legislation

Here is a letter sent to Sen. Max Baucus (D-MT) on behalf of a coalition of youth activist organizations fighting the good fight on health reform:

September 25, 2009

The Honorable Max Baucus
H-232, US Capitol
Washington, DC 20515

Dear Senator Baucus:

We are writing on behalf of organizations representing young Americans across the country whose lives will be dramatically impacted by health care reform. We applaud many of the aims of America’s Healthy Future Act, particularly efforts to provide universal coverage to all Americans.

However the current legislation falls short on a number of key provisions that must be addressed. We urge you to make health insurance more affordable for young Americans by expanding the income range eligible for subsidies and lowering the caps on the percentage of income individuals might pay for premiums. We urge you to allow young adults to remain on their parents’ insurance policy until the age of 26 so as to reduce gaps in coverage and preserve continuity of care. We also urge you to add a public option to make the new health insurance exchanges more competitive and lower costs for young consumers. We strongly believe that comprehensive, affordable health insurance should be available to all Americans, young and old.

We are aware of the inclusion of a “young invincible” plan in the current legislation that is “effectively a catastrophic with no coverage below the HSA out-of-pocket limit except for preventive benefits and
services.” (Snowe Amendment #F5 accepted into the Chairman’s Mark) While we believe the focus should be on improving subsidies so everyone can afford comprehensive coverage, if the “young invincible” provision must be in the legislation it needs to include certain key provisions:

• The HSA limit is now $3,000 and is far too high a deductible for even healthy young Americans. Common injuries that need treatment could spell financial ruin for young Americans, 80% of whom earn less than $40,000 per year. The allowable deductible should be significantly lowered.
• “Preventive benefits and services” must be defined broadly to include a wide variety of common preventive treatments including regular check-ups, screenings, and gynecological visits.
• The plan must include coverage for chronic conditions that impact those 18-34, such as asthma, diabetes, hypertension, and sinusitis, which would not count against the deductible. Over 15% of young
Americans deal with chronic health care problems. Without access to proper case management, not only do they suffer but it costs the system in the long-run.

Thank you for your leadership on this issue. Young people are counting on you to deliver on the promise of reform and a better future for all Americans.

Sincerely,

18 in ‘08
80 Million Strong
Advocates for Youth
Black Youth Vote
Bus Federation
Campus Progress
Daily Get Up
Forward Montana
Rock the Vote
Student Association for Voter Empowerment
Young Invincibles

While Baucus's track record doesn't give much hope to the letter having much of an effect on the legislative output, there's a bigger fight than what might happen with Baucus's legislation being discussed in the Senate Finance Committee this week. As this Times piece seems to indicate, there's some kind of latent momentum going for the public option outside of the more conservative Finance Committee, thanks to the GOP:

The Senate floor, and certainly a conference with the more liberal House, will be more receptive arenas, Mr. Schumer and others predict. Ultimately, the liberals in Congress, as well as their allies in organized labor, expect to be able to shape the final product more than they had hoped just weeks ago.

That unnerves the more conservative Democrats, many of them from Republican-leaning districts and states.

Liberals have been emboldened by two factors. One is the failure of Senator Max Baucus of Montana, a more conservative Democrat who heads the Finance Committee, to get any Republicans to support his draft legislation, after months of trying. That doomed President Obama’s goal of bipartisan backing for a health care overhaul, and now leaves party liberals arguing for a distinctly Democratic health plan.

“One of the strongest arguments against a public option has been that the Republicans will never go for it,” Mr. Schumer said. “Well, the Baucus bill doesn’t have a public option, and they’re still not for it in any way, with the possible exception of Olympia Snowe,” a moderate Republican senator from Maine, who has not ruled out supporting the overhaul that Mr. Obama is seeking.

The second development that has encouraged liberals is recent polling, including some done for The New York Times and CBS News in the last week, that gives Democrats a clear edge over Republicans as the party favored to deal with health care issues. The same polls show significant support for a public option despite months of criticism from Republicans, who describe it as a government takeover of health insurance.

