Maria's Monday Memo

Maria's Monday Memo
Senator Maria Cantwell's Weekly Memo Monday, March 29, 2004

Helping Ill Hanford Workers

On Saturday, I met with former Hanford employees and their family members to discuss their experiences seeking compensation for health problems caused by working at the Hanford site. Congress tried to help former workers and their employees with a compensation program, the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program (EEOICPA), which was implemented in 2000. Unfortunately, as I heard from this group firsthand, things are moving too slowly. Many of the people I spoke with filed claims two or three years ago, and have yet to receive any compensation from the program.

Meanwhile, they are overburdened with expensive medical bills, excessive paperwork, and little hope. At the same time, a new report details increasing incidents of Hanford workers being exposed to tank vapors. Out of respect for a generation of workers put in harm's way, the federal government must do more to protect the health of today's Hanford workers.

I want to find out where the process of compensation went wrong, and what I can do to fix it. This week the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee will discuss implementation of the EEOICPA. The committee will hear from the Department of Energy, the Department of Labor and other government agencies involved with the program. I am determined to make sure that workers and their families have a voice in this discussion, too, and I will talk about the stories they have shared with me.
Leading the Fight to Extend Unemployment Insurance

Our economy is still suffering. Too many people who want to work can't find work because the economy is simply not creating enough jobs to satisfy demand. That means that many families are facing tough choices, such as paying the electric bill or putting food on the table. For those of us in Washington, the problem is particularly acute: our state's unemployment rate remains above the national average. I've heard from a number of Washingtonians who are also having trouble paying their mortgages, or affording prescription drugs.

Yet in December 2003 Congress allowed the federal Temporary Emergency Unemployment Compensation (TEUC) to expire. As a result, nearly 50,000 workers laid-off workers in Washington state will run out of state unemployment benefits in the first half of 2004 and have no federal program to pick them up. By this Wednesday, a total of 1.1 million Americans will have lost their federal unemployment benefits because Congress has refused to extend unemployment benefits. In no other comparable period in more than three decades have there been so many dislocated workers who have exhausted their benefits.

I think it's unconscionable not to help these dislocated workers and their families. That's why I'm continuing to lead the fight in the Senate to extend federal unemployment insurance. I have repeatedly proposed an amendment to restore these vital benefits. But each time, the leadership in Congress has rejected it. These workers and their families need and deserve immediate action, and I won't stop fighting for them until I get results.

Studying Rising Cable Rates

Fifty years ago last week, RCA began manufacturing color televisions. Those early sets cost $1,000 each; today, you can buy a color TV for less than $100. We all know that early adopters of technology pay a premium, and that, eventually, costs will come down. Cable is hardly a new technology, but the price consumers pay for cable continues to rise, not drop. Cable rates for consumers have soared 40 percent in the last five years. That's unacceptable. That's why l ast week I joined my colleagues on the Senate Commerce Committee for a hearing on cable rates. Cable firms have done much to increase access to broadband Internet service and to provide alternative phone service, and not all companies have the same motivations, but some companies are taking advantage of consumers. I believe we can do better - that consumers should have greater choice, and that companies can more effectively reign in costs. I look forward to pursuing this issue on behalf of Washington state consumers.

Supporting Community Health Centers

I was honored to receive the "2004 Community Health Defender Award" from the National Association of Community Health Centers last Tuesday. Community health centers play a vital role in serving the uninsured and other underserved groups. That's why I am a sponsor of S. 529, a bill to provide tax relief to health providers who participate in the National Health Service Corps Loan Repayment program. I'll keep working to see this important bill passed and signed into law.