[StBernard] Washington Report from Rep. Richard H Baker

Westley Annis Westley at da-parish.com
Fri Nov 16 19:34:49 EST 2007


November 16, 2007

Thank you for signing up for Congressman Baker’s newsletter. Below are issue updates that you may find interesting. As always, please visit his website at http://www.baker.house.gov <http://www.baker.house.gov/> for the most up-to-date news and information on what Congressman Baker is working on in the Sixth Congressional District of Louisiana.

Congressman Baker Supports Increased Funding for Head Start

Congressman Baker voted this week to reauthorize Head Start, a primary early childhood development program for low-income children. Head Start prepares the most disadvantaged children to succeed in school and in life by providing health and nutrition services, strong educational curriculum, and parent education. By providing these services to low-income and at-risk children before they enroll in school, Head Start has given opportunity to many disadvantaged children and successfully narrowed the achievement gap by 45 percent in pre-reading skills and 28 percent in pre-writing skills. Click here <http://eclkc.ohs.acf.hhs.gov/hslc/HeadStartOffices> find a Head Start program provider in your area.

Congressman Baker Works to Delay Mexican Trucking Program

This week Rep. Baker voted in favor of H.R. 3074, for the fiscal year 2008 (FY08) Transportation and Housing and Urban Development Appropriations bill. This legislation includes a provision that would bar FY08 funding for the Department of Transportation's (DOT) cross-border trucking pilot program, which allows Mexican trucking companies to operate beyond the commercial zones on the United States-Mexico border. This provision will allow time for Congress to work with DOT on additional security and safety guidelines. Following Senate passage, H.R. 3074 will head to President Bush for his consideration.

Congressman Baker is alarmed that DOT has pursued implementation of the cross-border trucking program despite strong Congressional opposition. In fact, earlier this year Congressman Baker sent a letter to the president urging him to suspend the program. Click here to view the letter <http://baker.house.gov/html/content.cfm?id=664> . The language contained in H.R. 3074 is crucial to ensure that the program adheres to sound security and safety guidelines before it is implemented.

Defense Department Hosting Small Business Energy Conference

The Defense Energy Support Center is hosting a conference in Baton Rouge on December 11, 2007, at the Baton Rouge Mariott, 5500 Hilton Avenue. The goal of this conference is to increase small business participation and networking with companies capable of providing energy products and services to the Defense Logistics Agency. Click here for more detailed information <http://www.baker.house.gov/files/PTAC.pdf> .

New Poll on Pakistan

The recent events in Pakistan have become a serious foreign policy concern for the U.S. The U.S. has urged President Musharraf to lift the state of emergency and open the political process to free and fair elections. Click here <http://www.baker.house.gov> to share your views on events in Pakistan by voting in Rep. Baker's newest poll.

Rep. Baker Secures $600,000 for Projects in Ascension, Livingston and Iberville Parishes

This week Rep. Baker secured $500,000 for improvements to LA 42 and LA 16 and $100,000 for a visitors’ center in Grosse Tete in H.R. 3074, the fiscal year 2008 Transportation and Housing and Urban Development Appropriations bill that passed the House of Representatives. Rep. Baker issued the following statement following passage of H.R. 3074:

"Since the 2005 hurricanes, one of our biggest challenges continues to be road congestion, which makes commute times in the Baton Rouge area absolutely unacceptable. With increased traffic counts, we’re also seeing more accidents. We must relieve congestion on our busiest stretches of roadways and make our highways safer, and the funding in this bill helps us to accomplish that." Click here for more information on these important projects. <http://www.baker.house.gov/html/news_item.cfm?id=719>

Rep. Baker Reminds Seniors of Medicare Open Enrollment Period

The open enrollment period for Medicare, including traditional Medicare plans, Medicare Advantage plans, and the Prescription Drug Benefit – also known as Medicare Part D – began on Thursday, November 15, 2007, and runs through Dec. 31, 2007. This is an opportunity for seniors to enroll in the program or, for those already participating, to review their plans and make any changes necessary. People on Medicare will have until the end of the year to choose their coverage options; Medicare Advantage enrollees also can change plans once between Jan. 1 and March 31, 2008. For comparative information on plans in your area, call: 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227) or visit www.medicare.gov. You can also contact the Senior Health Insurance Information Program (SHIIP) at the Louisiana Department of Insurance to get answers to your questions: 1-800-259-5301.

Rep. Baker is committed to expanding affordable healthcare coverage to all seniors in Louisiana. If you have questions about available Medicare health plans, Rep. Baker’s office is willing to assist and direct those who are interested in reviewing available plans.

Rep. Baker Urges the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to Assist Medicaid Patients and Pharmacies in Louisiana

This week, Rep. Baker joined other members of the Louisiana delegation in support of Medicaid-participating pharmacies and Medicaid recipients in Louisiana. Pharmacies face unprecedented cuts in Medicaid reimbursement starting in January, 2008. In fact, several independent government studies conclude that pharmacies will be reimbursed less than what it costs them to purchase many prescription drugs. These cuts will threaten pharmacies’ ability to continue serving some of Louisiana's most vulnerable citizens. In response, the State of Louisiana submitted an action plan to CMS in September 2007 asking for a higher reimbursement for Medicaid-participating pharmacies’ dispensing costs, which will protect beneficiary access to crucial pharmacy services. Click here to see a copy of the letter. <http://www.baker.house.gov/files/cmspharmacistsletter.pdf>

Improving Holiday Travel

During the five days surrounding Thanksgiving, an average of 10.8 million airline trips are taken per day, which is nearly double the normal daily average. In order to help alleviate this congestion, President Bush and Department of Transportation (DOT) Secretary Mary Peters announced new measures to reduce air travel delays over the upcoming holiday season. First, effective immediately, the Department of Defense and the Federal Aviation Administration will collaborate to open unused military airspace to commercial flights. This improvement will help to keep the air travel system running at full capacity.

DOT also issued new proposals to increase passenger rights and protections before the next winter travel season based on legislation that Congressman Baker has supported in the House of Representatives. Under these proposals, DOT would require airlines to: create legally binding contingency plans for extended tarmac delays; respond to all consumer complaints within 30 days; publish complaint information online; and, provide on-time performance information for domestic and international flights. DOT also would direct airlines to include all cancelled flights and tarmac delays in their monthly delay reports. Finally, financial compensation would be doubled for those passengers that are involuntarily "bumped" from their flights. Click here for more information <http://www.baker.house.gov/files/travelimprove.pdf> .




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