Should Schumer be successful in staging a larger debate following all committee deliberations when the legislation is on the Senate floor, the stipulations made in the youth coalition letter appear to have a larger chance of being incorporated into the final Senate bill.

The best thing for everyone to do at this point is to bombard your respective senators and make sure they understand why youth want the public option, as well as the other caveats made in the letter above.

As the Senate prepares to follow the lead set by the House of Representatives and tackle global warming through a comprehensive climate change bill, a new poll shows young voters are united behind this action, no matter their party affliation.

The poll, released by the Clean Energy Works Campaign, campaign shows that 68% of those polled say "investing in renewable energy to create new jobs" should be an important priority for their Senator to address and 69% say they would be more likely to re-elect their Senator if he or she votes for the bill.

"Poll after poll shows that the American public strongly backs comprehensive clean energy legislation," said Maura Cowley, Clean Energy Works campaign youth coordinator in a press release. "This latest poll shows that America's youth—regardless of their party affiliation—stand strongly behind the president's clean energy agenda and are now looking to Congress for urgent action. It's time for the Senate to act on a clean energy and climate plan that delivers more jobs, less pollution, and greater security."

Click here to write to your senators today and encourage them to pass comprehensive climate change legislation this year!

Also, check out this new website to see just exactly what is at stake for our generation and how you can take action!

(7:05) "We have a provision in the energy bill to estabalish a green bank to priovide low cost finnacing opportunitities for companies that are engaged in developing the [green sector]" - Rep Van Hollen

(7:00) "For those of you who support the President's agenda for change.. please remember that midterm elections are a point of great danger, especially for newly elected democrats.. They will be seen as a midterm report card on the President's agenda" - Rep. Van Hollen

(6:58) Representative Van Hollen is the last speaker of the day - "keep it up in elections to come"

(6:50) "technological innnovation is going to lead us out of our economic doldrums" - Representative Lofgren

(6:47) Representative Lofgren to speak next! Has been a champion for young people and our power as a generation

(6:41) Congressman Nadler highlights green jobs and healthcare jobs as areas for growth

(6:37) Tuition is rising as a percentage of middle class income - Rep Nadler

(6:33) Congressman Nadler to address our summit now

(6:24) Rep Hinojosa compares Chinese and American education. Chinese envy the U.S. ability to go to college

(6:22) Representatives Hinojosa and Nadler walked in together. Rep. Hinojosa to speak first

(6:15) "What we believe in should be what we are executing in our daily lives" Rep. Ryan

(6:13) "If you are committed and with a group that is committed, then something will happen" Rep Ryan

(6:10) Just as we were about to vote on healthcare Congressman Ryan from Ohio has walked in to address the 80 Million Strong Summit

(6:00) There is a discussion ensuing about including specific groups rather than talking about a broad topic of at-risk groups. A lot of interesting points are being brought up.

(5:47) Healthcare policy team is beginning to report ideas and pumped in the room. When I say health, you say care! Health - Care!

(5:40) Voting on Public Service policies show these top ideas: 1) establishing a public service academy, 2) Segal Education tax free 3) increasing access to AmeriCorps by raising wages

(5:32) New Idea in Public Policy includes congressional call to action program.

(5:23) Ideas from the Public Service policy table include, providing loan forgiveness programs & establish a public service academy

(5:15) Voting results from internship policy discussions: Top idea is "Propose legislation that establishes the rule that grants or loans for summer internships should no count agains a student's total"

(5:11) New ideas being presented from the table discussion on internship programs: include ideas ranging from mentorship programs to working to tax incentives for programs that pay their interns

(5:09) Top national security idas are 1) diplomatic service program, 2) foreign language opportunities, 3) repeal DADT

(5:07) Back to voting on National Security policy proposals

(5:01) Leader Hoyer speaks about healthcare after demonstration about who of the 80 Million Strong summit lacks health insurance

(4:57) Q: What are you going to do to make sure that youth have authentic voice with our public officials? Hoyer: I think that you have had impact. You were an important part of the Obama election... You're going to be in positions of responsibility within the next few years.

