The three committees, which have been working together on health insurance reform, have now each approved health care legislation. H.R. 3200 is expected to be considered by the full House in September.

For more information on the America’s Affordable Health Choices Act, click here.

EXPOSING DECEPTIVE CAMPAIGN OF FEAR AND MISINFORMATION

Some of the myths, falsehoods and misinformation being aggressively peddled by Republicans and opponents of health insurance reform include:

Boehner Peddles “Baseless” end of life myth. Claim that House Dem bill pushes suicide is “nonsense.” House Republican Leader John Boehner continues to get his facts all wrong on the House Democratic health reform bill.  This time, the non-partisan FactCheck.org labeled his claim that the House bill encourages euthanasia, “baseless.” According to FactCheck.org: “Our inboxes have exploded recently with worried queries from readers who have heard that the House’s proposed health care bill, H.R. 3200, contains a provision that would require that ailing seniors be pressed to consider suicide in order to save the taxpayers money on Medicare. Most messages mention that this clause appears on page 425 of the legislation…. The claim that the bill would "push suicide" is a falsehood…. At least two Republican leaders have echoed this end-of-life distortion. On July 23, Republican Rep. John Boehner of Ohio, the House minority leader, released a statement, along with Republican Policy Committee Chairman Thaddeus McCotter of Michigan, saying that the bill would encourage euthanasia.” [False Euthanasia Claims, FactCheck.org, July 29, 2009]

Republicans use “deceptive assaults” to stop health insurance reform.  “Republicans in Washington seem to be shifting into overdrive to keep a health system overhaul from passing Congress before the August recess. Yesterday, July 22, brought two more deceptive assaults (that we know of) on the pending bills, one from Minority Whip Eric Cantor and the other from the top GOP member of the House Immigration Subcommittee, Steve King of Iowa.” [Misleading GOP Health Care Claims, FactCheck.Org, July 23, 2009]

Cantor’s video “inflates” cost of bill by “more than 50%.” “Cantor’s is in the form of a video that accuses Obama and the Democrats of being in a “reckless rush” to finalize a reset of the system. “How much will it cost?” the narrator asks, as photos of House Democrats flash onscreen. “$1.6 trillion?” Actually, in a preliminary analysis released July 14 (and updated July 17), the Congressional Budget Office scored the House tri-committee group bill as costing a net $1.042 trillion. Cantor’s video inflates that number by more than 50 percent.” [Misleading GOP Health Care Claims, FactCheck.Org, July 23, 2009]

Cantor’s ad fails to mention there “is no Republican plan.” “In the sunny wrap-up to the ad, the narrator describes “the Republican plan”: “If you like what you have, you can keep it,” he says. “Access to an affordable basic coverage.” But there is no plan around which Republicans have coalesced. Back in May, some GOP lawmakers offered a bill that would have cut the tax deduction that employers get for offering their employees health insurance plans, and given workers tax credits instead. But there’s been little talk of the bill since then. And Missouri Republican Rep. Roy Blunt was tapped to head a GOP health care task force in February, which was charged “with crafting Republican solutions to increase Americans’ access to quality, affordable health care,” but which so far has produced no plan and seems unlikely to do so.” [Misleading GOP Health Care Claims, FactCheck.Org, July 23, 2009]

Employer Mandate Is Not A “Jobs Tax.”   Wonk Room: "If the Energy and Commerce compromise comes to pass, 87 percent of businesses would be exempt from the mandate, since they have a payroll of less than $500,000. Even before the compromise, 77 percent of businesses would have been unaffected by the mandate. The only small employers that will be affected by the full scope of the mandate are firms with few employees who are making a lot of money — law firms, for instance. And chances are, businesses of that sort already provide insurance. " http://wonkroom.thinkprogress.org/2009/07/30/wsj-job-tax/

Reform Won’t Ration Care.  The most common argument for why health reform will ration care focuses on Comparative Effectiveness Research (CER).  According to the Wonk Room, conservatives “argue that the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) could use the information to make coverage decisions for Medicare. And three, if the government uses the comparative research results to establish best practice guidelines, then doctors who don’t follow the guidelines but rather consider the individual needs of their patients, could be liable for malpractice claims…. the last two arguments fall apart on close scrutiny.  The government isn’t mandating that doctors adopt the results of CER and it is not rationing care. Each patient has his or her unique needs and the ultimate decision for how to proceed should be left to the doctor and the patient. Currently, approximately one-third of all treatments have never been proven to produce better outcomes; CER would provide doctors with unbiased information about the most effective treatments, help doctors and patients make better informed decisions, and improve the quality of care.”
http://wonkroom.thinkprogress.org/2009/06/19/republicans-offer-redundant-cer-amendments/
 
Republicans Opposed Medicare In 1960s By Warning Of Rationing, “Socialized Medicine.” Ronald Reagan: “[I]f you don’t [stop Medicare] and I don’t do it, one of these days you and I are going to spend our sunset yearstelling our children and our children’s children what it once was like in America when men were free.” [1961] Barry Goldwater: “Having given our pensioners their medical care in kind,why not food baskets, why not public housing accommodations, why not vacation resorts, why not a ration of cigarettes for those who smoke and of beer for those who drink.” [1964] Bob Dole: In 1996, while running for the Presidency, Dole openly bragged that he was one of 12 House members who voted against creating Medicare in 1965. “I was there, fighting the fight, voting against Medicare . . . because we knew it wouldn’t work in 1965.” [1965]
http://thinkprogress.org/2009/07/29/medicare-flashback/  

Republican claim about coverage for illegal immigrants, “not true.” “King claimed that this is what the Congressional Budget Office’s recent analysis of House health care legislation said. But it didn’t. His press release also said that the 5.6 million would be covered “in large part because the liberal proposal does not include any requirements to verify the citizenship or immigration status of those receiving taxpayer-funded health benefits.” That’s not true, either.” [Misleading GOP Health Care Claims, FactCheck.Org, July 23, 2009]

Canadian style health care? A “straw man argument,” based on opinion piece “riddled with errors.” “One ad claims that ‘Washington wants to bring Canadian-style health care to the U.S.’ But the health care bills moving through Congress don’t call for a single-payer system like Canada’s… Obama, too, has said repeatedly that he doesn’t back a conversion to a single-payer system…. But as we've said about other ads, all this sets up a straw man argument, criticizing Canada's health care system despite the fact that a purely government-run system isn't what's being seriously considered in Congress or being proposed by the president.” [Canadian Straw Man, Fact Check.org, June 17, 2009]

Insurance industry “cherry-picks facts” in fight again public option.  “Karen Ignagni, president of America's Health Insurance Plans (AHIP), invoked the statistic to argue against the creation of a government-run insurance option. But the polls are not that simple, and her assertion reveals how the industry's effort to defend its turf has led it to cherry-pick the facts.  The poll Ignagni was citing actually undercuts her position: By 72 to 20 percent, Americans favor the creation of a public plan, the June survey by the New York Times and CBS News found. People also said that they thought government would do a better job than private insurers of holding down health-care costs and providing coverage.” [Health Insurance Industry Spins Data in Fight Against Public Plan, Washington Post, July 22, 2009]

