U.S. Rep. Judy Biggert (R-IL-13th) Weekly E-Newsletter
December 4, 2008
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For more information, please visit http://judybiggert.house.gov/.
In this Week's E-Newsletter:
- This Week in Congress
- Week in Review
- Featured Story
- From the Press Desk
- In Her Own Words
- In the News
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This Week in Congress:
Monday, December 1, 2008 through Friday, December 5, 2008
Congress is out of session this week for district work period. However, Congresswoman Biggert will be Washington to participate in a House Financial Services Committee hearing to explore options for stabilizing the American automobile industry. The hearing will take place on Friday, December 5, 2008 at 8:30 am central time. For more information or to view the live webcast, click here.
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Week in Review:
Monday, November 24, 2008 through Friday, November 28, 2008
Congress was out of session last week for district work period.
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Featured Story – A Capitol Experience:
Just outside the U.S. Capitol, Judy gives an impromptu lesson on government and politics to eighth graders from Hinsdale Middle School
Washington, DC – As part of their annual class trip to Washington, eighth grade students from Hinsdale Middle School recently visited with Biggert on the steps of the U.S. Capitol building. After answering questions about the role of Congress and her job as a legislator, Biggert and her staff brought the students in for a tour of the U.S. Capitol complex, including the official House Chamber. Tour participants also got to see the Grand Rotunda, Statuary Hall, the Hall of Columns, and other historic Capitol Hill attractions.
“It’s always a fun time when students come to visit us in Washington,” said Biggert. “The kids ask great questions and they get to see first-hand how Congress works. But you don’t need to be part of a school group to have this experience. If you or your family are planning a visit to Washington, please call my office and we’ll help make arrangements for tours of the Capitol and other D.C. landmarks.”
On December 2, 2008, the new Capitol Visitor Center officially opened to the public. To read about new attractions or to get updates on the latest changes to Capitol tour guidelines, visit http://www.visitthecapitol.gov. For assistance scheduling tours, contact Biggert’s Willowbrook office at (630) 655-2052.
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From the Press Desk:
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
Reminder: It’s Open Season to Change Medicare Part D Prescription Plans
Seniors wishing to make changes to their Medicare Part D prescription drug coverage may do so during this year’s open enrollment period, which began on November 15th and will run through December 31, 2008. To enroll or change plans, seniors should contact Medicare directly at 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227). Medicare representatives are available to answer questions and assist seniors 24 hours a day, seven days a week before the December 31st deadline.
To compare plans or to find more information on coverage available in your area, visit http://www.medicare.gov. A Medicare Prescription Drug Plan Finder tool is available online to help Medicare enrollees to identify the plan that best meets their budgetary and medical needs.
Seniors with additional questions are encouraged to contact Congresswoman Biggert’s Willowbrook office at (630) 655-2052.
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In Her Own Words:
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Biggert to Hill Leaders: Don’t Forget Retirees
Calls for protection of retirement savings in economic stimulus
Washington, DC – U.S. Representative Judy Biggert (R-IL-13) today sent a letter to House and Senate leaders requesting that any upcoming stimulus legislation include provisions aimed at helping seniors to ride out the recent economic downturn. Currently, retirees with 401(k) or IRA plans are forced to regularly withdraw assets from those accounts once they reach the age of 70 and a half. As a result, many seniors who have recently seen sharp declines in their retirement portfolios are being forced to choose between facing a steep tax penalty or converting assets before the market has had a chance to recover. In her letter, Biggert advocates giving seniors the option of retaining their retirement investments until it makes prudent economic sense. She asked Congressional leaders to include her bill, H.R. 7279, the Seniors’ Investment Security Act of 2008 (SISA), in legislation expected to be considered as early as December 8th.
“If Congress is going to invest billions of dollars into an economic recovery plan, then struggling American retirees should at least be given the opportunity to benefit from any upswing in the market,” said Biggert, Ranking Member of the House Financial Services Financial Institutions and Consumer Credit Subcommittee. “Instead of forcing them to sell or convert stocks and mutual funds at the worst possible time, let’s let seniors manage their assets in a way that makes the most financial sense for them.”