(4:52) Q: What is Congress going to do to pay down the national debt? Hoyer answer: First, we need to stop the red ink, and then pay down the red ink that we have incurred.

(4:48) Leader Hoyer: "Young People, you are the best we have"

(4:40) Leader Hoyer calls the 80 million strong coalition to action - "one of you can make a difference, and imagine all the change you can bring when you multiply that by 80 million"

(4:35) Leader Hoyer characterized the energy bill as both a jobs bill (creates between 1.5-2.5 million) and a national security bill

(4:30) Majority Leader Hoyer starts speaking: He wonders were the other 79,999,900 of the millennial generation are

(4:26) Votes about to start.. oh wait Majority Leader Hoyer just stepped in!

(4:23) Small groups brought a young diplomatic service program fostering deep relationships between citizens, cultures, and governments. Focus on developing realtionships with community colleges

(4:17) Back from break. National Security policies are being presented from our small groups now.

(4:02) Education votes are in. The top education vote getters are: 1) Community Scholars Program 2) develop curriculum to implement in high schools that includes aspects of financial literacy 3)Solutions to the student debt loan issue 4) pass the DREAM act

(3:54) Voting on education policy commences - awaiting results

(3:27) Education ideas are being reported from the small groups. After this, the vote.

(3:07) Vote is over on entrepreneurship priorities. The top vote getter is the Youth Innovation Fund idea.

(3:01) OK, back to the entrepreneurship vote.

(2:55) Thanks Rep Clyburn for coming to speak to the #80MS young leaders!

(2:49) Q: Tell us about young people and healthcare. JC - 1) Increase the age limit (now it's 25) that people in school can stay on their parents' insurance. 2) If you are a small business (less than 10 employees) that we will be able to respond to your special needs with an exemption. If as a small business owner you want to offer health insurance to your employees, then you can get a tax credit.

(2:38) Q: What is one issue of importance do you feel needs to be pushed out in today's time? JC - "It's not even close - health care."

(2:36) Question to JC, what's it been like politically with the Dems in majority? - "I learned early that you are much better off pursuing bi-partisanship, then you are if you never make the attempt."

(2:31) JC quotes a langston poem- "Hold fast to dreams, for dreams die, life is a broken wing bird that cannot fly." He tells us he lost his first three elections! And since he didn't listen to baseball rules (3 strikes and you're out), he was still able to succeed. "For as long as their is life, there is hope. You always hold fast to your dreams."

(2:23) Wait a minute! Rep James Clyburn is here to speak! (We'll finish voting after his talk).

(2:22) 14 entrepreneurship ideas on the docket...what will be the top priorities in this area? Voting on this now...

(2:16) ...teaching entrepreneurship skills in public education environment.

(2:12) More additions from the entrepreneurship groups: 1) Tax incentives going to the youth ventures receiving loans. 2) Crowd-source microloan porgram; incentive is tax deduction for lender. We can use the resources of our own generation. Perhaps tax incentives to those who do contribute to youth ventures. 3) Public-private sponsorship of national contest/matching grant.

(2:08). One small group wants to include community give-back programs as part of a SBA loan to young entrepreneurs.

(2:06) We're back from lunch. Each small group is reporting back from their discussion. Entrepreneurship is up first.

(1:35) Lunch is about done and we are ready to delve into the policy discussions from the small groups. (We're still streaming the event from here: http://www.ustream.tv/channel/80-million-strong-summit). And check out our Twitter for additional commentary: @80MS.

(12:40) Policy priorities: 1) Education 2) Health Care 3) Green Jobs 4) Public Service. (Education, Entrepreneurship, Green Jobs and Public Service are top issue areas that people want to spend time discussing in their small groups.)