Gingrich claims on cost and taxes of health care plan simply “not the case”.  “As for Gingrich’s twittered claim that the legislation would increase taxes on “virtually everyone,” that’s not the case. The proposal would increase taxes on those with adjusted gross incomes above $280,000 a year or $350,000 a year for couples. That’s not a whole lot of people. The nonpartisan Tax Policy Center projected a little less than 2.2 million households (1.4 percent of all households) would face higher taxes under the proposal. The surtax for those upper-income folks would start at 1 percent and go up to 5.4 percent with top incomes over $1 million. (This New York Times post explains how the surtax would work.)” [Tax-and-Spend Twittering, FactCheck.org, July 15, 2009]

Republicans use “misleading” facts when analyzing health care.  “A new ad from Conservatives for Patients' Rights says that a public health insurance plan now being proposed in Congress “could crush all your other choices, driving them out of existence, resulting in 119 million off their current insurance coverage.”   That's misleading. The 119 million figure comes from an analysis of a plan that would mirror Medicare and be open to every individual and business that wanted it. But that's not the type of public plan President Obama has proposed. Nor is such a plan gaining acceptance on Capitol Hill.” [More Health Care Scare, FactCheck.org, June 11, 2009]

Investor's Business Daily is “perpetuating misinformation” on health care legislation, “page 16 doesn’t allow private insurance.” “Jennifer Tolbert, the (Kaiser Family Foundation) foundation's principal policy analyst, told us that Page 16 doesn't outlaw private insurance.  “There will be individual policies available, but people will buy those policies through the national health insurance exchange,” she said.  The House bill allows for existing policies to be grandfathered in, so that people who currently have individual health insurance policies will not lose coverage. The line the editorial refers to is a clause that says the health insurance companies cannot enroll new people into the old plans.” [The Truth-O-Meter Says: Private health insurance not banned on page 16 of the House bill, Politifact, July 22, 2009]

Rove “wrong”, “false,” “distorting” facts.  “He (Rove) said, “The Lewin Group estimates 70 percent of people with private insurance — 120 million Americans — will quickly lose what they now get from private companies and be forced onto the government-run rolls as businesses decide it is more cost-effective for them to drop coverage.” That's wrong. The report said that people would choose to leave private insurance if given a cheaper option, but the report provided smaller numbers for other options.  The debate in Congress over what a public option will look like is fierce and ongoing. So Rove is picking the worst-case scenario and then distorting the cause and effects. We rate Rove's statement False.” [The Truth-O-Meter Says: Rove's op-ed distorts health study, Politifact, June 12, 2009]

120 million deprived of health care is “not correct,” Pence’s statement “false.”  “But there's a hitch: We'll grant that Congress could come up with a Medicare-style plan and open it to everyone, but it doesn't seem likely. Pence appears to be picking the worst number he can choose. And he doesn't mention the fact that under the scenario laid out by the Lewin Group, people would still have health care coverage and their premiums reduced by 30 to 40 percent. He says the government would “deprive” people of health insurance, when actually the scenario is that they would choose a different option. Finally, we have to include a caveat about the Lewin Group. The group says it operates with editorial independence, but it is a subsidiary of UnitedHealth Group, which also offers private health insurance.” [120 million “deprived” of health care is not correct, Politifact, May 19, 2009]

End of life claim, “pants on fire” “outright distortion,” Republicans “spreading a ridiculous falsehood.”  “Republicans have found many reasons to oppose the Democrats' health care proposal, but this is one of the oddest.  McCaughey incorrectly states that the bill would require Medicare patients to have these counseling sessions and she is suggesting that the government is somehow trying to interfere with a very personal decision. And her claim that the sessions would "tell [seniors] how to end their life sooner" is an outright distortion. Rather, the sessions are an option for elderly patients who want to learn more about living wills, health care proxies and other forms of end-of-life planning. McCaughey isn't just wrong, she's spreading a ridiculous falsehood.” [McCaughey claims end-of-life counseling will be required for Medicare patients, PolitiFact, July 16, 2009]

Lewin Group, frequently cited by GOP, “wholly owned” by “one of the nation’s largest insurers.”  “Generally left unsaid amid all the citations is that the Lewin Group is wholly owned by UnitedHealth Group, one of the nation's largest insurers.  More specifically, the Lewin Group is part of Ingenix, a UnitedHealth subsidiary that was accused by the New York attorney general and the American Medical Association, a physician's group, of helping insurers shift medical expenses to consumers by distributing skewed data. Ingenix supplied its parent company and other insurers with data that allegedly understated the “usual and customary” doctor fees that insurers use to determine how much they will reimburse consumers for out-of-network care.” [Research Firm Cited by GOP Is Owned by Health Insurer, Washington Post, July 22, 2009]

Republicans “break previous promise” to provide health care bill.  “GOP Rep. Roy Blunt has now said Republicans won’t offer a health care bill of their own, breaking a previous promise. Worse, it turns out Blunt is chair of something called the “House GOP Health Care Solutions Group.” Blunt’s quote went up online late yesterday evening: “Our bill is never going to get to the floor, so why confuse the focus? We clearly have principles; we could have language, but why start diverting attention from this really bad piece of work they’ve got to whatever we’re offering right now?” That’s a pretty stark admission that Republicans won’t introduce their own bill solely because they think it’s better politics to keep the focus on the Democrats. It gets better. Head over to the House GOP Health Care Solutions Group’s Web site, and you’ll find prominent video of Blunt vowing the GOP is “drafting our own legislation.”” [Leader Of GOP Health Care “Solutions Group” Says GOP Won’t Offer Health Care Bill, Washington Post’s Plum Line, July 23, 2009]

Americans support need to “pay for the cost of health care reform.”  “A proposal has been made to raise taxes on those who earn more than $250,000 a year to pay for the cost of health care reform. Do you favor or oppose raising taxes on those who earn more than $250,000 a year to pay for the cost of health care reform?  48% Favor; 44% Oppose; 8% Not sure.  Another recent poll found that 60% support taxing the wealthy for reform.  So if, as Nelson says, “tax” is a four letter word, the public doesn’t appear to think of it as an epithet when it’s applied to the wealthy in service of health care reform. What’s hard to understand is this reflexive belief that majorities must think the way conservatives do.” [Despite Centrist Claim, People Support Taxing Rich On Health Care, Washington Post’s Plum Line, July 17, 2009]

Much to the Republicans’ chagrin, CBO has officially estimated that this legislation saves $87 billion over 10 years.

“It’s unfortunate that the Republicans are choosing to spend their time conjuring up cheap political tricks rather than working to help students and families in a very difficult economy,” said U.S. Rep. George Miller (D-CA), the chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee and the author of the legislation. “Their first desperate attempt to mislead the public didn’t work yesterday, and it won’t work today. Students, families, and taxpayers aren’t fooled – they know that this bill will make historic investments to make college affordable and that it’s completely paid for.”

All of the student aid programs included in the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act are mandatory and will end at the dates specified in the bill. Any additional funding for these benefits would also have to meet pay-as-you-go budget requirements, which require that any new spending be paid for.

Even though the Budget Committee has said that the programs in HR 3221 do indeed end at the dates specified in the bill, the Republican analysis released today asked CBO to hypothetically score the cost of these programs if they didn’t expire, as the legislation requires.