&nbs p; To read the full text of Biggert’s letter, click here.
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In the News:
Thursday, December 4, 2008
The Naperville Sun
By Paige Winfield and Tim Waldorf
Local students taking their places in history
Locals going to D.C. for inauguration
In the race to secure tickets to the presidential inauguration, a number of Naperville residents are winners.
Naperville Central High School senior Cassidy Carroll was too young to cast a vote for Barack Obama in the November presidential election. That didn't keep her from attending his election night victory rally in Grant Park, nor will it keep her from being in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 20, when he will be sworn in as the United States' 44th president.
"Now I feel like I'm going to be a part of it," Carroll said.
Twenty-eight Central students and four adult chaperones are traveling to the nation's capital Jan. 18 to 21 to be among the estimated 2 million people to converge on the city in hopes of witnessing the historic event.
Central social studies teacher Donna Mohn planned the trip in May and contacted Rep. Judy Biggert's office in September, requesting 25 tickets. That's how many people planned to take the trip at the time.
The group has grown by seven since then.
So, said Mohn, it was a "good news and bad news" situation when Biggert's office contact Mohn last week to say that 25 of the 198 inauguration tickets Biggert was allotted had been reserved for the group of Central students.
That's 25 of roughly 250,000 of tickets needed for admission to a secure observation area for the swearing-in ceremony outside the U.S. Capitol.
Mohn said she simply couldn't turn down the highly sought-after tickets, which Biggert's office awarded on a first-come, first-served basis. Luckily she didn't, as Biggert herself called Friday to say she'd found seven more.
"So everyone in the group will be in the ticketed area now," Mohn said.
The group will actually stay in a hotel outside Washington and travel there by bus each day of the trip. While in Washington, Smithsonian Student Travel will lead them on tours of museums and monuments, and they will attend a formal inaugural ball for students.
Mohn also has requested a White House tour through Biggert's office and is hoping that request will be approved, and the exclusive visit will end up supplanting one of Smithsonian Student Travel's museum visits.
But, insisted Mohn, the students signed up for the trip primarily to be part of the inaugural experience.
"I just think it will be a really good story to be able to tell my kids and grandkids," junior Taylor McLean said.
Central isn't the only area school sending students to the ceremony. A senior from Naperville North High School will join a group of students from all over the country for the inauguration. Daniel Gonzalez, 17, received a call from the National Youth Law Forum in July, inviting him to attend the ceremony and other events organized by the forum.
The call came a week after Gonzalez returned home from the forum's four-day law camp in D.C., where he took classes, studied cases and participated in a mock trial. The aspiring corporate lawyer is a member of Junior Statesmen of America and says he has been interested in pursuing law for a long time.
Gonzalez said he's "really excited" about the four-day trip, during which he'll attend an inaugural ball and hear speakers like Al Gore and Colin Powell with other NYLF students. If he had been old enough to vote, he said he would have supported President-elect Obama.
"I like his ideas, (about) energy especially," Gonzalez said. "He just all-around interested me, and it helped that he was from Chicago."
Naperville resident Kim White is still waiting for a word from Sen. Dick Durbin's office on whether she will receive the four tickets she requested right after the election. Whether or not the tickets come her way, she'll be attending an inaugural ball at George Washington University with her husband, Benny White, and their children, B.J., 17, and Logan, 12.
A friend who works at George Washington University offered the Whites tickets to the ball last June, and they jumped at the offer, securing a hotel and airplane tickets right away.
"We got in pretty early, so our rates were pretty good," said White, who is paying about $250 per night to stay in a hotel about 10 miles south of D.C. They paid less than $200 for each plane ticket, White said.
Now she's shopping for clothes to wear to the ball. Benny, who is in the military, will be wearing his uniform, and B.J. will wear a tuxedo, she said. Logan is deciding between two outfits, and White said she is deciding whether to invest in a new dress for herself.
"I'm the one still in limbo," White said. "We've attended a number of military formals, so I have a number of dresses in my closet. I haven't decided whether I will wear one of those or buy another one."
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For more information, please visit http://judybiggert.house.gov/. |