Solis Sees Health Care Reform As Possible Solution To Job Crisis

By Courtney Costello- Talk Radio News Service

Hilda Solis, Department of Labor Secretary, gave remarks today on health care reform, at the American Federation for Teachers, Health Care and Public Employees Joint Conference.

“We’re in a lot of trouble...[there are] things that weren’t taken care of years ago and its catching up to us now... We can downsize in a way that doesn’t hurt the most vulnerable and to me that means health care,” said Solis.

Solis stressed that there are over 250 million jobs in health care careers that can be filled by unemployed Americans. She also emphasized that newly displaced workers can take advantage of the 3.5 billion dollars that have been released by the Department of Labor for green collar jobs by partaking in new training programs.

“Health care isn't a one time shot. Health care reform is a tough issue for us, and for the President, and for many Americans. [There are] 46 million, and growing, that don’t have it,’ said Solis. “There are more people having to go to public assistance because they lost their job...we've got to fix it.”

Today At TRNS

White House Correspondent Victoria Jones will be covering today's press briefing with Robert Gibbs.

The Washington Bureau will be covering:

- The House Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee hearing on "GM and Chrysler Dealership Closures and Restructuring."

-Remarks by Labor Secretary Hilda Solis at the American Federation of Teachers'
Healthcare/Public Employees Joint Conference.

-A Meeting on health disparities by the Commission on Civil Rights.

-A forum on "Economic Impact of Medical Science and Discovery and Policies Needed to Maintain U.S. Leadership" held by the Council for American Medical Innovation and the Institute "Best and Brightest"

-A briefing on "Climate Change, Cap-and-Trade, Renewable Electricity and Efficiency Mandates by the Technology Policy Institute

-A discussion on "Health Reform: Journalists' Perspectives" by the Congressional Healthcare Caucus

The United States is the Saudi Arabia of wind and solar energy

U.S. Representative Hilda Solis (D-Calif.) said the new administration must invest in environmental and energy changes and should "get started in the next six months."

In order to attain the necessary energy and environmental changes, Solis said it will take "political will," and "leadership," but emphasized it will not take a lot of money. She said that it will not be easy to convince Congress of the need for these big changes in environmental and energy policy, saying there are "not a lot of members in the House of Representatives, in my opinion, that grasp this concept."

Solis advocated "greening our buildings, greening our infrastructure." She felt this would increase jobs that would "stay here" and would allow for areas to "sustain communities."

Senior Fellow at the Center for American Progress Van Jones said the economy is collapsing because the U.S. economic structure over the last 30 years was "not sustainable." He felt that there are three inherent flaws in the U.S. economy: it has been "based on consumption, not production," the U.S. can't "run the economy forever based on debt," and one cannot run an economy based on "environmental destruction, not environmental restoration."

Jones claimed that energy change would not be as difficult as it seems because, "We have a Saudi Arabia of wind energy in this country, we have a Saudi Arabia of solar energy in this country." He also said that energy investment "pays for itself" because it will lower overall energy cost, and will immensely increase available jobs. He claimed that if the government invested $100 billion, "we can have two million new jobs in two years."

U.S. health care "unacceptable" and "un-American"

The House Committee on Energy and Commerce held a hearing on “H.R. 3014, Health Equity and Accountability Act of 2007,” in order to discuss how to improve the health of minority individuals in the U.S. Vice Chairman Lois Capps (D-Calif.) said that the U.S. needs this bill “now more than ever,” and that it is embarrassing that the U.S. cannot extend health care to every citizen. Rep. Hilda Solis (D-Calif.) said that it is time for Congress to put the best ideas and practices together and bridge the gap of health disparities.

Rep. Gene Green (D-Texas) said that Houston has the third largest Hispanic population in the U.S. and the lack of access to health care for them continues to be a huge barrier. Green explained that half of the total uninsured population in his district consisted of minorities. Chairman John Dingell (D-Mich.) said that the existence of racial and ethnic health disparities in every aspect of health care is well documented. Dingell also said that “in a country as great as ours,” the idea that one’s ethnic or racial background factors into their chance of living a healthy and productive life is “simply unacceptable.” Rep. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wisc.) said that the U.S. health care system is “unacceptable and un-American.”

Majority Whip James Clyburn (D-S.C.) said that prevention and control of diseases, along with protection and promotion of the health of the American people are the primary mandate of public health. Clyburn also explained that in 2005 a United Nations Development Program report entitled: Inequality in the United States Healthcare System, said that U.S. private-public health care system should not be used as a model for other countries. Clyburn said that he has seen too many friends and family who have died from diseases that the bill aims to address, and he came to testify on behalf of those who don’t have health care.

Rep. Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) said that health care access and affordability is the number one issue the U.S. faces today. The health care bill, Moran said, is about “saving lives today.” Moran explained that Americans living in rural cities can also be considered minorities. He said that elderly, rural Americans are more likely to have a chronic disease and less likely to receive the recommended pre-screenings, preventive screenings, and checkups.