To view the official CBO estimate of this bill, click here.

For more information on the first manipulated analysis released by Republicans yesterday, click here.
 

“Very important progress on health insurance reform has been made today that should be encouraging to everyone who believes reform is a priority for our country.  I commend Chairman Waxman and the members of the Energy and Commerce Committee for coming to an agreement to move the process forward that will allow the full House of Representatives to consider comprehensive health insurance reform in September. In the coming weeks, we will work to reconcile different versions of the bill that reflect all the hard work that our three committees have completed. I am confident that when Congress returns, we will pass a bill that will deliver the real reforms the American people want and deserve: lower costs, more choices of doctors and health plans, and access to quality, affordable health care for all.”  

The Education and Labor Committee passed the legislation on July 17. For more information, click here.

“Given the impressive credentials Dr. Michaels will bring as the OSHA administrator, I am confident that the initiatives launched by Secretary Solis to issue long overdue safety standards and bring back more vigorous enforcement of workplace safety and health standards will be realized,” said Woolsey.

Dr. David Michaels, an epidemiologist, is currently a research professor at the Department of Environmental and Occupational Health at the George Washington University School of Public Health and Health Services. He has conducted numerous studies of the health effects of occupational exposure to toxic chemicals, including asbestos, metals and solvents, and has written extensively on science and regulatory policy.  

Michaels served as Assistant Secretary of Energy for Environment, Safety and Health between 1998 and 2001, responsible for protecting the health and safety of workers, communities and the environment surrounding the nation’s nuclear weapons facilities.  In that position, he worked on a bipartisan basis to help enact the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act of 2000, an initiative to compensate nuclear weapons workers who developed occupational illnesses as a result of exposure to radiation, beryllium and other hazards. 

“It’s clear that Republicans didn’t like the truth – that our legislation generates almost $90 billion that could be used to help students, families, and taxpayers – so they shamelessly decided to have a little fun with the numbers,” said U.S. Rep. George Miller (D-CA), the chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee and the author of the legislation. “This is nothing more than a desperate attempt to confuse the public and manipulate a clear determination by CBO that switching to the Direct Loan program is the most sound, fiscally responsible policy decision we could make for families and taxpayers. This is yet another predictable political gimmick from a party that is proving that they will do or say anything – no matter how misleading – to block reforms that will make a tremendous difference in improving the lives of America’s families.”

BACKGROUND

There are several factors to keep in mind when reporting on this estimate:

CBO’s official estimate still projects that the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility will save $87 billion over 10 years. This alternative estimate does not change the savings the bill will generate, or how those savings will be spent, in any way.

This alternative estimate ignores current student loan market conditions, under which the federal government is currently supporting 60 percent of all federal student lending. This estimate assumes normal credit market conditions, under which the federally guaranteed student loan program functions entirely independently, as it used to. It does not reflect today’s reality: that the federally-guaranteed student loan program is on life support. The federal government, through both the Ensuring Continued Access to Student Loans Act, and the Direct Loan program, is now financing 60 percent of all federal student loan activity. This current ECASLA-supported, federally-guaranteed student loan program is very similar to the DL program – it generates the same cash outflow upfront, but the funds are sent to lenders who then give it to borrowers. If this alternative estimate was based on this current reality, it would likely show a higher market-risk adjusted subsidy rate for the Federal Family Education Loan Program – again reflecting that the program is on life support.

The letter highlights the difference between the streamlined payment structure of DL and the complicated payment structure of FFEL: “In the direct student loan program, the federal government makes a large, one-time outlay for the amount of the loan (net of various fees) and then receives a stream of principal and interest payments over time. In the guaranteed student loan program, the federal government faces a far more complicated set of payments. It does not disburse a principal amount (loans are disbursed by private lenders) but instead receives some up-front fees, makes a stream of subsidy payments (known as special allowance payments) to lenders, partially compensates lenders for loans that go into default and pays certain borrower benefits, in addition to various other receipts and payments.” Again, this does not reflect the additional risk that the federal government currently takes on under the ECASLA program.

Even when using this alternative methodology that lenders and critics of H.R. 3221 favor, this estimate still reinforces that Direct Loans save more money than FFEL loans. “CBO estimates that over the 2010-2019 period, the subsidy cost for each dollar of a guaranteed loan will exceed the subsidy cost for each dollar of a direct loan by between 10 and 20 cents. Generally, in CBO’s estimation, the direct loan program will have a negative subsidy rate (that is the net receipts to the government on a present-value basis are projected to be greater than its disbursements), whereas the guaranteed loan program will have a positive subsidy rate (that is a net cost on a present value basis).”

Even CBO acknowledges concerns with using this alternative estimate; it leaves many questions unanswered about how future credit market turmoil could impact the student loan programs. “The approach does raise some concerns. As the recent financial turmoil has shown risky assets, including student loans, can fluctuate wildly in value. Those fluctuations can lead to large changes in market-based estimates of subsidy rates for student loans from one year to the next.”

Recent history has exposed deep vulnerabilities in FFELP; the Direct Loan program is completely safeguarded from any such market risks. This estimate concedes that future credit fluctuations could have significant impacts on the cost of FFEL subsidy rates. 

“This analysis is proof that our bill will meet President Obama’s direction to build on what works in our current system and fix what’s broken,” said U.S. Reps. Henry A. Waxman (D-CA), Charles Rangel (D-NY) and George Miller (D-CA), the Chairman of the House Committees on Energy and Commerce, Ways and Means and Education and Labor. “It reinforces that we are on track to delivering reforms that will reduce costs for American consumers and businesses, ensure access to quality, affordable health insurance for all and give Americans the peace of mind of knowing their coverage can never again be denied or taken away.”

The analysis confirms that provisions in H.R. 3200, such as the individual and employer responsibility requirements, retaining the tax benefit for employer-sponsored insurance, and the targeted income-related structure of affordability credits would result in dramatically increased coverage without crowding out private insurance.

The analysis specifically refutes estimates released by the Lewin Group, a research firm funded by one of the nation’s largest insurance companies, that significantly exaggerate the number of Americans who would enter into the public health insurance option.

Some key excerpts from the CBO letter:

INCREASE IN EMPLOYER SPONSORED INSURANCE COVERAGE. “We estimate that about 12 million people who would not be enrolled in an employment-based plan under current law would be covered by one in 2016, largely because the mandate for individuals to be insured would increase workers’ demand for insurance coverage through their employer.”

MEDICAID COVERAGE DOES NOT CROWD OUT PRIVATE HEALTH INSURANCE. “CBO does not anticipate a substantial shift from private insurance to Medicaid. Specifically, we estimate that about 1 million people who would otherwise have employment-based insurance or individually purchased coverage would end up enrolling in Medicaid in 2016.”

