Re: Pete Stark July 2005 Report (fwd)

[http://dummy.us.eu.org/robert (Robert)]

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 > From: Noelle <http://dummy.us.eu.org/noelleg>
 > Date: Wed, 20 Jul 2005 07:15:16 -0700 (PDT)
 >
 > ---------- Forwarded message ----------
 > Date: Wed, 20 Jul 2005 01:06:33 -0400
 > From: Congressman Pete Stark <http://www.mail.house.gov/~petemail>
 > To: http://dummy.us.eu.org/noelleg
 > Subject: Pete Stark July 2005 Report
 > 
 > [julybanner.gif]
 > 
 >                               PETE'S TOWN MEETINGS
 >                             SATURDAY, JULY 23, 2005
 > 
 >                            Fremont: 9:00 - 10:00 A.M.
 >                          Fremont Senior Center, Wing A
 >                            40086 Paseo Padre Parkway
 > 
 >                         San Leandro: 10:30 - 11:30 A.M.
 >                             Marina Community Center
 >                                 Thunderbolt Room
 >                              15301 Wicks Boulevard
 > 
 >                            Alameda: Noon - 1:00 P.M.
 >                                Alameda City Hall
 >                                 Council Chambers
 >                             2263 Santa Clara Avenue
 > 

 > site for assistance with federal agencies, updates on important
 > legislation and information on visits to Washington, D.C.
 > 
 > Fremont Office
 > (510) 494-1388
 > 
 > E-mail
 > http://www.mail.house.gov/~petemail
 > 
 > Web Site
 > http://www.house.gov/stark
 > 
 >                        RETIREMENT SECURITY UNDER PRESSURE
 > 
 > Representatives Pete Stark and George Miller join United Airlines
 > employees to speak out for pension reform.
 > [julypetemiller.gif]
 > 
 > Personal savings, private pensions and Social Security have long made up
 > the trinity of retirement savings. Each may function separately, but a
 > secure retirement is based on the three growing in concert.
 > Unfortunately, recent events have underscored the difficulty many are
 > having building a safe retirement.
 > 
 > Regrettably, most employers no longer provide defined benefit pensions
 > that pay a guaranteed amount for life during retirement. Today, several
 > major industries like the airlines and automakers are filing for
 > bankruptcy and considering defaulting on their pension promises, a route
 > already taken by IBM Corp., Avaya Inc., and, most recently, United
 > Airlines.
 > 
 > Congress must ensure that the pension system is strengthened and other
 > retirement savings options are safe and affordable, especially for the
 > middle-class. I am a cosponsor of legislation that would keep executives
 > from getting huge pension guarantees while their employees get benefit
 > cuts. And I continue to fight for employer-based retirement savings
 > incentives that benefit all workers, not just those high-income earners
 > who get a big tax break from their savings.
 > 
 > It is regrettable that despite the recent evidence that private pensions
 > may not be as secure as many once believed, the President and Republicans
 > in Congress have decided to weaken the only guaranteed benefit available
 > to all retirees: Social Security.
 > 
 > Congress's Duty: Keep Social Security's Promise
 > 
 > With big companies failing to keep up their end of the bargain in
 > providing retirement benefits, it is Congress' duty to keep Social
 > Security's promise of providing guaranteed benefits. Instead, the only
 > guarantee if Social Security is privatized is that Social Security
 > benefits would be cut for middle class workers.
 > 
 > Congress should oppose any attempts to cut Social Security benefits,
 > especially when the reliability of corporate pensions are so uncertain.
 > Social Security is a promise we've made to our senior citizens, surviving
 > children and widows and it is a promise we must keep.
 > 
 >       KEY VOTES
 >       Below are some of the key votes that Congress has taken so
 >       far this year.
 > 
 >       CHILD INTERSTATE ABORTION NOTIFICATION ACT - H.R. 748
 >       This bill does nothing to either prevent unintended
 >       pregnancies or strengthen troubled families. Worse still, it
 >       includes new, confusing reporting mandates on doctors and a
 >       provision that would prosecute responsible adults - such as
 >       grandparents or ministers - who help young women whose
 >       circumstances prevent them from confiding in their parents.
 >       Passed 270-157.
 >       STARK VOTED NO.
 > 
 >       CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET -
 >       H. CON. RES. 95
 >       A resolution putting forth a budget for fiscal year 2006 for
 >       the U.S. government. The resolution, passed along partisan
 >       lines, required cuts to almost all important domestic
 >       priorities including Medicaid, Head Start, environmental
 >       initiatives, child care and education. These cuts were made
 >       in order to maintain increased defense spending and tax cuts
 >       for the rich. Passed 214-211.
 >       STARK VOTED NO.
 > 
 >       STEM CELL RESEARCH ENHANCEMENT ACT - H.R. 810
 >       This bill increases the number of lines of stem cells
 >       eligible to be used in federally funded research by allowing
 >       the use of embryonic stem cells taken from fertilization
 >       clinics that are scheduled to be discarded. Passed 238-194.
 >       STARK VOTED YES. The Senate is expected to approve the bill
 >       by a similarly wide margin, however President Bush has
 >       promised to veto the legislation, his first as President.
 > 
 >       ENERGY BILL - H.R. 6
 >       This bill gives away millions in tax breaks to the oil
 >       industry and ethanol producers. It protects the MBTE industry
 >       that has endangered Ca's water supply and threatens
 >       our environment. Even the Bush Administration admits it will
 >       not reduce gas prices and would perversely cause gas prices
 >       to increase by several cents per gallon. Passed 249-183.
 >       STARK VOTED NO.
 > 
 >       IRAQ SUPPLEMENTAL - H.R. 1268
 >       A resolution to provide additional funding to the war in
 >       Iraq. These funds present a blank check for the
 >       Administration to spend funds without adequate oversight. The
 >       bill fails to offer any plan for a withdrawal of American
 >       troops from Iraq. Passed 368-58, 1 present.
 >       STARK VOTED NO.
 > 

