Travis Martinez, University of New Mexico, Talk Radio News Service

Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) defended the scrapping of a missle shield aimed at preventing an attack from Iran Thursday morning after a meeting with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

“The missile shield is an ineffective and expensive way to deal with missiles,” said Schumer.

The initial plan, which would have established a missle defense sysytem in Poland and the Czech Republic, was recently halted by President Barack Obama.

Schumer went on to say that the missle shield would only antagnonize the Russians and suggested an economic deterrent to Iran’s alleged nuclear pursuit.

“We need to squeeze them economically,” said Schumer.

Secretary Clinton left without comment.

Sen Chuck Schumer (D- N.Y.) says he salutes the “courage” of the 9 Republican Senators who voted for Sotomayor despite of immense pressure from their party to vote no. (0:20)

 

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Sen. Charles Schumer says during a rally for Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor that “it is time” for a Hispanic woman to be confirmed as a Supreme Court Justice. He also says that she can serve as inspiration for young Hispanics. “You can achieve the stars in America just like Sonia Sotomayor has done,” says Schumer. (0:36)

 

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Tasked with finding bipartisan support for healthcare reform, the Senate will use this week, as well as its month-long recess, to explore ways to lower the price tag on the current legislation, said Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY.) during a conference call with reporters Monday.

“Many are asking, ‘how are you gonna pay for it?’ The number one way we’re gonna pay for it is by cutting costs,” said Schumer, a member of the Senate Finance Committee.

Schumer disclosed that his committee, led by Chairman Sen. Max Baucus (D-Mont.), wants the bill to include provisions such as care bundling and value-based purchasing, items he believes will lower the bill’s cost to under $900 billion and will ensure that the system it creates will not be based on a ‘fee for service’ model.

“We’re gonna make sure that doctors and hospitals are awarded based on [patient] outcomes,” pledged Schumer.

Baucus, said Schumer, has told the committee that he wants a bipartisan compromise on the legislation reached by no later then September 15th, a timeline that Schumer called “more than fair.”

“Six weeks should be enough to sort things out,” said Schumer, who added that the Senate’s goal is to “have the bill passed and signed by the President by the end of the year.”

However, Schumer and his Democratic colleagues will face fierce opposition to reform efforts in the coming weeks from Republicans who argue that a government-run healthcare system will ration care to patients and ultimately, will lead to a system of ‘socialized’ medicine. In addition, certain conservative Democrats are worried that the high cost of reform will lead to tax increases on most Americans, a concern that certainly was not put to rest over the weekend when Larry Summers, the Chairman of President Obama’s National Economic Council, told a cable news program that “It’s never a good idea to absolutely…rule things out no matter what.”

To that end, Schumer explained that Democrats in the Senate are working on contingency plans to move the legislation forward in the event that a bipartisan consensus can’t be reached. Yet aside from suggesting that Democrats might consider using budget reconciliation as a means of lowering the number of votes required to block a filibuster on the floor, Schumer declined to reveal specifics on what such plans would involve, insisting that “no matter what happens, we’re gonna enact healthcare reform by the end of the year.”

Schumer explained that the bill’s public option provision, a key item in President Obama’s reform wish-list, could be scrapped in the quest for bipartisanship.

“I believe very strongly in the public option, I’m gonna fight for it…..but no one’s drawing any lines in the sand yet,” said Schumer.

The Senator was also asked to address concerns that Congress’s failure to plan accordingly for it’s “Cash For Clunkers” program, which will require a Senate vote to supply $2 billion in additional funds after the program ran out of money, meant that it wouldn’t be able to handle healthcare reform effectively.

Replied Schumer, “there were some computer problems….those problems will be straightened out,” adding that the car rebate program and healthcare reform are “apples and oranges.”

“Healthcare [reform] is totally different,” said Schumer. “Yes, it’s hard to do, we know that…but the two are not analogous at all.”

Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) says people can’t expect members of Congress to just snap their fingers and produce a health care reform bill. He says it will take time. (0:31)

 

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By Courtney Ann Jackson – Talk Radio News Service

The health care debate has taken on many angles, but today the focus of Democratic leaders in the Senate was on uninsured families. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-N.V.) welcomed two families directly affected by health care issues to a press conference Thursday to represent the many families being affected everyday.

“Our opponents aren’t talking about the real families and the real problems these families have,” said Reid. “Reforming health care is not abstract because health care is not theoretical…It’s about people, real people.”

Reid was joined by Sens. Dick Durbin (D-Ill), Patty Murray (D-Wash.) and Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.). The Senators noted that the families in attendance know the real costs of health care due to personal experiences. Reid repeated the phrase, “we’re talking about people,” multiple times in his opening statement.

Murray said she’s asked constituents in her home state to share their personal stories about health care and why they feel health care reform is needed. So far, she said she’s received over 5,000 e-mails in two weeks.

Murray highlighted the need to control the costs for family health insurance, noting that people with quality health insurance are paying more in premiums because the system as a whole does not cover everyone.