CBO REFUTES THE LEWIN ESTIMATE OF INFLATED PUBLIC OPTION ENROLLMENT AND CONFIRMS THAT THE PRIVATE PLANS WOULD BE DOMINANT IN MARKETPLACE. “For several reasons, we anticipate that our estimate of the number of enrollees in the public plan would be substantially smaller than the Lewin Group’s, even if we assumed that all employers would have that option.”  [Note:  CBO projects only about 10-11 million individuals in the public option by 2019] 

WHILE THE CBO LETTER INDICATES THAT THEY ARE NOT CERTAIN OF THE HOUSE PROPOSAL’S OVERALL AFFECT ON PREMIUMS, THEY NAME SEVERAL FACTORS THAT THEY EXPECT WILL LEAD TO DECREASED COSTS FOR THE AVERAGE CONSUMER (E.G. ENCOURAGING HEALTHY CONSUMERS TO PURCHASE INSURANCE, REDUCING THE “COST SHIFT” OF THE UNINSURED, AND REFORMS TO MEDICARE). "The resulting pool of enrollees would be somewhat healthier, on average, than is the pool of enrollees in employment-based insurance today; as a consequence, the average cost of covering those enrollees would be several percent lower than under current law (holding other factors equal).”

“The proposal would ultimately reduce the uninsured population by roughly two-thirds, which would greatly attenuate the pressure to shift costs that arises today when uncompensated or undercompensated care is provided to people who lack health insurance. One recent estimate indicates that hospitals provided about $35 billion in such care in 2008—an amount that would grow under current law but would be expected to decline considerably under the proposal.”

“In addition to proposed changes in Medicare’s payment rates, the proposal would also alter some of Medicare’s payment methods—or at least test such changes—which might ultimately reduce private insurance costs to a limited degree… To the extent that future steps to implement such changes in a more aggressive way also changed how doctors treated privately insured patients, some benefits could “spill over” to the private sector.”

CREATING MORE CHOICES FOR WORKER.  “Increasing the availability of health insurance…might also encourage other workers to take jobs that better match their skills, because they would not have to stay in less desirable jobs solely to maintain their health insurance.”

For more information on the bill, including bill text, summary, information on revenue provisions, and fact sheets on the reform provisions in the bill, click here. 

“It makes progress toward our goal of putting more excellent teachers in our nation’s classrooms – one of the most important things we can do for our students – by rewarding effective teachers. It will give more students the opportunity to learn in outstanding charter schools, and it will help more students graduate from high school by turning around the “dropout factories” that allow too many talented students fall through the cracks. And it builds on our efforts to help make college more affordable by increasing the Pell Grant scholarship to $5,350 – more than a $600 increase above last year’s award.

“This legislation will also help us strengthen our workforce and transition to a clean energy economy. It provides a much-needed infusion of funds to reinvigorate the Department of Labor’s ability to protect workers’ wages, benefits, safety and health and enforce the laws on the books – protections that had seriously eroded after years of neglect by the previous administration and Congresses.

“It will help the millions of workers who have lost their jobs in this recession get back on their feet by providing training and support for Americans affected by mass layoffs and plant closures. It will help our veterans transition into and thrive in our workforce when they return home. And, to prepare more workers for green jobs of the future, it will give workers the skills and experience they need for careers in energy efficiency and renewable energy. Overall, this represents an enormous step in the right direction for our workers, our economy, and our role in a 21st century global marketplace.

“Finally, this bill delivers on President Obama’s goal of launching a new era of American service. It will provide new service opportunities for tens of thousands of volunteers of all ages by tapping into the talent of Americans and their desire to give back.

“I’d like to congratulate Chairman Obey and all the members of the Appropriations Committee for their hard work on this bill. This is one of many steps we must take to regain our economic stride, strengthen our middle class and put the American Dream back within reach of all families. To truly bring the transformational change Americans want and deserve, we must also make a landmark education investment that will help every American get an affordable college education, we must continue to restore workers’ rights, and we must fix our broken health care system so that everyone has access to quality, affordable care. In a country as great as America, that put the first man on the moon, these goals are achievable. And this bill points us in the right direction.”

Specifically, the Race to the Top Fund is available to states that raise the bar on improving teaching effectiveness and distribute excellent teachers equitably, support struggling schools, establish rigorous standards linked to better assessments, and improve the collection and use of data in order to strengthen the quality of instruction.

“This pay increase is about helping workers provide for their families. The increase in the minimum wage comes at a very important time for Americans struggling to make ends meet,” said Miller. “Friday’s increase will help millions of Americans who work hard, play by the rules and urgently need a pay raise. Families will have additional income to cover their weekly grocery bills, fill up their cars, and purchase goods and service from local businesses.

“Sadly, there are still some who argue that workers should not get this pay raise. Unlike tax cuts for the wealthy, a higher minimum wage increases consumer spending on local businesses, which is good for everyone. In the wealthiest country in the world, it is an outrage that anyone who works full-time still winds up in poverty. Congress will continue to look at solutions that will help all Americans build a better life for themselves and their families.”

BACKGROUND

• From 1997 to 2006, the Republican-controlled Congress consistently blocked Democratic efforts to raise the minimum wage. As a result, the purchasing power of the minimum wage reached a 51-year low in 2006. Miller’s legislation, the Fair Minimum Wage Act of 2007, raised the minimum wage from $5.15 per hour to $7.25 per hour in three equal steps. For more information, click here.
• A recent study by economists at the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago found that every dollar increase in the minimum wage leads to an $800 increase in spending per quarter by families with minimum wage workers.
• The Economic Policy Institute estimated that this increased purchasing power will boost consumer spending by more than $5.5 billion over the next 12 months.
• Workers in 31 states will see an increase in the minimum wage Friday. Those states are: Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana, Maryland, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming.  The remaining states already have state minimum wage rates the same or higher than Friday’s new federal rate.

The Wage Theft Prevention Act (H.R. 3303) is based on a GAO recommendation made in a report released today. The bill would ensure that delays in investigating claims of wage theft will not result in a permanent loss of back pay for workers. The GAO found many investigations of wage theft were inadequately handled by the Bush administration’s Wage and Hour Division and were dropped because the statute of limitations is too short and investigations took too long.  To ensure that workers do not lose their hard-earned wages, the bill would freeze the statute of limitations from the date an employer is informed of an investigation until the agency notifies the employer that the investigation has concluded.

“This legislation is a simple solution to the very real problem of workers’ pay being stolen by unscrupulous employers,” said U.S. Rep. George Miller (D-CA), the chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee. “Especially in this economy, hard-working Americans shouldn’t have to worry about whether they are being paid properly. This bill will hold those responsible for stealing workers’ wages by helping to ensure that legitimate complaints can be properly investigated.”

“Wage theft is a serious problem in this country and affects those who can least afford to lose their pay,” said Rep. Lynn Woolsey (D-CA), co-sponsor of the bill and chair of the Workforce Protections Subcommittee. “These same workers generally cannot afford a private attorney to recover their wages and must rely on Department of Labor to pursue these claims. This bill will give the Department time to do this.”

An undercover investigation by the GAO found that the Wage and Hour Division’s complaint intake, complaint resolution, and investigation processes were ineffective and discouraged workers from lodging wage theft complaints. In several of the division’s regional offices, staff were directed to only record successful complaint resolutions in its database, making the Wage and Hour Division statistics appear better than they were. In addition, the GAO found that because of the lack of resources and staff, investigations on wage theft and child labor violations were frequently delayed by months or years.  

Under the Obama administration’s leadership, Department of Labor has announced that the agency plans on hiring 250 investigators to the Wage and Hour Division.

