Wisconsin Clean Elections Coalition

Promoting fair elections for all parties and independents

eNewsletter #4
(Feb 1, 2006)

This is a periodic newsletter on election and health care reform. If you wish not to receive it please unsubscribe at the bottom and accept my apologies for the intrusion.

In this issue:

1) Follow-up of SB1 Hearings on Jan 25th

2) Letter, USA Today, Fix Health Care

3) Obey and Frank Introduce House Reform Bill

4) Pier Pressure (from WDC)

5) Interesting Links (from Taxpayers for Common Sense)

6) Legislative Hearings (nothing new to report)

7) Book recommendations (2 new ones)

8) Contact Information

9) Removal instructions

Please do not respond to this email address. It is used for cleanup purposes only. Please use jelohman@gmail.com

1
Follow-up: SB1 Hearings (Ethics bill)

They went as well as anyone could expect of these types of hearings. The committee members were all ears, at least during the two-hour session. Time will tell whether anything sets in. Excellent testimony was given by Mike McCabe of Wisconsin Democracy Campaign and George Penn, an activist speaking for WI Group for an Independent Voice, a media watchdog group (geo_penn@charter.net).

Common Cause was present but silent. McCabe charged that all state politicians are being tarred with the same brush because of the Chvala and Doyle issues, and the 6% confidence polls bear that out. If you aren’t already on the WDC email list, sign up at www.wisdc.org and see Mike’s testimony at http://wisdc.org/wdctestimony012506.php.

The next step is in the hands of the committee. They had some concerns and are expected to offer amendments before it goes to a vote and then back to the senate for approval. If your representative is one of those below, please call him and ask for the strongest bill possible.

Committee on Campaigns and Elections

Representatives Freese, chairperson, Gundrum, vice chairperson

Representatives J. Wood, Vos, Travis, and Kessler

2
Letter, USA Today, 1/26/2006

Fix U.S. health care

How many more jobs in the auto industry must we lose before we fix the health care system? Between General Motors and Ford, about 60,000 jobs are slated to be cut.

But guess what? In 2004, Ontario, not Michigan, was North America's leading car producer. GM's health care costs, for example, are about $6,500 per employee in the USA compared with only $800 in Canada. That's because Canada has a universal health care system, while we have a for-profit, free-market system that is perpetuated by tens of millions of dollars per year in campaign contributions. So jobs are heading north and to other countries whose companies do not have to add health care to their bottom line.

Why is the business world not demanding a similar universal health care system in the USA? Right now, businesses are adding their health care costs to the price of their products and the public reimburses them at the cash register.

Where are our heads? It would cost the public no more to pay for this cost with higher taxes, but we'd keep jobs in the USA as companies could better compete with foreign products.

As a Medicare patient, I can attest to the fact that a Medicare-for-all system would be totally acceptable to the public. The hospital, HMO and pharmaceutical industries would oppose it, but who is Congress responsible to?

Jack E. Lohman, Colgate, Wis.

Source: http://www.usatoday.com/news/opinion/editorials/2006-01-25-letters-ford_x.htm

3
Obey, Frank Introduce House Reform Plan

01/25/2006

OBEY, Frank Introduce Plan
To Take Private Money Out of Politics

Legislation Is Intended To Break Nexus
Of Money In Politics & Restore Public Faith In Congress

Washington, D.C. – Recognizing that more than lobbying rule changes are necessary to restore the public’s faith in Congress, Representatives Dave Obey (D-WI) and Barney Frank (D-MA) announced today that when Congress reconvenes they will introduce legislation that would radically overhaul the congressional campaign finance system; eliminating all private money from general elections for the U.S. House of Representatives.

In conjunction with the 14-point House rule reform package Obey and Frank are introducing with Reps. David Price (D-NC) and Tom Allen (D-ME), the plan is intended to break the nexus of money in the legislative process and return the nation to government ‘of the people, by the people and for the people.’

See the complete press release at: http://obey.house.gov/HoR/WI07/Newsroom/Press+Releases/Grassroots+Clean+Campaign+Act.htm

And the details at: http://obey.house.gov/NR/rdonlyres/18C93B2C-E930-4B97-8EFE-49F1B4F0F487/0/GrassrootsCleanCampaignAct1Pager.pdf

4
Docks Unlimited
(from Wisconsin Democracy Campaign)

Realtor, builder and restaurant campaign contributions floating weak pier rules

Madison - Assembly lawmakers who support a legislative proposal that weakens dock rules sought by state environmental experts have received 5.5 times more in campaign contributions from powerful special interests that favor the plan than opponents, a Wisconsin Democracy Campaign analysis shows.

See the complete report at: http://www.wisdc.org/pr013006.php

5
Interesting links to recent stories
(compiled by Taxpayers for Common Sense www.taxpayer.net)

DOD budget home to congressional pork (UPI)
Defense Budget: Where's the Pork? (Mother Jones Magazine)
Congressional pet projects boom -- in secret (Boston Globe)
Earmarking -- A Win-Win for Lobbyists and Politicians (Los Angeles Times)
Santorum, McCain unusual allies on lobby rules (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)
Senators to challenge special-interest spending (Copley News Service)
Capital's New Four-Letter Word (Washington Post)
The first battle is to define the term (The Hill)
Pentagon dismissed tips on wasteful spending, documents show (Knight Ridder)
There will be lobbyist reform, but how far will it go? (Knight Ridder)
Want more capital in the Capitol? Hire a lobbyist (Los Angeles Daily News)
Partisans audition lobbying reforms (Kansas City Star)

6
Upcoming Legislative Hearings

(no changes since last eNewsletter)

On AB626

AB626 Mark Pocan’s Clean Money elections will hopefully be rescheduled with 2-4 weeks. (Support)
(Public financing of elections for certain state offices)

On Health Care (no change since last eNewsletter)

SB388 by Sen. Mark Miller – AB807 by Rep. Chuck Benedict - Unknown (Support)
(Establishing a publicly financed health care system for residents of this state.)

Two Op-Eds in support of universal health care, for those interested:

http://www.pnhp.org/news/2005/july/its_time_to_bypass_e.php
http://www.pnhp.org/news/2005/september/free_corporations_fr.php

7
Book Recommendations (on Health care)

Read the reviews on www.amazon.com

Critical Condition: How Health Care in America Became Big Business—and Bad Medicine

by Donald L. Barlett, James B. Steele (ISBN: 0385504543)

The Prologue is worth the price of this book by two investigative reporters.

On the Take: How Medicine’s Complicity with Big Business can Endanger Your Health

by Jerome P. Kassirer, M.D. (ISBN: 0195300041)

Physicians, their conflicts of interest, and how it affects the patient. Having just come from 35 years in the health care field, I can attest to its accuracy.  

8
Contact information

Lohman is a retired business owner in Colgate WI and volunteers’ time on the issues of Election reform and Universal health care -

Contact: Jack Lohman

jelohman@gmail.com or jelohman@charter.net

Phone 414-477-8686 (cell)

www.WiCleanElections.org

www.wi-cfr.org

www.SmokeFreeDining.net

9
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