Issues

MEDICAID FUNDING VOTE SHOWS POOR JUDGMENT

Congressman Roscoe Bartlett voted against the interests of people who live in this district by supporting the Administration plan to slash Medicaid funding. “It’s a disgraceful and insulting vote to ignore the needs of Marylanders in these tough economic times. Bartlett supports making tax cuts for the wealthiest permanent, but thumbs his nose at people who truly need help,” said Democratic nominee Jennifer Dougherty. “He is out of touch and shows poor judgment with votes like this.”

A small group of extremists tried to cut $18 billion from Medicaid over the next five years. The House bill voted to protect the Medicaid safety net with a veto-proof majority (349-62).

“It is so unfortunate to see him turn his heart against those who need help. This is another example of Bartlett’s flawed logic where the rich are rewarded with tax cuts and the poor need to pay the price. If Bartlett thinks the strains on the economy are so great that we cannot afford to protect the neediest Americans, why does he support tax cuts for the rich or our continued presence in Iraq?”

Dougherty has challenged Bartlett to debate the issues in every county in the District. Bartlett has not committed to any scheduled debates.

Dougherty Says “Going Green” Is Good for the Economy

“We can’t afford for another Earth Day to come and go without hope for progress and meaningful change in facing our environmental responsibilities. People are telling politicians in lots of ways that they are ready to act. I am listening and I will help make progress in our District and the country,” said 6th District Democratic Congressional Candidate Jennifer Dougherty.

“Environmentalists are true conservatives – they want every person to take personal responsibility when it comes to protecting the environment, conserving energy and promoting effective strategies that will reduce greenhouse gases and the negative impacts of climate change,” said Dougherty. “In Congress, I will use the same approach, promoting responsibility to achieve real progress on important environmental initiatives.”

“A few years ago, I attended an Earth Day Celebration and I was shocked to learn my ‘carbon footprint’. While I was doing well on water conservation, it was way too high on energy use. By taking a few simple actions like converting lightbulbs and adjusting my thermostat, I have reduced my energy consumption,” said Dougherty. “I also started getting smarter about the importance of planting trees and shrubs. It’s all part of the solution.”

Just when families finish juggling last year’s taxes, Republican Presidential candidate Senator John McCain supports a plan that places a larger tax burden on American workers. Just today he said, “We need tax policies that respect workers” and encourage work, but his plan for reforming the nation’s health care system sends a chilling message to working Americans who would lose employer-provided health benefits and pay more in taxes.

The Republican plan would:

• Make health benefits a taxable benefit requiring working people who get their health coverage through work to pay higher taxes

• Encourage employers to discontinue offering health care benefits
• Force people to negotiate with big insurance companies on their own
• Support the creation of Health Savings Accounts with high deductibles
• Offer a tax credit $2500 (individual) and $5000 (family) to offset insurance costs
  • Average cost per individual almost $6000/year

  • Average cost per family almost $7500/year

I agree that we need to reform our nation’s health care system and soon. We cannot allow 47 million Americans including nearly 9 million children to go without adequate health care. I support universal health care coverage that is fair and allows choice, but on a day when most Americans are focused on paying their taxes, I want to state my opposition to a plan that increases taxes on working people. I will work to:

• Maintain employer-sponsored health care benefits

• Allow individuals to buy from the federal employees’ plan
• Provide tax credits to small businesses offering health care benefits
  • address need to access affordable plans

  • provide credits up to 50%
  • complement tax credits to individuals/families
• Limit premiums to percentage of income
• Strengthen Medicare to protect Seniors and allow early retirees to buy-in
• Strengthen Medicaid and SCHIP to provide adequate health care to lower-income families, especially children

DOUGHERTY ENDORSES "A RESPONSIBLE WAY TO END THE WAR IN IRAQ"
PRESIDENT BUSH HAS A TIN EAR

More than a year ago, General Petraeus said, "There is no military solution to a problem like that in Iraq." Petraeus returned to Capitol Hill today to ask for patience and commitment to continue the deployment of troops in Iraq. "At this point, the Bush Administration is trying to run out the clock without being able to define or deliver victory," said Democratic Candidate for Maryland's 6th Congressional District Jennifer Dougherty.

More than 4,000 Americans have died in Iraq and nearly 30,000 have been injured. Since the surge more than 800 have been killed. Most Americans oppose continued military operations in Iraq and want to move forward with diplomatic and economic strategies in Iraq. In Dougherty's announcement, she stressed the need for diplomacy. "I endorse the plan proposed by retired military leaders and veterans, A RESPONSIBLE PLAN TO END THE WAR IN IRAQ. The plan echoes General Petraeus' admission that the solution is not more troops, but more talk. It also addresses the significant humanitarian concerns that exist as a result of the war. We have to elect people who are serious about ending this war."

The United States has spent $ 2 trillion on the Iraq War, but the debt is passed onto our children. We have handed them a mortgage payment before they can buy a home." Dougherty added, "We don't have to look very hard to find better places to spend that money. We need to focus on our priorities."

One of the major headline issues during the past two years has been the growing realization that the U.S. immigration policies and porous borders have created a shadow population of illegal immigrants. For those on both sides of this issue, the fundamental concerns are frequently related to jobs and economic well-being. It surprised many, therefore, to see a quote from Congressman Roscoe Bartlett that seemed to dismiss the importance of this issue.

