Hospitals & Asylums
100 Hour Agenda HA-23-1-07
A. Conresswoman Louise Slaughter wrote
on Sunday 21 January 2007, I told you about six promises
Democrats were making to the American people - six goals we were determined to
achieve in the first 100 hours of the new Congress. Well, I am as pleased as can be to report that we made good on
those promises. Since January 4th, Democrats have reached out to Republicans
and passed a series of bills reflecting some of the top priorities of voters.
We passed legislation to restore honesty and openness to our government, to re-establish
fiscal responsibility, to strengthen our national security, and to expand hope
and opportunity for all Americans. We passed bills to cut federal student loan
interest rates in half, to raise the minimum wage, to end subsidies for Big
Oil, to promote stem cell research, to lower Medicare prescription drug prices,
and to implement the recommendations of the 9/11 Commission. And we did it all
with 58 hours to spare. In the first 42 hours of the
110th Congress, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) reported that the House passed
the following items that are ready for the Senate to pass within 58 hours:
1.
H.R. 1,
"Implementing the 9/11 Commission Recommendations Act of 2007."
passed 299-128, Jan. 9th, 2007
We
will make our nation safer by implementing the recommendations of the
independent, bipartisan 9/11 Commission.
There are two flaws in this Act.
First the Secretary of Homeland Security is guilty of financing bio-terrorist
coup d’etat in many state legislatures and leading a military coup against the
Hurricane Katrina relief effort.
Character evidence regarding this Secretary fails to alleviate fears
that he was responsible for warming up the waters to cause the destruction of
largely black New Orleans or even plotting the 9/11 suicide attacks, in the
very best light, the security breeches occurred on his watch. A qualified new Secretary with clean hands should
be appointed to this security sensitive position by the Senate whereas the
current office holder cannot be trusted. Second, the nuclear proliferation security provisions are
hypocritical without requiring our own nation to comply with the nuclear
warhead reductions called for in the Nuclear Non Proliferation Treaty.
2.
H.R. 2,
"Fair Minimum Wage Act of 2007." passed 315-116, Jan. 10th, 2007
We
will make our economy fairer, and start by raising the minimum wage. We will
not pass a pay raise for Congress until there is an increase in the minimum
wage. This short bill is much needed relief for working Americans who have not
enjoyed an increase in the minimum wage for over a decade. This is the first action that Congress has
taken to narrow the widening gap between the rich and poor in over a decade. Although there are fears of inflation it is
expected that any increases in prices will be marginal and only in industries
that pay their workers poorly. Inflation
cannot be used to justify substandard incomes for the lowest paid workers who
have been slipping ever farther into insolvency. In the 1960’s full time minimum wage workers lived above the
poverty line. It remains to be seen if
Congress can pay the $6,500 annual minimum wage for the preparation of the code
and supplement, as is their charge. Congress is not only delinquent in regards to this author but they
have given responsibility for the codification of the law to the Judiciary
Committee, empowering the disempowering criminal tendency to prosecute accounts
payable. The only message regarding the
fulfillment of rights that comes through is don’t come back or we’ll kill you. Raising the minimum wage is an important
first step towards redistributing the wealth to benefit the people.
3.
H.R. 3,
" Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act." passed 253-174, Jan. 11th,
2007
We
will promote stem cell research to offer real hope to the millions of American
families who suffer from devastating diseases. Stem cell research is strangely
controversial. The legal committee of
the UN General Assembly prohibited stem cell research out of amorphous fears of
human cloning. The President vetoed a
stem cell research out of ethical concern for the killing of human
embryos. On the other hand many famous
actors suffering from illnesses have lobbied Congress faithfully for stem cell
research because they see it as the most likely source of the discovery of a cure
for their disability. It is interesting
to note that Americans live just as long as our founding fathers. The alleged increases in longevity over the
past century is largely attributed to progress in the field of pharmaceutical
and medical research and to continue progress in this direction stem cell
research, as off shoot of genetics, is one of the most promising fields in a
time when new medical patents are slowing.
4.
