| Senator Maria Cantwell’s Weekly Update for Washington State | Monday May 7 , 2007 |
Extending Education Opportunities for Veterans
The GI Bill, a cornerstone of education in America, provides our military personnel with up to $1,075 per month for 36 months of education or job training. But these benefits come with a time limit: 10 years for active-duty enrollees and 14 years for reserve members. When our service members leave the military, family obligations, work commitments, and economic difficulties often get in the way, preventing many of them from using their GI Bill benefits before they expire. While almost all service members contribute to the GI Bill program, only half take advantage of the education benefits before they expire, often because they have to work full-time to support their families. I’ve introduced legislation to remove this arbitrary time limit and make sure our veterans can get valuable skills training when the time is right for them. My GI Bill for Life would make sure our veterans can use these benefits at any time, whether it’s right after they leave the military, or years down the road when they want to go back to school or upgrade their skills.
Making Sure Gas Prices are Always Fair
With oil company profits seeming to be the only thing going up higher than gas prices, it’s often hard for families to have confidence that rising prices are fair. That’s why I’ve reintroduced my bipartisan legislation to make gas price gouging a federal crime and improve pricing transparency. My bill would put a gas price gouging ban in place, ramp up consumer protections, and improve the federal government’s ability to conduct investigations and fine companies found to be charging “unconscionably excessive” prices. I first introduced this measure in 2005, and it received 57 votes when it came to the Senate floor—just shy of the 60 needed at the time. This year, I’m confident we can get this bill signed into law. With some analysts predicting gas prices could pass the four dollar mark this summer, we need these safeguards in place to protect our economy, keep families within their budgets, and prevent unfair profiteering and market manipulation by oil and gas companies.
Shutting Down More Meth Labs
Last year, Congress passed the Combat Meth Act, which moved meth ingredients behind pharmacy counters, limited the amount of potential meth ingredients one person can buy, and required purchasers to sign a logbook. Now we need to build on this law and stop those who circumvent it by going to multiple stores over a wide area. To accomplish this goal, I’ve joined senators Richard Durbin (D-IL) and Chuck Grassley (R-IA) in introducing the Methamphetamine Production Prevention Act. Our bill would promote the use of electronic logbooks to monitor sales more accurately over a wider area, allowing law enforcement to identify individuals stockpiling meth precursors. Electronic logbooks will go a long way toward stopping the meth cooks who pass through several stores that use written logbooks to get their ingredients. By speeding the implementation of electronic logbook systems, we can give our law enforcement a valuable new tool to further reduce the number of meth labs throughout our country.
Improving Security at Pacific Northwest Dams
I’ve introduced bipartisan legislation that would require the federal government to cover 85 percent of security costs at all federal hydroelectric facilities. Since September 11, 2001, local water and power users have taken on most of the responsibility for these costs in the form of higher rates. Our federal dams are critical to our economy and to millions of Washingtonians. The government must take seriously its responsibility to protect these dams—twelve of which are in Washington state—and that means making the necessary security upgrades without leaving local families and farmers with the bill. The federal government runs these dams, and the federal government should cover the bulk of security bills. Dumping costs on a small group of users is not the way to get this job done.
Learning More about the Meth-ID Theft Link
I’m pleased to report that last month, the Senate Commerce Committee approved my plan to conduct a national study of the link between identity theft and meth. I first heard about this link from law enforcement officers throughout our state, but no national data exists on this combination of crimes, and there is no comprehensive strategy to deal with the connection. Getting our law enforcement more information about the link between identity theft and meth is long overdue, and this study will build the case for more resources to fight them. It will aid local law enforcement in developing far-reaching solutions to the problem of meth addicts engaging in widespread identity theft.
National Food Drive on Saturday, May 12
This Saturday, May 12, the National Association of Letter Carriers is sponsoring the 2007 Food Drive. This annual drive is vital to ensuring that we have a safety net in place for those in need. Sadly, hunger remains a persistent problem in our country with over 11 percent of all households facing uncertainty when it comes to having enough food. We have a responsibility to provide food to these vulnerable citizens. Hundreds of local food banks around the state rely on the generosity of ordinary citizens and Food Drives allow us all to do our part to help those in need. I encourage everyone to set out nutritious, non-perishable food with their mail this Saturday.
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