J une 29, 1994 • T he P ortland O bserver
P age A?
Striking A
Compromise
On Health
Care
by
S enator
BY aiUNA
B ob P ackwood
he health care debate
has been raging in our
nation’s capital all year,
and la s t w eek th e re w e re
significant developments.
A s the ranking m inority m e m b er
o f the S enate F inance C o m m ittee, I
am ta k in g a lead role in sh a p in g the
le g isla tio n that w ill attem p t to en su re
qu ality health care fo r a ll A m e ric a n s.
O n June 14, to g eth er w ith S e n a
tor P atric k M oynihan (D -N Y ), I m e t
w ith P re sid en t C lin to n an d se n io r
W hite H ouse advisors to discuss health
care reform and the p ro sp ects to r
gettin g a bill through C o n g ress th is
year.
I to ld the P resid en t that th e re w as
b ro ad , b ipartisan consensus in b o th
the H ouse and S enate to p a s s a b ill
w ith m eaningful insurance re fo rm s
so th at ev ery A m erican w ho w ants
h ealth insu ran ce can get it, affo rd it,
an d k ee p it!
B u t I also told the P re sid en t th at
C o n g ress co u ld not, and w o u ld not,
p ass any bill containing em p lo y er
m a n d ate s, price co n tro ls o r m ajo r
n ew taxes.
M o st o f my hour-long m eeting
w ith the P resid en t focused on the
issues o f u niversal coverage an d m an
dates. I told the P re sid en t that, w h ile
1 have long su p p o rted m a n d ate s — I
intro d u ced a b ill fo r P re sid e n t N ixon
w hich contained an em p lo y e r m an
d ate - the votes w ere n o t there to pass
a m andate in th is C o n g ress. I to ld the
A few w e e k s la te r it h ad
g r o w n to o v e r 6 0 0 - -w h ic h is th e
f ir s t m a p y o u se e a b o v e . O n e
y e a r la te r , o n Ju n e 2 3 ,1 9 9 4 , it is
f a x e d to n e a rly 4 ,0 0 0 in d iv id u
a ls . W h o a re th e 4 ,0 0 0 in d iv i d u
a ls ? C l e r g y - w h o c o p y a n d d i s
tr ib u te J a x F a x e a c h w e e k to th e ir
c o n g r e g a tio n s . N e w s p a p e r e d i-
t o r s - o v e r 35 c o m m u n ity n e w s
p a p e r s n o w w h o ru n J a x F a x as a
p
that w ould m ake insu ran ce co v e rag e
portable from jo b to jo b , e lim in a te the
practice o f excluding tho se w ith “p re
existing co n d itio n s” fro m in su ran ce
coverag e, and m ake o th e r in su ran ce
an d m arket reform s. I f th ese v o lu n
tary m easures d o n ’t b rin g us to u n i
versal coverage w ithin a few years,
the P resid en t could th en su b m it le g is
lation that he o r sh e b eliev e s w ill
bring us to universal coverag e.
Ju st as in som e trad e ag reem en ts,
the P resid en t’s prop o sal w o u ld be
considered by C o n g ress on a “ fast-
track” basis w ith o u ta filibuster. W hile
th e P re sid en t’s prop o sal w o u ld n o t go
into effect w ithout a positive vote o f
3
If an acto r w as
ag itated , depressed,
■
s ic k o rd y in g .a c ig a -
;
re tte w a s im m e d i * ‘
ately pressed into his
o r h e r m o u th -- and a
<.
deep, orgasm ic in h a
lation pro d u ced a be-
atific expression o f ultim ate satisfac
tion (a'calm in g m otoricity’ its called).
Joh n S teinbeck’s novel described
w
popi
the m iserable life o f southern tenant
farm ers w hose tragic existence d e
pended on the success o f the tobacco
crop. W hile, today, the life o f the
sm all fa n n e r is no bed o f roses, the
A m ericans w ithout m an d ates;
A nd, the L ew in/V H I study indi
cated that co v erin g th a t 91 p erc en t
through strictly v o lu n tary m ean s
w ould account for 97 p erc en t o f all
this c o u n try ’s health care costs.