H.R. 4,
"Medicare Prescription Drug Price Negotiation Act." passed 255-170,
Jan. 12th, 2007
We
will make health care more affordable for all Americans, and we will begin by
fixing the Medicare prescription drug program, putting seniors first by
negotiating lower drug prices. It is high time that the US negotiated with
pharmaceutical companies to reduce drug prices. Lax FDA standard regarding the development of new drugs has led
the US to be a haven for pharmaceutical research and development, that
comprises an estimated 25% of pharmaceutical company budgets that they wish to
defray by charging higher drug prices in the highly enforced American health
market. Extortion is rampant largely
because of the incompetence of justice in the health industry. Collusion between health insurers and the
justice system to charge protection money while freely terrorizing the consumer
with bio-terrorism, discrimination and ignorance has led to high prices. Any move giving control of the health
industry to the public health is likely to be for the better and drug price
negotiations have long been needed. A
clause calling for better collaboration between insurers, pharmacists, doctors
and patients regarding overmedication and adverse drug reactions (ADR) would save
lives.
5.
H.R. 5,
"College Student Relief Act of 2007." passed 356-71, Jan. 17th, 2007
We
will broaden college opportunity, and we will begin by cutting interest rates
for student loans in half. The price of
college has been skyrocketing and its value has come into question. It is true that rich people go to college
but with the exception of medical and science degrees higher education does not
seem to be the path to wealth but one of debt.
The get rich strategy of universities of the past few years is of course
accompanied with terrorism. The Secretary
of Education reports increasingly lower levels of functional literacy from
college graduates. Colleges have not
been a source of information or disseminating point for scholars but one of
discrimination and outright terrorism. Predatory
lending of student loan corporations cost many lives and it high time that
these companies had their profits curtailed.
This plan should eliminate the interest of terrorist investigative
organizations (intelligence) in student databases and communication networks
aiming to eliminate knowledge that would damage the war and slavery efforts. Hopefully by 2012 when interest rates will
have fallen from 6.8% in 2006 to 3.4% US universities will again be hospitable
to scholars.
6.
H.R. 6,
"Creating Long-Term Energy Alternatives for the Nation (CLEAN) Act."
passed 264-163, Jan. 18th, 2007
We
will energize America by achieving energy independence, and we will begin by
rolling back the multi-billion dollar subsidies for Big Oil. It is high time that the oil companies were
charged for raising consumer prices.
The attention of Congress has been successful in bringing gas prices to
their original. The plan to reduce our Nation's dependency on foreign oil by investing in
clean, renewable, and alternative energy resources, promoting new emerging
energy technologies, developing greater efficiency, and creating a Strategic Energy
Efficiency and Renewable Reserve to invest in alternative energy, and for other
purposes should be effective.
It is hoped that the energy companies will invest in the research and development
of new energy sources them selves to involve affected industry in planning
their future. We have been successful
in curbing fleuro-carbons that were depleting the ozone layer however now we
must curb petroleum emissions that are causing global warming and our society
has an energy dependency to oil that we must overcome. To involve our energy research with the cutting
edge of international research it is highly recommended that the Senate append
an Optional Protocol to this bill for the President to ratify the Kyoto
Protocol to regulate our emissions.
7.
HR. 6, "Adopting
the Rules of the House of Representatives for the One Hundred Tenth
Congress." Title II, passed 430-1, Jan. 4th, 2007, Title IV, passed 280-152, Jan. 5th, 2007
We
will start by cleaning up Congress, ending the link between lobbyists and
legislation in accordance with Title II
Gifts from lobbyists are
totally prohibited. Tickets to sports
and entertainment events are accounted for at cost. Restrictions are set on privately funded travel to prohibit
lobbyists from paying. Essentially
registered lobbyists will no longer pay for Congressional activity. It is presumed that will continue to be
permitted to finance Congressional election campaigns. We will commit to pay-as-you-go, no new
deficit spending. As a point of order
the rules are confused in that they not only prohibit increases in deficit but
reductions in surpluses. To balance the
budget Congress must eliminate surplus accounts, namely military and social
security, by using a pay as you go strategy.
The weakness for surpluses must be mastered whereas that explains all
the social problems our nation suffers, consolidation of wealth in a few hands,
prison slavery population above 250 prisoners per 100,000 citizens, nuclear
warhead stockpiles in excess of the 2,000 permitted in the Nuclear Non
Proliferation Treaty by 2010, troops in excess of one million and military
spending in excess of $100 billion although no other nation even come close to
this number, the laundering of surplus military spending above $300 billion by
the President, the richest man in the world. Surplus funds must be reigned in.
C.
If the 110th Congress can pay me, balance the budget and publish
their laws and reports daily (lard) for free by email as directed in the
Lobbying Activity Disclosure (LAD)
the United States might have a winning year despite the lack of any trust
vested in the White House noted as the nation braces itself for the State of
the Union Address this evening Tuesday January 23, 2007.
Tony
Sanders