs could not be sent abroad.
After Mr. Presswood spoke, Michelle Moore of the United States Green Building Council discussed how the legislation would create 2 million jobs in the construction industry. Ms. Moore praised Mr. Welch on creating a bill that did not merely deal with energy efficiency, but also with other natural resources, like water conservation. Additionally, she stated that it is “easier to put granite countertops in one’s house than to retrofit the entire house to become more energy efficient.”
Several other congresspersons spoke in support of Mr. Welch’s bill and other energy efficient legislation that the House of Representatives is crafting. For instance, Congressman Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) remarked that such legislation is not about partisan politics, but about a greater issue confronting the nation–global warming and energy independence. Mr. Van Hollen described how such retrofits would cost nothing in the long-run, as the individual can pay back the cost through the profits they make from becoming energy efficient. This only proved Mr. Welch’s closing statement that “We all want to save the planet, but no one wants to go broke doing it.”
The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee held a press conference to discuss elections being held in November. Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) told the press that Saturday, July 29 begins the 100 day countdown to the November election, saying that the DSCC has overwhelming evidence that Americans are looking for change and finding it in Democrats.
Schumer said polls indicate that Americans are more concerned over topics like health care and education rather than national security and abortion, a concern he said shows a preference for Democratic policies. He noted Mississippi, which he described as the most conservative state, is leaning Democratic in November and becoming a swing state. Schumer, who said that only 3 of the 35 seats contested in the fall are in blue states, said Sen. Barack Obama’s popularity in the Republican Deep South is a valuable asset for Democratic senatorial contests. Schumer said Democratic senatorial candidates are well ahead in Virginia, New Hampshire, Colorado, New Mexico, and Alaska while candidates in Kansas, Texas, Oklahoma, and Nebraska are behind but gaining momentum.
Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) stated that elections are also looking promising for Democrats on the House side of the Hill. He said that the DCCC is focusing on early contact and persuasion, launching “Get Out and Vote” campaigns in 50 districts throughout the United States. With a Democratic-controlled White House and Congress, Van Hollen said policies concerning stem cell research, children’s health care, Iraq, and gas prices would be successfully addressed.
At a press conference for the “Climate MATTERS Act”, Rep. Van Hollen urged that the U.S. needs to be more active in its international role for fighting global warming. The rest of the world is getting on board, and the U.S. has to catch up, Rep. Van Hollen said. (:45)
Rep. Lloyd Doggett (D-Texas) and other supporters of the “Climate MATTERS Act” held a news conference to discuss the ways in which the bill would fight global warming while contributing to the economy at the same time.
The bill emphasizes the combination of marketplace and science to address global warming, which would provide economic opportunities like “green jobs”, said Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.). According to Mark Heesen, president of the National Venture Capital Association (NVCA), venture capitalists invested over $2.2 billion into more than 200 clean technology deals in 2007. 1,700 scientists are calling for an 80 percent reduction in global warming pollution by mid-century, said Lexi Shultz, deputy director of the Climate Program at the Union of Concerned Scientists.
According to Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.), the number of miles driven by Americans is increasing 3 times faster than population. The bill would help reduce high gas prices by investing in alternative fuels, said Rep. Doggett. Currently, the transportation sector accounts for one-third of the global warming pollution, according to Colin Peppard, transportation analyst for Friends of the Earth. With only 5 percent of Americans having access to rail transportation, it is important that alternatives be considered, Peppard said.
Rep. Van Hollen said that this bill is important because it will help revamp the relationship between the U.S. and international community, which was hurt when Bush rejected the Kyoto Protocol. The bill contains strong provisions for implementing a cap-and-trade program, especially when it comes to auctioning pollution allowances, Rep. Doggett said. According to a press release from the Sierra Club, Alaska Wilderness League, Environmental Defense Fund, and other environmental groups, auctioning allowances can “give polluters strong financial incentive to innovate, deploy clean technology, and achieve deep pollution reductions.”
Rep. Blumenauer said that the next 6 months will determine the public outset for solving the global warming problem.
