Congressman Joe Sestak – First 100 Days in Congress

Whirlwind of outreach, accomplishments, and constituent service

April 13, 2007

Media, PA — Today, Congressman Joe Sestak (PA-07) marked his first 100 days in Congress, citing a remarkable record of accomplishments, outreach and constituent service. “I made a promise when I ran for Congress that I would be committed to working on the issues that matter most for my constituents,” noted Joe. “That is why I have made education, healthcare, economic development and defense security my top priorities in Congress. I believe our nation is strongest and most secure when we invest in education, economic development, and healthcare for all; these three priorities plus defense security give us a strong national security.”

“I am serving on committees that best represent these priorities: the Armed Services Committee for defense; the Committee on Education and Labor, for helping to ensure that everyone has access to a high quality education, and for half of the economic pillar—the workforce; I am particularly proud to have been selected the Vice Chairman of the Committee on Small Business for the other half of the economic pillar. As for my health pillar I serve on the Subcommittee on Health, Employment, Labor, and Pensions, as well as the Subcommittee on Regulations, Healthcare and Trade.”

 “In my first 100 days in Congress, I have held a series of district-wide summits on these priorities as a way to bring together our community with local, state and national experts to discuss the salient issues and to develop legislative solutions. In particular, I held a two-part Education Summit, with Education and Labor Committee Chairman George Miller and Higher Education Chairman Ruben Hinojosa. I also recently held a summit with Congressman Patrick Kennedy on mental health parity, and I am planning a healthcare summit in May. And I held a summit on Economic Development, with local chambers of commerce, business owners, economic development professionals, elected officials, union leaders, and members of the higher education and advanced training communities to discuss and work on strategies enhancing our local and regional economy. This is just the start as I plan on also holding summits on Veterans Affairs, the Environment, and an additional Economic Summit with Small Business Chairman Nydia Velazquez.”

“These summits generated much discussion, and I have been using my committee assignments to push through the ideas that came out of our debate. For instance, I successfully passed two amendments which will improve mental health care for our wounded soldiers as a result of my summit with Congressman Kennedy. During my Education Summit’s panel discussion on early childhood education, panelists and guests discussed the need to address issues pertaining to Head Start, including continued support of parental involvement in local Head Start policy councils; extending eligibility of Head Start for families up to 130 percent of the poverty level; and ways to recruit retain head start teachers, including loan forgiveness. As a result of this discussion, I successfully worked with Chairman Miller to incorporate parental involvement in local Head Start policy councils and to extend the eligibility of Head Start families into H.R. 1429, the Improving Head Start Act. I also offered an amendment during the Head Start Reauthorization bill to provide loan forgiveness (up to $17,500) for Head Start teachers, the same currently offered to math, science, and special education teachers. And through my work on the Education and Labor Committee, I have helped push for an increase to the federal minimum wage to $7.25 an hour by joining Chairman George Miller in introducing and voting on the Fair Minimum Wage Act.”

“I intend to use my seat on these committees to ensure there we prioritize areas that have been shown to have a significant impact upon individual prosperity and economic growth, such as early childhood education, affordable access to college, and attracting and rewarding quality teachers. And I look forward to addressing significant workforce and labor issues, such as health benefits, pension security, small business development, and other issues important to this district and working families.”

“I am also committed to working on the issues that are unique to the 7th District, like fighting the FAA’s airspace redesign proposal, by bringing all parties together to ensure that the process is delayed until our concerns about its impact on the safety, health, education and property values of my constituents are fully addressed.”

Education

·         Successfully fought to serve on the Education and Labor Committee, including the Early Childhood, Elementary and Secondary Education Subcommittee

·         Held an Education Summit, with Education and Labor Committee Chairman George Miller, where educators, parents, students, administrators, and policy makers discussed education issues surrounding Early Childhood, special education, and Elementary and Secondary Education.

·         During the Education Summit’s panel discussion on early childhood education, Congressman Sestak’s panelists and guests discussed the need to address issues pertaining to Head Start, including continued support of parental involvement in local Head Start policy councils; extending eligibility of Head Start for families up to 130 percent of the poverty level; and ways to recruit retain head start teachers, including loan forgiveness. As a result of this discussion, Congressman Sestak worked with Chairman Miller to incorporate parental involvement in local Head Start policy councils and to extend the eligibility of Head Start families into H.R. 1429, the Improving Head Start Act. Joe also offered an amendment during the Head Start Reauthorization bill to provide loan forgiveness (up to $17,500) for Head Start teachers, the same currently offered to math, science, and special education teachers.

·         Held a Higher Education Summit, with Higher Education, Lifelong Learning, and Competitiveness Chairman Ruben Hinojosa, which brought together Presidents of universities, colleges, and community colleges, along with Deans of Education and Engineering, advanced training schools, chambers of commerce, businesses, unions, regional development groups, principals, and superintendents of high schools  to discuss salient issues related to Higher Education and Advanced Training.

