House Dems Assail Interior and Environmental Funding Package

By Philip Bunnell

Democratic Reps. Jim Moran (Va.), Norm Dicks (Wash.) and Edward Markey (Mass.), gathered Monday to decry the GOP’s Interior and Environmental Appropriations bill, which they called highly anti-environment and tailored to special interest groups.

“This is a bad bill,” said Dicks, “perhaps the worst Interior and Environment Appropriations bill I’ve seen in my 35 years of service on the Subcommittee.” Moran agreed, calling the bill a “wishlist for special interests.”

Moran pointed to the 39 legislative riders in the bill. Among them are provisions that allow for uranium mining claims in the Grand Canyon, which the trio of lawmakers cautioned would endanger those who rely on the Colorado River for water. When families travel to the Grand Canyon and stop to enjoy the sunset, Markey quipped, “the glow won’t only be from the sunset.”

The bill also removes funding for the EPA to designate new species as endangered, which led Moran to dub it the “extinction rider.”

Markey offered different names for the bill, such as the “Are You Living on the Same Planet?” act and the “Have You Been Outside?” act. Markey brought a copy of the bill wrapped in caution tape and called it the “most egregious assault on our environment in the history of Congress,” and dismissed House Republicans who, he said, “have no idea what’s going on outside of their tea parties.”]

All three Democrats were concerned that the bill would be overlooked in light of the debt ceiling debates and warned that there are “plenty of Senate Democrats,” who would allow the anti-environment provisions to go through.

Congress Commissions Study To Revamp Medicare Compensation

By Justin Duckham-Talk Radio News Service

Over a dozen House Democrats from the Quality Care Coalition announced Thursday that they will be pursuing a solution to what has been described as regional inequality in Medicare compensation.

“McAllen, Texas ... has a reimbursement rate of about $15,000 per patient per year,” said Rep. Norm Dicks (D-Wa.). “In Tacoma, Washington it’s $7,100 per Medicare patient.

“This is wrong. It was done on a political basis and it was sustained for forty years,” Dicks added.

To combat this, Congress will commission a 16 month study with the Institute of Medicine to find a way to reimburse medical professionals based on the outcome of care rather than the volume of the treatment.

The provision mandating the study will be included in the final House health care reform bill. According to the QCC, the inclusions will be budget neutral.

Bridging The Cultural Divide To Fight Terrorists

By Michael Ruhl, University of New Mexico – Talk Radio News Service

General David Petraeus
Photo By Michael Ruhl

According to General David Petraeus, an educated American soldier that can bridge the cultural divide with the Muslim world can more effectively fight the War on Terror. This soldier would understand the social context they are operating within, and would understand the broad implications and consequences of military action.

General Petraeus, Commander of U.S. Central Command, discussed U.S. military strategy in the Middle East and South Asia while testifying today before Congress.

“While additional military forces clearly are necessary (in Afghanistan), they will not by themselves be sufficient to achieve our objective,” said the General. America’s objective, he said, is to make sure extremists do not have a haven from which to plan and execute another attack on the level of the 9-11 attacks.

A smarter military can better understand the necessary social infrastructure to facilitate lasting peace within a region. This combined with intelligent military action, international cooperation, the building of infrastructure and a swath of other initiatives will help America secure the region, according to Petraeus. “You cannot kill or capture your way out of an industrial strength insurgency,” the General said.

"We also need to expand just the basic knowledge of Afghanistan among our forces," Petraeus said. He continued that greater knowledge will lead to a "nuanced and granular understanding" that will enable the Army to undertake the kind of sophisticated reconciliation processes in Afghanistan that were important in Iraq.

Congressman Norm Dicks (D-Wash.) agreed that soldiers should be educated, and brought attention to the U.S. Army’s Homestead Program. Dicks said this program involves an Officer taking a year off from active service to live in a country, learn the language, and understand the culture. Retired Army General John Abizaid did a program similar to this. Abizaid was former Commander of U.S. Central Command.

The U.S. Army could not be reached for comment on the current funding of the program, but Dicks expressed concern on the small number of individuals enrolled in it.

The necessary approach to success involves placing security in the hands of the Afghans, Petraeus said, which means helping them collectively realize that the biggest security threat in the region comes from dissident extremist elements within the country, most notably Al-Qaeda. He emphasized that America’s presence in Afghanistan is not permanent, and that Afghanistan’s government and economy must be encouraged by its citizens.