O n June 15, the L os A n g eles
T im es reported “T u e sd a y ’s m eetin g ,
in particu lar an ex c h an g e b etw e en
P ackw ood and [Treasury S ecretary]
B entsen, m arked a tu rning p o in t at
w hich th e d iscussions b egan to take
the form o f true negotiations, k n o w l
edgeable observers said. T he ch o ice
is now fairly c le a r,’ said o n e se n io r
C lin to n advisor. T he o p tio n s are to
e i t h e r w o rk o u t a d e a l w ith
P ackw ood... o r accept d e f e a t..”
I t is m y s in c e r e d e s ir e to a r
r iv e a t a f a ir c o m p r o m is e w h ic h
w ill g iv e e v e r y A m e r ic a n a c c e s s
to g o o d h e a lth c a r e in s u r a n c e a t
a n a f f o r d a b le p r ic e . W ith th is in
m in d , b e a s s u r e d th a t I w ill c o n
tin u e to w o rk to b r in g m y f e llo w
S e n a to r s to g e th e r o n th is is s u e .
A s alw ays, please feel free to
co n tac t m e w ith any q u estio n s o r c o n
cerns you m ay have.
: i Y •.
*
' I
e c
from N R C m em bers w ho had read
a b o u t th e ir r a c ia lly in s e n s itiv e
c o m m e n ts in J a x F a x . B o th w e re
v e ry a n g r y a n d c a lle d th e N R C
o f fic e p r o te s tin g th e f a c t th a t w e
h a d p e o p le c a llin g th e m fro m a ll
a r o u n d th e c o u n tr y . K e e p u p th e
g o o d w o rk a n d r e m e m b e r , Ja x F a x
is g ro w in g o n y o u !
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v e s
z
larg er o p erato rs an d the co rp o rate
gian ts w ith th e ir v ertically -in teg rated
en terp rises are doing q u ite w ell thank
you.
W en d ell B erry, a w ell-k n o w n
social com m entator and a farm er h im
self (and a farm er sm oker) has this
interesting advice, q u o ted from his
new b o o k ‘Sex,
E conom y,
F re e d o m
&
Äy
C o m m u n ity ’
Professor
(P a n th e o n
k J),-, k
» *
B ooks #20.00,
Burt
173 pp.) “T he
people w ho so
eagerly condem n them fo r grow ing
tobacco should be ju s t as e a g er to help
them find a ltern ativ e c ro p s...It is
w rong to condem n peo p le for d oing a
thing an d th en o ffer no altern ativ e b u t
failure. A p erso n co uld g et m ad ab o u t
th a t ”
W ell, oth er people also could g e t
m ad , like, say fo r instance it has been
su g g ested th at b illio n s o f A m erican
taxpayer m oney should b e spent on
b ailin g o u t th ird -w o rld farm ers w ho
supply th e co cain e, heroin an d h ash
ish -m ak e them respectable. Do you get
the id ea th at M r. B erry, w h o is
from K entucky, is a tobacco farm er
w h o has seen the h an d w ritin g on the
w all? M aybe th a t’s w hy he charges so
m uch for such a little book o f m iscel
laneous essays.
M ore to a w orrisom e point, the
fine (and ugly) a rt o f “ gene m anipu-
lalion” once again is seen to be heavily
involved. A ppearing before the house
su b -co m m ittee on h ealth , to b acco
com pany ex ecutives w ere cau g h t ly
in g , fab ricatin g , hid in g th e truth and
otherw ise d isplaying
. . _ a facade o f con-
tem pt for the A m erican public. Brow n
an d W illiam son tobacco C o rp s top
ex ecu tiv e, T h o m as E. S an d efu r Jr.,
w as sim ply am azin g w ith his blatan t
....
d enial that n ico tin e is addictive.
Though
th e
u n r e p e n ta n t
S an d efu r insisted th at his com pany
adjusts the level o f n icotine in cig a
rettes o nly for taste the com m ittee
w as able to spring a devastating sur
prise on th e h ard -p ressed executive.
A 1976corporate study w as presented:
“T he im portance o f n icotine hardly
needs to be stressed, as it is so w idely
reco g n ized ...In n er need is ch a racter
ized as sm oking to achieve psycho
logical ben efits such as to relieve
stress and to aid co n cen tratio n ” . Isn ’t
th at w h at I w as saying in that first
article here, 6/1 5 ?
