07.24.07
Maria's Monday Memo
Health Care Coverage for More Washington State Children
Last week, the Senate Finance Committee, where I am a new member, approved a bill to get health care to over 35,000 Washington kids and almost 10 million nationwide – a big victory. By a vote of 17-4, the bi-partisan Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) reauthorization bill passed the committee and heads to the Senate floor for final passage, but President Bush has already announced he’ll veto it if it passes Congress. CHIP provides health coverage to low-income, uninsured children whose parents do not qualify for Medicaid, but who cannot afford private health insurance. This bill will nearly triple the federal money Washington will get for qualified low-income kids and nearly quadruple money for these kids by 2012. For the first time since CHIP was created, Washington will have full access to its fair share of the program and get health care to more kids.
We’ve cleared the first hurdle in the battle to make sure that every child in America has access to health care, but the president’s veto threat puts this entire plan at risk. Health insurance premiums are rising more than twice as fast as family wages. CHIP is a real answer for families working hard to give their kids the right start in life. More than 6 million kids depend on this program for basic health care and more than 3 million additional kids will be helped if this bill passes. These kids deserve to be the focus of our debate and the focus of our policy making. We can do better for all our kids by passing this bill quickly through Congress and making it clear to the president that this is one of America’s top priorities. I’m proud that the Finance Committee was able to work together to get this done and I’m going to work hard to help the full Senate pass this bill in the coming weeks.
Extending Education Opportunities for Veterans
The GI Bill, a cornerstone of education in America, provides our military personnel with up to $1,075 per month for 36 months of education or job training. But these benefits come with a time limit: 10 years for active-duty enrollees and 14 years for reserve members. When our service members leave the military, family obligations, work commitments, and economic difficulties often get in the way of going to school, preventing many of them from using their GI Bill benefits before they expire. While almost all service members contribute to the GI Bill program, only half take advantage of the education benefits before they expire, often because they have to work full-time to support their families. GI bill benefits should not come with an expiration date. That’s why I’ve introduced legislation to remove this arbitrary time limit and make sure our veterans can get valuable skills training when the time is right for them.
Last week, Senator Blanche Lincoln (D-AR) and I introduced, with bipartisan support, two GI Bill amendments to the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2008 to remove the 10-year education time limit and improve education and job training opportunities for veterans under the GI Bill. While the National Defense Authorization Act has been pulled from the Senate floor, it will be brought back up very soon and I will continue to work to make sure that our veterans can use their GI Bill benefits at any time, whether it’s right after they leave the military, or years down the road when they want to go back to school or upgrade their skills.
Making College More Affordable
By a vote of 78 to 18, last week the Senate passed the Higher Education Access Act of 2007 to make college more affordable for more Americans at no cost to taxpayers by reducing excessive lender subsidies and redirecting federal aid to students who need it most.
With 60 percent of new jobs requiring some post-secondary education, instead of 15 percent half a century ago, the best guarantee of a good, secure job in this global economy is a quality education. Skyrocketing tuition is making it more and more difficult for Americans to earn a college degree without going deep into debt. With the help of federal Pell Grants, I was the first member in my family to graduate from college. I know how important a college education can be, and how hard it is when you aren’t sure you’ll be able to afford it. No American should be forced to mortgage their future to pay for their education.
Students in our state will get over $340 million in new grant aid and over $200 million in Pell Grant aid next year from this bill. The bill will also simplify the financial aid process for low-income students; protect borrowers by making student loan payments manageable; forgive the debt of those who commit to ten years in a public service occupation like nursing, teaching or law enforcement; protect working students; and reform the student loan system by making sure it works for students, not banks.