 > A city development plan for the Alameda Naval Air Station on Alameda
 > Point includes a new National Wildlife Refuge to protect the Ca
 > pelican and least tern, a business park, marina, golf course,
 > housing, retail and a hotel. President Bush's plan for Alameda Point is
 > to convert the closed base into an oil refinery.
 > 
 > The President recently presented his proposal to convert closed military
 > bases into refineries on the heels of other ill-conceived energy plans
 > put forth in his Energy bill that passed the House of Representatives
 > this Spring. I was proud to vote against that Energy bill.
 > 
 > [refinery.gif] The President's own advisors admit that his plan will
 > raise, not lower, gas prices by three to eight cents per gallon. It
 > includes a new requirement to use Midwestern ethanol, further increasing
 > the cost of gasoline. The bill also offends our belief in wise and
 > respectful use of public lands, as it would open thousands of acres of
 > Alaska's pristine Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to destructive drilling
 > - all for a six-month supply of oil at most.
 > 
 > As his own bill remains stalled in Congress, the President's recent
 > proposal to convert military bases seems like he is grasping for any
 > answer he can find to our national energy problem, regardless of how
 > wrong that answer is.
 > 
 > The Administration and Republican leaders in Congress must address our
 > energy needs with sustainable and environmentally sound solutions. I will
 > continue to oppose any effort to convert Alameda point into a
 > pollution-riddled oil refinery.
 > 

 > With the reality of the Iraq war discouraging young Americans from
 > joining the military, U.S. Army recruiters have resorted to appalling
 > tactics in an attempt to boost their numbers of new recruits. Recruiters
 > have recently been caught showing teenagers how to create a fake high
 > school diploma and telling them what products to buy to pass a drug test.
 > 
 > [julyhelicopter.gif] The Army recently asked every recruiter to take a
 > course in military ethics and the laws that govern what can and cannot be
 > done to enlist someone into the Army. While it is encouraging that the
 > Army has finally recognized the problem, it is unlikely that this
 > "training" was anything more than a PR stunt.
 > 
 > To ensure this issue is dealt with appropriately, I have taken several
 > steps:
 > 
 >  *  With several other members of Congress, asked U.S. Attorney General
 >     Alberto Gonzales to appoint a special counsel to look into the Army's
 >     illegal and dishonorable recruiting tactics.
 >  *  Offered an amendment to the 2006 Defense Authorization bill requiring
 >     the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to report to Congress
 >     several aspects of illegal and improper military recruiting tactics.
 >     The amendment passed, as did the bill, and the President is expected
 >     to sign the bill into law before August.
 > 
 > Protecting Students' Privacy
 > 
 > Congressman Pete Stark meets with high school students from the 13th
 > District to discuss issues before Congress.
 > [julystarkstudent.gif]
 > 
 > On a related matter, I have joined Representative Mike Honda (CA, 15th)
 > to cosponsor the Student Privacy Protection Act to ensure military
 > recruiters can only have access to a student's personal information with
 > their parents' permission.
 > 
 > Currently, a provision in the No Child Left Behind law requires schools
 > to give military recruiters access to childrens' personal records without
 > parental consent. A form is available which will shield a child's
 > information from military recruiters. You can access that form at:
 > http://www.house.gov/stark/issues/03-24_recruiters.htm.
 > 
 > Recruiters are flagrantly breaking the law in order to meet increasing
 > recruitment quotas at the risk of the young people they recruit. These
 > illegal and immoral practices put our national security in jeopardy and
 > those responsible must be held accountable. I will continue to work to
 > protect the privacy of our children and to maintain a high ethical
 > standard for how our young people are recruited into the armed forces.
 > 
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