Interview with U.S. Senator and Majority Whip Richard Durbin
This is an historic time in our country for many reasons, especially now with the 60+ year attempt to overhaul the nation’s health care industry looking like it may happen after passing the House on Saturday night. Now the Senate takes up the issue, and it's looking to be a contentious debate as the GOP and so called moderate Dems are putting up roadblocks to water down and neuter any legislation that might pass. The primary vote counter and Majority Whip of the U.S. Senate, Senator Richard Durbin, D-(IL) answered a few questions last week on healthcare and other issues.
Senator Durbin,
Thank you so much for taking a few minutes out of your busy schedule to answer a few questions.
Q- What do you say to the Republicans and moderate members of your own party that say we can’t afford to do healthcare reform because of our huge deficits and mounting national debt?
A- The simple answer is that this is a once in a political lifetime opportunity and we can’t afford not to reform our health care system now. The President has insisted that any bill he signs into law will not add one dollar to the deficit. The Senate bill will meet that requirement. It’s important to remember that nearly two out of every three people who file for bankruptcy in this country do so because of catastrophic health care expenses. And more than three quarters of those filing for bankruptcy due to health care costs had insurance — they just didn’t have enough of it. We also shouldn’t lose sight of the fact that the status quo costs the average family an extra $1,000 of year in premiums, primarily to cover the costs of the uninsured who end up in the ER unnecessarily.
Q- Senators Kerry and Boxer have introduced a 'Clean Energy Jobs and American Power Act' as a companion to the Houses H.R.2454. Do you think the energy companies will fight these measures as the insurance companies have fought health care reform, and if so, how do you make the case for the planet's long-term survival vs. short-term profits?
A- Critics will dispute the evidence of global warming and make outlandish claims that climate change legislation will bankrupt the economy, just as they have in the health care debate. They’re wrong. The Congressional Budget Office calculated that the House legislation would cost the average household less than 50 cents per day. The Environmental Protection Agency’s estimate was even less. The EPA found that reductions in carbon pollution required by this bill will cost American families less than a postage stamp per day. And we know that the bill’s investments in clean energy technologies will create jobs. A recent study by the Center for American Progress and PERI found that 16.7 jobs are created for every $1 million spent in clean energy investments. Spending the same amount in fossil fuels only creates 5.3 jobs.
Q- On April 27, 2009, in an interview with WJJG talk radio host Ray Hanania, you accused banks of creating the financial crisis of 2007–2009, and expressed a belief that many of the banks responsible for creating the crisis "own the place," referring to Congress. What do you think can be done to make sure that another bank created crisis doesn't hit us again in the future?
A- We need to make sure the financial industry never gets away with creating a Great Recession again. We need fundamental change to the way that finance works in this country, and we need it now. We need people in Washington who go to work every day thinking about how to make markets for financial products work better for working families, not banks. We need a regulator with teeth, one that can create strong rules and can ensure that they are being followed. We need to make sure the robber barons that are responsible for this recession don’t get away with creating it and then declaring themselves a dividend. When we bring the Consumer Financial Protection Agency and the rest of financial regulatory reform to the Senate floor, if the banks try to weaken what the President has proposed and what I strongly support, they’ll have a fight on their hands.
Follow Technorati