Dear Friend:
Thank you for e-mailing me in the past. As Congress looks ahead to the many challenges of 2007, I would like to update you on some of what I was able to accomplish in the U.S. Senate last year for Rhode Islanders.
Although the 109th Congress was not as productive as it should have been, I was still able to secure some important victories for our state. I helped pass several important initiatives to improve our nation’s health care and education systems, expand economic opportunity to more of our citizens, enhance our security, lower taxes, and protect the environment.
More than 20,000 Rhode Islanders, including 11,000 kids, are covered under the SCHIP portion of RIte Care, the state’s Medicaid and SCHIP program. One of my biggest legislative victories in 2006 was saving thousands of children from losing their health insurance. I was able to secure $18 million in emergency budget relief for Rhode Island’s State Child Health Insurance Program (SCHIP). This will help alleviate pressure on Rhode Island’s state budget and stave off cuts to SCHIP in the coming months. I was proud to have been involved in crafting SCHIP in 1997 and I will be working in 2007 to strengthen this program and expand access to health care to millions of children nationwide.
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Each year, as the co-chair of the Northeast-Midwest Senate Coalition, I spearhead a national effort to increase funding for the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP). LIHEAP is a vital safety net that helps pay winter heating bills for our nation’s low-income households, disabled individuals, and senior citizens. In 2006, I secured an additional $1 billion for LIHEAP, bringing its total funding level to $3.1 billion, the most in LIHEAP’s 25-year history. In Rhode Island, more than 30,000 households rely on LIHEAP to assist with the costs of heating their homes each year.
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2006 saw the culmination of a decade-long effort to enhance freight rail service, expand commuter rail, grow Rhode Island’s economy, and improve track safety. I worked hard to secure $55 million for the project, which ensures the stability and growth of freight rail to our state, and I was pleased to join federal and state officials and local business leaders in celebrating the ribbon-cutting for the new Rhode Island Freight Rail Improvement Project (FRIP). In addition, with passage of legislation I authored, this track will now play an essential role in expanding commuter rail service to South County. The FRIP consists of 22 miles of track from Central Falls to Quonset Point/Davisville.
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The submarine industry is an integral part of Rhode Island’s economy and a robust sub fleet is critical to our national defense. To ensure we continue to have the best submarine fleet in the world, I worked in the Senate Armed Services Committee to boost funding for submarine research and development. As a result, $50 million was added to the Fiscal Year 2007 Defense Authorization bill for improving weapons and command and control systems. This funding will not only advance the development of submarines, but also help preserve the submarine industrial base. I also secured over $63 million in the Fiscal Year 2007 Defense Appropriations bill for 20 Rhode Island defense companies ranging from small start ups to major firms employing hundreds. This funding acknowledges the valuable contribution these Rhode Island companies and workers make towards keeping our national defense strong.
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I was pleased to cosponsor the Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act. I believe that we must do all we can to end the cycle of domestic violence. This new law not only renews existing VAWA programs, but also makes notable improvements, such as providing treatment for children impacted by violence, enhancing health care for rape victims, creating mandatory sentences for domestic violence repeat offenders, addressing housing needs of battered women, and helping domestic violence victims retain their jobs.
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Flooding is a real problem in Rhode Island, and weather forecasters have predicted that the Northeast is due for a major hurricane in the near future. To help communities, homeowners, and businesses prevent and minimize the damage from flooding, I am working to modernize the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) flood maps. These maps are the basic tools for flood hazard mitigation in the United States. Unfortunately, they are so out of date that they do not reflect today’s flood risks. In the case of Rhode Island, some maps are over 20 years old. My National Flood Mapping Act was included in bills passed by the Senate and the House of Representatives to reform the National Flood Insurance Program. While the bill has yet to reach the President’s desk, I will continue to press for this legislation in 2007.
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Marine debris and litter is a major problem in Narragansett Bay, and if we don’t act quickly it will continue to get worse. This type of pollution injures and kills marine mammals, interferes with boating safety, harms coastal industries, and poses a threat to human health. In an effort to clean up Narragansett Bay and remove hazardous marine debris from the shoreline, I joined with officials from Clean The Bay to help kick off “Project Clean Sweep,” and secured $150,000 in federal funding for this initiative from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
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I was proud to cosponsor the Fannie Lou Hamer, Rosa Parks, and Coretta Scott King Voting Rights Act Reauthorization and Amendments Act, which became law on July 27, 2006. This law reauthorizes and strengthens the Voting Rights Act to help prevent voting discrimination and make sure every vote counts. The right to vote in America is essential. Our democracy is strengthened when everyone exercises their right to vote. This law protects our freedom to do so.
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I worked to ensure passage of the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Improvement Act of 2006 to provide Rhode Island students with the job training and academic skills they need to prepare them both for post-secondary education and to succeed and compete in today’s global workforce. This law includes comprehensive professional development provisions I authored to ensure that Rhode Island students in every classroom are taught by motivated, well-qualified, and highly-effective teachers. The new Perkins law also delivers increased funding for career and technical education in our state. This year, Rhode Island’s high schools, ten regional career and technical education centers, and the Community College of Rhode Island will receive over $5.8 million from this initiative. [top]
As one of the last acts of the year, Congress finally passed an extension of many vital tax credits that are significant for Rhode Island families and businesses. Among these credits are the Higher Education Deduction, which allows students or their families to deduct the costs of higher education expenses like college tuition; the tax credit for industrially funded research and development activities; and a credit to encourage the building of energy efficient homes. The IRS has indicated that 19 million taxpayers, including many Rhode Islanders, will benefit from this relief.
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With new leadership in the U.S. Senate, I am confident Congress can accomplish a great deal more in 2007 than we were able to during the 109th Congress.
I am also pleased to have regained my seat on the powerful Appropriations Committee, which controls the purse strings of Congress. This will greatly benefit Rhode Island by enhancing my ability to steer federal dollars back to our state.
My priorities in the Senate will continue to be the issues that Rhode Islanders care most about - health care, education, the environment, and expanding economic opportunity for our state and the nation.
I look forward to working with and hearing from you in the coming months as I continue to work hard to do my best on behalf of you and all Rhode Islanders.
Sincerely,
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