Maria's Monday Memo

Maria's Monday Memo

Senator Maria Cantwell's Weekly Memo

Working for a Fair and Responsible Energy Policy

As the Senate winds down this year's legislative session, there have been important developments on a number of issues that are important to Washington state and the nation. One of the most significant is that last week we were able to block a special interest-loaded energy bill from passing the Senate. I'm proud of the role I played in helping to lead the charge to block this bad bill. I was very concerned with the legislation, which was worked out in secret, and without input from any Democrats. The bill, over 1000 pages long, also contained liability protection for producers of the controversial and possibly carcinogenic MTBE fuel additive, a provision not contained in either the original House or Senate versions of the bill. We need a thoughtful energy national energy policy that ensures reliability, fairness to ratepayers, and prevents market manipulation. That remains one of my top priorities, and I'll keep working for that goal when the Senate reconvenes in January.

Fighting for a Meaningful Medicare Prescription Drug Benefit

This morning the Senate passed a bill that will change Medicare as we know it. I voted against it because it leaves too many of Washington's seniors behind. President Bush pardoned a turkey for Thanksgiving, but the real turkey is this bill, and the American people won't pardon Congress once they know what's in it. Seniors in Washington state would be worse off under this bill than under current law: 91,900 Medicaid beneficiaries making below $8,980 a year will be required to pay co-pays for life saving prescription drugs; 47,000 fewer seniors in Washington will qualify for low income protections because of the rigid asset test and lower qualifying incomes; 51,595 seniors will be means-tested for the first time for Part B benefits; and 49,000 retirees may lose their employer-sponsored benefits. I cannot support a Medicare prescription drug bill that fails to bring down the cost of prescription drugs for seniors and fails to ensure the future stability of Medicare.

Creating the Wild Sky Wilderness Area

I'm proud to report that the Senate cleared the way for the Wild Sky Wilderness bill and approved it by unanimous consent. Its easy passage is a testament to the hard work that has gone into this bipartisan and popular bill. Designation of this wilderness area in the Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest would protect wildlife and promote clean water, protect threatened salmon, steelhead and trout, protect recreational opportunities for the region, and contribute to the local economy. The proposed Wild Sky Wilderness area is the result of more than three years of bipartisan collaboration, community involvement and hard work, led by Sen. Patty Murray and Rep. Rick Larsen. I co-sponsored the Wild Sky Wilderness Act and helped to clear the bill through the Senate Energy & Natural Resources Committee, on which I serve. Last year, our bill passed the Senate, but was held up in the House. I'm eager to see the bill pass the House, and I'll work to see it passed and signed into law.

Helping Victims of Identity Theft

The Senate has approved my bill to create identity theft protections for victims as part of the Federal Credit Reporting Act. Identity theft, the nation's fastest-growing crime, is a horrible offense. It may not cause physical harm, but it can be absolutely devastating. One victim from Spokane told me, "Victims of this crime are basically on their own." My bill will help victims gain access to the information they need to clear their credit records.

My bill ensures that ID theft victims are able to protect their credit rating from further damage by requiring credit reporting agencies to block information on fraudulent transactions resulting from identity theft. It also creates a national standardized process for a person to establish he or she is a victim of ID theft and requires that, once a business has verified that an individual is a victim, it has thirty days to provide all application and transaction records to the victim. Finally, it allows law enforcement to act as the victim's agent in obtaining business records.

Extending Unemployment Insurance

Although the Senate has made great progress in the closing weeks of the session, it has failed to act in one critical area: extending federal unemployment insurance. The program will expire at the end of December - causing two million workers to lose their unemployment benefits in the first six months of 2004, including 200,000 unemployed workers in Washington state.

In the last two years, the number of long-term unemployed Americans has tripled. Although there has been a lot of talk lately about a "jobless recovery," minor up-ticks in a few economic statistics won't put food on families' tables or heat their homes this winter if their breadwinners are still laid off.

That's why I'm continuing to work to extend the vital unemployment insurance program to cover the 2 million long term unemployed who have exhausted their benefits. We must include coverage for exhaustees, and I will continue to fight to help these workers.