The Post-9/11 Veterans Educational Assistance Act of 2008 is an incredibly important measure. I see this problem in lots of issues, but specifically with veterans, when people talk about “we have to support our troops, we have to support our veterans,” but then there is a tendency to fall short. In order to fully support our veterans, we cannot allow the veterans who are coming back from Iraq, Afghanistan, or any place where they have been in conflict, to come home to the same fate that many of those from Vietnam did.

I think you will find that there are a number of homeless veterans who probably fought in Vietnam. It is because this government did not do what it should have done in recognizing PTSD, the effects of Agent Orange, and the need for education. Hopefully, we have learned a lesson from our past mistakes.

We promised many veterans when they join the service that they will reap educational benefits once they leave, and even though there was a benefit, it was not to the degree of what many people expected. It certainly does not meet the need today with the high cost of a college education. Another important aspect of the new GI Bill for the 21st century is that it doesn’t just provide for college, it also includes trade schools. The measure essentially provides veterans with the monetary funds to pursue an education to better themselves.

On the same day that John McCain launched a healthcare ad offensive in Iowa, SEIU members from Ohio are appearing in an ad in that state and Washington, DC about his terrible ideas for health care:

As the ad notes, McCain’s “plan” does nothing to control costs and actually shifts the burden onto working families.

Also today in Cleveland — SEIU healthcare workers kicked off a nationwide bus tour to mobilize voters around comprehensive healthcare reform.

The Road to American Healthcare bus tour will travel through battleground states across the country to mobilize voters for a major overhaul of our broken healthcare system within the first 100 days of the next administration. The bus will visit both the Democratic and Republican conventions, identifying voters who will be ready to work with SEIU members and other allies on November 5 to ensure that healthcare reform is finally done.

You can find out more about the tour here.

Sen. Olympia J. Snowe is ranking member of the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship.

As I travel throughout Maine and listen to constituents, it is clear that with a housing market in crisis, a job market in decline, and energy prices surging, the economy is the primary domestic issue facing our nation. While these challenging times are compelling us to explore new approaches to reinvigorate the economy, my experience as Ranking Member and former Chair of the Senate Committee on Small Business Entrepreneurship has led me to conclude that we must not lose sight of the critical role that small businesses will undoubtedly play in a recovery. Moreover, National Small Business Week, which we celebrated last week, provides us with a tremendous opportunity to consider additional ways we can assist small businesses to hasten our return to prosperity.

When many Americans hear the word “business,” they conjure up images of corporate towers housing thousands of workers. Yet it is small enterprises, which represent 99.7 percent of all employer firms nationwide, that truly drives our economy and creates new opportunities. Consider that in December 2007, the Small Business Administration’s (SBA) Office of Advocacy reported that small enterprises accounted for ALL of our nation’s net new jobs in 2004, the most recent year for which firm size data was available. In fact, while small firms gained a net 1.86 million new jobs in 2004, large firms with 500 or more employees actually experienced a net loss of 181,000 jobs. At a time when jobs are leaving and businesses are closing – can we really afford to not invest in our nation’s small businesses?

Regrettably, the answer, while obvious to any of the 232,000 people who have lost their jobs in the past three months, isn’t always evident to folks on Capitol Hill. That is why I have recently championed a number of measures that will help small businesses do what they do best — innovate and create jobs. Investing in our nation’s small businesses is a direct and responsible step we can take to reverse the current economic downturn that is creating numerous hardships for employers and workers throughout the country. Read the rest of this entry »

Lobbyist John Ullyot of Hill and Knowlton discusses his work in crisis communications, and how that field differs from other forms of lobbying.

Sen. Mike Enzi is ranking member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee.

Today’s HELP Committee hearing, titled “When a Worker is Killed: Do OSHA Penalties Enhance Workplace Safety?” highlights the need for Congress to think outside the box to establish effective, innovative strategies to enhance workplace safety and prevent on-the-job injuries and fatalities.

Certainly, penalties are part of the equation, but no penalty can make up for the loss of a loved one. That’s why instead of talking just about punishments after injuries or fatalities occur, I wish we were holding a hearing on preventing fatalities, injuries, and even near-misses from occurring in the first place. More can be done and needs to be done so that no family has to deal with the loss of a loved one who has died on the job.

