Congressman William Lacy Clay
Invites Parents and Students of the
First Congressional District to a
PAYING FOR COLLEGE FORUM
Saturday, October 21, 2006
10:00 AM to 1:00 PM
at the
University of Missouri St. Louis
8001 Natural Bridge Road
Millennium Student Center, Century Room A
Distinguished Participants:
Wanda Garner: SLPS High School Counselor
Hall Deuser: Commerce Bank Community Service Coordinator
for College Awareness & Outreach Services
Kelli Reed: MDHE Missouri Aid Programs Outreach Office
Angie Davis: MOHELA School Development officer
The campus is easily accessible from Metrolink, and Highways 170 and 70. Free Parking is available on campus
For further information or to RSVP call: (314) 367-1970 or (314) 890-0349
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To Access Congressman Clay’s Scholarship and College Financial Resource Guide
Click the link below:
Link to Scholarship booklet
Congressman Wm. Lacy Clay
To host Health Forum with the
Congressional Black Caucus Foundation
Saturday, Ocotber 28, 2006 on the campus of Harris-Stowe State University
For more information please click link below:
Link to Health Forum Flyer
Congressman William Lacy Clay
Invites you to
Constituent Wednesdays in the 1st Congressional District |
On Wednesday October 4th, 11th, 18th and 25th from 10am to 2pm, Congressman Clay will be available to meet with residents of the 1st Congressional District on a variety of constituent issues.
Meet with Congressman Clay at the office locations and scheduled times below:
St. Louis City District Office
October 4th and 18th -2006
10am-2pm
625 N. Euclid, Suite #326
St. Louis, Missouri 63108
314.367.1970
St. Louis County Office
October 11th and 25th -2006
10am-2pm
8531 Page Blvd.
St. Louis, Missouri 63114
314.890.0349
For further information please contact: St. Louis City Office (314) 367.1970 or St. Louis County Office (314) 890.0349
Congressional Hearing Held in St. Louis
Panel Probes How Electronic Health Records Could Save Thousands of Lives, Billions of Dollars
September 1, 2006
ST. LOUIS – At least 50,000 Americans die needlessly each year due to incorrect or inaccessible medical information, according to information revealed today during a rare congressional field hearing in St. Louis. The official event, hosted by Washington University Medical Center, heard expert testimony on how a secure network of electronic healthcare information could save lives and precious healthcare dollars. Congressman Wm. Lacy Clay (D) Missouri and Congressman Jon Porter (R) Nevada, who serve on the U.S. House Government Reform Subcommittee on the Federal Workforce and Agency Organization, convened the hearing.
“Patients shouldn’t die because their doctors can’t access their healthcare information,” said Clay. “The federal government needs to take the lead in helping healthcare providers create a new way of managing patient records to produce better outcomes and save precious healthcare dollars. This legislation will affect every American. And as we commemorate the tragic anniversaries of Hurricane Katrina and the 9-11 terrorist attacks, it’s clear that this kind of secure, electronic health records system should be an urgent national priority.”
Expert witnesses from both government and the private sector offered testimony about the critical issues facing healthcare providers as they attempt to create a secure electronic record system. They also discussed pending legislation authored and cosponsored by Congressman Clay and Congressman Porter to jump-start this national effort. It is estimated that a secure national electronic health information network could save at least 50,000 lives each year and also save an estimated $80 billion in annual healthcare costs. Much of those savings could be applied to covering uninsured Americans and closing the healthcare disparities gap that still afflicts minorities and lower-income patients with higher rates of chronic diseases and early death.
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The Martin Luther King Coupler Bridge
An offer Missourians cannot refuse
By
Representative William Lacy Clay
Member of Congress
ST. LOUIS – (July 12, 2006) -- Residents of the St. Louis metropolitan area have a unique interdependence. We are comprised of more than 100 cities, nearly ten counties and two states. In order to function properly, we readily acknowledge that we have a collective responsibility to the entire region as well as the individual geographic and political subdivisions in which we live.
Over the years, different political entities worked together to build and operate the airport, the zoo, Metrolink, stadiums and arenas, and parks and museums as examples of community-wide recognition of the need to work and make important decisions together. In each instance, a city or a county government has made concessions and shared decision-making power, understanding that there are leaders and followers on every team. Each team member sacrifices some individual autonomy for the collective good and we move forward together as a better region.
Recently, however, this region has tripped over the new Mississippi River Bridge. I have a special interest in this project. The Missouri side of this bridge will land in the 1st Congressional District, which I represent. The new bridge is a key feature for continued economic growth for our region. Unfortunately, Illinois and Missouri have been unable to agree on the proper financing mechanism to build the span. There have been several bridge plans; the most recent offered by Governor Rod Blagojevich and other Illinois elected officials in a press conference two weeks ago. In each proposed plan, Illinois has money, Missouri does not.