The Cumberland Times-News description of Bartlett’s visit to that paper last week included the following segment, “He [Bartlett] called Maryland’s brief foray into the illegal immigration debate “most interesting.” “It was just kind of an irrational concern that people had,” said Bartlett, 81 pitted against Dougherty, 46, a former Frederick mayor. “But I think the people’s concern about it exceeded the personal effect it had on them. That’s all abated now.”

In response Jennifer Dougherty noted, “It’s unfortunate when any politician describes the concerns of his constituents as ‘irrational’. We need to secure our borders, improve the visa program, and provide comprehensive, fair-minded immigration reform at the federal level. And we need people in Washington who listen to their constituents.”

RECENT JOB LOSSES WILL HURT EVERYONE
REGULATORS IGNORED SIGNS OF CRISIS
WALL STREET GETS THE HELP, MAIN STREET GETS THE SHAFT

FREDERICK, MD – March 21, 2008

The recent job losses at Rayloc in Hancock, MD and at Hagerstown’s Volvo-Powertrain plant will hurt hundreds of families and the local economy. While Rep. Roscoe Bartlett expressed little concern about the job cuts, calling the cuts “cyclical”, Democratic challenger, Mayor Jennifer P. Dougherty said, “This is just another example of how people in Washington lose touch with local people and businesses and use old ways of thinking to try to explain away problems.”

According to Dougherty, “Hardworking people will have to find a couple of minimum-wage jobs to try to pay their bills. They will dig into their savings and cut their expenses at a time when the cost of living just keeps going up. If anyone in Washington had been paying attention during the past 3-4 years, they could see the credit problems were going to explode and that real people were going to be hurt.”

“Dr. Bartlett blames everyone else for the economic problems, but takes no blame for the federal regulators who ignored the signs of crisis. Members of Congress should have been asking some tough questions a few years ago if they really wanted to avert a crisis,” said Dougherty.

A huge Washington bureaucracy has been created in response to the 2001 attacks, but it seems like the priorities are lost. It seems like we are wasting million of dollars on a new government agency and missing opportunities to support local 1st
responders.

When there is a fire, who do you call? 911.

When you see a car accident a wild fire or a natural disaster, who do you call? 911. When the attacks in 2001 occurred, who did people call? 911.

If something happens, people need to know that the 1st responders on the other end of the 911 call have the personnel, equipment and training to respond.

As Mayor, my most important responsibility was to protect the public. I was privileged to work with an outstanding police department and Chief of Police. Our police department, like every police department post 9-11, worked tirelessly to develop coordinated plans and prepare for integrated emergency responses. Working with fire and rescue services, emergency response organizations like the Red Cross, and other police agencies the community continues to focus on the right priorities.

Planning efforts covered everything from bio-chemical training,
health emergency drills and weather-related emergencies. Local elected officials are eager to get all the tools and training – much of it is provided by the federal government.

Unfortunately, other federal funding like the COPS grant that funds the hiring of new police officers has been cut when more officers on the streets is exactly what we need.

Social Security is the greatest social program in our nation’s history and I will vote to protect our seniors in retirement and those who are entitled to disability and survivor benefits including about 3 million children.

We need to keep the promises made and secure Social Security for future generations, avoid raids on the trust fund and fix what is broken. We do not need to panic, but we have to make changes to the system.

Changes should combine phased changes to the contributions for people under age 40, guaranteed protection for seniors making less than $40,000 annually, and lifting the cap for individuals on wages subject to contributions. I do not support changes for those currently receiving benefits.

Social Security needs to remain predictable, stable and risk-free. It must be designed to provide adequate benefits for retirees, the disabled and survivors by making annual inflation adjustments.

Social Security must be universal – there should be no ability to “opt out” because it drains the ability to pay benefits now, passing on unacceptable debt to the next generation. I am not in favor of people managing their own Social Security asset allocation – this should be guaranteed income. Let them play with their own IRA and 401K. Enron is a good example. People take risks they don’t even know they are taking.

Marylanders suffer one of the worst commutes in the country. At this point, it does not matter about the mistakes of the past because it does not help fix the situation.
For 25 years, the region has grown into a suburb of Washington D.C. and the problems are as plain as getting 4 lanes of traffic across a 2-lane bridge! We’ve got traffic trouble as plain as day.

As Mayor, I worked with federal, state and county officials to improve the City’s vital transportation network. It was our hands-on approach that broke the log-jam on the East Street corridor. It was our partnership with the County that led to the shared funding agreement for the 15-26 ramp and it was the realization that we were alone in funding the improvements to Rosemont Avenue that were needed because of rapid growth at Fort Detrick and the City’s western environs.

For the big projects, we were fortunate that Senator Mikulski directed nearly $60 million in federal transportation funds for current phase of the I70-270 improvements, but that’s a fraction of what is needed and does not address any mass transit solutions.

In Congress, I will support:

• Annual regional transportation summit with local officials and citizens
• Annual contributions to the 6th District’s transportation priorities
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As citizens, we support the rule of law, we want our laws to be enforced and we don’t like it when people get away with breaking the rules.  We support legal immigration.