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Throughout his tenure in Congress, Rep. Towns has been actively involved in legislative efforts to improve health care services, strengthen our education system, and protect consumers from faulty products. He has also worked to ensure that all communities have access to the telecommunications revolution. Additionally, Towns has fought for a responsible budget that protects Social Security and for federal funds that promote local jobs. Click on the links below to learn about how Congressman Towns is working for you in these legislative areas.

Health Care

As a member of the Health Subcommittee of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, Congressman Towns has long been committed to improving our nation's health care services by fighting to expand health insurance coverage, provide a prescription drug benefit for seniors, and strengthen the public health system. Click the links below to see how Congressman Towns is working in the 108th Congress to improve health care services.

Health Insurance

The number of uninsured Americans has risen to 41.2 million, an increase of 1.4 million people from the previous year. With the current economic slow down, the number of uninsured will likely rise again this year. Numerous studies show that uninsured Americans receive inadequate care and often wait to receive treatment until their medical problems have severely worsened. They often receive care in hospital emergency rooms, which winds up straining hospitals and increases costs on the entire health care system. Obtaining health insurance is a problem that affects Americans from all walks of life. In fact, full-time, full-year workers and their family members made up more than half of the uninsured.

Congressman Towns is working hard to tackle the problem of the uninsured. Towns has introduced two bills in the 108th Congress to reduce the number of people without health insurance.

Congressman Towns has introduced H.R. 1110, The State High Risk Pool Funding Extension Act of 2003, which would help provide less expensive health insurance options for the uninsured. The bill would offer federal matching grants to states so they can offer health insurance for people with significant health problems, who are often referred to as high-risk individuals. Due to the costs associated with their medical conditions, they usually have trouble obtaining health insurance from traditional providers. State-run health insurance pools would provide access to subsidized coverage for high-risk individuals who currently cannot afford health insurance.

He has also introduced, H.R. 322, The Legal Immigrant Health Restoration Act of 2003 that would build upon the existing Medicaid programs to expand health care coverage. The bill would restore health insurance to permanent resident women and children through the State Children's Health Insurance (SCHIP) and Medicaid programs. These populations were eligible for coverage prior to the '96 Welfare Reform legislation.

Congressman Towns is also a cosponsor of H.R. 816, The State Budget Relief Act of 2003, which would increase funding for Medicaid for states that have been particularly hurt by the economic recession. The Medicaid program serves as an important safety net by providing health insurance for low-income people who would otherwise go uninsured. Many states, such as New York, are threatening to cut funding for their share of Medicaid spending due to large budget deficits. Congressman Towns believes that it is critical to strengthen this vital program when people need it the most.

For additional information on the uninsured see the attached Congressional Research Service Report. (PDF - 6 pages 133KB)

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A Prescription Drug Program for Seniors

The lack of prescription drug coverage in Medicare is a problem that needs to be addressed, especially for seniors who must depend on Medicare alone for health care coverage. When Medicare began -- 38 years ago -- most of the prescription medicines that save and improve lives today had not been invented. Medicare, like most private insurance plans at that time, did not cover outpatient prescription medicines. Most private insurance plans have updated their benefits package to include prescription drugs. It is about time for the Medicare to do the same. If Medicare were developed today, we would not think of not including prescription drugs.

Of all the population segments, seniors are the most dependent on prescription drugs. While seniors currently represent about 12 percent of the population, they use more than one-third of the prescriptions filled in the U.S. each year. Seniors without prescription drug coverage are more likely to obtain fewer prescriptions, more apt to skip their doses, and more likely to have higher out of pocket expenses.

I support a comprehensive, common sense plan which expands the successful Medicare program to include a prescription drug benefit. The drug plan would offer a voluntary, guaranteed, universal benefit. Seniors who have benefits through their former employers, Medigap plans, or other sources would not be forced to change plans. But this plan would provide a safety net for the nearly the 30 percent of Medicare beneficiaries who have no prescription drug coverage at all. Congressman Towns is a cosponsor of H.R. 1199 The Medicare Rx Drug Benefit and Discount Act of 2003.

For more information on Medicare and Prescription Drugs see the attached Congressional Research Service report. (PDF - 39 pages 170KB)

Medicare Prescription Drug Coverage for Beneficiaries: Background and Issues - Updated January 6, 2003 (PDF - 39 pages 170KB)

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Public Health

From preventing and treating HIV/AIDS to reducing the incidence of asthma, Congressman Towns has had a lifelong commitment to strengthening our public health system. A former administrator at Beth Israel Medical Center, Towns believes that hospitals and public health departments serve as the glue that holds together our public health system.