·         Helped push for passage of  the College Student Relief Act (H.R. 5), which was one of the first bills Joe cosponsored in Congress, to cut interest rates on student loans by half from 6.8 percent to 3.4 percent.

·         Joined Congressman Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) in introducing legislation, the Keep our PACT Act (H.R. 627), to fully-fund No Child Left Behind and IDEA by 2014.

·         Along with Congressman Dale Kildee (D-MI), introduced legislation, the Improving Head Start Act (H.R. 1429), to reauthorize and improve the Head Start program.

·         Introduced the College Aid Made EZ Act ( H.R. 1608) along with Chairman George Miller to streamline and make more user-friendly the Federal student financial aid application process.

 

Healthcare

·         Serves on the Education and Labor Subcommittee on Health, Employment, Labor, and Pensions, which has jurisdiction over employee health benefits,  as well as the Small Business Subcommittee on Regulations, Healthcare and Trade.

·         Successfully passed two amendments to H.R. 1538, the Wounded Warrior Assistance Act, which will improve mental health care for our wounded soldiers. The first amendment highlights the fact that mental health care is an essential component to the medical services offered to our Veterans and the members of our Armed Services by clarifying that ‘medical care’ as defined in H.R. 1538 includes mental health care services. The second amendment requires the Secretary of the Department of Defense to develop a plan to help prevent Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and other stress-related psychopathologies (including substance abuse conditions) from developing in our military service members.  In addition, it requires the Secretary to submit to Congress within 180 days a plan for establishing a Peer-Reviewed research program within the Defense Health Program’s research and development function to research the prevention of

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and how to best strengthen the psychological resiliency of our military service members. Both amendments passed with unanimous support.

·         Held a summit, with Congressman Patrick Kennedy (D-RI) on mental health parity. The discussion from the summit produced the two amendments that Congressman Sestak successfully offered to the Wounded Warrior Assistance Act.

·         Helped expand funding for embryonic stem cell research by cosponsoring and voting for the Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act (H.R. 3).

·         Introduced the Conquer Childhood Cancer Act (H.R. 1553), along with Congresswoman Deborah Pryce (R-OH), to encourage and expand support for biomedical research programs for childhood cancer and to establish a population-based childhood cancer database.

·         Pushed for the Secretary of Health and Human Services to negotiate with drug manufacturers to obtain more affordable medication prices for Medicare beneficiaries by cosponsoring and voting for H.R. 4, the Medicare Prescription Drug Direct Negotiation Act.

 

Economic Development

·         Selected Vice Chairman of the Small Business Committee, which strives to support new and small businesses through open access to loans, credit and capital, advocates fair and true tax relief for small business, and works to reduce onerous regulations and paperwork.

·         Held a summit on Economic Development, which brought together local chambers of commerce, business owners, economic development professionals, elected officials, union leaders, and members of the higher education and advanced training communities to discuss and work on strategies to enhance the local and regional economy.

·         Helped increase the federal minimum wage to $7.25 an hour by joining Chairman George Miller in introducing and voting on the Fair Minimum Wage Act (H.R. 2).

·         Cosponsored the Family Small Business Tax Fairness Act (H.R. 868) with Congressman Lloyd Doggett (D-TX) to streamline small business joint-tax filings.

·         Joined Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro in cosponsoring the Paycheck Fairness Act (H.R. 1338), which provides for more effective remedies to victims of discrimination in the payment of wages on the basis of sex.

·         Successfully fought for an increase in the Community Services Block Grant program, which provides for the basic needs of low-income families, including food, housing, and health care payments, and LIHEAP, which provides households with financial assistance for their heating bills, by joining together with colleagues to advocate for an increase to the Budget Committee.

 

Defense Security

·         Serves on the Committee on Armed Services.

·         Introduced legislation, H.R. 960, the Enhancing America’s Security through Redeployment from Iraq Act, which requires that, no later than December 31, 2007, all U.S. Armed Forces serving in Iraq be redeployed outside of Iraq, either to locations within the Middle East or Southwest Asia regions or other regions or nations, or to the United States.

·         Successfully passed two amendments to H.R. 1538, the Wounded Warrior Assistance Act, which will improve mental health care for our wounded soldiers. The first amendment highlights the fact that mental health care is an essential component to the medical services offered to our Veterans and the members of our Armed Services by clarifying that ‘medical care’ as defined in H.R. 1538 includes mental health care services. The second amendment requires the Secretary of the Department of Defense to develop a plan to help prevent Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and other stress-related psychopathologies (including substance abuse conditions) from developing in our military service members.  In addition, it requires the Secretary to submit to Congress within 180 days a plan for establishing a Peer-Reviewed research program within the Defense Health Program’s research and development function to research the prevention of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and how to best strengthen the psychological resiliency of our military service members. Both amendments passed with unanimous support.