(12:20) Policy Focus Areas: Core Content (general areas) - Education, Entrepreneurship, Green Jobs, Health Care, Internship, National Security and Public Service. In small groups, summiteers now choose what issue that want to focus on.

(12:13) Break time is up and we are set to move into our first policy discussion.

(11:52) KS - Question about rural development. A. There is a huge disparity between rural and urban areas. The people that live in rural counties and communities are in a reality facing a different life. Per capita income is $10K less than your city cousins and your healthcare and food costs are higher. We want to bring broadband to rural America. We are looking at how energy and climate change legislation will provide opportunities to rural America.

(11:49) KS - Question: Do you consider off-shore drilling an appropriate stop-gap? We are in the process of how to move forward on the inter-continental shelf. We oversee the development of the natural resources of our country . OVer 50% of the electricity produced comes from coal. 25% of oil and natural gas comes from public lands. Our view is that development should occur where necessary, but some areas are too sensitive for development. We are not in a position yet that we can stop oil and gas development. We will pursue a balanced approached to development.

(11:46) KS - Question, how is dept of interior using new media to get young people to get out to the parks? We are developing a project on this and a re-do of our current systems (very old systems!). He says he can't even send an email to all his employees.

(11:37) KS - Question about civilian service academy (he supports it). Question about mountaintop removal (he says we need to stop the ones that degrade our streams; creating a rule to protect the streams from degradation that may occur from mining activities).

(11:35) KS - "young people have not been participating in the outdoors and they should!" Q&A time!

(11:33) KS - "40 percent of the workforce in the dept of the interior will turnover. As scientists, as park rangers, so I would encourage you all to think about a service career in government. Same thing is true w/r/t to other agencies that will see that same kind of high turnover (baby boomers) in the years ahead."

(11:32) KS - "we know that when we talk about climate change, there is a huge opportunity for young people...harnessing the power of the wind, geothermal. In my office, we created an office specifically to engage youth...15,000 young people employed at our facilities across the country."

(11:31) KS - "was raised in a house without electricity, without a phone, speaking spanish in our household. people never thought i'd have the opportunities that i've had, but this country offers everyone an opportunity"

(11:28) KS - "when i think about my own history, it's just like yesterday i was your age. i think about your future when you're 30, 40, 50...you are an inspiration to me. I see the possibilities of tomorrow and what things human beings can do on this earth."

(11:25) KS - thanks us for our energy! (we got it, for sure!) "one of the young people i'm very proud of is a 23-year old working with me, making a big difference."

(11:23) Secretary of the Interior, Ken Salazar, is here to speak.

(11:22) Core principle voting - top priorities: ideas and opinions of young americans should carry weight in public policy decisions; youth should have access to affordable higher ed; federal investments need to be dramatically increased to enable all youth access to quality secondary and post-secondary education...

(11:13) And we're voting on each of the core principles...

(11:07) A vote on streamlining language from young Americans to "all youth." (Voted down.) A vote on "we believe that citizens have a role in developing and working twoard solutions: government isn't the only solution." (Accepted.)

(11:01) Pictures from the first day of the summit so far - Check them out on our facebook page

(10:53) Adding "immigration status" to one of the factors that should never determine where you can attend school, work or how you are able to move up the career ladder.

(10:51) Adding new items to core principles document before voting...1) We believe the federal govt should improve access and provide incentives to young Americans to pursue opportunities in public sevice.

(10:35) Voting commences on core principles.

(10:30) JB just wrapped up and is headed to his daily economic policy meeting. We're transitioning into our core principles document, which we will refine with the summiteers.

(10:26) JB - "help suppliers who were formerly supplying auto manufactures to try to figure out what's the next move, so we want to help those suppliers make that transition. check out The National Innovation Marketplace."

(10:22) JB - "energy, healthcare and education will be long-lasting career opportunities."

