Lynch at Large

Senator Lincoln is quickly becoming my second favorite Arkansas congressional representative. I remember interviewing her when she was running against Bill Alexander and she has grown into a real presence. Here is her blast at the GOP controlled nest of vipors.

Lincoln: Congress Leaves Behind Unfinished Business

Washington – U.S. Senator Blanche Lincoln (D-Ark.) today said that the 109th Congress will be remembered more for missed opportunities than accomplishments due to the lack of progress on critical issues for America’s working families. As Congress has now moved into a six-week recess, Lincoln noted that several priorities and necessary reforms have been left unaddressed.

"Unfortunately, this Republican leadership chose political gamesmanship over addressing several real priorities important to most Americans," Lincoln said. "When Congress comes back to Washington after the November elections, I hope these same leaders will see it as one last opportunity to get results for the American people."

Lincoln noted the 109th Congress’ lack of progress on several issues critical to America’s working families:

HEALTH CARE

As an example of Congress’ ineffectiveness, Lincoln pointed to the country’s growing health care crisis. The number of uninsured Americans rose to 46.6 million in 2005, an increase of almost seven million people since 2000. In Arkansas, approximately 448,000 people, or 16.4 percent of the state’s population, are uninsured. Yet the Senate dedicated a mere two days of debate to this health care crisis and blocked a Lincoln proposal that would allow self-employed individuals and small businesses to offer insurance to themselves and their workers.

MIDDLE CLASS TAX RELIEF

During this Congress, Republican leaders placed a priority on cutting taxes for dividends and capital gains while neglecting the renewal of tax extenders important for working Americans, teachers, and businesses – provisions such as the Research and Development tax credit which is critical for businesses to remain competitive in the global marketplace and the college tuition tax deduction which has been an effective tool for providing more Americans access to college.

Congress has also let lapse the Work Opportunity Tax Credit and the Welfare-to-Work tax credits which provide businesses with tax incentives for hiring individuals from targeted groups, such as veterans and welfare recipients. These tax credits are important tools for placing economically disadvantaged individuals into jobs.

In addition, Congress has failed to extend tax deductions for teachers’ classroom education expenses. More than 23,000 teachers in Arkansas who purchase classroom supplies with money from their own pockets will be without this important deduction this year.

In the months before and after these important tax incentives expired, Lincoln helped lead efforts to renew them, saying that they would provide much-needed immediate relief for middle class Americans. In fact, her vote against the Tax Reconciliation bill in May was the direct result of the Republican leadership’s decision to ignore these incentives in favor of extending capital gains and dividend reduction provisions which were not set to expire until 2009.

ENERGY INDEPENDENCE

Many individuals and organizations across the country are exploring development and refinery of renewable fuels. They only need capital incentives to bring the best of these technologies to market. Since 2003, Lincoln has twice introduced legislation that would encourage long-term investment in alternative energy by extending existing tax credits to 2010. Additionally, Lincoln co-sponsored legislation that would put in place a comprehensive plan for reducing dependence on foreign oil. Lincoln said that the United States has fallen behind other nations with respect to our alternative energy policy and our government must make energy independence a priority.

However, the 109th Congress missed a golden opportunity to establish a true plan for the development of renewable fuels when it enacted a national energy plan. While the bill did include tax credits and other mechanisms to develop renewables, these measures fell woefully short of what is currently achievable and, in some cases, they were reduced in order to allow for more funding of oil and gas exploration.

MINIMUM WAGE

During her tenure in Congress, Lincoln has consistently supported efforts to raise the minimum wage, yet the Republican-controlled Congress has rejected each attempt. Lincoln said that no American worker should have to live in poverty.

IMMIGRATION REFORM

Congress has also fallen short on reforming our nation’s broken immigration system, Lincoln said. While consistently voting to secure the borders, Lincoln has remained an outspoken advocate for the bipartisan compromise reform passed by the Senate earlier this year. Lincoln said that the compromise requires a two-pronged approach that secures our borders first, then establishes a system to identify undocumented workers, penalize them and place them on a path to permanent residency. Republican leaders in the House and Senate failed to agree on a comprehensive plan.

DISASTER ASSISTANCE

America’s farmers have suffered severe economic losses due to devastating weather conditions and record high energy prices during the past two years. Unlike other industries, farmers are unable to pass on higher input costs to consumers, which means that higher energy costs directly hurt farm income at the local economy.

Last September, Lincoln introduced an agriculture disaster assistance package in the Senate and has continued to work in a bipartisan fashion to push a comprehensive assistance package for over a year. Lincoln said that if Americans want to continue to enjoy an affordable and abundant food supply produced safely at home, Congress and the Administration must provide the support our farm families need to remain competitive in the global marketplace. However, the Bush Administration has repeatedly blocked every attempt to provide adequate disaster aid to farmers.

"The experiences of the last two years were essential for my twin, ten-year-old boys," Lincoln said. "In fact, I am disappointed that the Republican leaders of the 109th Congress are not more like parents who treasure every moment of their child’s growth and development."

"As it is, two years have been lost in the fight to ensure that every American has access to health care. Even while the clock expired on several, important middle income tax cuts, these leaders were unable to muster the will to extend them. And, two more years have passed without addressing the fate of 12 million or more undocumented workers living in this country. Each Congress has two years to make a difference for the American people. The Republican-controlled, 109th Congress largely stood still on numerous critical issues. I shudder to think of my children standing still and losing two years in their growth and development. We simply cannot afford to continue this pattern of failure. We owe it to the American people to bring them real results."