Most recently, Towns requested that the U.S. General Accounting Office (GAO), the investigative arm of Congress, examine whether the rush to inoculate millions of public health officials against smallpox is jeopardizing other bioterrorism priorities as well as health care services traditionally performed by health departments, such as prenatal care and check-ups for low-income children. This study has become even more important with the emergence of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS). Earlier this year, he helped organize a conference on Hepatitis C virus (HCV) and HIV co-infection, where he called for additional funding and research into this growing health problem.

Towns has also introduced legislation to tackle some of the nation's worst public health problems including asthma and obesity. Asthma is a major public health problem of increasing concern, affecting nearly 5 million people who are younger than 18 years of age. Between 1980 and 1994, the prevalence of asthma increased by 75%. Unfortunately, low-income populations, minorities, and children living in inner cities experience disproportionately higher incidence of diseases and mortality due to asthma.

Last Congress, he introduced H.R. 4824, The Urban Asthma Assistance Act which would provide additional intervention program grants to address the incidence of asthma in urban areas. The bill would also require the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to develop and disseminate guidelines on the collection and reporting of asthma data. Additionally, the bill would enable States to develop model asthma treatment center demonstration programs. Congressman Towns expects to introduce this bill again in the 108th Congress.

Obesity has increased at such unprecedented levels that health professionals are calling obesity a national epidemic. Spurred by sedentary lifestyles and unhealthy diets, about 60 percent of American adults are overweight and 15 percent of children and teenagers are overweight. Being overweight is associated with increased risk for heart disease, cancer, diabetes, and asthma. To help address this problem for the most severely overweight, Towns introduced H.R. 2024, The Medicaid Obesity Treatment Act to require Medicaid to provide drug coverage for the prescribed treatment of obesity.

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Education

As the author of the Student Right to Know Act (PL 101-542), Congressman Towns has consistently worked to improve educational opportunities for all Americans. The challenge of providing a quality education to students is often difficult in our inner cities.

To address this problem, Congressman Towns has introduced, H.R. 213, the Educational Empowerment Act, which would allow individuals to receive a tax credit for making contributions to designated educational empowerment zones. The bill would designate up to 30 such zones, which would be based on the degree of poverty. School districts could use the contributions for hiring new teachers, increasing teacher salaries, and training teachers. The bill would also establish a teacher loan forgiveness program to attract qualified mathematics and science teachers to inner city schools.

Towns is also a supporter and cosponsor of the H.R. 236, the Student Bill of Rights, which would direct the Secretary of Education to determine annually whether each State's public school system provides all its students with educational resources to succeed academically and in life. The bill would permit students, who do not receive a quality education, to bring civil actions for enforcement in Federal district court.

Additionally, Towns supports efforts to reduce classroom size by building new schools and modernizing existing ones. He is a cosponsor of H.R. 740, the Expand and Rebuild America's Schools Act of 2003, which create a new class of tax-exempt bonds. The bonds would be interest-free for school districts. The bank or financial institution that invests in the bond would get a tax credit in the amount that the district would have had to pay in interest. The school district only repays the principal that was borrowed with no interest.

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Telecommunications

As a member of the Telecommunications and Internet Subcommittee of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, Congressman Towns has fought to ensure technological innovations are developed and shared by all communities.

In the 107th Congress, Towns authored an amendment to H.R. 1542, the Internet Freedom and Broadband Deployment Act, which would ensure that inner cities and other underserved areas have access to high speed internet services. Bridging the digital divide is essential to ensuring that minority-owned, small business can flourish and that inner city schools can provide 21st century technology for students.

Last Congress, Congressman Towns also introduced H.R. 1034, NTIA Digital Network Technology Program Act, which would have established a digital network technologies program to award grants, contracts, or cooperative agreements to institutions to provide educational instruction in digital network technologies. The assistance would be targeted for institutions that serve population groups who have not fully participated in the technological revolution such as African-Americans, Hispanics, Alaska Natives, Native Hawaiians, and Native-Americans.

This Congress, he has introduced H.R. 747 the Telecommunications Development Fund Improvement Act of 2003, which would make it easier to offer loans to start up technology and telecom companies in underserved areas. This would spur minority entrepreneurship in our inner cities, and could eventually lead to new, minority-owned technology businesses in our own neighborhoods. This legislation has been included as part of a larger bill that has already passed the Telecommunication and Internet Subcommittee and has been forwarded to the full House Energy and Commerce Committee.