“Today’s vote is a vote to put students before banks and to finally ensure that our nation’s financial aid programs operate as intended – in the best interests of students, families and taxpayers,” said U.S. Rep. George Miller (D-CA), the Chairman of the Committee and the author of the bill. “This landmark legislation will help write the next great education legacy for our country. President Obama has rightly called for us to make historic investments to make college more affordable, to empower community colleges to help rebuild our economy, and to prepare our youngest learners to arrive at kindergarten ready to succeed. I hope this Congress will join our Committee in standing with him on the right side of history.”

“This bill goes a long way towards expanding the accessibility and affordability of a college education for students across America” said U.S. Rep. Rubén Hinojosa (D-TX), Chairman of the Subcommittee on Higher Education, Lifelong Learning, and Competitiveness. “The bill will streamline the financial aid application process and increase funding for Pell Grants and Minority Serving Institutions, while also helping lower our national deficit.  This bill accomplishes something we can all be proud of.”

Similar to what President Obama proposed in his FY 2010 budget, the bill will originate all new federal student loans through the Direct Loan program starting in 2010, instead of through lenders subsidized by taxpayers in the federally-guaranteed student loan program. Unlike the lender-based program, the Direct Loan program is entirely insulated from market swings and can therefore guarantee students access to affordable college loans, at the same low interest rates, terms and conditions, no matter what happens in the economy.

The legislation will ensure that all federal student loan borrowers receive the best possible customer service when repaying their loans by forging a new public-private partnership that allows private lenders to compete for contracts to service loans. Additionally, it will ensure that non-profit lenders have the opportunity to continue servicing loans – preserving a role for lenders and maintaining jobs in communities throughout the country.

According to estimates from the Congressional Budget Office, the legislation will generate $87 billion in savings over the next 10 years. The legislation would invest those savings directly in students and families by:

• Investing $40 billion to increase the maximum annual Pell Grant scholarship to $5,550 in 2010 and to $6,900 by 2019. Starting in 2010, the scholarship will be linked to match rising costs-of-living by indexing it to the Consumer Price Index plus 1 percentage point;
• Investing $3 billion to bolster college access and completion support programs for students;
• Strengthening the Perkins Loan program, a campus-based program that provides low-cost federal loans to students;
• Keeping interest rates low on need-based – or subsidized – federal student loans by making the interest rates on these loans variable beginning in 2012. These interest rates are currently set to jump from 3.4 percent to 6.8 percent in 2012;
• Making it easier for families to apply for financial aid by simplifying the FAFSA form;
• Providing loan forgiveness for members of the military who are called up to duty in the middle of the academic year; and
• Investing $2.55 billion in Historically Black Colleges and Universities and Minority-Serving Institutions to provide students with the support they need to stay in school and graduate.

In addition, the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act will direct $10 billion of these savings back to the U.S. Treasury to help pay down the deficit. It will invest over $4 billion for school modernization, renovation and repair projects that will help improve school buildings across the country and help the nation transition to a clean energy economy. And it will also invest $1 billion per year over eight years to help ensure that the next generation of children can enter kindergarten with the skills they need to succeed in school. Building on proposals included in President Obama’s 2010 budget, the bill establishes the Early Learning Challenge Fund, a competitive grant program that challenges states to build a comprehensive, high-quality early learning system for children from birth through age five. 

To view a summary of the legislation, click here.

The House Education and Labor Committee has been examining various proposals for student loan reform and seeking feedback from all key stakeholders over the past few months. In May, the Committee held a hearing to examine these proposals, at which the Obama administration, lenders and colleges and universities testified. For more information on that hearing, click here.

“This fulfills the strong commitment of the President and House leadership to enact health reform on a deficit-neutral basis,” said Chairman Henry A. Waxman, Chairman Charles B. Rangel, and Chairman George Miller.  “The reforms included in this legislation will help control health care costs and expand access to quality, affordable coverage to all Americans in a fiscally-responsible manner.”

The estimates also cover important reinvestments in Medicare and Medicaid, including phasing in the closing of the “donut” hole in the Medicare drug benefit.  The bill’s long-term reform of Medicare’s physician fee schedule to eliminate the potential 21 percent cut in fees, and put payments on a sustainable basis for the future, will cost about $245 billion.  Those costs, however, are not included in the net calculations above, as they will be absorbed under the upcoming statutory “pay go” legislation that is pending in the House.  

“Health care reform is moving forward. This legislation will reduce costs that are crushing workers, families and businesses alike and it will ensure that patients – not insurance companies – hold the power to make decisions about their care,” said U.S. Rep. George Miller (D-CA), the Chairman of the Committee. “These reforms will save jobs, create millions of new careers, improve the health of our workforce and help rebuild our nation’s middle class. Today’s vote is a monumental step forward in our journey to finally fix our broken health care system.”

“I am honored to have participated in the historic passage of America's Affordable Health Choices Act by the Education and Labor Committee,” said U.S. Rep. Rob Andrews (D-NJ), the Chairman of the House Subcommittee on Health, Employment, Labor, Pensions.  “Millions of Americans work hard, play by the rules, and take care of their families.  Yet they suffer from ever increasing health care costs and inadequate health insurance coverage.  Our work was done on their behalf. Our country is now one step closer to a better health care system that will create jobs, promote wellness, and reduce health care costs for all Americans.”

The legislation is consistent with President Obama’s overall goals of building on what works within the current health care system by strengthening employer-provided care, while fixing what is broken. According to the Congressional Budget Office, the bill will cover 97 percent of Americans by 2015, and two million more Americans will have employer-provided health plans by 2019.

H.R. 3200 will make remarkable changes in the way Americans access and receive health care. Among other things, it will establish a new health exchange that allows them to choose from either private insurers or a public health insurance option. Consumers will be protected from abusive and predatory tactics by insurance companies.  Individuals and small businesses will receive subsidies that make health care more affordable. The CBO estimates that 30 million Americans would choose to enter into the exchange, and that one-third – or 9 million – of those people would choose the public health insurance option.

In addition, the legislation strengthens Medicare and Medicaid and makes reforms to the health care delivery system that will help tame long-term costs.

Earlier this week, CBO issued a preliminary estimate of bill’s reforms at a net cost of $1 trillion over ten years. These reforms will be fully paid for through reforms to Medicare and Medicaid that will generate significant savings and a surcharge that will impact only the wealthiest 1.2 percent of all Americans, and only four percent of small businesses.  

The key principles of legislation include, among other things:

Increasing choice and competition. First, the bill will protect and improve consumers’ choices.

• If an individual likes their current plan, they will be able to keep it.
• For individuals who either aren’t currently covered, or wanted to enroll in a new health care plan, the proposal will establish a health care exchange where consumers can select from a menu of affordable, quality health care options: either a new public health insurance plan or a plan offered by private insurers. People will have similar choices that members of Congress have.
• This new marketplace will reduce costs, create competition that leads to better care for every American, and keep private insurers honest. Patients and doctors will have control over decisions about their health care, instead of insurance companies.

Giving Americans peace of mind. Second, the legislation will ensure that Americans have portable, secure health care plans – so that they won’t lose care if their employer drops their plan or they lose their job.