(10:20) JB responds to a question about careers for the future. Healthcare is one area wherein long-term careers are possible and highly probable. Almost every industry has been shedding jobs, expect healthcare...

the livestream is finally up!!! http://www.ustream.tv/channel/80-million-strong-summit

(10:17) JB responds to a question about the daily economic briefing...says he can't share much since some thing could be market moving.

(10:16) JB - "we aspire, and our policies aim to reconnect the middle class, an economy that's delivering prosperity for all." Now some questions!

(10:13) JB - "if we're losing jobs, is the recovery act now working? false. it's a misunderstanding of keynesian economics or stimulus in general. there is no plan that could fully outset a $2 trillion output gap, that could fully outset the 2 million jobs lost in the 1st quarter of this year. What you do is shave some of that pain off...provide nutrition through food stamps, help folks get health insurance who lost their jobs, you start to provide employment opportunities. We are putting people back to work with this plan."

(10:11) JB - "there are aspects of financial markets that are stabilized, but we are far from out of the woods. 9.5 percent unemployment rate, a lot higher for younger people."

(10:10) JB - "in the short term, Keynesian stimulus was staring us right in the face...there is a role to play by the public sector to inject something into the economy...help with recovery and reinvestment, especially healthcare, green jobs and education."

(10:08) JB - has his daily economic meeting, but has some time with us today. Wants to give us "a brief overview of the economy and the role of some of our policies to stave off the deepest recession since the great depression." He's going to do Q&A after his remarks.

(10:03) Jared Bernstein just walked in the room.

(9:50) Folks are suggesting more groundrules to help keep the discussion focused and civil.

(9:30) Summiteers are in their small groups discussing what they think the most important framework and guideline for the summit. This is the base of the discussion.

(9:18) Results of the survey show a good mix of age ranges and gender, but the ethnicity results show a small majority of white participants at 53%.

(9:14) After a summit-wide meet and greet session, Chris Bui demonstrates the interactive voting system with participant survey questions.

(8:57) Chris Bui, our resident expert on the interactive voting during the summit, explains how to use the voting keypads. The participants are the only ones eligible to vote on the issues and policies discussed today.

(8:54) JR - social entrepreneurs are changemakers. They tend to be results oriented. It combines the best of liberal and conservative ideologies. Our goals, those of 80MS, need to be ambitious, and change the "fishing industry", instead of just teaching others to fish. We're on twitter, too! @80MS.

(8:51) JR - Talks about the beginning of GenerationEngage...to address the civic opportunity gap between college grads and those who never went to college.

(8:49) JR - "I genuinely love this...I love that there are so many civic leaders here."

(8:47) Enista introduces Justin Rockefeller, the chair of GenerationEngage, 8,500 members across the country.

(8:46) Maya Enista - "...how lucky i am to have this job to fight for and with my generation every morning...it's your duty to take what we do here back to your communities to start the 80MS national movement."

(8:41) Caitlin Howarth steps up. "each of you [summiteers] are more than just individuals, you bring the dreams of families and friends..."

(8:37) Matt Segal of S.A.V.E opens up this morning with a greeting. "We have a diverse group of young leaders from across America...Unemployment is nearly double the national average. We represent of 15 percent of the labor force but a third of the unemployed."

(8:31) Coalition staff members starting to roll-in. Justin Rockefeller will be the first to speak today.

(8:25 AM) Good morning FM readers! We got off to a bit of a slow start here at the Capitol Hill Visitor Center. Tech problems, you know. Summiteers are starting to arrive, get coffee and chat.

Follow the livestream from here (starting a little after 8:30 AM).

We'll uploading videos and pictures about the summiteers throughout the day, so look out for that content, too.

What is it with Thomas Friedman and his insults? First, he wrote that Millennials were too quiet, too wrapped up in the internet to care about the country's direction. He then came back last December and tried to argue again that because we're not chaining ourselves to bulldozers, we're not doing anything and thus don't care about the trajectory of the country.