E qually devastating for the “ra s
ca ls” w as the revelation by F ood and
D rug C o m m issio n er (FD A ) D avid
K essler th at the tobacco com panies
w ere using ag en etically -m an ip u lated
strain o f tobacco p lan t grow n in B ra
zil (1/2) that d elivered “ tw ice as m uch
n ico tin e to a sm o k er.” FD A investi
. _ rs /■
____a a _ B razilian nA
g ato
found
p aten t for
this dangerously addictive new p lan t
in the nam e o f B row n and W illiam son
— and grow ing on a farm ow ned by
'S a n ta C ruz O v erseas’, a sister co m
pany. O h, w hat a “ tangled w eb ” these
villains w eave.
Several facts should be noted:
T h e parent com pany o f B row n and
W illia m so n is ‘B ritish -A m e ric a n
T obacco C o m p an y ’ w ith extensive
South A frican investm ents an d an
in ten se m ark etin g cam paign on that
co ntinent. T he cong ressm en on the
h ealth subcom m ittee w ho are from
tobacco-grow ing states tried rep eat
edly to force C om m issioner K essler
to reveal his sources - they get big
cam paign b u ck s from the tobacco
com panies. It w ould seem that w ithin
the structure o f this industry, w e have
a num ber o f th e kind o f people my
m o th er used to describ e as having “no
conscience, like w ell-bred sn ak es.”
Civil Rights Journal
What Is The Fourth of July To African Americans?
w e u ndertake o ther, m ore co n tro v e r
3)
r s p
t the tim e the John
S te in b e c k
novel
“Tobacco Road" was at
the top of all best seller lists in
the 1930’s Hollywood motion
p ic tu re s had beco m e the
nation’s greatest marketing tool
for cigarette consumption.
C on g ress, this p ro p o sal w o u ld allow
the new reform s to take effect, and fo r
their effectiveness to be ju d g e d b efore
sial proposals.
A n u m b e r o f c ritic a l e v e n ts h av e
o c c u r r e d w h ich a r e h a v in g a m a jo r
im p a c t o n th e h e a lth c a r e d e b a te ,
a n d h a v e led u s to th is p o in t.
1) P ro ponents o f m anaged c o m p e
tition have back ed o ff all m a n d a te s;
2) T h e C ongressional B udget O f
fice estim ated th at the bill sp o n
sored by Senators B reaux (D -L A )
an d D urenburger (R -M N ) w o u ld
provide coverage for 91 p erc en t o f
e
w h o m a k e c o p ie s a n d d is t r ib u t e it
a t le a d e r s h ip a n d o th e r c o m m u
n ity m e e tin g s .
W hy is Jax F ax g ro w in g so rap
idly? W hy has it b een so successful?
JaxFax w ould lik e to th in k it is b e
cau se w e are m eeting so m e real needs.
JaxFax keeps R ain b o w supporters up-
to-date on o u r th o u g h ts an d p o sitio n s
on cu rren t issues. It k eep s supporters
info rm ed o n issu es im p o rtan t to us. It
stim ulates action! W h en w e ask you
to take action it is n o t ju s t you alone
taking the action. Sen. E rn est H ollings
(D -S C ) an d R ep. D an a R o h rab ach er
(R -C A ) receiv ed hund red s o f calls
Tobacco Road: A Superhighway Of Disinformation
P resid en t there w as p assio n ate o p p o
sition to m andates from sm all b u si
ness ow n ers, reta ile rs, re sta u ra n teurs
an d other businesses.
F inally, I discussed w ith th e P re si
d ent a possible co m p ro m ise position
th a t w ould break the d e a d lo c k w ith
o u t im posing b u rd en so m e m andates.
W e co u ld pass legislatio n this year
r e g u la r w e e k ly c o lu m n ( w ith o v e r
6 0 0 ,0 0 0 c ir c u la tio n ) . R a d io s ta -
t i o n s - o v e r 2 0 s ta tio n s n o w u se
J a x F a x a t le a s t o n e h o u r e a c h
w e e k f o r r a d io c a ll- in a n d p u b lic
d is c u s s io n o f th e is s u e ( s ) ra is e d
b y J a x F a x . C h a irs o f s ta te B la c k
a n d L a tin p o litic a l c a u c u s e s th a t
g e t it to th e ir m e m b e rs a s w e ll as
to o th e r p r o g r e s s iv e s u p p o r te r s .
