Nice to know Sen Franken is getting busy making things happen in the Senate!
Time for the 100 day update...............from Sen Al Franken.
One of the best parts of my week comes Wednesday morning, for two reasons. One, I get to talk with a bunch of Minnesotans at our weekly constituent breakfast. And two, said breakfast is Mahnomen Porridge — a Minnesota treat made from wild rice. If you haven't had it, trust me, you don't know what you're missing. So I'll tell you — you're missing something delicious.
Now, I know that there's no way we could have built a grassroots movement for change in Minnesota without you — our dedicated, generous, amazing online supporters. So I figure, even though you all can't enjoy a warm bowl of nutritious porridge with my staff and me, you should get the update on what's been happening in Washington anyway.
In July, after about two weeks in the Senate, I introduced my first piece of legislation: the Service Dogs for Veterans Act. Senator Johnny Isakson of Georgia and I teamed up to establish a pilot program to pair 200 veterans with physical or mental wounds with service dogs from non-profit agencies.
I've seen the amazing things service dogs can do for veterans first-hand, but this program isn't just about improving the lives of our brave men and women, it's about studying how service dogs can save money on health care, reduce hospitalization time, curb prescription drug use, and increase productivity for veterans in Minnesota and around the country. I'm incredibly proud to report that this bipartisan bill passed two days after we introduced it.
In August, after spending a few days in Maine with Franni's family, I drove around Minnesota talking with folks about efforts underway to reform our health insurance system. Not surprisingly, there's been a lot of heated rhetoric flying around about the issue in different parts of the country. Even less surprisingly, I found Minnesotans to be engaged, passionate, and well informed.
We need to make sure states that already do an above-average job controlling health care costs, like Minnesota, are not penalized with reduced Medicare reimbursement rates. That's been hard on Minnesota's health care providers already, and exacerbating that problem for doctors, clinics, and hospitals is the last thing we should do.
Everyone should be able to get coverage. Insurance companies should never be able to deny care to someone because they are sick, or drop someone if they become sick. I believe those who can't afford private health insurance should have the choice of a public option because that's the best way to control cost and promote real competition in the marketplace.
I brought my second piece of legislation forward in September, the Household Product Labeling Act. I was really concerned and a little surprised that parents were still worrying about something Franni and I always wondered about when our kids were little — what's in the stuff we're using to clean cribs, floors, toys and everything else kids manage to get dirty?
Given that Joe and Thomasin are both now out of college, it seemed long past time to get this common-sense measure into the law. Parents need to know if anything in the household products they rely on could be harmful to them or their kids. We're working hard to see this bill passed and I'll keep you updated on our progress.
Speaking of kids, teachers and parents know they can't learn on empty stomachs. In Minnesota right now there are 54,000 kids who can't afford a reduced price lunch. To me, this is flat-out unacceptable. We've got to close the achievement gap in our schools, and making sure kids have a healthy lunch is a positive step in that direction.
Last month I joined with Senator Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Senator Jeff Bingaman of New Mexico, and my Representative Keith Ellison to bring forward the Senate and House versions of the Expand School Meals Act. If we can get this bill passed and signed into law by President Obama, it'll have a lasting, positive impact on the lives of more than 50,000 Minnesota kids every single school day when they receive a healthy lunch before afternoon classes.
Finally, last week I emailed you to tell you about the Jamie Leigh Jones Amendment to the 2009 Defense Appropriations Bill I introduced earlier this month. If you missed that, I wanted to let you know it passed by a vote of 68-30. I was pleased so many of my colleagues joined me in voting to ensure that military contractors can't unfairly force victims of sexual assault into arbitration. And I was thrilled that Jamie Leigh could be in the Senate gallery to watch the vote. I continue to be incredibly impressed with her courageous fight seeking justice for victims.
It's an incredible honor to serve the people of Minnesota in the Senate, and I think we're making good progress on a lot of fronts right now. But, we all know we've got serious challenges facing us down the road. As we move forward, I'll be sure to keep you up to date on our progress with more emails like this one.
Thanks again for your support, I know this message got pretty long. I can't say I'm surprised, our constituent breakfasts sometimes run really long as well — but don't worry, Mahnomen Porridge is just as good for lunch.
Al
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From this page: ". . . Some background: The amendment, introduced by Sen. Al Franken (D-MN), would prohibit the Pentagon from using contractors whose employment contracts force employees to arbitrate disputes rather than take them to court. The amendment applies to certain employee allegations, including rape, sexual assault and discrimination. . . .
". . . The department suggests that "it may be more effective" to seek a law that would prohibit the clauses in any business contracts within U.S. jurisdiction. "
Lee says: Mmm... maybe I'm misunderstanding but I think I'm in agreement, for about the second time, with the Whitehouse, as well as Repubs, and the DoD. Must be a record.
Anyway, seems the short of it is why go through the riggamarole of passing an amendment (to cut Franken's teeth?) when passing an actual law prohibiting that kind of clause in the first place would be more effective, and more equitable across the board?
HH