• Every American who receives coverage through the exchange will have a choice of plans that include quality health care benefits.  
• It will end increases in premiums or denials of care based on pre-existing conditions, race, or gender.
• The proposal will also eliminate co-pays for preventative care, cap out-of-pocket expenses, and end lifetime caps on benefits to protect every American from bankruptcy.

Improving quality of care for every American. Third, the legislation will ensure that Americans of all ages, from young children to retirees have access to greater quality of care by focusing on prevention, wellness, and strengthening programs that work.

• Guarantees that every child in America will have health care coverage that includes dental and vision benefits.
• Provides better preventive and wellness care. Every health care plan offered through the exchange will cover preventive care.
• Grows the health care workforce to ensure that more doctors and nurses are available to provide quality care as more Americans get coverage.
• Strengthens Medicare and Medicaid so that seniors, people with disabilities, and low-income Americans receive better quality of care and see lower prescription drug costs and out-of-pocket expenses.

Ensuring shared responsibility. Fourth, the bill will ensure that individuals, employers, and the federal government all share responsibility for a quality and affordable health care system.

• Employers who currently offer coverage will be able to continue offering coverage to workers. Employers who don’t currently offer coverage could choose to cover their workers or pay a penalty.
• All individuals would be required to get coverage, either through their employer or the exchange, or pay a penalty.
• The federal government will provide affordability credits, available on a sliding scale for low- and middle-income individuals and families to make premiums affordable and reduce cost-sharing.

Protecting consumers and reducing waste, fraud, and abuse. Fifth, the legislation will put the interests of consumers first, protect them from any problems in getting and keeping health care coverage, and reduce waste, fraud, and abuse.

• Provides complete transparency in plans in the health exchange so that consumers have the information they need to select the plan that best meets their needs.
• Establishes Consumer Advocacy Offices as part of the exchange in order to protect consumers, answer questions, and assist with any problems related to their plans.
• Identifies and eliminates waste, fraud, and abuse by simplifying paperwork and other administrative burdens. Patients, doctors, nurses, insurance companies, providers, and employers will all encounter a streamlined, less confusing, more consumer friendly system.

Over the past six months, the House Committees on Education and Labor, Ways and Means, and Energy and Commerce have been working together in an unprecedented way as one committee to develop health care reform legislation.

To view a complete summary of the legislation, click here.

View detailed fact sheets and what health care reform means for American families.

H.R. 3200 is supported by a diverse coalition of stakeholders, including the American Medical Association, the AARP, the Consumers Union, and many more.

“Focusing on our youngest children is not only the right thing to do – it’s also the smart thing to do for our future,” said Miller. “President Obama’s vision of ensuring critical early learning opportunities for children from birth to age five recognizes that we need effective early childhood programs, built on sound policies that place adequate focus and emphasis on supporting children from birth through age five, to ensure these children are prepared for kindergarten. It’s creates a seamless continuum of education and it’s a smart investment for our future competitiveness.”

“As a former teacher, I believe the best way to prepare our youth for success in their academic and professional lives is to provide every child with quality early education,” said U.S. Rep. Dale Kildee (D-MI), chair of the Early Childhood, Elementary and Second Education subcommittee. “This legislation will not only improve the quality of early education, it will also ensure that older children have access to more modern, healthy and environmentally friendly learning facilities. These are goals I have been working towards my entire career and I am extremely proud of this landmark legislation.”

“It is gratifying to see that the Early Learning Challenge Fund has been included in this bill,” said U.S. Rep. Mazie Hirono (D-HI).  “President Obama recognizes that quality early education builds the necessary foundation to academic success.  Study after study indicates children who have access to quality early education are better prepared to succeed in school and in life – every child deserves this opportunity.”

Nearly 12 million children under age 5 regularly spend time in child care arrangements and children with working mothers spend on average 36 hours per week in such settings. But currently there are no federal quality standards for child care and families are left with a patchwork system of child care with mediocre quality. As a result, by age 4, children from low-income families are already 18 months behind most other 4 year-olds.

Investments in early education can yield enormous economic benefits down the line. Research shows that every dollar invested in high quality early education generates anywhere from $1.25 to $17 in returns.

The Early Learning Challenge Fund will increase the number of low-income children in high quality early learning settings by:

Investing $10 billion over 10 years in competitive grants to challenge states to build a comprehensive, high quality early learning system for children birth to age 5 that includes:  

• Early learning standards reform;
• Evidence-based program quality standards;
• Enhanced program review and monitoring of program quality;
• Comprehensive professional development;
• Coordinated system for facilitating screenings for disability, health, and mental health needs;
• Improved support to parents;
• Process for assessing children’s school readiness; and
• Using data to improve child outcomes.

Transforming early learning programs by insisting upon real change in state standards and practices:

• Build an effective, qualified, and well-compensated early childhood workforce by supporting more effective providers with degrees in early education and providing sustained, intensive, classroom-focused professional development to improve the knowledge and skills of early childhood providers.
• Best practices in the classroom by implementing research-based early learning standards aligned with academic content standards for grades K-3.
• Promote parent and family involvement by developing outreach strategies to parents to improve their understanding of their children’s development.
• Fund quality initiatives that improve instructional practices, programmatic practices, and classroom environment to promote school readiness. 
• Quality standards reform that moves toward pre-service training requirements for early learning providers, and adopting best practices for teacher-child ratios and group size.

The Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act also makes landmark investments to make college more affordable and create a 21st century community college system – two strategies that, like early education, are critical to building a strong, lasting economic recovery. For more information on the legislation, click here.

For a fact sheet on the early learning challenge fund, click here.

“As President Obama has made clear, we have a rare opportunity to make a landmark investment in America’s economic future by making common-sense changes to the way our student loan programs operate,” said Miller. “Students and families need stronger, reliable college aid, our economy needs a highly-skilled, educated workforce, and our taxpayers need policies that make the best use of their dollars. This legislation will help us reach all of these goals by transforming our financial aid system from one that puts banks before students into one that makes paying for college a better deal for families and taxpayers.”

Similar to what President Obama proposed in his FY 2010 budget, the bill will originate all new federal student loans through the Direct Loan program starting in 2010, instead of through lenders subsidized by taxpayers in the federally-guaranteed student loan program. Unlike the lender-based program, the Direct Loan program is entirely insulated from market swings and can therefore guarantee students access to affordable college loans, at the same low interest rates, terms and conditions, no matter what happens in the economy.

The legislation will ensure that all federal student loan borrowers receive the best possible customer service when repaying their loans by forging a new public-private partnership that allows private lenders to compete for contracts to service loans. Additionally, it will ensure that non-profit lenders have the opportunity to continue servicing loans – preserving a role for lenders and maintaining jobs in communities throughout the country.

According to estimates from the Congressional Budget Office, the legislation will generate $87 billion in savings over the next 10 years. The legislation would invest those savings directly in students and families by:

• Investing $40 billion to increase the maximum annual Pell Grant scholarship to $5,550 in 2010 and to $6,900 by 2019. Starting in 2010, the scholarship will be linked to match rising costs-of-living by indexing it to the Consumer Price Index plus 1 percent;
• Investing $3 billion to bolster college access and completion support programs for student;
• Strengthening the Perkins Loan program, a campus-based program that provides low-cost federal loans to students;
• Keeping interest rates low on need-based – or subsidized – federal student loans by making the interest rates on these loans variable beginning in 2012. These interest rates are currently set to jump from 3.4 percent to 6.8 percent in 2012;
• Making it easier for families to apply for financial aid by simplifying the FAFSA form;
• Investing $2.55 billion in Historically Black Colleges and Universities and Minority-Serving Institutions to provide students with the support they need to stay in school and graduate; and more.