Congressman Towns is also the lead Democratic sponsor of H.R. 1320, Commercial Spectrum Enhancement Act that would enable wireless telephone companies to deploy advanced wireless services. The bill would re-locate federally owned spectrum to commercially designated areas and allow the wireless carriers to bid on the bands of spectrum currently held by the government at 110% of the projected value. By increasing the amount of commercially available spectrum, wireless phone consumers will enjoy groundbreaking technologies, such as Internet access over their cellular phones, and better service for their existing services.

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Social Security/Budget

Congressman Towns is committed to fighting for a budget that protects Social Security, invests in our future, and promotes economic prosperity for working families.

Social Security

There are few issues that are more important to every American than Social Security. It provides retirement and disability benefits to millions of Americans. About 50 percent of all beneficiaries would live in poverty if not for Social Security. Because women tend to live longer and usually have lower lifetime earnings than men, women are especially reliant on Social Security for retirement security. About 75 percent of unmarried women and widowed elderly women rely on Social Security for more than half of their income.

The first step in strengthening Social Security is to protect current deposits. Congressman Towns is a cosponsor of H.R. 147, the Social Security and Medicare Lock-box Act of 2003, which would set aside any Social Security surplus funds for the exclusive use of the Social Security Trust Fund.

Budget

The second step is passing a fiscally responsible budget plan that protects Social Security, encourages economic growth, and invests in our future. By preserving Social Security and creating jobs, our government will have the necessary resources to pay for the retirement of the baby boom generation that begins in about five years.

Congressman Towns supports a budget plan that would balance the budget in 2010 and provide an immediate economic stimulus of $136 billion in tax cuts and targeted investments. This would create about one million new jobs. At the same time, the Towns' supported plan would preserve investments in education, health care, and job training programs.

Towns opposes the budget plan passed by the Republican-led Congress that creates long term deficits by providing for a $1.35 trillion tax package that predominantly benefits the wealthiest families and provides minimal immediate stimulus to the economy. To pay for this tax cut, the plan would make significant cuts to a wide array of health and education programs.

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Grants for District

Congressman Towns works hard each year to bring vital federal dollars back home to Brooklyn to spur economic development, improve health services, and increase educational opportunities.

Previously, Congressman Towns, has returned a Jobs Corps Center to Brooklyn; acquired $3 million for the revitalization of the Fulton Street Development project; secured a $3 million planning grant for a proposed Bedford-Stuyvesant, downtown Brooklyn, and Williamsburg empowerment zone; successfully obtained $153 million for a new federal courthouse in downtown Brooklyn; chaired the task force that reactivated the Gowanus Canal Flushing Tunnel which had been inactive for 30 years; secured $18 million for conducting a major investment study of the Gowanus Expressway and a tunnel alternative. Moreover, he has secured several million dollars in education grants that have gone to the New York Technical College, Polytechnic University, and Long Island University. He also successfully led the fight to restore the accounts of Freedom National Bank's Depositors and obtained a $150 million reconstruction bond for Interfaith Hospital.

Towns Scores Millions for Brooklyn Institutions in FY03 Omnibus Appropriations Bill

In February, Towns successfully brought thousands of dollars to Brooklyn Institutions. Continuing with his Legislative Priority of Improving Access to Quality Health Care, the Congressman brought a $350,000 HHS Grant to Kings County Medical Center to assist them in enhancing their sickle cell anemia program.

Knowing that enhancements in educational technology will be important to Brooklyn students in the 21st century, Congressman Towns was proud to successfully work with St. Francis College, and colleague Congressman Peter King, to obtain a $500,000 grant from the Department of Education for the College's technology initiative.

Retaining New York Business in the City after 9/11 is critical to New York City's economic recovery. Many businesses have been encouraged to relocate to Downtown Brooklyn while Lower Manhattan is being reconstructed. Congressman Towns worked with the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce to secure $500,000 to upgrade intermodal transportation in Downtown Brooklyn.

The Brooklyn Federal Courthouse received a major boost with the $1.2 million that the Congressman secured for the completion of this project.

Adding Brooklyn's Cultural Institutions, particularly those that serve our youth is important to Congressman Towns. That is why he was so pleased to have the support of his colleagues Congressman Major Owens and Congressman Nydia Velazquez in obtaining a grant of $750,000 to assist the Brooklyn Academy of Music with its youth outreach programs.

"Ready, Willing and Able" provides opportunities for men who may be homeless and/or ex-offenders to re-enter the workforce by participating in various neighborhood public works projects. The program received a $750,000 grant through the efforts of Congressman Towns and several of his colleagues.

The Fortune Society, which helps ex-offenders and at-risk youth break the cycle of crime and incarceration through a broad range of services, also benefited from Congressman Towns' efforts this year. Congressman Towns played a key role in this program receiving an $800,000 grant.

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