I want to offer a common sense view that has not been heard previously from the Missouri side of the river. We should put all our resources toward completion of the new proposed Martin Luther King Bridge coupler. After 12 years of preliminary engineering and planning and some $100 million in funds spent, we have reached an impasse on the freestanding bridge design. During this period, the need to improve traffic efficiency and traffic safety has been joined by national security and national commerce concerns that make immediate action more necessary than ever.
Under the old new bridge plan, there is currently a $461 million shortfall towards the proposed $910 million needed to build a totally new, freestanding bridge. That is $461 million that MoDOT says they do not have. In addition, to pay for the new bridge some Missourians want to create a public-private consortium to build the bridge and then charge a $2 toll to the mostly Illinois motorists who will be using the billion dollar span. Mercifully – for our sake and that of the residents of Illinois -- the state of Illinois has offered Missourians a deal that we cannot afford to pass up.
Missourians cannot build a bridge alone. Moreover, the only real partner we have is not private business, but the State of Illinois. Footing the majority of the bill, Illinois leaders are united in refusing to support a toll on any bridge across the Mississippi.
By contrast, the Martin Luther King Coupler Bridge’s total cost is projected to fall between $410-$450 million, nearly half the cost of the current proposal touted by MoDOT. The Illinois Department of Transportation and Governor Blagojevich are not proposing that we contribute the half of the price tag that one might expect. Instead, they are only proposing that the State of Missouri put $50 million into the bridge project. Essentially, the people of Missouri are getting a $450 million bridge for $50 million, 11 percent of the total cost. Not only that, but by signing on to the MLK Coupler Bridge proposal, Missouri would avoid the agonizing debate over how to cover the $461 million shortfall in the current project. As I see it, that is one heck of a deal for Missouri tax payers!
MoDOT has said that the I-64/US-40 project is their top priority, and it is time that they put this bridge issue behind them and focus on Highway 40. Inflation takes its own toll on Missouri taxpayers. As MoDOT delays, the price tag of the project increases by over $2 million dollars per month. The citizens of the metropolitan St. Louis area need this new bridge too much to delay any further. Missourians stand to pay $50 million for a new $450 million bridge. Do the math.
While I understand that some of my friends in public finance in the St. Louis area may not be too excited about abandoning the $910 million bridge, we must push ahead and adopt the plan that not only is the most economically feasible for Missouri, but also the one that will foster a renewed cooperation with our partners across the river. With this new plan, we can ease the painstaking commute that thousands of hard-working people in both Missouri and Illinois must endure on a daily basis, and move forward to give the region another first class Mississippi River crossing alternative.
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Clay Says Voting Rights Act Still Essential
New Study Points To “Continuing Reality of Racial Discrimination in Voting”
WASHINGTON, DC. Congressman Wm. Lacy Clay took to the floor of the US House today to urge the reauthorization of the landmark Voting Rights Act. The Congressman pointed to the results of a newly published national study by the Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under Law. “This massive project, which interviewed thousands of voters and election officials across the country, concluded that there is still a shocking, continuing reality of racial discrimination in voting that is pervasive, and these problems are nationwide,” said Clay.
The Congressman pointed to three disturbing findings from the new study that reinforce the urgent need to continue the protections guaranteed by the Voting Rights Act. “First, records from the US Department of Justice confirm that the actual number of documented complaints to federal officials regarding unfair election practices was higher from 1982 – 2004, than from 1965 – 1982,” said Clay. “Second, the study confirms that polling places and voting hours in minority neighborhoods were routinely changed shortly before elections. And finally, election officials were found to have illegally purged voters from registration lists and to have refused to translate election materials for citizens who have difficulty with English,” said Mr. Clay.
Portions of the groundbreaking law are scheduled to expire in 2007. Mr. Clay, along with two dozen of his colleagues, urged Members of Congress from both sides of the aisle to reauthorize the legislation without amendments that would weaken the enforcement provisions. “Congress has a duty to defend the voting rights of every citizen. The Voting Rights Act is the best weapon available to accomplish that,” said the Congressman.
Attention Students and Parents:
Please take a moment to check out the just launched online student loan calculator (http://edworkforce.house.gov/democrats/calculator.html). This student loan calculator allows students and parents to calculate the differences in their monthly college loan costs under current Republican law, which raises interest rates on July 1, 2006, and under Democratic proposals to reverse this raid on student aid and make college more affordable by cutting interest rates in half. The calculator also calculates the total amount of college loan costs, the Democratic plan would save each borrower over the life of his or her loan.
Clay’s 1st Annual Career Fair a Success!
On Monday May 15th, 2006, Congressman Wm. Lacy Clay hosted his 1st Annual Career Fair at Harris Stowe State University’s Emerson Physical Education & Performing Arts Center in St. Louis.
The successful event brought together over seventy companies, government agencies and over a thousand job seekers.
“Our goal was to create an innovative employment event that would offer opportunities to everyone from first-time job seekers to successful professionals who were looking to advance their careers. With the invaluable help of Harris-Stowe University and our excellent vendor partners, we achieved that. And we will definitely be back next year.” said Clay.
The employers that participated in the job fair included: Fortune 500 companies, small businesses, non-profits, federal government agencies, and state and local agencies.
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