News from Congressman Joe Sestak

E-Newsletter - February 2008

As the second session of the 110th Congress moved into full-swing, Congressman Sestak voted in Washington on key legislation, including bills focused on veterans, children's health care and college affordability. At home in the 7th Congressional District, he hosted a summit on the rising cost of college, convened his labor advisory committee, announced the district’s federal appropriations and celebrated Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Here, read more about these and other events and initiatives undertaken by Congressman Sestak.

*For the most complete and up-to-date information on Congressman Sestak’s work in Washington and in the 7th Congressional District, please visit http://sestak.house.gov

Around the 7th

  • Constituent Outreach: Students, parents, guidance counselors, financial aid officers and administrators gathered at Neumann College on Thursday, January 24 for the 7th Congressional District College Affordability Summit, featuring two expert panels and hosted by Congressman Sestak. Prior to the summit, Congressman Sestak held a press conference specifically for student reporters from local high school and college media outlets. “A college education is a key to personal success and an economic driver that will make America more competitive globally,” said Congressman Sestak. "With the cost of college skyrocketing, we must ensure that students from my District are not priced out of this critical opportunity."

    The Congressman's next summit, The Community/Religious Antiviolence Summit, will be held on February 21 from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. at Collenbrook United Church and will bring together leaders of all faiths as well as law enforcement and other civic leaders to address topics ranging from gun crime and school violence to issues centered on religious and ethnic tolerance. For more information or to pre-register for this important summits, please email joesestakevents@gmail.com.

  • Convening the Labor Advisory Committee: As part of his commitment to work directly with constituents who are well-versed in crucial issues facing the Seventh Congressional District, the Congressman convened the first meeting of his newly formed Labor Advisory Committee. The Labor Advisory Committee is one of a number of issue and action-oriented advisory bodies Congressman Sestak is establishing to stay connected with the needs of 7th Congressional District constituents. Other committees include those focused on veterans, education, business and the environment. In addition to talking about related legislative advances, the participants discussed such as the need to retain and increase the number of manufacturing jobs in the Delaware Valley and across Pennsylvania, apprentice programs and the need to protect and enhance workforce development training programs, the rising cost of health care; the loss of earned pensions, minority representation, educational funding and opportunities for the children of working people, and the need to improve mass transit and to offset increasing petroleum fuel costs. To read more about the advisory committee, please visit http://sestak.house.gov/apps/list/press/pa07_sestak/080119_Labor.shtml.

  • Commemorating MLK Day: To honor the memory of Martin Luther King, Jr., Congressman Sestak spent the day volunteering and speaking about King’s commitment to serving the community and standing up for civil rights. Congressman Sestak began the day with a trip to St. Paul’s Baptist Church in West Chester to address a crowd of volunteers and praised their exemplary public service. He then headed to the Don Guanella School, where he helped clean the pool along with a group of Valley Forge Military Academy and College Cadets. Next, the Congressman joined up with the Neighbor to Neighbor volunteer group to paint the interior of the First African Baptist Church in Sharon Hill. That afternoon, Congressman Sestak met with the Yeadon NAACP at Penn Wood High School where he helped with various school improvement projects. He concluded the day of service by giving remarks at Crozer Chester Medical Center in a ceremony that included a performance by the St. Thomas Gospel Choir from Philadelphia. Earlier in the weekend, Congressman Sestak spoke at the Media Fellowship House Martin Luther King Day Ceremony and participated in the Vanguard/Elwyn Basketball Extravaganza, where he kept score, instructed on rules, and cheered on participants.

  • Funding local projects: The Congressman recently announced the local projects for which he successfully appropriated federal funding as part of the FY 2008 Omnibus Spending Bill (H.R. 2764). "From aiding in the construction of a new regional burn treatment center to provide financing for a community Weed & Seed program, these funds help to create and sustain projects that will improve the lives of 7th District constituents and strengthen our communities,” he said. A recent study indicated that Congressman Sestak was fourth among all Senate and House Freshman in terms of receiving FY2008 appropriations funding to support local projects. While Congressman Sestak strongly believes that local leaders are closest to understanding the most immediate needs of a community, he is also mindful of the need to restore accountability for our nation's treasure. To that end, when he entered office in January 2007, the Congressman supported reducing the amount awarded for earmarks each year by at least half. To read more about the local projects that received funding, visit http://www.sestak.house.gov/list/press/pa07_sestak/pr_080209.shtml.

  • Speaking about his Bipartisan Resolution for Iraq: Congressman Sestak continued to speak about his plan to end the war in Iraq and wrote several op-eds detailing this plan. The editorial board of the Norristown Times Herald recognized the merit of the Congressman's plan—which includes a date withdrawal goal, phased troop redeployment and continued funding for our soldiers—noting: "The freshman congressman appears to be keyed in on nearly every issue facing America today, but none more so than Iraq, which makes sense considering his storied military career, where he rose to the rank of three-star admiral in the Navy. Sestak might be a freshman in Congress, but he's a veteran when it comes to the military. We just hope his colleagues are listening to what he has to say."

