I was honored to play in a golf tournament yesterday sponsored by the United States Association of Former Members of Congress to benefit the Wounded Warrior Disabled Sports Project which provides year round sports programs to wounded veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan and their familes. Last year we raised over $125,000 and this year appears to be a great success as well. For a young soldier who has experienced the devastation of injury, sports can provide a path to healing. The Wounded Warrior Project is founded on the belief that…
these soldiers, airmen and marines are going through a very difficult time. They are warriors, athletes with the majority in their twenties…What they need is action NOW that will show them the promise of a bright and active future. Sport provides this.
We were all privileged to play a round of golf with a recently returned warrior. Our group had a great time even though golf is an admittedly frustrating sport for anyone taking it up for the first time. The young veteran in my foursome brought me good luck – I shot my age (which for those of you who don’t know me, is a low score!).
I believe in the power of sports to bring people together in a positive way. Seeing the many former members with whom I had served in public office brought back memories of my days in Congress when we used sports to bond across partisan lines. When we played an aggressive game of basketball in the house gym, you quickly forgot who had a “D” or ”R” by their name. I played paddleball on a regular basis with a very highly placed Republican and developed a strong cross-party friendship of mutual respect that is still active 28 years later. I get the feeling that our current Congress is not taking advantage of the power of sports to bridge differences…and to heal rifts. I hope that can change. If a wounded veteran has the guts to learn to play golf without all his limbs intact, then smart public officials could certainly find a way to work across party lines for the benefit of the American people. Seems to me that getting to know each other through the power of sports is a good first step.
The First Lady’s Childhood Obesity Task Force Unveiled their Action Plan today entitled Solving the Problem of Childhood Obesity Within a Generation. Rachel Ray celebrity chef was also in Washington to lobbying for better school lunches. Congress continues to examine this issue as part of the child nutrition reauthorization legislation and other related bills pending before the Congress.
The recently passed healthcare bill which aims to cover millions of uninsured Americans included several provisions that corporations are feeling the effects of, in spite of the fact that many of these conditions will not be enforced until 2014. Specifically, one stipulation under the new law is that businesses will no longer be able to write off a federal subsidy that covers part of the cost of retiree prescription drug coverage.
CNN Money has reported that many major companies are already attempting to account for this new potential cost and as a result, are taking preemptive actions. For instance, Caterpillar is one of many companies that currently receive tax-free subsidies as an incentive to continue their drug-benefit program. Recently, they took a $100 million charge to earnings in the first quarter. This type of action is a reflection of the potential taxes Caterpillar will have to pay as a result of the change in treatment of the subsidy. Further, there is the potential that this added cost could result in some employers dropping healthcare benefits altogether and instead accepting the penalty that comes along with it.
As the days and months tick by it is very likely that we will see more unintended consequences of the healthcare bill with companies such as Caterpillar acting accordingly. And, although the healthcare reform bill has passed in Congress, action on the regulatory front will likely be the norm in the future as the effects of the healthcare bill are fully felt.
Yesterday two Boston-based advocacy groups released a survey concluding that nonprofit hospitals are falling short with regard to their provision of charity care. This survey will almost certainly make it into the hands of those in Congress working behind the scenes on nonprofit tax reform. Interested parties should watch this carefully.
Last week, family, friends, colleagues and students bid farewell to a truly exceptional advocate and educator, Jaime Escalante, who taught his students not only to rise above discrimination, but also to look beyond standardized testing and believe in themselves. Jamie Escalante was the inspiration for the movie “Stand and Deliver,” a movie which spoke to my own personal experience as a young student growing up in Texas, where I remember being told to leave questions blank on standardized tests if I didn’t know the answer (to be filled in later by a teacher more concerned with graduation rates than actual learning). Mr. Escalante’s dedication to real learning should serve as the model as Congress prepares to revamp our national education system.
Cassidy CEO Marty Russo contrubutes his view on the People Priority at the National Journal Under the Influence Blog.
The folks over at Pollster.com report on a recent study by Edelman that shows some pretty interesting data on how legislative staffers (U.S. Congress, the UK Parliament, the EU Parliament, the French Assembly and the German Bundestag) use social media in their jobs.
Nearly every staffer (96%) uses online resources for public policy research, more than half (54%) reported learning of policy issues for the first time online and one in five (19%) actually changed policy positions based on information and opinions they found online.
The study also demonstrated the growing significance of digital tools in how these staffers communicate with constituents.
They noted websites have become ubiquitous in terms of their usage and effectiveness in reaching constituents (82% feel they are effective) while other outlets have also demonstrated their positive impact – online videos (52%), blogging (46%) and micro blogging such as Twitter (22%).
While there’ s nothing terribly surprising here, it’s still interesting to see it reduced to quantitative data. You can find the full report here.
National Journal’s Under the Influence blog reports that according to a new study from the Congressional Management Foundation, constituents gave high ratings to online town hall meetings - Members like them, and best of all for Members of Congress, their constituents liked the Members better as a result.
After each town hall session, the foundation found that constituents had a more favorable opinion of their representative or senator and both the lawmaker and constituents had a better understanding of the subject areas discussed during the online discussion.
It’s hard to beat a deal like that.
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