·         Voted for H.R. 1591, the U.S. Troop Readiness, Veterans’ Health and Iraq Accountability Act, which sets a date certain for redeploying our troops from Iraq.

·         Cosponsored and voted for H.R. 1, the Implementing the 9/11 Commission Recommendations Act, which is the first comprehensive response to the non-intelligence reform recommendations of the 9/11 Commission.

·         Because of his background and unique perspective on the issue of Iraq, Congressman Sestak has become a leading voice on the issue of national security. In particular, he was invited to speak on Meet the Press with Tim Russert to debate Iraq, one of only a few freshman Members of Congress ever invited to appear on this nationally-syndicated program.

 

LOCAL ISSUES:

“In the 7th District, we are also faced with local issues that have a direct impact on our lives, including the FAA’s proposed airspace redesign on Delaware County’s citizens, which must not be permitted to injure our safety, health, education, and property values,” added Joe. “Even before I was sworn into office, I have been focused on addressing these issues, and I will continue working with all necessary parties to stop the FAA’s current airspace redesign proposal.

“Because of my concerns, I established an Expert Aviation Advisory Board to assess, quantify and report the negative impacts of the FAA’s proposal and to develop a multi-part plan to address this issue. I also met with Deputy Secretary of Transportation Maria Cino to underscore the proposal’s negative impact. As a result, she arranged for the first time for FAA’s Airspace Redesign Manager to directly answer questions from concerned citizens on this issue. We held that public forum in Ridley Township. I also brought up Aviation Subcommittee Chairman Jerry Costello to provide community leaders and my Expert Advisory Board the opportunity to directly present their views and data about the FAA’s proposal. This event resulted in Chairman Costello contacting FAA Administrator Marion Blakey the next day to say he wanted her to receive our panel’s presentation, which he noted was the most informative and professional presentation on an FAA issue during his 18 years serving on the Aviation Subcommittee.”

“In fact, I spoke with Administrator Blakey to lay out what needs to be done to fully mitigate any impact and stressed that the process needs to be delayed until all concerns are addressed. I also discussed the option of litigation, noting that it was a necessary option if the process was not delayed to address our concerns and to fully mitigate the noise impact. In response, Administrator Blakey will be meeting on April 20 with me, the Expert Advisory Board, and others to discuss the need to delay the process as necessary to address our concerns and then explore other redesign options.”

“Our efforts have already had an impact, although more needs to be done. Bottom line: no one should be negatively impacted by this proposal, and all noise and its impact must be eliminated.”

“I also support litigation as a necessary option, but I recognize that the FAA has won 12 of the 13 cases litigated against it on redesigns in recent history.  Therefore, I am also working with Congressman Rob Andrews (D-NJ), whose district is also impacted by the proposal, to develop legislation to delay or stop the process as necessary until our concerns are addressed and other options – such as outlying airfields—are pursued.”

“The FAA’s proposal has been brewing for over five years, but if we now work together to address this issue we can stop the current proposal. That is why I will: (1) continue to work with the FAA to lay out what needs to be done to fully mitigate any impact on the safety, health, education and property values of my constituents so that the airspace redesign process is delayed until all concerns are addressed and there is no noise impact; (2) work on legislation to similarly address our concerns by stopping the airspace proposal until a new process is followed to eliminate noise; and (3) support litigation as necessary to help us achieve our goal.”

“All of these options need to be pursued at the appropriate time, and some simultaneously, to ensure we approach this problem from all angles. This is my number one local issue, and I will continue to work with everyone involved to address all of our concerns. The hour may be late, and the agenda long, but we must not stop until the current proposal is stopped.”

FAA

·         Before Congressman Sestak was even sworn into Congress, he established his FAA Expert Advisory Board of local and national aviation experts.

·         Met with FAA Airspace Manager Steve Kelley to lay out his concerns with the FAA’s proposal.

·         Held nine follow-up meetings with his FAA Expert Advisory Board.

·         Convened a meeting between the FAA Expert Advisory Board and FAA Airspace Manager Steve Kelley.

·         Met with Deputy Secretary of Transportation Maria Cino to discuss the FAA Airspace Redesign and Capacity Enhancement.

·         Held an FAA town hall, which allowed community residents to ask questions and express their concerns directly to the FAA Airspace Redesign Manager, which was the first time residents were allowed to publicly ask questions of the Redesign Manager since the FAA first proposed the airspace redesign.

·         Held a summit on this issue, in which he brought the Subcommittee on Aviation Chairman Jerry Costello up to Delaware County to meet with local officials and Joe’s Expert Advisory Board to discuss the impact of the FAA’s proposed redesign and airport expansion on Delaware County.

