In this video, released by the Edwards campaign this week, Elizabeth Edwards urges Americans to join her husband’s campaign.

“We have a lot of time to make the difference,” Elizabeth Edwards says, “The truth is: we don’t have all the time in the world.” Mrs. Edwards has remained active in her husband’s campaign despite being diagnosed with terminal bone cancer in March.

To use a very bad hunting pun, the action taken in Utah may be a bit of overkill.  We need to ensure that criminals, terrorists, or illegal aliens do not own firearms.  But this overall ban probably goes too far.

W. Clark Aposhian, the Chairman of both the Utah Bureau of Criminal Identification (Weapons Board) and the Utah Shooting Sport’s Council and also a Certified Utah State Concealed Carry Instructor, broke down the issue for us when he said,

“Utah Statute 53-5-704 does not affirmatively allow for non US citizens, residents or not, to apply for a Utah Concealed Carry of Weapon’s Permit (CCW). It does give certain criteria regarding age and lack of criminal history and it refers back to Federal Law regarding the ability to “Purchase and Posses” as a requirement to obtain the permit.â€? Read the rest of this entry »

I am pleased to be the lead cosponsor of the Foreclosure Tax Relief Act, which would give a tax break to middle-class homeowners who’ve been caught up in the subprime mortgage fallout.

Nearly 3,000 homeowners in Suffolk County, New York alone - that’s one out of every 180 homes in my district - have joined 2.2 million families nationwide whose subprime loans have already failed or will end in foreclosure.  Adding insult to injury, they face massive tax bills once any portion of their mortgage is canceled.  The IRS treats that forgiven debt as income, and can even tack on interest and penalties.

In response to this unfair, phantom tax, the Foreclosure Tax Relief Act would set the tax exclusion for middle-class families up to $50,000 in forgiven debt on first mortgages and primary residences.

Families who lose their homes should be spared any further penalty by the IRS.  Losing your home is tough enough.  The last thing any family facing foreclosure needs is for the IRS to kick them when they’re down.

Rep. John Shadegg (R-Ariz.) says Democrats are not living up to their promises of honesty and transparency.

This week’s passage of the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) legislation is a victory for our nation’s children. I hope the President will reconsider his plan to veto the bill. CHIP will provide incentives to states to get children, already eligible but not enrolled, into the program. According to a new Urban Institute study, roughly 70 percent of children who will benefit from CHIP come from families with incomes below 200% of the federal poverty level. Investment in the health of our nation’s children is imperative and passage of CHIP is the morally correct action. To think that in a nation of our wealth and resources there are millions of children of working families who can’t see doctors when they should or obtain the medicine they need is a disgrace. I hope the President will search his heart and reconsider.

The low-income children of the United States deserve a health insurance program that is dedicated to providing them with the best coverage possible, and the SCHIP Reauthorization bill failed to do that. The bill has many holes in it allowing for coverage for adults and even illegal aliens. I believe that every dollar spent on covering adults is a dollar not spent on children.

Before I came to Congress, I was a doctor for over 20 years, and I have first-hand knowledge of the problems cause by programs that make promises but fall short. I introduced a bill that would remove all adults from receiving coverage under SCHIP because I believe in the intent of the original SCHIP bill – it was for children. I voted against this bill because it is a disappointment and the children deserve better.

Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) released his first television ads of the ‘08 presidential campaign Thursday to begin airing in New Hampshire this weekend.

Accompanying one 60-second radio spot, the ads showcase McCain’s experience as a prisoner of war and public perception of corruption in Congress.

In the first ad, a narrator says Americans have lost trust in their government and that they are looking for a leader “with the judgment and experience to keep us safe.” The viewer hears McCain say “live free or die” as a crowd waves signs at a rally near the end of the ad.

See the ad below:

The second ad shows McCain as a prisoner of war in Hanoi, Vietnam, telling an interviewer his rank and that he ejected from his aircraft, breaking both arms and one leg.

“One man sacrificed for his country; one man opposed a flawed strategy in Iraq,” a narrator says. See the ad below:

The radio ad contains audio of the same bedside POW interview. Click below to hear it.

There is a benefit to what is happening in Burma today. The world is finally forced to pay attention to a brutal regime that has violated the rights of its people for far too long.

The bill before the Senate carries out the SCHIP policy that President Bush laid out in 2004, when he said his administration would “lead an aggressive effort to enroll millions of poor children who are eligible but not signed up for the government’s health insurance programs.� I hope the President will reconsider his opposition to this bill.

Republicans and Democrats in Congress are working together to reach as many as four million more children. About half the new money in our bipartisan legislation is just to keep the program running for the kids already on it. The rest goes to enroll new kids.

Above all, the legislation gets the children’s health insurance program back on track by making states enroll low-income children and cutting off adult coverage through the program. It’s good policy.

After SCHIP, I agree with President Bush that we need tax incentives to help more low-income families get health insurance. We’ll reach many more children that way, and I look forward to working on legislation to reach those goals.

It took a long time, but it can easily be said that there is broad support for mental health parity. It is good health policy, and it is good fiscal policy. Treatment is the right path for patients and their families, and it is certainly healthier and cheaper than the alternative — waiting until a crisis occurs.

Despite the near unanimous call for parity, we have some major differences in the House and Senate versions of the bill. And while I don’t say this often, on this issue the Senate has it right.

In my opinion, the Senate bill balances the needs of patients with the ability of employers to provide quality, affordable health insurance. Read the rest of this entry »