Op-Ed: Jackie's Journal, September 25

Op-Ed

Dear Friend,

Impressive crowds turned out for my August district events, with more than 700 residents attending both the Montara and San Carlos health care town halls and hundreds more coming to a similar forum in San Francisco. I heard a wide range of opinions at the events and returned to Congress in September as committed as ever to finding a way to make health care more accessible and affordable for everyone.

While there is still a lot of work to be done, we are closer to real reform than we have ever been and I believe that, before year's end, the President will have a comprehensive health care reform bill on his desk. I will continue to push for a strong public option to provide a low cost alternative for all Americans and to end the heinous insurance industry practices of denying coverage for pre-exisiting conditions and cancelling policies when customers fall seriously ill.

"Deadly Doyle" a lifeline for local businesses

Ask any long-time San Franciscan to name the most treacherous stretch of roadway in the City and they are likely to respond, "Deadly Doyle." The busy thoroughfare at the south end of the Golden Gate Bridge is finally being rebuilt in a massive project that is now getting underway.

At a briefing last week by the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency, officials stressed their commitment to keep as much of the $1 billion budgeted for this project in the local economy as possible and to involve small businesses in every phase of construction. To date, more than 25% of contracts have gone to small businesses.

Opportunities exist for a wide range of businesses, including materials and equipment, construction/demolition work, environmental remediation, signage, catering, etc. Bids for the next phase of construction will be opened in early October, with additional phases stretching into 2013. Business owners are encouraged to visit www.doyledrive.org for more information.

Increased opportunities for college students

This week, I voted for the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act. Higher education is the best investment our nation can make in the future and this bill will make it easier for Americans to go to college and more likely that they can graduate without crippling student loan debts.

The bill expands access to financial aid programs, saves tax dollars by eliminating costly guarantees to private lenders, increases the amount of Pell Grants and provides real-world career training through new partnerships between universities, community colleges, businesses and job training programs.

12,349 students from the 12th Congressional District benefit from college Pell Grants. This bill recognizes the rising cost of higher education by increasing the upper limit of Pell Grants to $5,550 in 2010, topping out at $6,900 in 2019. In addition, the legislation greatly expands the Perkins College Loan Program and takes for-profit lenders out of the student loan business, allowing students to borrow tuition money at a dependable rate and saving taxpayers billions of dollars that are currently paid every year to private lenders in guarantees for unpaid loans.

Finally, the bill lowers interest rates on subsidized, need-based federal student loans and creates a shorter and simpler federal financial aid form to make applying for financial aid easier for students and parents.

The bill now moves to the Senate for action.

Extra help for unemployed workers

On Tuesday, I voted to extend unemployment benefits for up to 13 weeks in states - like California - with the highest jobless rates. While economists tell us that the economy is showing signs of recovery, most Americans are months from witnessing those signs themselves. Meanwhile, the number of unemployed continues to rise and those who have been out of work the longest face the double-whammy of having their unemployment benefits run out long before employers start hiring again. This bill will help our neighbors keep food on the table while still pounding the pavement in search of a job.

The unemployment rate in San Mateo County (9.2%) is slightly below the 9.7% national average while San Francisco comes in just above the nationwide figure at 10.1%. California, as a whole, has been hit particularly hard by this recession and the effects are felt more severely in high cost-of-living areas like the Bay Area where, even with dependable jobs, many working people find it hard to make ends meet. Analysts have reported that there are currently six unemployed workers for every available job in the United States and more than 200,000 Californians will exhaust their current unemployment benefits by the end of the year.

Extending unemployment benefits not only helps those most in need keep their heads above water, it also pumps needed money into local economies. According to Moody's Economy, "every dollar of unemployment benefits provides $1.64 in economic stimulus."

Please visit my official website to keep up to date on my work in Congress and future events in the district

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