We all know what the big stories of the day are. We all know what the obvious issues of the week are. They’re all over the place—in the papers and on the radio and crawling across the screen on our cable-TV talking-head shows every time we turn around.

But practicing good governance is not something that shows up in the papers or on the radio or at the bottom of the TV screen every day. It’s something that takes lots of time, lots of commitment, and it gets measured in slow but steady progress sometimes. For every high-profile issue that makes the headlines, there are dozens of other quiet but unspectacular legislative activities in which the real business of running the country gets done.

Here’s just a few of the recent legislative actions by which JK’s been quietly doing the real business of running the country, the same way he’s been taking care of business on behalf of the citizens of his state and his country in the Senate for the last 23 years:

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Kerry Health Care Plan Eases Cost Burden on Families, Businesses Kerry Bill allows for broader coverage and lower premiums

WASHINGTON - Senator John Kerry (D-Mass.) introduced the Healthy Businesses, Healthy Workers Reinsurance Act of 2007, which will tackle the growing crisis of health care costs for families and businesses. Under Kerry’s plan, the federal government will pick up part of the cost for the most catastrophic cases - and in turn, businesses will cover all their employees with quality, preventative coverage. Premiums for all Americans will decrease by up to 10%. Healthy Businesses, Healthy Families is co-sponsored by Senator Jack Reed (D-R.I.).

“The cost of health insurance premiums for families has risen 87 percent since 2000 – this is a huge contributor to the health care crisis in this country,” said Senator Kerry, Chairman of the Senate’s Small Business Committee and a member of the Finance Committee. “Part of the reason that businesses don’t cover their workers is an aversion to risk - a fear that they will be saddled with a sick employee whose high premiums will bankrupt them. But there’s a way to fight these high costs - and it’s time Washington makes employers and healthcare plans an offer they can’t refuse.”

One percent of patients account for a quarter of healthcare costs. And 2 out of 10 patients account for more than 80 percent of all healthcare costs. Under Kerry’s plan, the federal government would reimburse a percentage of these high cost cases if employers include preventative care and health promotion benefits in their health plans, make quality coverage available to all full-time workers, and implement practices proven to make care more affordable. This means lower costs and lower premiums for both employers and employees.

The Legislation establishes a Reinsurance Trust Fund, which would be administered by the Department of Health and Human Services. The fund would reimburse qualified employers and health plans for a portion of the catastrophic health costs of their active and retired employees, and their families.

“Reforming health care in this country requires us to address cost in a comprehensive and meaningful way,” Kerry added. “It’s time the government starts to shoulder some of the burden to help alleviate costs to large employers, small businesses, and families. This will lay the groundwork for achieving our ultimate goal: healthcare coverage for every single American.” <!-more-> – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - –

Kerry Plan Would Ban All New Coal Plants That Use Obsolete Technology

WASHINGTON —Senator John Kerry (D-Mass.) introduced the Clean Coal Act of 2007, which prohibits the construction of all new coal fired power plants in the United States unless they use state-of-the-art emissions reduction technology. The new technology limits the release of carbon emissions from power plants, which is one of the leading causes of global warming.

Kerry’s bill will mandate that all new coal plants – including the approximately 150 new plants proposed throughout the United States in the next decade – use technologies that significantly reduce emissions of air pollutants and greenhouse gases that contribute to global warming.

“Climate change is one of the most pressing and urgent issues facing our environment, our economy and our national security,” Senator Kerry said. “We can – and must – find a better way to burn coal to combat the emissions that contribute to this crisis.”

Currently, half of our electricity is generated from coal, which produces approximately 1.5 billion tons of carbon dioxide annually. According to the National Energy Technology Laboratory at the Department of Energy, those numbers are only going to get bigger. Over 150 new coal-fired power plants are proposed for construction in the United States. Over their lifetime, those plants will spew an additional 30 billion tons of carbon dioxide into the air.

“We have a ten year window to address global climate change, and demanding we burn coal in a clean way is an important place to start,” Kerry added. “This bill is the number one solution to global warming. Unless we can build clean power plants, we should not be building them. I urge my colleagues to join me in setting this important standard for coal plants.”

On Monday, Kerry introduced a bill that will combat the pollution generated by the Capitol Power Plant in Washington, DC, by mandating that the Capitol Complex be carbon neutral by 2020. Kerry’s bill makes Congress practice what they preach by taking on dirty sources of energy right in its own backyard.

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Kerry announces seven Massachusetts Vet Centers to receive additional funding

BOSTON—Senator John Kerry announced that the nation’s VA Vet Centers will receive $20 million in funding, as part of the Fiscal 2007 Supplemental Appropriations Conference Report which passed the Senate yesterday.

The new funding for VA Vet Centers will be used to hire additional staff and run the centers already operating in within the system.

“We have nearly 477,000 veterans throughout Massachusetts and hundreds of thousands more nationwide and all of them have earned our care and respect. You don’t support the troops when you fail to provide adequate care when they come home,” said Senator Kerry. “This funding will enable the Vet Centers to hire additional staff and start doing outreach that is long overdue. There are still service members from this generation that are unaware of what a Vet Center is, and the services they provide. This much needed funding will provide assistance for our service members transition from combat to everyday life.”

VA Vet Centers provide readjustment counseling and outreach services to all veterans who served in any combat zone. Our veterans earned these benefits through their service to country, and we must fulfill the nation’s commitment to them by providing the highest quality services possible.

The Vet Center program was established to assist Vietnam-era veterans who were experiencing readjustment problems. In 1991, Congress extended the eligibility to veterans who served during other periods of armed hostilities after the Vietnam era. The goal of the Centers is to provide a broad range of counseling, outreach and referral services to help veterans successfully readjust to civilian life. Services include individual counseling, group counseling, marital and family counseling, bereavement counseling, medical referrals, assistance in applying for VA benefits, and employment counseling.

A report by the House Veterans Affairs Committee Democratic staff found that in nine months, between October 2005 and June 2006, the number of returning veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan who turned to Vet Centers for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) services doubled. The increased demand for services is beginning to affect access to quality care. One in four Vet Centers surveyed has been forced to limit services or establish waiting lists for critically needed services.

Approximately one-third of the veterans coming home from Iraq and Afghanistan come to the VA with mental health concerns. We have seen the cases of PTSD rise sharply along with the need for readjustment care when veterans return home. This funding will help insure VA Vet Centers have enough trained professionals to offer quality mental health services. They are currently unable to deal with the increasing demand for mental health services. Each of these centers needs this additional funding to hire sufficient staff to deal with the recent influx of patients.

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