·         Met with FAA Administrator Marion Blakey to again review and emphasize the impact of the FAA’s proposed airspace redesign on Delaware County’s citizens, including their safety, health, education, and property values.

·         Joined forces with Congressman Rob Andrews (D-NJ), whose own district will be impacted by planes now being redirected over his own district on their landing approach, to develop legislation – perhaps in the FAA Reauthorization Bill – to ensure the process does address both of their concerns on the FAA’s proposed airspace redesign on their citizens’ safety, health, education, and property values.

 

Watersheds Management

·         Met with the Darby Creek Valley Association about the Darby conservation plan, in which Congressman Sestak stated that the Darby conservation plan is excellent in many regards as a way ahead in regards to how to get more wetlands and how to do proper watershed management; however, he noted that it should be based on updated mapping and needs to be done with other major creek organizations in the district. Joe discussed with DCVA the idea of bringing together the other organizations, and eventually the municipalities, so that there will be one holistic approach, which will include the resources to support the new mapping.

·         In response to his meeting with DCVA, Congressman Sestak met with the Army Corps of Engineers about the need to have a comprehensive watershed review. In this meeting, the Army Corps stated that the areas surrounding these creeks are heavily urbanized and have suffered repeated flooding and environmental degradation and that a comprehensive watershed review is needed to examine the Creeks in detail, so that causes and potential solutions can be identified. Also, the Corps noted because of the dense development and population conditions a comprehensive review is necessary because a remedy in one area may have a severe impact downstream or in some cases upstream of a specific site in question. A watershed systems evaluation will determine how to best address the problems in a comprehensive manner and to look at solutions that combine traditional flood damage reduction measures with environmental restoration of streams and flood plains.

·         Met with the Darby Creek Valley Association (DCVA), the Chester-Ridley-Crum Watersheds Association (CRC), and the Pennsylvania Organization of Watershed and Rivers to discuss the next steps that need to be taken, including meeting again with the Army Corps of Engineers to develop and fund a comprehensive review of our watersheds. As was discussed in Joe’s meeting with the Army Corps and again today with the watershed organizations, the next phase would be for the Army Corps of Engineers to conduct a Reconnaissance study, which would use existing information to identify the problems, needs and opportunities regarding water resources in the study area.

 

CONSTITUENT SERVICE AND OUTREACH:

“I believe accountability and accessibility to the families of our district are very important to being an effective Representative and I am committed to both,” added Joe. “That is why I am in the district every day we are not voting in Congress so I can meet with constituents, business owners, workers, and other organizations to hear about their concerns. And that is why I am also reaching out to my constituents to help them on their problems and issues with federal agencies and services.”

 

Constituent Service and Outreach:

• Helped constituents solve their problems with Medicare, including a constituent who had cancer and had to incur costs of highly necessary medications because the Medicare Part D system failed her (We were able to resolve her problem in a day) and others who were having trouble get Medicare to pay for their specific medications.
  Visited and met with officials from nearly half of the boroughs and townships in the district, in the Congressman’s goal to visit every borough and township in the district.
• Helped constituents who had unenrolled inadvertently from Medicare get reinstated on Medicare outside the enrollment period.
• Visited nearly a dozen fire companies, including Ridley Park Fire Co. 1, Radnor Fire Co., Swarthmore Fire Co., Folsom Fire Co., Llanerch Fire Co., Prospect Park Fire Department, Cardington-Stonehurst Fire Company, Brookline Fire Company, Ogden Fire Company and Essington Fire Company. Also attended the 101st Annual Awards dinner of the Delaware County Firemen’s Association of the State of Pennsylvania.
• Helped a constituent who were denied a Reverse Annuity Mortgage because she owned a home with a well beneath the floor of the attached garage. My office was able to get HUD to change its policy on this one, so that now if its fine with the borough or township, it is fine with HUD.
• Visited numerous schools, colleges, technical schools, and community colleges in an effort to learn the issues affecting higher education.
• Helped increase food stamp grants for constituents, where disabled or elderly persons were receiving benefits without the medical deduction or with a gross income limit.
• Resolved many passport cases in a timely and efficient manner.
• Help constituents get their water and electricity restored due to absentee landlords or other issues.
• Help constituents receive their Medicaid and General Assistance benefits who had been wrongly denied by the
• Department of Public Welfare, including one woman who incurred many hospital expenses and a child who wrongly had income of a stepparent deemed to them contrary to federal law and yet another who had parental income deemed to him without an assessment of medical status which might have barred any deeming of parental income and resources.
• Helped a constituent get a license to repair gaming machines and another to inspect vehicles.
• Help resolve Child support actions for a number of constituents, including one involved in interstate matter hastened with the Congressman’s intervention.
• Helped constituents get expedited hearings before SSA’s Office of Disability Adjudication and Review.