"We are making great progress in Iraq but we have much work to do. I had an opportunity to spend time with many of the young men and women of our Armed Forces serving in Iraq and I am confident that they are up to the challenge of maintaining order and preserving the peace until the Iraqi people can begin to govern and defend themselves," said Andrews. " I also had an opportunity to meet with members of the Iraqi Governing Council and I am confident in the direction that they are moving toward a free and safe Iraq.
While in Iraq, Andrews had the opportunity to meet with men and women of the Armed Services, including the commander of the force that apprehended Saddam Hussein. Andrews was able to tour the spider hole where Saddam Hussein was captured. Additionally, Congressman Andrews and the Congressional Delegation that he traveled with were the first U.S. lawmakers to spend the night in Iraq because inclement weather prevented their flight back to Jordan. The Members of Congress stayed at the former hunting lodge of Saddam Hussein's oldest son Udai under the full protection of the United States Military.
As part of an entire day devoted to reporting on the state of major issues affecting the region, Rep. Andrews met with Camden County senior citizens to discuss the new Medicare Prescription Drug benefit. Rep. Andrews explained to them how this bill will actually do more harm then good. The Congressman pointed to the fact that many South Jersey retirees from large companies, unions, the military, federal and local government, or the postal service, will probably find that their plan sponsors will choose to save billions of dollars at the expense of retirees by dumping them into this untested new plan. Under the new Medicare plan, seniors and other enrollees will pay approximately $4,000 out of the first $5,000 of prescription costs incurred each year. Congressman Andrews also pointed out the uncertainty as to how the new Bush plan will affect the Pharmaceutical Assistance to the Aged and Disabled program (PAAD). He stated that the risk that it will disrupt PAAD benefits was a risk that the President and the Congress should not have taken. Finally, Rep. Andrews explained that under regular Medicare, a senior citizen pays 20 percent of the cost and the federal government covers the remaining 80 percent. However, under the new Bush Plan, the numbers are reversed so seniors and others are stuck with paying 80 percent of the cost.
The Congressman explained that the Administration attempted to do too much with too little because they did not have the revenue available to afford a real prescription drug benefit due to the massive tax cuts handed down over the past few years. Instead, of this watered-down approach to a prescription drug benefit, Andrews would have liked to see a repeal of a portion of the Bush tax cut to fund a real prescription drug benefit that operates similar to the way that PAAD works in New Jersey.
"I believe this Medicare bill will harm many seniors and disabled persons, by forcing retirees out of their current private prescription drug plans, jeopardizing New Jersey's successful Pharmaceutical Assistance to the Aged and Disabled program (PAAD), providing inadequate relief for people without any coverage and decimating funding for cancer care," said Rep. Andrews. "Under this bill, the winners are HMOs and big pharmaceutical companies. The losers are America's seniors and disabled persons."
Next, Rep. Andrews traveled to the Collingswood Fire Station to announce the receipt of over $160,000 in federal funding through the Federal Emergency Management Agency's (FEMA) 2003 Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program to the Camden City Fire Department. Rep. Andrews worked with the Camden City Fire Department to obtain this FEMA grant to establish a rapid response and intervention team of firefighters, which will prove particularly helpful in collapse and disaster situations. Since June of 2003, Rep. Andrews has brought back over $1 million in federal fire grant money to the First Congressional District. The Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program is administered by the U.S. Fire Administration (USFA), a division of FEMA, and assists rural, urban and suburban fire departments throughout the United States.
The attacks on September 11, 2001 and subsequent Anthrax attacks in the fall of that year, made us painfully aware of the hazards that America's fire fighters and emergency response personnel face in working to help keep us safe. In addition to their normal course of duties, these brave men and women face new dangers in the event of a chemical, radiological or biological attack, said Andrews. "These funds increase the effectiveness of firefighting operations, firefighter health and safety programs, new fire apparatus, emergency medical service programs, and fire prevention and safety programs in local departments. They will also help defray the cost for local departments to purchase the requisite equipment to allow them to respond effectively to a major terror attack."
Rep. Andrews concluded his day by meeting with South Jersey school superintendents at the Cherry Hill Public Schools Administration Building to discuss current problems with the application of the No Child Left Behind. Last Thursday marked the second anniversary of this new law which seeks to ensure that every child in the United States receives an adequate education. However, the new law has created much turmoil and controversy in South Jersey where top-notch middle schools, such as Haddonfield, Washington Township, Medford and Evesham have been characterized as "failing" federal standards. Rep. Andrews is currently working with the federal Department of Education to change the way they are interpreting this law. He has vowed to lead a fight to fix this in Congress if the Department refuses to change its application of the law.
The Department of Education has made a lot of very good schools look very bad by insisting that schools test and evaluate children in programs for special education and English as a Second Language using the same tests as those taken by mainstream students. We must help every child realize his or her potential, but these tests are not appropriate for these students," said Rep. Andrews. "The law simply requires states to use appropriate standards for every child. The Department of Education can, and should, easily make this correction and I have asked them to do this. If they refuse, I will lead the charge in Congress to force them to fix it."