In Legislation

  • Protecting Seniors from Elder Abuse: Congressman Sestak introduced the Elder Abuse Victims Act (H.R. 5352), a piece of legislation to protect America’s seniors from elder abuse by addressing and correcting the failures in state elder abuse policies, establishing specialized prosecution and research departments, and training prosecutors and law enforcement on the best practices for handling these unique cases. “Everyday, too many of our nation’s seniors become victim to physical, emotional or sexual abuse,” said Congressman Sestak. “This legislation recognizes the limitations to our country’s approach to elder abuse prosecution and rehabilitation, and puts in place a system to assess and adequately respond to these deficiencies.” To read more about the provisions of this legislation visit http://sestak.house.gov/apps/list/press/pa07_sestak/080214_eldercare.shtml.

  • Providing Veterans with Economic Security: Congressman Sestak voted for, and the House of Representatives passed the Military Reservist and Veteran Small Business Reauthorization and Opportunity Act of 2007 (H.R. 4253). The bill will provide America’s veterans and reservists some of the economic security they deserve by: strengthening federal efforts to expand opportunities for veteran-owned businesses; providing new small business loans and expanding outreach to veteran-owned small businesses; strengthening relief to small businesses employing National Guard or Reserve troops. To read more about this legislation, visit: http://sestak.house.gov/apps/list/press/pa07_sestak/080116_vets.shtml.

  • Advocating Children's Healthcare: Congressman Sestak voted to override the President’s veto of H.R. 3963, a bill to reauthorize and strengthen the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP). The veto override vote of the House-Senate compromise that would provide affordable health insurance to over 10 million low-income children across America, but passed by an overwhelming bipartisan margin 265-142. “I am deeply disappointed with our President, who continues to stand in the way of providing health care insurance to 3.4 million uninsured children who come from low-and low-middle income families.” said Congressman Sestak. “With rising costs facing hardworking American families, the expansion of SCHIP will make health care more affordable for those who need it the most. I will continue to fight to provide affordable health care coverage to every child in America.” To read more about his important veto, visit: http://sestak.house.gov/apps/list/press/pa07_sestak/080123_schip.shtml.

  • Creating an Economic Stimulus: Congressman Sestak voted for the Senate Amendment to the Recovery Rebates and Economic Stimulus for the American People Act of 2008 (H.R. 5140), a bipartisan piece of legislation that will bring temporary, targeted, and timely relief to the American people that need it most at a time when the economy is most at risk. The Senate measure expanded eligibility for rebate checks, allowing 20 million Social Security recipients and 250,000 disabled veterans to qualify. It also set higher phase out amounts of $150,000 for individuals and $300,000 for couples than the House-passed bill. To read more about this bill’s provisions, visit http://sestak.house.gov/apps/list/press/pa07_sestak/080207_stimulus.shtml.

  • Making College More Affordable: Congressman Sestak voted for College Opportunity and Affordability Act (H.R. 4137), which reauthorizes the Higher Education Act (HEA) through FY 2012, and includes new provisions to expand student aid, helps to streamline the college financial aid applications process, and restores accountability and integrity to student loan programs, among many changes to the act. Most notably, the legislation increases the maximum Pell grant to $9,000 per year, from $5,800, creates a “higher education price index” to help students and their families compare tuition increases at different colleges, and will bars lenders from giving schools financial perks in order to get on a “preferred lender list.” To learn more, visit http://sestak.house.gov/apps/list/press/pa07_sestak/080207_College.shtml.

Special Notes

  • The FAA's flawed airspace redesign project is the most recent and obvious reminder that our region and nation require extraordinary investments in transportation infrastructure. Unfortunately, even if the resources were available today, there is no integrated, comprehensive plan to address the nation’s overcrowded and inefficient airspace, airports, roads, rail systems and ports. In addition, the appointment of Acting Administrator Robert Sturgell to be the FAA Administrator was recently put on hold in the Senate due in large part to this flawed redesign plan.

    The Congressman commends the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission (DVRPC) for affording the citizens of the 7th Congressional District the opportunity to offer their views on what must be done to improve transportation in this region. Unless we design and build a truly intermodal transportation infrastructure, the Delaware Valley will be at a severe economic disadvantage in this global economy. Additionally, we risk a loss of the quality of life that has made the Delaware Valley a special and unique place to live. Please take a few minutes and complete the DVRPC on-line public opinion survey through March 7, 2008. The survey seeks public input for the development of the new Connections regional long-range plan. You can participate by visiting http://www.dvrpc.org/connections/.