Duckworth Issues New Year's Resolution to Congress

DUCKWORTH ISSUES NEW YEAR'S RESOLUTION TO CONGRESS
6th DISTRICT CONGRESSIONAL CANDIDATE SAYS KEY LEGISLATIVE PRIORITIES TO GO UNMET DURING HOUSE'S PROLONGED HOLIDAY RECESS

Congressional candidate Tammy Duckworth of Hoffman Estates rang in the new year by urging the U.S. House to "change its ways in 2006" and begin tackling the problems that are of highest importance to the people of Illinois' 6th Congressional District.

"As 2006 gets underway, millions of Americans are intent on bettering themselves with resolutions for the new year. Unfortunately, the U.S. Congress is one group of Americans who seem to be in no hurry to challenge themselves or to do a better job in the new year," Duckworth said.

Duckworth singled out Congressional actions at the conclusion of 2005 that slashed aid to students and health care beneficiaries, as well as lawmakers' failure to make urgently-needed changes in tax policy, as evidence of lawmakers' recent glaring failures.

Duckwoth added: "The period after the holidays is a time when many people resolve themselves to a renewed regimen of diet and exercise. Members of the House should follow that approach by curbing their appetite for running-up huge deficits to finance enormous tax breaks for the wealthiest Americans, and by exercising some much-needed common sense that will benefit middle-income families."

She also decried the fact that despite the many pressing problems confronting the public, it was regrettable that the U.S. House will remain in recess throughout January.

She cited several key issues as requiring immediate attention, among them many areas that were made worse by recent Congressional action. They included:

* College tuition aid. Approximately one-third of all budget cuts-- more than $12 billion-- adopted in December came at the expense of college students. The budget bill also requires students to pay higher interest rates on their loans. Duckworth said: "Some members of Congress clearly need to go back to school to learn the challenges that college students of America face. I view students' access to higher education as a priority-- rather than as a piggy-bank Congress can raid." Among the proposals she will outline later this month is a call to look at windfall profits banks make off of student loans as a way of restoring some of the aid recently slashed by Congress.

* Correcting the Alternative Minimum Tax. The House and Senate need to act jointly to solve this steadily escalating problem. The number of households vulnerable to the A.M.T.-- which was originally designed to ensure that the wealthiest Americans do not avoid paying taxes-- is set to explode in the coming year. The problem is expected to have enormous consequences for 6th District residents.

* Health care. The GOP Congress slashed spending on Medicaid by more than $9.5 billion in recent weeks. At the same time, seniors across the country continue to struggle to understand to a complex Medicare prescription drug benefit program. Duckworth will urge Congress to repeal the prohibition blocking Medicare from negotiating with pharmaceutical firms for lower prices.

"The people of the 6th District will be spending the month of January working to pay their kids' college tuition, begin sorting through what they owe in income taxes and worrying about their senior parents' access to expensive prescription drugs. Regrettably, the U.S. House will be doing nothing in January to address these pressing needs," she said. The House is not scheduled to return to legislative business-- other than a pro forma session-- until January 31.

Duckworth plans to spend January focusing on the priorities that could have been met-- but will instead go unresolved-- during the prolonged period of Congressional inactivity.

"This may be a month that lawmakers would prefer to waste. I plan to spend it discussing with the people of this district the type of leadership I hope to bring to Congress in January of 2007, and the issues that I will tackle on their behalf," she said.

Duckworth is a Major in the Illinois National Guard and veteran of the war in Iraq. A resident of Hoffman Estates, Duckworth announced her candidacy for Congress in December. The more than 4,300 signatures collected by Duckworth's supporters were the most of any of the four candidates from either party who filed nominating petitions for the race.

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