In addition, the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act will direct $10 billion of these savings back to the U.S. Treasury to help pay down the deficit. It will also invest in early education opportunities and in school modernization projects that will help the nation transition to a clean energy economy. 

To view a summary of the legislation, click here.

For more details on:

How this legislation will help students and families, click here.

For more details on converting to Direct Loans, click here.

For more details on how this bill will strengthen community colleges, click here.

For more details on investments in early education, click here.

To view a myth versus fact sheet on this legislation, click here.

To view the numerous and varied supporters of this legislation, click here.

The House Education and Labor Committee has been examining various proposals for student loan reform and seeking feedback from all key stakeholders over the past few months. In May, the Committee held a hearing to examine these proposals, at which the Obama administration, lenders and colleges and universities testified. For more information on that hearing, click here.

"The President's proposal recognizes that community colleges can and should be a catalyst for our nation’s recovery. New data shows that jobs that require only an associate’s degree or a certificate are expected to grow faster in the next ten years than jobs that require a bachelor’s degree. We would be making a mistake if we missed this opportunity to adapt our community colleges to the rigors and demands of the 21st century economy we are working to rebuild. This proposal represents exactly the type of investment we’ll need to make if we’re serious about building a lasting economic recovery and leading the world in college graduates by 2020. Tomorrow I will introduce legislation that embraces this and other initiatives that will expand access to quality, affordable educational opportunities.

“Our community colleges have the potential to be much stronger than they are today. Too many institutions don’t have the resources they need to align their courses with the needs of local businesses and employers. Too many of their campuses are in need of serious repair. Too many students, from high school on, aren’t getting the basic skills they need to compete in high-wage jobs, in high-growth industries. And millions of Americans who have lost their jobs in this recession need access to affordable education and training programs that will help get back on their feet and back to work.

“For all of these reasons, President Obama’s proposal is a game-changer for our economy and our competitiveness. It will transform our community colleges into high-quality vessels for education and job training by driving partnerships between community colleges, local employers, and communities. And it will offer free, high-quality, online training courses to help prepare Americans of all ages, from high school and college students to displaced workers, for the careers of the future.” 

The House Committees on Education and Labor, Ways and Means, and Energy and Commerce have been working together in an unprecedented way as one committee to develop the proposal for health care reform. This week each of the three committees will be marking up the legislation, allowing for continued input from members of Congress and the American people.

“American families cannot afford for Washington to say ‘no’ once again to comprehensive health care reform,” said U.S. Rep. George Miller (D-CA), the Chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee. “We are proud to introduce legislation that meets the goals articulated by President Obama – to lower costs, preserve choice, and expand access to quality, affordable health care – while strengthening our economic and fiscal health. We will continue to work with our colleagues in the weeks ahead to deliver the fundamental reforms that the American people want, need and deserve.”

“Reforming America’s health care system to control costs and improve access to quality affordable care is not only the moral thing to do, it is also critical to our economic recovery and the long-term fiscal health of our nation,” said U.S. Rep. Charles B. Rangel (D-NY), the Chairman of the Ways and Means Committee.  “Health care costs are rising out of control, threatening the economic well-being of American families and businesses.  This innovative bill provides a uniquely American solution to control costs and put patients first without burdening future generations with debt.”

“Today we are taking another step forward towards fulfilling our commitment to deliver what the American people decisively voted for last November – access to affordable, quality health insurance for all Americans,” said U.S. Rep. Henry A. Waxman (D-CA), the Chairman of the Energy and Commerce Committee.  “This bill is among our highest legislative priorities this year.  We have taken great care to build on what we have that works and reform what doesn’t.  I look forward to working with my colleagues to refine the bill as it moves through the Committee process.  I am confident that we will succeed in enacting this landmark reform into law.”

“I’m pleased by the progress we’ve made on the America’s Affordable Health Choices Act.  Across the political spectrum – from liberal to conservative with moderates in between – everyone knows health care is a major part of our current economic crisis,” said U.S. Rep. John Dingell (D-MI), the Chairman Emeritus of the Energy and Commerce Committee. “If left unfixed, our health care crisis will cause the next great economic catastrophe.  We can’t afford to let medical costs continue to rise.  We can’t afford to leave people in a system that looks to recruit the healthy and leave the sick uninsured, underinsured or uncertain about their insurance.  The current broken health care system will not fix itself and the people who made billions from it have no reason to change their ways unless we make them.  The bill will address many of the problems we’ve heard from Americans whether they live in rural or urban communities, or are employed by small businesses and large factories.  What we know now is that we must get something done.”

“I am proud to join with my colleagues to introduce America's Affordable Health Choices Act.  This bill meets President Obama's call for health reform that provides coverage for all, promotes delivery system reforms, and controls costs,” said U.S. Rep. Pete Stark (D-CA), the Chairman of the Ways and Means Subcommittee on Health. “Our committee will begin markup this week and have a bill for members to approve before the August recess.”

“People have talked about the need for health care reform for decades, but today that talk is being converted into action,” said U.S. Rep. Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ) the Chairman of Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health. “This plan will produce historic change but making history does not come easily. It's taken a lot of hard work and we have more work to do. This is a giant step forward that puts affordable and quality health care within reach of every American and puts our country back on track to fiscal sustainability.”

“Today we are pleased to announce a plan designed to free financial waste within our health care system and get costs under control. This effort ensures that Americans receive better care for their dollar and paves the way for economic growth,” said U.S. Rep. Rob Andrews (D-NJ), the Chairman of the Health, Employment, Labor and Pensions Subcommittee. “While government, businesses and insured Americans continue to bear the heavy financial burden for those who cannot afford coverage, limiting costs will free up the resources necessary to revitalize our economy, put Americans back to work, and expand health care to millions of struggling uninsured Americans.”

The key principles of legislation include, among other things:

Increasing choice and competition. First, the bill will protect and improve consumers’ choices.

• If an individual likes their current plan, they will be able to keep it.
• For individuals who either aren’t currently covered, or wanted to enroll in a new health care plan, the proposal will establish a health care exchange where consumers can select from a menu of affordable, quality health care options: either a new public health insurance plan or a plan offered by private insurers. People will have similar choices that members of Congress have.
• This new marketplace will reduce costs, create competition that leads to better care for every American, and keep private insurers honest. Patients and doctors will have control over decisions about their health care, instead of insurance companies.

Giving Americans peace of mind. Second, the legislation will ensure that Americans have portable, secure health care plans – so that they won’t lose care if their employer drops their plan or they lose their job.

• Every American who receives coverage through the exchange will have a plan that includes standardized, comprehensive and quality health care benefits.  
• It will end increases in premiums or denials of care based on pre-existing conditions, age, race, or gender.
• The proposal will also eliminate co-pays for preventative care, cap out-of-pocket expenses, and guarantee catastrophic coverage that protects every American from bankruptcy.

