Today, while President Bush participated in a private fundraiser in my home state, I was proud to have stood just several miles away, in Philadelphia, with four of my Pennsylvania congressional colleagues, dozens of young children, doctors, and children’s advocates to call on the President to sign into law the revamped SCHIP bill when it reaches his desk.

During its 10 year existence nationally, SCHIP has been one the greatest success stories in American healthcare — a true public-private partnership. Across the country, SCHIP has insured 6 million kids — children from working families who, while not poor, cannot afford to purchase health insurance on the private market. And that is why public and private leaders of all political stripes and around the country have called for SCHIP to be renewed. Read the rest of this entry »

Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) began airing this presidential campaign ad in Iowa today. In it, Obama talks to a group of seniors about Social Security, saying the country needs an honest discussion to fix spending and revenue problems as the baby boomer generation retires.

The disaster at the Crandall Canyon mine in August, which claimed 9 lives, focused my effort on improving mine safety. One of the most difficult aspects of the mine collapse was not knowing where the trapped miners were when the cave-in occurred. It made for an excruciating ordeal for the families, the mine owner and the mine rescuers.

The lack of tracking and communications left rescuers with the frustrating scenario of trying to drill through hundreds of feet of rock with the hope of locating survivors. While mines generally have reliable communications systems in place, most mines have properties that make implementation of current technology difficult. For example, the open air pathway required for radio signals and WiFi does not exist.

My bill seeks to speed up the development of innovative, next-generation mine tracking and communications technology. It directs the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) to establish an initiative to promote the research, development and demonstration of miner tracking and communications systems. There’s no time to waste, in order to spare mining families, and mining communities from a similar ordeal.

Although I’m made to understand that a combination of weather and land management policies caused the wildfires, I think it’s important to observe the role that California’s broken insurance system has played in making the damage worse than it would have been.

Since 1988, a misguided populist system established under the state’s Proposition 103 has governed California’s insurance companies. If they wish to change the rates being charged for ordinary homeowners’ insurance, California insurance companies must file reams of paperwork with the state and wait months or more for approval. This obviously discourages any sort of rate changes (both upward and downward) and, several studies have shown, actually results in higher insurance rates for most people in the state. Read the rest of this entry »

While much of Washington’s health policy community has been focused on the heated debate over the State Children’s Health Insurance Plan, little if any attention has been given to an important provision that is likely to be part of the Medicare legislation that will be considered between now and recess.
As written, the legislation would dramatically expand federally funded “comparative effectiveness� research. Comparative effectiveness research can provide valuable information to patients and doctors about the merits of alternative treatments for a particular disease or condition. But there is also a very real potential for misuse if the type and use of the research is not carefully specified.

There are two basic problems. First, any legislation putting public dollars into comparative effectiveness research needs to focus on clinical effectiveness – not cost effectiv Read the rest of this entry »

Rep. Ron Paul’s (R-Texas) will begin airing his first two TV ads of the ‘08 presidential race Monday in New Hampshire.

The first ad features citizens talking about Paul and includes a comparison of New Hampshire’s state motto, “Live Free or Die,” to Paul’s defense of civil liberties.

In the second ad, Paul says he is the only candidate pledging to both bring U.S. troops home from Iraq immediately and cut government spending.

The Senate Judiciary Committee confirmation hearings on Michael Mukasey’s nomination for attorney general demonstrated he cannot be relied upon to function as an independent leader at the Department of Justice. Mukasey claims he doesn’t know what water boarding is, so he can’t say if it constitutes torture. Mukasey made the incredible claims that “we do not torture” and “I don’t think people are mistreated” at Guantánamo.

The torture and inhuman treatment of prisoners in U.S. custody is widely known. The newly leaked 2005 memos say the government is engaging in water boarding, head slapping and exposing people to frigid temperatures; the International Committee of the Red Cross said the treatment of prisoners in U.S. custody is tantamount to torture, and the U.N. Human Rights Commission concluded that force feeding Guantánamo prisoners amounts to torture. Water boarding, or simulated drowning, has long been considered torture. Rear Adm. John Hutson (USN Ret.) testified at the confirmation hearing, “Other than, perhaps the rack and thumbscrews, water boarding is the most iconic example of torture in history. It was devised, I believe, in the Spanish inquisition. It has been repudiated for centuries.” Read the rest of this entry »

Tim Peckinpaugh of K&L Gates breaks down the showdown over threatened appropriations bill vetoes.

Let me be as blunt as I can be in telling you where I am coming from on a compromise bill on global warming, an issue that is qualitatively different than any other issue we are dealing with in Congress.

On most issues, Congress goes through the time-honored tradition of working out compromises which both sides can end up accepting. I want to see all the kids in America have health care. Other members think the Children’s Health Insurance Program should not be expanded. We compromise on 4 million more children in the program. I think a program should be expanded by $100 million. You think it should be expanded by $50 million. We compromise at $75 million. That’s the way business is done here and in other democratic societies and there is nothing wrong with that. We live in a country where people have different political views and in almost every instance members of the Senate compromise to reach an agreement.

Today, however, we have a qualitatively different situation. I wish it wasn’t so, but it is. The issue is not what I want versus what Senator Lieberman or Senator Warner or Senator Inhofe may want – and the need to work out an agreement that we can all accept. That’s not the dynamic we face today. The issue today is one of physics and chemistry and what the best scientists in the world believe is happening to our planet because of greenhouse gas emissions. The issue is what we can do, as a nation, along with the international community, to reverse global warming and to save this planet from a catastrophic and irreversible damage which could impact billions of people. Read the rest of this entry »

October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month, and it provides lawyers a renewed opportunity to become knowledgeable about how best to help victims of domestic violence, sexual assault and stalking.

Although these crimes can and do occur independently, they may also occur together, committed by the same perpetrator against the same victim.  A sexual assault victim may have been stalked prior to the assault; a domestic violence victim may experience rape in addition to physical and psychological abuse.

While there are no perfect solutions to these forms of violence, one thing that can make a critical difference in helping victims to become safe is legal representation.  Securing a civil protection order is often the first step that a victim takes in seeking safety from the perpetrator of the violence; however, the vast majority of victims seek a protection order without a lawyer.  Victims of domestic violence must have access to lawyers.  Pro bono representation and legal services are key tools to see that this access in ensured.  But lawyers also must have the tools to help victims. Read the rest of this entry »