The Serrano Report, Vol. VII, #7
On Capitol Hill
Serrano to Vote for Health Care Bill
On Thursday, Congressman Serrano announced that he plans to vote in favor of health-care reform. Although Serrano has long supported a single-payer system and fought for a public option, he has come to believe that this is the last opportunity to extend health care to millions of people and that this outcome is itself an important achievement.
“I am proud to announce today that I will be voting in favor of the health-care-reform package when it comes to the House floor,” said Congressman Serrano. “This is one of the most important votes of my career, and I am humbled to be given the opportunity to help our nation take such a historic and meaningful step toward equality.
“I remain very troubled by the provisions that prevent the undocumented from buying their own insurance on the exchanges. This is an unnecessary provision. It has no place in a health-care bill. I can vote for this bill with this provision in it for two reasons. First, without victory on this bill, immigration reform will not move forward. Secondly, when we do immigration reform, people who were excluded from health reform will become documented and later citizens, and therefore will no longer be excluded.
“I also looked at the benefits of this bill for my Bronx constituents. I have fought long and hard to ensure that they are able to lead healthy lives—whether it is working to clean the air that they breath or fighting for parks and open space for people to exercise and relax or even pushing for healthier food options. But voting in favor of this health reform bill is the biggest step we can take to ensure that Bronx residents live healthier lives.”
Serrano highlighted the following statistics provided by the House Energy and Commerce Committee on what the health reform package means for the 16th Congressional District.
In Serrano’s Congressional District the bill will:
• Improve coverage for 185,000 residents with health insurance.
• Give tax credits and other assistance to up to 201,000 families and 7,300 small businesses to help them afford coverage.
• Improve Medicare for 65,000 beneficiaries, including closing the donut hole.
• Extend coverage to 86,500 uninsured residents.
• Guarantee that 16,500 residents with pre-existing conditions can obtain coverage.
• Protect 600 families from bankruptcy due to unaffordable health-care costs.
• Allow 64,000 young adults to obtain coverage on their parents’ insurance plans.
• Provide millions of dollars in new funding for 77 community health centers.
• Reduce the cost of uncompensated care for hospitals and other health-care providers by $86 million annually.
“These statistics are much more than numbers,” Serrano added. “They are literally the difference in some cases between life and death, between bankruptcy and financial stability, between food and health coverage. There are few words to describe the importance of passing this bill and extending these benefits to the American people. While opponents of health-care reform have spent the past year scaring the American people about the content of the bill and its consequences; they are unable to argue with the fact that this bill will cure many of the problems of the current system. They have no better solutions—and their mantra of ‘kill the bill’ is a shameful turn away from the incredible challenges that families face on a daily basis.
“I will be proud to cast my vote in favor of this bill and look forward to doing the same for comprehensive immigration reform in the near future. I will cast the vote knowing that we are taking another step in the long path toward equality of health care for all citizens—regardless of their economic situation. In passing this bill we are adding strength to America’s promise and living up to its founding creed which states that we are all created equal.”
On Wednesday, Congressman Serrano chaired a hearing on the FY 2011 budget of the Securities and Exchange Commission. During the hearing, Serrano asked Chairman Mary Shapiro about the SEC’s budget and about its oversight of the nation’s markets, securities dealers and traders and banks.
Serrano said “The meltdown in our securities markets in 2008 and 2009 was the driving force in the financial crisis that has brought the worst economic downturn in almost 80 years. Although the unemployment rate has stopped rising, we still find almost one in ten people in our labor force without work and one in six are either unemployed or underemployed. Clearly there is more work to be done.”
“If events in the securities markets over the last year and a half have taught us anything, it should be that what happens in securities markets can have major consequences for commerce, credit, tax revenues, the banking system as well as investors,” Serrano added. “We count on the SEC, as the agency most closely tied to the securities markets, to take a broad view of its responsibility concerning the health of the economy and not merely investor protection.”
