America’s Real Challenges?
Democrats in the US Senate try to fight back against Bill Frists’ growing disregard for minority opinion (ruling that the filibuster of executive nominees is unconstitutional) by introducing nine bills that highlight America’s ‘real challenges’. Kevin Drum expectedly has some insightful comments as well. Even if you are not aware of Senate tussles in recent times, these bills give a cursory look into Democrat’s values and ideologies amidst changing times:
- Women’s Health Care (S. 844). “The Prevention First Act of 2005″ will reduce the number of unintended pregnancies and abortions by increasing funding for family planning and ending health insurance discrimination against women.
- Veterans’ Benefits (S. 845). “The Retired Pay Restoration Act of 2005″ will assist disabled veterans who, under current law, must choose to either receive their retirement pay or disability compensation.
- Fiscal Responsibility (S. 851). Democrats will move to restore fiscal discipline to government spending and extend the pay-as-you-go requirement.
- Relief at the Pump (S. 847). Democrats plan to halt the diversion of oil from the markets to the strategic petroleum reserve. By releasing oil from the reserve through a swap program, the plan will bring down prices at the pump.
- Education (S. 848). Democrats have a bill that will: strengthen head start and child care programs, improve elementary and secondary education, provide a roadmap for first generation and low-income college students, provide college tuition relief for students and their families, address the need for math, science and special education teachers, and make college affordable for all students.
- Jobs (S. 846). Democrats will work in support of legislation that guarantees overtime pay for workers and sets a fair minimum wage.
- Energy Markets (S. 870). Democrats work to prevent Enron-style market manipulation of electricity.
- Corporate Taxation (S. 872). Democrats make sure companies pay their fair share of taxes to the U.S. government instead of keeping profits overseas.
- Standing with our troops (S. 11). Democrats believe that putting America’s security first means standing up for our troops and their families
Notice the last bill about ‘standing with our troops’; in normal times that would seem too obvious but in times of Republican party grabbing credit for misplaced patriotism, the Democrats find it pertinent to demand a share of the pie. Also, worth noticing is the vague objectives of each bill that gives them little chance of passing into law. Of course, the fact that Democrats have introduced the bills has already negated those chances.
[via Daily Kos]