I plan to build on the provisions of the “Safety Advancement for Employees (SAFE) Act,” which I introduced during the last Congress. The SAFE Act would provide incentives to improve workplace safety. It included provisions to help the vast majority of employers working in good faith to achieve compliance with safety laws, while allowing the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to target more effectively the few bad actors who willfully place their employees at risk. Read the rest of this entry »

Del. Bordallo is chairwoman of the Subcommittee on Fisheries, Wildlife and Oceans.

The Federal Government has a fundamental responsibility to secure our nation’s borders; however, the methods by which our borders are secured, and the manner by which the Federal Government implements this strategy, are also fundamental to the public’s acceptance, and the government’s success, in meeting this responsibility.

Our free and open system of representative government is built on public participation, discussion, transparency, and public accountability in decision-making. While this can mean delays, extra costs and, at times, legal challenges, I believe that the only way our government can succeed and endure is if the people themselves feel vested in the important decisions that most affect their daily lives.

We need to understand the practical implications of what it will mean to our communities and our environment to live on a daily basis with a border wall, and this is what I hope the hearing held in Brownsville will help accomplish.

The Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program and the Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) program ensure that small businesses receive the resources they need from grants to grow and succeed in areas that require the innovation that is key to the future of our nation. However, there are qualified applicants for these programs that do not receive approval for the grants and never receive feedback to explain how they can be more successful in future applications.

My amendment mandates that every agency with an SBIR or STTR program must specify in their notification that unsuccessful applicants are entitled to constructive feedback. This amendment is a valuable measure to increase the transparency of our federal agencies, and allow our small businesses to learn and be more successful. It would allow firms insight into a rejected application, increase their competitiveness in the future, and ensure accountability in our federal agencies.

Back in the day, when I was a workaday print reporter, there was a phrase occasionally bandied about in the newsroom when talking about foreign countries: Afghanistanization. It referred to news that came from far away, exotic lands readers were not interested in. Only disasters merited coverage, the brief, tragic, gap-filling sort—‘350 Dead After Ferryboat Sinks in Zambezi River,’ or ‘Gas Explosion Buries a Thousand Miners in Johannesburg.’

Afghanistanization has been Africa’s curse for decades. Except for the Darfur genocide, the entire continent has dropped out of the news since South Africa renounced apartheid and the civil conflicts in Zimbabwe, Mozambique and Angola came to their bloody end. Even Rwanda is Afghanistanization—America only paid attention because of the atrocities. Once they ended, the country went back into news limbo. Mass slaughter fails to get attention. Four million people have died in a civil war in the Congo. Over ten years. No end in sight and no action from the US. Zero. The Bush Administration has done a lot of hand wringing but it has taken no concrete steps to do much anywhere in the continent. However, two factors have recently come into play that practically guarantee Africa will get a lot of attention over the next few years: China and Barack Obama.

Read the rest of this entry »

Securing our nation’s borders is one of Congress’ main priorities. We need to address illegal immigration, drug trafficking, and the violence that happens on our communities—both on the border and everywhere else in America.

These problems, however, will be not be solved by constructing a wall that tears through our public and historical lands, forces our citizens to surrender their property, and reverses all the work and investment the Congress and local community have done to protect the natural environment.

Take for instance the Historic Fort Brown. It served as an integral battleground of the Mexican-American war and troops stationed there fought in the last Civil War battle.

The proposed border wall will put Fort Brown on the Mexican side.

Would we put up a wall to divide the battlefield at Gettysburg? Read the rest of this entry »

Every day, millions of Americans go without health insurance. The majority of these individuals are small business employees and the self-employed. Without insurance, their lives and the lives of their families are at risk. Not only do they miss out on essential preventive health care, they could spend a lifetime in financial crisis, stuck with bills for emergency care or other long-term treatments.

In response to this problem, I have worked with colleagues on both sides of the aisle to introduce the Small Business Health Options Program Act of 2008, known as SHOP. It has broad support of groups across the political spectrum, including the National Federation of Independent Businesses, the National Association of Realtors, and the Service Employees International Union.

This legislation will help our small businesses – the backbone of our communities – offer health insurance to their employees, which boosts recruitment, retention, employee performance, and the overall success of the business. Most importantly, the bill will allow us to begin to address the needs of the millions of working uninsured Americans whose top priority is access to quality and affordable health care for their families.

April 27-May 3 is National Cover the Uninsured Week – a great time for all of us to begin looking for reasonable solutions to the small business health care crisis. Together, we can help working men and women across the nation sleep a little easier knowing their health care needs are covered.