AFSCME has launched an ad campaign targeting members of Congress who voted against the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP).

Although the bill was passed in Congress, Pres. George Bush vetoed the legislation, showing once more how out of step he is with the country. As a matter of fact, that is exactly what a recent ABC News – Washington Post poll says: 7 out of 10 Americans favor expanding coverage for low income children.

Why are these legislators so intent on following the President off the cliff? We are trying to save them from following this path but, most of all, we are trying to save health care for our children.

See all the ads here.

AFSCME President Gerald W. McEntee reacts to efforts by Bush supporters to discredit 12-year-old Graeme Frost and his family.

The allies of President Bush who back his veto of bipartisan legislation to provide health coverage to children in low-income families took the politics of personal destruction to a new low this week. Front page stories in the Baltimore Sun and New York Times tell the story. They reveal the behind-the-scenes wheels of a smear campaign, based entirely on falsehoods, to destroy the credibility of a Baltimore family that stepped forward to speak out in opposition to the President’s veto.

The parents of 12-year-old Graeme Frost, and his younger sister Gemma, used the Maryland State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) after their children were seriously injured in an automobile accident. After the accident, Graeme lay comatose, with severe brain trauma. His younger sister was in even worse shape. Both parents in the Frost family work, making a combined income of less than $50,000 a year. On that income, they raise four children. But they could not afford private health insurance.

Thanks to SCHIP, Graeme and Gemma got the emergency medical care they needed. They, and their parents, know the SCHIP program works. Graeme said so publicly, at a press conference with Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and in a front page Baltimore Sun story. Later, Senator Harry Reid selected him to give the weekly Democratic Radio Address, and he told a national radio audience about the medical care he received:

Three years ago, my family was in a really bad car accident. I was in a coma for a week and couldn’t eat or stand up or even talk at first. My sister was even worse. I was in the hospital for five-and-a-half months and I needed a big surgery. For a long time after that, I had to go to physical therapy after school to get stronger. But even though I was hurt badly, I was really lucky.

Graeme and his family made a powerful case that SCHIP funding saves lives. So, the President’s allies set out to destroy them. Right wing blogs went into overdrive, questioning the cost of the family’s home, the family income and even the cost of the private school the children attend. Now it turns out, these smears were all unfounded. Yes, Graeme goes to a private school, but his tuition is largely paid through a scholarship.

By targeting a family for speaking the truth about a program the President wants to dismantle, the Bush’s allies crossed the line. Instead of debating this vital program on the merits, they thought they could win by Swift-boating a working-class American family. By mounting a disgusting campaign to smear the Frost family, the President’s backers have gone too far. Their efforts should and will backfire.

President Bush should call this smear campaign off. He should tell Rush Limbaugh, Michelle Malkin and Senator Mitch McConnell to call off their dogs and leave this family alone. The brave Frost family has been through enough and doesn’t deserve this for speaking out about a vital program that helped them. The President’s allies have brought Bush-era gutter politics to a new low.

With the stroke of a pen, Pres. Bush has shattered the hopes of millions of low-income children to get the medical care they need.

By vetoing a bipartisan bill to expand the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) he has turned his back on kids from low-income families who might either lose or never get the health care they deserve. Not only that, but he is ignoring the fact that 7 out of 10 Americans favor expanding coverage for low-income children.

SCHIP provides health coverage to children whose parents do not qualify for Medicaid, but can’t afford private insurance. The vetoed bill would have preserved coverage for 6.6 million kids while allowing an additional 4 million children into the program over the next five years.

Apparently, Pres. Bush thought that was a bad idea even though only two days ago he was proclaiming “Child Health Day” and, in his own words, recognizing “the important role the State Children’s Health Insurance Program has played in helping poor children stay healthy.” Talk about selective memory… and brazen hypocrisy.

As Pres. McEntee said: “If we can find billions to spend on the never-ending war in Iraq, we can find the money to protect the lives and health of low-income American children. President Bush’s veto is callous and immoral. Congress should waste no time in overriding him.”

George Bush and the Republican leadership, in the twilight of a failed presidency, are blocking funding for domestic priorities like cancer research, infrastructure improvements and veterans programs. Now Bush is threatening to veto SCHIP, the health care program for low-income children, while at the same time asking for billions more to fund his mismanaged war in Iraq.

In his latest entry on Huffington Post, President Gerald W. McEntee announces that AFSCME, along with Americans United for Change, USAction and a consortium of concerned groups, are launching a campaign to demand that Congress override the expected SCHIP veto.

We are locked in an epic battle with President Bush. A battle to preserve the role of the public services that keep our families safe and our communities strong. A battle over what kind of America we want to be.

Read the full post.

