News We Can Celebrate

March 30, 2010

AT HOME AND AROUND THE WORLD

From health care reform and cheaper student loans at home, to fewer nuclear weapons around the world and fairer treatment for America’s military – we’re celebrating some important achievements this week. Here are some of the highlights:

HEALTH CARE: WHAT DOES IT MEAN FOR US NOW?

It was a long and difficult journey – but health care reform is now law. Thanks to all of you who raised your voices, told your own health-care horror stories, and urged your members of Congress to act. This long-needed bill is not perfect, but it will bar predatory insurance practices and expand coverage to 32 million Americans who are currently uninsured.

90 Days After Enactment

• Immediate access to high-risk pools, which must be set up for people who have no insurance because of pre-existing conditions.

6 Months After Enactment

• Adults cannot be dropped from their insurance when they get sick, and there will no longer be a lifetime cap on coverage.
• Health plans are prohibited from denying coverage to children with pre-existing conditions.*
• Young people can remain on their parents' insurance policy until their 26th birthday.
• Preventive services such as cervical and breast cancer screenings will be covered under all new private plans – with NO co-payments and NO deductible.
• Small businesses that offer coverage will be eligible for tax credits of up to 35 percent of premiums, making employee coverage more affordable.
• We begin to close the gap in the Medicare Part D prescription drug coverage plan known as the “Doughnut hole” by providing a $250 rebate to Medicare beneficiaries.

*While some insurance companies argue with this provision, the administration is planning to clarify with regulations.

By 2014

• Individuals unsatisfied with their current plan or uncovered can buy into their state’s exchange programs. Subsidies for low-income individuals and families will make health insurance more affordable, and the expansion of community centers (increased funding is authorized beginning this year) will offer quality, affordable health care for millions more.

We continue to object to discriminatory treatment for women’s health. While the obnoxious “Stupak Amendment” was defeated, the bill raises new barriers for full reproductive health care. But this bill means better health care and security for millions of Americans – and that’s good news.

Click here for an interactive look at what health care reform means for you, with timelines, from the Kaiser Family Foundation.

JOIN NO LIMITS

Our first Members-only telephone conference call is coming up soon! Become a No Limits Member to enjoy members-only programs, and help us grow. To become a Member and learn about other benefits of membership, click here.

FEWER NUCLEAR WEAPONS = A SAFER WORLD

Click to watch Hillary's remarks.

As finally negotiated by Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton in her trip to Moscow on March 18th, the United States and Russia will sign a new START (Strategic Arms Reduction) Treaty in April. The agreement calls for a 30% reduction in the nuclear arsenal of warheads and bombs, with continued verification by each country of the other’s stockpile. That means a greatly-reduced chance of nuclear mishaps – and a lot fewer weapons to safeguard from rogue nations and terrorists.

This new treaty must be approved by the U.S. Senate, and we’ll be watching its progress. Meanwhile, cheers to the leaders who made this possible: President Obama and his national security team; Secretary Clinton and her chief negotiators: Ellen Tauscher, Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security and Rose Gottemoeller, Assistant Secretary of State for Verification, Compliance and Implementation.

KEEPING THE DOORS OF COLLEGE OPEN

More good news for working families: The health care reconciliation bill included legislation to lower the cost of student loans and increase aid – while saving taxpayers $61 billion over ten years. SAFRA (Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act) will:

• Increase the maximum annual Pell Grant scholarship to $5,500 in 2010 and to $5,975 by 2017. Beginning in 2013, the Pell Grants will be automatically increased, tied to inflation.
• Lower monthly payments on federal student loans by capping payments of new borrowers at 10 percent of their discretionary income. The current cap is 15 percent.
• Shorten the debt forgiveness timeline. Borrowers who responsibly make their monthly payments will have their remaining balance forgiven after 20 years of repayment, reduced from 25 years under current law.

Millions of students will be affected by this ground-breaking legislation. The Act also increases funding for the College Access Challenge Grant Program by $750 million and invests $2.55 billion in Historically Black Colleges and Universities and Minority Serving Institutions.

COMMON SENSE AND COMMON DECENCY

The U.S. military moved a step closer on Thursday to allowing gay men and lesbians to serve openly in the armed forces, easing enforcement of the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy, which has led to the discharge of more than 13,000 service members since 1993.

Secretary of Defense Robert Gates said last week that the U.S. Armed Forces will begin restricting the type of evidence that can be used against service members who have been accused of being gay. The changes, which took effect immediately, include no longer accepting anonymous complaints and will require accusers to file statements under oath. Additionally, only high-ranking officers, the equivalent of a one-star general or admiral, will have the authority to open a military inquiry or to decide whether discharge is warranted.

In announcing the changes, Secretary Gates stated that they provide “a greater measure of common sense and common decency.” Agreed!

BECOME A MEMBER

Don’t miss our first Members-only conference call. Become a member today!

MAKING HISTORY – CELEBRATING HISTORY

Click to watch Hillary's speech.

While the news this week focused on Hillary’s leadership for the new nuclear reduction treaty, we also noticed what the rest of her week was like – and all we can say is: Whew! Here’s Hillary at work: making history, and celebrating history, in one week:

• Monday, March 22: Hillary gives a major speech to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee.
• Tuesday, March 23: She flies to Mexico for meetings, discussions and press conferences with Mexican leaders, addressing issues of mutual concern, including efforts to end escalating drug-fueled violence.
• Wednesday, March 24: Hosts the U.S.-Pakistan Strategic Dialogue, the first ever held at the ministerial level on both sides, at the State Department.
• Thursday, March 25: Hillary leads the celebration of Women’s History Week at the U.S. Capitol – see the video of her comments here – and joins Defense Secretary Gates to testify before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
• Friday, March 26: Joins President Obama, Secretary of Defense Gates and Joint Chiefs Chairman Mullen at the White House to announce the most comprehensive arms control agreement in nearly two decades.
• Monday – Tuesday, March 29-30: Hillary is in Canada for the G8 Foreign Ministers meeting to prepare for the G8 Leaders Summit in Canada this June.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS

To all our friends who celebrate Passover or Easter, we wish you and your family a very happy holiday.

THE LAST WORD

“I will never forget being in Cleveland, Ohio at the Babies and Children Hospital there and talking to a father who had two children with cystic fibrosis, another healthy child. He could not get insurance for his two sick children… He offered whatever it would take. And finally one of the insurance company reps just looked at him and said, ‘You just don’t understand. We do not insure burning houses.’”

“There are millions of stories like that, which now because of this Congress will be stories of the past, not our future.”

- Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, March 25, 2010