Improving quality of care for every American. Third, the legislation will ensure that Americans of all ages, from young children to retirees have access to greater quality of care by focusing on prevention, wellness, and strengthening programs that work.

• Guarantees that every child in America will have health care coverage that includes dental and vision benefits.
• Provides better preventative and wellness care. Every health care plan offered through the exchange will cover preventative care.
• Grows the health care workforce to ensure that more doctors and nurses are available to provide quality care as more Americans get coverage.
• Strengthens Medicare and Medicaid so that seniors and low-income Americans receive better quality of care and see lower prescription drug costs and out-of-pocket expenses.

Ensuring shared responsibility. Fourth, the bill will ensure that individuals, employers, and the federal government all share responsibility for a quality and affordable health care system.

• Employers who currently offer coverage will be able to continue offering coverage to workers. Employers who don’t currently offer coverage could choose to cover their workers or pay a penalty.
• All individuals would be required to get coverage, either through their employer or the exchange, or pay a penalty.
• The federal government will provide affordability credits, available on a sliding scale for low- and middle-income individuals and families to make premiums affordable and reduce cost-sharing.

Protecting consumers and reducing waste, fraud, and abuse. Fifth, the legislation will put the interests of consumers first, protect them from any problems in getting and keeping health care coverage, and reduce waste, fraud, and abuse.

• Provides complete transparency in plans in the health exchange so that consumers have the clear, complete information needed to select the plan that best meets their needs.
• Establishes Consumer Advocacy Offices as part of the exchange in order to protect consumers, answer questions, and assist with any problems related to their plans.
• Will identify and eliminate waste, fraud, and abuse by simplifying paperwork and other administrative burdens. Patients, doctors, nurses, insurance companies, providers, and employers will all encounter a streamlined, less confusing, more consumer friendly system.

To view detailed fact sheets and more information on what the health care reform discussion draft means for American families, click here.

“It is good news that the achievement gap overall among black and white students is narrowing in most states. But this report also reinforces that major work must be done to address the discrepancies we are still seeing for eighth grade students. The fact that there has been no significant closing of the achievement gap in reading for eighth grade students is alarming. Research shows us that students who struggle in middle school are much more likely to drop out of high school. These students earn a million dollars less over their lifetime than high school graduates. In this economy, we simply cannot let another student face this harsh reality.

“This report offers further proof that we need to focus significantly more attention and resources on the high school dropout crisis that continues to threaten our economic strength and competitiveness. These results underscore the need to address the dropout crisis, and that means doing more on behalf of struggling students before they ever enter the doors of high school.”

Last month, the House Education and Labor Committee held a hearing on the high school dropout crisis in this country. For more information about the hearing and to view witness testimony, click here.

“Schools must be safe places for all students, regardless of sexual orientation, so that they can learn without fear of being bullied or attacked,” said U.S. Rep. Carolyn McCarthy (D-NY), chairwoman of the Healthy Families and Communities Subcommittee. “I am grateful for the witnesses who came today to testify about school safety, and I was especially pleased that Ms. Sirdeaner Walker could join us. She told the heartbreaking story of her 11 year old son Carl who committed suicide after being the victim of anti-gay harassment. I pledge to work with my fellow members of Congress to decrease incidents of bullying, harassment, and violence in our schools.  We need to do more to prevent school violence and we must start by finding better means of collecting and analyzing data so we can learn more about the problem and find ways to fix it once and for all.”

“As a father, a grandfather and a former teacher I believe that nothing is more important than the safety and wellbeing of our school children,” said U.S. Rep. Dale Kildee (D-MI), chairman of the Early Childhood, Elementary and Secondary Education Subcommittee. “Our schools must be places where children feel secure and where their future potential can be nurtured. Violence or harassment of any kind has no place in our educational institutions and I look forward to working with my colleagues to address this serious problem.”  

“We can no longer look at bullying as just kids being kids,” said U.S. Rep. Linda Sánchez (D-CA), sponsor of the Safe School Improvement Act (H.R. 2262) and the Bullying and Gang Reduction for Improved Education Act (H.R. 1589). “When we empower schools to teach both children and adults to prevent and address bullying, we not only make schools safer, we make learning happen, and we even save lives. I hope the testimony given at today's hearing showed the desperate need to make sure that schools address bullying and harassment as part of their overall safe school strategies."

Witnesses testified about the tragic consequences of bullying and unsafe school environments. In April 2009, Carl Walker-Hoover committed suicide after being ruthlessly bullied, called “gay”, and threatened by other kids that. His mother, Sirdeaner Walker, called the school when she discovered this and was told the situation was normal and would work itself out.

“I know now that bullying is not a gay issue, or a straight issue. It’s a safety issue,” said Walker. “It’s about what kind of learning environments we want for our children and how far we’re willing to go to protect and teach them.”

Witnesses explained that a safe learning environment is a key factor in helping students achieve academically. Research shows that students who do not feel safe are less likely to have academic success and graduate.

“Does a feeling of safety help a student concentrate on schoolwork?  Some may say no, but as a student, I feel that safety is one of the most important things,” said Cassady Tetsworth, a rising high school senior and vice chair of the National Youth Advisory Board for Students Against Violence Everywhere (SAVE). “When a student feels safe, when tolerance overcomes bullying and harassment, and when there is respect in student-to-student, teacher-to-student, and adult-to-adult interactions, students don’t have to worry about anything but their classes.”

Other student witnesses echoed the importance of peer-to-peer programs that encourage student safety. Josie and Jackie Andrews, students who advocate for safer schools, highlighted their efforts to create curriculum and a screenplay that teach kids not to be bystanders when bullying occurs.

Witnesses also explained that schools should be held accountable for their safety efforts, just as they currently are for students’ learning. Better data and more accurate reporting on safety should be a part of any comprehensive approach to keep kids safe while at school.

“It is essential for school safety to become a priority in every school, and the best evidence-based practices need to be implemented to ensure the safety of all students,” said Dr. Scott Poland, Coordinator of the Office of Suicide and Violence Prevention and Nova Southeastern University. “This will only happen when every school board, superintendent, and state and national entity requires the same accountability for school safety that we currently require for academic performance.”

“Federal school safety policy, programs, and funding, just like that at the state and local education level, must therefore be based upon an approach and framework which is comprehensive and balanced,” said Kenneth Trump, president and CEO of National School Safety and Security Services, Inc.. “Too often, school safety advocates call for ‘more prevention’ OR ‘better security.’  The real answer should be ‘more prevention’ AND ‘better security.’  Effective approaches to school safety include prevention, security, and preparedness measures, not a curriculum-only or security-only approach.”

“By releasing these funds ahead of schedule, the Obama administration will help keep more teachers in classrooms, more police officers on our streets, more doctors and nurses in clinics, and will spur new jobs by updating schools in need of repair. The historic education investments in this law are already starting to pay off by restoring harmful spending cuts and driving school reforms that will create a highly-skilled, competitive workforce for generations to come.  Today’s announcement is another important step toward reviving our communities by protecting jobs that are integral to their local economies and building the world-class education system our economy needs and our children deserve.”

To view how much funding each state will receive, click here.