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SEC Chairwoman Mary Schapiro testifying before Chairman Serrano and Ranking Member JoAnn Emerson |
Serrano Lauds Passing of 9/11 Health Bill
On Tuesday Congressman Serrano was on hand as a House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee passed the James Zadroga Act, which establishes permanent health care for 9/11 first responders and workers. Efforts to exclude undocumented responders or to change the program to year-to-year discretionary funding were rejected during the markup of the bill. Though Serrano does not sit on the Energy and Commerce Committee, he joined other non-committee New York members and New York first responders in the audience at the markup session because of the importance of health care for these heroes.
“Despite several attempts to exclude undocumented 9/11 workers and survivors, the Energy and Commerce subcommittee stood strong for all the heroes of that horrible event,” said Congressman Serrano. “I am proud that I pointed out that passing an anti-immigrant amendment was wrong and undermined the spirit of unity that should surround 9/11. My fellow New Yorkers and I then went to work and were able to convince a majority of the subcommittee of that position. There is nothing right about using a 9/11 bill to beat up on immigrants.
“The subcommittee also stood strong to ensure that the funding for healthcare for these people will be assured and not subject to the whims of future congressional majorities. These two acts showed that on the issues related to 9/11 the country still understands that this was an attack on us all, and that creating divisions, or nickel and diming those who suffered as a result is not appropriate.”
Following the subcommittee passage, the bill will now go to the full Energy and Commerce Committee for consideration.
“I must applaud the hard work of my New York colleagues on this issue, with special thanks to Reps. Maloney and Nadler who have championed this cause from the start. Without their leadership, the brave people who volunteered to clean up after the catastrophe, and those who merely live near the site, would have had a more difficult time in getting the benefits they deserve.”
“I look forward to this bill being passed out of the full committee and especially to the day when I am able to proudly cast a vote in favor of it on the House floor. I think that we will have a very large majority voting in favor of ensuring our 9/11 heroes get health care for their special ailments.”
Serrano Discusses Hate Crimes, Terror Trials with Attorney General
On Tuesday, Attorney General Eric Holder testified before the Commerce, Justice Science and Related Agencies Appropriations Subcommittee, of which Congressman Serrano is a member. Serrano reiterated to Holder his support for holding the trials for the September 11th plotters in New York City and discussed his concern about the rise in hate crimes against immigrants.
“I may be the only New York elected official who still supports holding trials for the September 11th plotters in courts in New York City,” said Serrano, “but I believe that this is an important opportunity for us to show the world that the terrorists cannot defeat our democratic system. I thought it was very dramatic for our government to say, 'We're not afraid of you. We will try you at the scene of the crime.’ Our system has the capability to successfully prosecute terrorists while upholding our values for the entire world to see.”
Holder urged Members of Congress to continue to grant the Justice Department discretion to decide which venue terrorists should be tried in, and said that the use of civilian courts are a vital tool in prosecuting terrorists and would-be terrorists. Since September 11th, civilian trials have been used for more than 200 terrorism cases, including more than 70 in New York City.
Serrano also questioned the Attorney General on the issue of hate crimes, particularly hate crimes against those who are immigrants or may be mistaken for immigrants. Holder said that the Justice Department was committed to vigorous enforcement of our hate crimes laws, and that additional funding has been allocated to the Civil Rights Division of the Justice Department to better address these issues.
In the Bronx
Remember to Fill out Census Forms
By now, you should have received your 2010 Census in the mail. Please be sure to promptly fill it out and send it back.
Many constituents may have questions about the 10 questions on the Census form. The Bureau of the Census has several resources to help answer these inquiries. Information about the questionnaire is available at the census website here and here. You can also call the 2010 Census Questionnaire Assistance Center at 1-866-872-6868 (English) or 1-866-928-2010 (Spanish).
Please note that you must answer all questions on the form and that all the information you provide is confidential and cannot be shared with other government agencies.
Grant Opportunities
Foreign Language Grant
Deadline for Notice for Intent to Apply: March 26, 2010
The Department of Education recently announced the availability of grants under the Foreign Language Assistance Program to establish, improve or expand foreign language programs for elementary and secondary school students. The top priority for the awarding of the grants is to expand the teaching of languages that are less commonly taught, such as: Arabic, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Russian, and languages in the Indic, Iranian and Turkic language families. Local education agencies are encouraged to apply in partnership with institutions of higher education.
For more information about this opportunity, please read the full description.
For information on other government grants, please go to: www.grants.gov.