Yesterday, Friedman again assailed millennials, equating Facebook and other social network sites with laziness and apathy. The offending passage is in the last paragraph:

And then there is We the People. Attention all young Americans: your climate future is being decided right now in the cloakrooms of the Capitol, where the coal lobby holds huge sway. You want to make a difference? Then get out of Facebook and into somebody’s face. Get a million people on the Washington Mall calling for a price on carbon. That will get the Senate’s attention. Play hardball or don’t play at all.

Emphasis added.

The Energy Action Coalition pieced together a response it blasted to its e-mail list. I've provided it below:

As a young person, you care about global warming. You know that a clean energy economy will create millions of jobs and pathways out of poverty, reduce pollution, and save the planet. And you are willing to do whatever it takes to make that happen. Right?

Well, Thomas L. Friedman, the popular New York Times columnist, isn't convinced. In fact, Friedman concludes his latest column* by calling us out! He writes:

"Attention all young Americans: your climate future is being decided right now in the cloakrooms of the Capitol, where the coal lobby holds huge sway…. Play hardball or don't play at all."

Does Friedman have a point? Do we need to be bigger and louder?

I think the answer is yes.

Don't get me wrong -- I know that thousands of young people across this country are working tirelessly to usher in a clean and just energy future for us all. But if we want to truly achieve our goals, we need our elected officials to know that we are watching closely as they debate the climate policy that will shape the rest of our lives.

Take the first step. Let President Obama and your Senators know that you demand bold, just, and science-based climate solutions, and ask your friends and family to do the same.

Let's send a strong message to our President and Senators that we're here, we're watching, and we're ready for action. And let's ask our friends and families to do the same. It's going to take big numbers to fight back against the thousands of letters and calls generated by the dirty energy industry (not to mention their well-paid lobbyists).

Send a message to the President and your Senators, and forward this email to everyone you know.

But we know that sending email isn't enough. In order to drown out the voice of the dirty energy industry, we're going to need to mobilize in unprecedented numbers. Tom Friedman isn't kidding when he suggests we should have a million people marching in the streets.

Ready to take a bigger step? Sign up to be a leader in your community, and to help get millions of feet in the streets for climate solutions.

We've gone big before, but now we need to go bigger. And the only way we will get there is if people like you do more. Ready to take a bigger step? Sign up today to get active in your community, to get in the faces of our elected officials, and to recruit the huge movement it will take to win.

In it to win it,

Whit Jones
Acting Field Director
Energy Action Coalition

While the e-mail was inspirational enough, the problem with Friedman's column is that he once again lacks the understanding that change can be accomplished through a variety of means. Friedman (and there are many more who think just like him) discounts activism through institutions as nothing. In doing so, he insults those youth already busting their ass for this legislation and movement. For instance did Friedman say anything when Powershift '09 brought 11,000 youth activists to DC urging the government to act? Who was quiet then?

Granted, Whit's right -- we all can be a little louder on the issue, but it doesn't have to be limited to getting in the streets. We can continue our own brand of activism by using our technological proficiency and collaborative skills to push for the bill's passage. Yes, the bill's important (even if it has been watered down); but the 1960s are over. Youth have a plethora of tools at their disposal to create the change they wish to see. Unfortunately, Friedman either doesn't understand that, or doesn't want to.

• The Public Lands Service Corps Act, which would create jobs rehabilitating national parks, clears the House Committee on Natural Resources.
• Ben Adler doesn't think much of James Carville's new book - or the irony of his newfound love of the youth vote.
• Sixteen-year old runs for City Council.
• College Repub leadership = 7 white dudes. Good luck building that "big tent."
• Graduate school for unemployed college students.
• Locating the impact of stimulus dollars, geographically and demographically.
• Democrats in Wisconsin look to youth for leadership.
• Another article speculating the length of progressive ascendancy, based on demographics.
• DREAM Act student will twitter her day in court.