Harry Reid Outlines the Democratic Agenda...

and it ain't bad. What's more important, though, is that they've decided to go on the offensive. A new tactic for Democrats.

http://www.theleftcoaster.com/archives/003746.html

Senate Bill 13 addresses Bush’s abandonment of our veterans by ensuring all veterans get the health care they deserve by 2006; expand mental health services to all VA hospitals by 2006; make prescription drugs readily available to veterans; and enact a new GI Bill for the 21st century.

Senate Bill 14 lays out an ambitious list of measures to deal with economic opportunity, ranging from the restoration of overtime pay for 6 million wage earners who have lost it under Bush; increases the Federal minimum wage over the next two years; supports relief for multi-employer pension plans, which are used predominantly by small businesses to provide pension benefits to an estimated 9.7 million American workers. It would also end tax breaks for companies exporting jobs; and would call for a recommitment to funding infrastructure improvements here at home.

Senate Bill 15 deals with education by strengthening Head Start and child care programs; it would create a federal program for rural school districts to purchase new buses so that they can retire substandard buses; fixes some of the problems caused for local districts by the No Child Left Behind law; creates a tuition-free program for future teachers in math, science, and special education teachers; restores the formula for Pell Grants, saving 1.3 million students from receiving decreased funding. Democrats will also increase the maximum Pell Grant award to $5,100 starting in FY2006, and take other measures to make college more affordable.

Senate Bill 16 deals with health care, by legalizing the safe importation of FDA-approved prescription drugs from other industrialized countries where they are more affordable. The bill also addresses the safety of prescription drugs and provides for better monitoring of drugs after they are approved for use. S 16 will provide small businesses relief by offering tax credits to help small employers provide coverage for their employees. The bill would create 25 pilot programs to build on the innovation of several programs across the country that help small employers cover their employees. This legislation would provide coverage to all children and would increase coverage for pregnant women. It also affirms Democrats’ commitment to protect the Medicaid program that provides coverage to more than 40 million Americans.

Senate 17 deals with voting reform, through a broad range of measures including among other things: requiring that all voting systems used in Federal elections provide a voter verified ballot that is fully accessible to the disabled and ensures privacy and independence; requiring each state to adopt Election Day registration procedures for Federal elections; creates a National Federal Write-in Absentee Ballot (NFWAB) for Federal offices that every and any eligible voter is entitled to cast from anywhere inside or outside the United States and requires the NFWAB be counted without regard to which polling place, precinct, local unit of government, state, or country the NFWAB is cast in; requires states to provide public notice of all proposed purged names from voting rolls 60 days in advance of a Federal election. It also prohibits states from purging names of voters from the list without specific notice provided in accordance with National Voting Rights Act (NVRA); requires states to establish early voting periods for a minimum of fifteen calendar days prior to a Federal election, with uniform mandatory Saturday hours, and a minimum of four hours per day, including Saturdays; requires punch card voting systems to provide in-person notice of over-votes; and prohibits central count optical scan systems from meeting the voter verification requirements without the public's knowledge or accountability; and requires notice provisions, public statements, and other transparency/accountability measures with regard to election administrators.

Senate Bill 18 deals with Medicare by addressing the corporate welfare that Bush larded onto the HMOs and drug companies with the Medicare drug benefit, by removing the prohibition against the federal government negotiating for best price; it also addresses the current gaps in coverage that exist in the law; and protects retirees from losing drug coverage, among other changes.

Senate Bill 19 is the Fiscal Responsibility for a Sound Future Act, which would among other things restore the Senate pay-as-you-go rule to require that mandatory spending and tax legislation be fully paid for, or be subject to a 60-vote point of order; would also reinstate sequestration (across-the-board spending cuts) to enforce pay-go and discretionary spending limits; prevents procedural gimmicks from being used to increase the deficit. The bill allows the Senate’s fast-track “reconciliation” procedures, which cut off debate after only 20 hours, to be used only for deficit reduction. Legislation that would increase the deficit could still be considered in the Senate, but could not be expedited. This would restore reconciliation to its original purpose of deficit reduction, and ensure that any legislation increasing deficits is subject to full scrutiny, debate, and consideration in the Senate. In addition, the legislation would prohibit the fast-tracking of Congressional budget resolutions that contain a reconciliation instruction that would worsen the deficit.

Senate Bill 20 deals with reducing unintended pregnancies and reduces abortions through increasing access to family planning services. It will also provide relief to Medicaid by decreasing the financial burden of pregnancy-related and newborn care.

I must say I am extremely pleased to see this spate of legislative initiatives. That being said, you can be certain that:

(1) NONE of them will pass. The Rethugs will do whatever procedural shenanigans they can to prevent them from even making it to the floor.

(2) The press will not cover them.

BUT take heart -- this is not about getting these things passed right now, but about laying the groundwork for the future.

Basically what the Dems need to do right now, IMHO is two things:

(1) Call foul on each and every one of BushcoGOPers dirty deeds. This begins with the Boxer Rebellion and goes on through every "advise and consent" session, and every attempt to ramrod irresponsible legislation through (privatizing SS for example.)

and

(2) Come up with their own, positive and progressive, alternatives and establish a record of fighting for them.

It's going to require patience and discipline. And, pace most DUers, we cannot expect all Dems to stand up and vote against the admin each and every time. That would be seen as mere obstructionism. We need to be tactically savvy, cast the right dissenting votes and pick the battles we can win -- or at least draw a stalemate -- because right now the numbers are seriously in favor of the Boy King and his entourage of Rabid Elephants.

And in 2008 -- 2006, even -- when people start asking, "So why is our education system <or Medicare, or voting rights, etc.> so effed up right now," the Dems can say, "We TRIED to pass legislation back in 2005 that would address this problem... and look who stopped us."

If they run your letter, then these bills get at least a little press.

Notwithstanding other peoples' complaints about our Democrats in Congress and the Senate, it looks to me like our people are actually getting down to fighting. I sense that they're really planning, picking their battles and resisting the worst administration moves. I hope this keeps up.

I'm quite pleased.

there is still so much more to be tackled. Write and thank him but keep his feet to the fire...

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=108x117129

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=252x39

:evilgrin:

Tell them what you think!

http://democrats.senate.gov/cosponsor-form.html

Let's encourage them to push these. Can we track the timing, so we launch letter/email/phone campaigns for each bill?

This needs to be pimped in the press, and HARD. They won't want to cover it. What we need to do is sum up each of these as one-sentence sound bites for the TV news, and easy slogans that are three or four words max. Marketing, marketing, marketing.

but let's see if they keep it up.

But I appreciate the thought

Show the public we have a great agenda that is being stymied by obstructionist Republicans.

paying some attention.

go far enough.

If the Dems want to win hearts and minds for 2006, they're going to have to propose something simple but significant, something that they can point to and say, "Look what we tried to do but were blocked by the Republicans."

& it was quite good.

He also talked about Social Security, & getting the country back to a place where ALL people have access to creating a better life.