A ll m e m b e rs o f th e C o n g r e s s io n a l
B la c k C a u c u s . U n io n le a d e rs a n d
o th e r w o rk e r h a v e c r e a te d fa x -
tr e e s (s e e e x a m p le a t r ig h t) o r
c o p y a n d h a n d J a x F a x o u t to w o rk
a s s o c ia te s . C o m m u n ity le a d e r s
n June 23,1993, JaxFax
¡launched its firs t
I edition, which went to
167 people.
by
B ernice P owell J ackson
T h irte e n years b e fo re the
Em ancipation Proclam ation
Frederick Douglass, the great
a b o litio n is t
and
o ra to r,
delivered a Fourth of July
speech in which he pointed out
the hypocrisy of this country’s
celebration of Independence
Day while it still held million in
bondage.
This year, as the whole world has
celebrated the freedom o f South Africa,
African Americans have had a bitter
sweet feeling o f joy for our brothers and
sisters in South Africa and sadness that
131 years after the Emancipation Procla
mation, we still arc not free in our own
country.
Some would argue that African
Americans are free-that the Emancipa
tion Proclamation provided that. But for
nearly a century after that document,
African Americans in many southern
states were prevented from the most ba
sic tenet of any dem ocracy-the right to
vote. Some would argue that African
Americans were free with the passage of
the Voting Rights Act in 1965, which
ensured the right o f African Americans
to vote. But until the passage of a strength
ened Voting Rights Act in 1990, only
two African Americans from the South
were elected to Congress in 71 years and
few were able to be elected to county and
state legislatures or to be judges.
Some would argue that African
Americans were free with the Supreme
Court Brown vs Board of Education
decision which ended school segrega
tion and began the integration process
for other areas as well. But the fact is that
although integration has worked for a
few positive role models, few businesses
and services, poor education and a de
clining housing stock.
The reality, as we celebrate yet an
other Fourth of July, is that many Afri
can Americans arc still slaves in America.
W e arc slaves to violence. According to
the Children’s D efense Fund, homicide
is now the third leading cause of death
for elementary and middle school chil
dren and since 1979 more children have
been killed by firearms than soldiers
killed in the Viet Nam War. Black chil
dren are planning their funerals instead
of their proms and three quarters of black
adults worry that their children will not
live to become adults.
W e are slaves to poor education.
Many city school systems arc almost
completely attended by children of color.
Meanwhile, one o f the dilemmas corpo
rate America now finds itself in is that
increasing numbers of hi gh school gradu
ates can barely read or write or compute
and thus, the quality of our work force is
declining. In many o f our larger cities
fifty, sixty and even seventy percent of
young people drop out of high school
before graduation. Too many of our
young people are discouraged from suc
ceeding in school-ostracized by their
peers for having “white” values and not
expected to do well by teachers and
school systems which too often have low
expectation for African American youth.
W e are slaves to poor health care or
no health care at all. African American
children die at the same rate as children
in some th ird world countries. Our people
face higher incidence of cancer, hyper
tension, heart disease and diabetes and
often have fewer options for medical
care. AID has increased by 185 percent
among heterosexual African American
women over the past year alone and in
New York City 90 percent of all children
with AIDS are African American or
Latino. Yet African Americans, even
those with the best insurance arc less
likely to receive the best or most up-to-
date treatments, whether it be for heart
conditions or AIDS.
W e are slaves to an economy in
which there are millions of unskilled,
untrained A frican America w orkers
whose strong backs and ability to pick
cotton or assemble cars are no longer
needed by society. Unemployment rates
in the African American community can
be nearl y double that of whites and many
African Americans have simply stopped
looking for work and are no longer
counted as unemployed. W hile a small
percentage of African Americans have
prospered over the past two decades,
millions have been lumped together mto
the so-called underclass, where they feel
abandoned by society and hopeless about
the future. Generations of African Ameri
cans are living on welfare and children
grow up not knowing anyone w ih a job.
Frederick Douglass reminded him
self o f the mournful wail and the bleed
ing children o f his recent ancestors in
that Fourth of July speech nearly a cen
tury and a half ago. Let us remember
those chains and our children as this
country celebrates Independence Day
once again. And let us al so hear Douglass ’
words once more as w ell:.
For it is not light that is needed, but
fire; it is not the gentle shower but thun
der. W e need the storm, the whirlwind
and the earthquake. The feeling o f the
nation must bequickened; the conscience
o f the nation m ust be roused; the propri
ety o f the nation must be startled; the
hypocrisy o f the nation must be exposed;
and its crimes against God and man must
be denounced.
And let us remember that until all of
us are free, none o f us is free.
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