“Overcome the obstacles and get something done. We have to get something done,” said Schumer. “The system just isn’t working or it’s getting to the point that it won’t work in the next decade.”

Durbin said stories about ordinary Americans losing health insurance are not uncommon because 14,000 people lose health care everyday. He said that if nothing is done now, the problem won’t just go away, and that’s why health reform must happen this year.

The Senators said they will give the legislation more time so that Republicans who oppose the plan can review what Reid described as a “complex difficult issue.” They said they would continue to work on the bill when they return from recess in the fall.

“I’ve had conversations with them [Republicans] and I’ll have future conversations to give them assurances that we’ll take everything they do and we’ll do what we can to make sure their issues aren’t buried,” said Reid.

Reid expressed confidence that all 60 Democrats in the Senate are prepared to vote for the legislation.

By Sam Wechsler – Talk Radio News Service

The current system used to verify an employee’s citizenship status is severely flawed and must be changed or replaced, said Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) during a hearing before the Senate Subcommittee on Immigration, Refugees, and Border Security. Keeping illegal immigrants from finding work in the U.S. would drastically decrease their presence in the U.S., he said.

E-Verify, the system now in place, relies on a name, date of birth, and social security number in order to determine whether an employee is a legal citizen. An employer checks the information provided by an employee against a government database. As long as an illegal alien can retrieve a legal citizen’s information, either by stealing it or receiving it from a legal friend, he or she can game the system.

In addition, ten percent of all workers that E-Verify claims are illegal aliens are actually legal citizens, said Michael Aytes, Acting Director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.

Schumer called for a system that would be flawless. “The only way the American people will have faith that our comprehensive immigration reform bill will stop illegal workers from obtaining jobs is if we implement an employment verification system that is tough, fair, easy to use, and effective and which relies upon a non-forgeable biometric identifier,” he said.

Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) pointed out that some unemployment issues could be solved by replacing employed illegal aliens with actual U.S. citizens. Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-Ill.) was more concerned with the fact that oftentimes illegal aliens are grossly mistreated by corrupt employers.

Gutierrez said, “incorporating an effective employment verification system is our only hope for truly ending illegal immigration. We can do this, and we must do it this year. In the the end, this is not a question of whether or not we can craft an effective system; rather, it is a question of political will.”

Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) explains that Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor’s record shows her judicial modesty. He says it is the judicial record, more than speeches, statements and backgrounds, that measures judicial modesty. Sotomayor “more than measures up,” in Schumer’s opinion. (0:31)

 

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Our Washington, D.C. Bureau will be covering the following events:

-An Oversight Subcommittee hearing on “Exploring the Nature of Uighur Nationalism.”
-A Committee hearing on “Greener Communities, Greater Opportunities: New Ideas for Sustainable Development and Economic Growth.”
-A Committee Hearing on “Climate Change Legislation:Tax Considerations.”
-The Truman-Reagan Medal of Freedom Awards Ceremony to posthumously honor former HUD Secretary Jack Kemp.
-A hearing on “Strengthening the Transatlantic Alliance: An Overview of the Obama Administration’s Policies in Europe.”
-A meeting between Rep. Slaughter, fomer Sen. Bayd and Olympic Gold Medalist Dominique Dawes on Title IX-girls’ sports.
-A full committee hearing on “New Orleans Hurricane and Flood Protection and Coastal Louisiana Restoration: Status and Progress.”
-A gala to honor retiring New Democratic Leadership founder Al From with former President Bill Clinton, Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.), Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) and others.

By Courtney Ann Jackson-Talk Radio News Service

Health care access and better choice of doctors may be the new norm if Senate Democrats have their way. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid was accompanied today by Assistant Senate Majority Leader Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Democratic Conference Vice Chairman Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Democratic Conference Secretary Patty Murray (D-Wash.), for a discussion on health care reform plans. Reid said if reform was easy, it would have been done a long time ago.

Reid mentioned the health care related bills the Democrats have been working on, saying “It gives opportunity for the Republicans to add insight and ensure them an opportunity to be able to help negotiate a good deal. [We] always save the Republicans a seat at the negotiating table and we’ll continue to do that. All they need is to do is sit down and talk to us and I’m hopeful and very confident they will do that at the final time of getting a health care bill and all brought up.”

Proposed legislation covers health issues such as children’s health care, better access, affordability and the choice of what doctors and hospitals people can go to. Reid said he believes his colleagues have done an excellent job in creating legislation that reflects the core principals of the American people.

Despite the senators’ aforementioned reach across the aisle, Durbin said that it has become clear to him that, at least in the highest leadership, the Senate Republicans are going to oppose whatever is proposed. He said, “They are the ones who are motivating this opposition to change because they’re cashing in on this broken system.”

Sen. Schumer believes that there are some things that have to be worked out but that it seems the parties are beginning to agree on at least a basic structure. He said the top priorities are providing a public option and ensuring affordable health care for all Americans.