IAM Journal: What are the Democrats' health care initiatives?
 
One of the driving factors behind the rising cost of health care has been, and continues to be, prescription drugs. We need to rein in those skyrocketing costs in order to make health insurance more affordable for everyone.

Democrats are committed to providing a meaningful prescription drug benefit under Medicare. Our bill ensures that elderly and disabled individuals will receive significantly reduced prices on prescription drugs.

On the other hand, President Bush gives seniors a painful choice - you can either choose your own doctor under Medicare or you can have some help with prescription drugs, but you cannot have both.

We need to reduce these prescription drug costs to keep employers from cutting back even more on retiree benefits and health plans for their employees.

We also need to increase access to affordable health care. Approximately 80 percent of those without health insurance are in working families. When the number of uninsured Americans rises, the cost of health insurance goes up for everyone because hospitals and other health care providers add the cost of uncompensated care into the prices they charge.

Democrats have included $10 billion in our economic plan to immediately help states cover skyrocketing Medicaid costs. When the economy is hurting, the number of people who need Medicaid goes up. Unless the federal government does our part, states will be forced to further cut benefits and cut eligibility. Those cuts will increase the number of uninsured Americans and cause premiums to go up even more.

Unfortunately, President Bush and Republicans in Congress have refused to provide this relief. They can provide $726 billion to give the average millionaire a $90,000 tax cut, but they won't help fund Medicaid when families need it most.


IAM Journal: Since 2001, more than 90,000 IAM members have lost their jobs. How will Democrats in Congress address the jobs crisis?

President Bush inherited the strongest economy in the nation's entire history and squandered it into a weak, struggling economy. He turned the Clinton surplus, the largest budget surpluses in a generation - $5 trillion - into the largest deficit in history.

While President Clinton created 22 million new jobs during his eight years in office, President Bush has lost 2.6 million private sector jobs, the worst record on jobs of any President in more than half a century.

President Bush owes 90,000 IAM members and the whole country an explanation.
We put forth a Democratic plan that can be summed up in three words: jobs, jobs, jobs. Our plan is fair, fast-acting, and fiscally responsible, and it will create one million new jobs this year.

Our plan is fast in that it provides a boost of $136 billion in 2003, sparking economic growth immediately. Our plan is fair because it puts money in the hands of the working families and small businesses that need it most, and are most likely to spend it.

Finally, our plan is fiscally responsible. It has a 10-year cost that is one-seventh what the President is proposing, allowing our budget to recover as our economy recovers. Our plan targets those who need it the most - low and middle-income workers. It will create jobs now.

In contrast to the Democrats' plan, the centerpiece of the President's plan is a tax cut that will not create jobs and that will benefit the wealthiest in our country, those who need it least.