Anyone who’s ever wondered how it would feel to go without public services should have awakened Monday morning in Pennsylvania. That’s where Gov. Ed Rendell ordered a partial government shutdown, keeping 24,000 workers off the job. The 24-hour shutdown was the result of a budget stalemate between the authorities and the Legislature that was only resolved by the end of the day.

As AFSCME Council 13 Executive Director Dave Fillman said, the legislators “should be furloughed for not doing their job. The hard-working Commonwealth employees should stay on.”

Authorities said the unpaid furlough would only affect state workers performing “non-critical” jobs. Can they actually define “non-critical”? According to this report from the Associated Press, the effects of the shutdown were anything but non-critical: “Pennsylvanians discovered they couldn’t take driver’s license tests. Highway maintenance and a range of permitting and licensing functions were stopped or severely curtailed.” All this during the height of roadwork season.

From where we sit – and we think the Pennsylvania citizens who didn’t receive services would agree – these jobs are very important. And what about the paychecks that will go to the workers who couldn’t report? Bet those potentially missing dollars aren’t “non-critical” to them.

Although the stalemate is now over, AFSCME members will not take these abuses lying down. State workers shouldn’t be held hostage to political squabbles. Let’s make sure this never happens again.

Six years is a long time to wait, especially when the care of our kids is at stake.

For the past six years, the Bush administration and the Republican-led Congress has consistently frozen federal funding for child care services despite yearly increases in the number of families needing these services. The results have been disastrous, according to a report by the National Women’s Law Center (PDF).

Inadequate funding has resulted in reduced child care availability and dramatic cost increases for low-income families. In addition, child care providers are sometimes forced to refuse care for children receiving subsidies because they cannot afford to accept the low reimbursement rates. This limits the child care choices for parents or even cuts off access to good care completely. Those providers who do accept the lower, subsidized rates are faced with cutting corners. They may pay lower salaries and offer leaner benefits to their staff, thus precluding the child care providers from attracting and retaining highly qualified employees.

AFSCME, with our child care affiliates, is the union for tens of thousands of child care providers across the country. We are demanding that Congress increase child care funding. Specifically, we are asking for a $720 million increase for the Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG).

This is not an issue just for child care providers. It’s for all of us who believe in fair wages for workers and quality care for kids. Everyone can take part in our campaign at:
http://www.unionvoice.org/campaign/fund_child_care

This additional funding will make up for ground that was lost due to inadequate funding in recent years, and will provide child care help to at least a portion of the 150,000 children who have lost assistance since 2000.

It’s the least we can do for our kids.

Enemy of the Taxpayers is what 258 legislators (209 members of the House and 49 senators) were dubbed by Citizens for Tax Justice (CTJ). CTJ scored legislators on key votes that dramatically affected tax fairness, revenues and budget deficits. According to CTJ, “the grading system is based on the combination of two criteria: tax fairness and fiscal responsibility — principles that all sides of the political debate at least pretend to honor.” For a full accounting, check out CTJ’s “Congressional Tax Report Card” report.

AFSCME President Gerald McEntee, featured today on the Huffington Post, explains why the so-called Taxpayers Bill of Rights (TABOR) ballot initiatives are bad news for public employees, public health and safety and the entire progressive movement. As with so many other right-wing “strategic initiatives,” if it sounds too good to be true, it definitely is.

McEntee writes that these initiatives will, “starve the public of vital services and decimate public employee unions.” Check it out.

The end of the fiscal year fast approaches and yet Congress has not enacted a single funding bill. We’re talking about legislation to fund vital services like health care, social services, education and job training? Instead, the Republican led Congress is focused on cutting taxes for the rich – and ducking out for the fall elections without acting on these crucial measures. How’s that for priorities?

The Emergency Campaign for America’s Priorities (www.actnow.org) is calling on Congress to invest in America and enact these essential bills with adequate funding before adjourning for the fall elections. In other words, ECAP is asking Congress to do its job.

Kudos to Rep. Jan Schakowsky for championing what seems like a novel idea in this country these days – encouraging business to invest in American workers. An excerpt:

If you want to make Americans of all stripes mad, tell them about the billions of dollars in subsidies and tax breaks our government gives to companies that outsource jobs and relocate to avoid giving back to the our great country. …In honor of our country and the great American patriotic spirit that is renewed at this time each year – and just a few days short of the 230th anniversary of the 1776 Declaration — today I announced that I’m introducing the Patriot Corporations of America Act. It is time to rekindle the spirit of patriotism and encourage corporations that commit to America and American workers. The Patriot Corporations of America Act would do so by rewarding companies which invest in our nation’s economic future.

Check out the full post and comments at Encouraging Corporations that Commit to America and American Workers, Huffington Post.