Letter From Congressman Wilson

Dear Friends,

Today we learned that employment fell by 539,000 jobs in April. Each of those jobs lost directly affects a family, bringing daily struggles and difficult decisions.

The latest jobs report marks the sixteenth consecutive month of decline. However, this is the fewest number of jobs lost in one month since October 2008. I believe the actions taken by Washington are slowly helping to turn our economy around. I wish it could happen faster, but as President Obama has said, it will take time.

Clearly, we have more work to do. But this weekend, as we celebrate America’s mothers, I wanted to share with you some of the things Congress has done this year to help mothers and families across the country.

FOR OUR MOTHERS

Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act: Restores the right of women and other workers to challenge unfair pay in court. Specifically, it rectifies the May 2007 Ledbetter v Goodyear Supreme Court decision that overturned precedent and made it much more difficult for workers to pursue pay discrimination claims. This was the first major bill to be signed into law by President Obama.

The Recovery Act: Includes a series of provisions that benefit America’s mothers, including the following:

- Working Families Tax Cut – Ninety-five percent of working families received a tax cut on April 1, 2009. This includes millions of female-headed households.

- Child Care - Families in need can receive additional childcare assistance from the state while they are working, seeking employment or taking job training/educational classes.

- Healthcare - Prevents devastating cutbacks in Medicaid coverage that millions of women and children rely upon. Also provides funding and grants that will help to ensure more underserved Americans receive the vaccines they need.

- Nutrition - Provides additional benefits for families taking part in the Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program.

- Jobs - Opens up new employment and training opportunities for women in non-traditional fields like infrastructure, energy efficiency, rural broadband development, and science.

FOR OUR GRANDMOTHERS

The Recovery Act: Includes a series of provisions that will benefit seniors, including the following:

- Economic Recovery Payments for Seniors - Provides a $250 payment to millions of America’s seniors receiving Social Security. Payments began going out this week, and will continue for the rest of May. (Please see sidebar article to the right for answers to frequently asked questions about these Recovery payments for seniors.)

- Senior Nutrition Programs - Provides $100 million for senior nutrition programs, including congregate meals and home-delivered meals. These programs are expected to provide nearly 14 million additional meals to seniors in need.

- Protecting Low-Income Medicare Beneficiaries - Extends the Qualified Individual (QI) program, which assists certain low-income Medicare beneficiaries with their Medicare Part B premiums.

- Preventing Certain Scheduled Cuts in Medicare - Blocks a scheduled Medicare payment reduction to teaching hospitals, and a scheduled Medicare payment reduction to hospices.

FOR OUR CHILDREN

Health Care for 11 Million Children: Renews and improves the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) – preserving coverage for 7 million children currently covered by CHIP and extending coverage to 4 million uninsured but eligible children. This was the second major bill to be signed into law by President Obama.

The Recovery Act: Includes a series of provisions that will benefit children, including the following:

- Education – For young children, key investments are made in Head Start and Early Head Start programs. School age children benefit from additional funding for K-12 education programs and facilities. College age students are now eligible for higher Pell Grant rewards.

- Child Support Enforcement – State programs that establish, enforce, collect and distribute child support received additional funding that will help single parents make ends meet.

Again, I know that there is much more work to do, but as you celebrate your mothers this weekend, I just wanted you to know that my work in Congress celebrates them too.

Sincerely,

Charlie Wilson
Member of Congress
Ohio’s Sixth District

And also this Q&A on the $250 stimulus payment for seniors:

Frequently Asked Questions and Answers About the $250 Recovery Payments for Seniors:

Q: If two people are on Social Security in the same house (i.e. an elderly couple), will both of them get a recovery payment?
A: Yes.

Q: If someone is on more than one program (for example, both Social Security and SSI), will they get two checks?
A: No, only one check/payment per person.

Q: What is the cutoff date for someone to receive a check?
A: They had to be on a qualifying program (SS, SSI, Disability, Railroad, etc.) before February 1st to qualify for the recovery payment.

Q: How will they receive the check?
A: They will get it the same way they receive their monthly checks, either direct deposit or in the mail.

Q: Do seniors have to apply to receive this payment?
A: No. The payment will come automatically.

Q: When will I receive my payment?
A: You should receive your payment before June 4th.  If you don’t, please contact Rep. Wilson’s office.

Letter From Congressman Wilson

Dear Friends,

This week I joined an overwhelming majority in the U.S. House of Representatives in support of critical legislation to provide crucial protections against unfair—yet common—credit card industry practices. The Credit Cardholders’ Bill of Rights passed the House 357-70.

It seems like everyone has a bad credit card story. It’s time to bring common sense reform to the credit card system. This legislation ends unfair and deceptive practices.

The bill will prevent card companies from unfairly hiking interest rates on existing balances, except when payments are more than 30 days late. In addition, credit card companies would be prohibited from charging interest on debt that customers have paid on time. This is a deceptive practice known as double-cycle billing. Many consumers have also complained of due-date gimmicks like making a bill due on a holiday or a Sunday. If a due date falls on a Sunday or holiday, this legislation would require extending the due date to the next business day for mailed payments. The bill would protect cardholders against arbitrary interest rate increases, would empower them to set limits on their credit and would require card companies to fairly credit and allocate payments. The legislation would also prohibit charging fees to pay a bill by phone and charging over-the-limit fees, unless a consumer opts-in in advance. Finally, issuing credits cards to minors would be barred.

A deal is a deal. When a consumer and a credit card company enter into a contract, it should be a two way agreement. Right now, credit card companies can raise rates at any time for any reason. That’s not fair and it doesn’t honor the terms of the original contract. This legislation gives Americans the rights and information they need to make confident decisions about their finances.

Sincerely,

Charlie Wilson
Member of Congress
Ohio’s Sixth District

Congressman Wilson Supports Budget

Dear Friends,

Yesterday I voted in favor of a budget that serves as a long term economic plan that will get our economy working again and put the country on a path toward renewed prosperity. The bill passed the House 233-196.

It’s going to take time and tough choices to turn our economy around. The budget the House passed today puts us on the path to recovery by investing in the priorities like healthcare, energy and education. These are areas that will spur economic growth and lead to long tem sustainable prosperity.

The House-passed long term budget blueprint will cut the deficit nearly two-thirds by 2013. It cuts taxes for middle class families by $1.5 trillion. It will create jobs and grow our economy with targeted investments and reforms in healthcare, energy and education while reducing non-defense discretionary spending to its lowest level in nearly half a century. This long term economic plan ushers in a new era of honesty in budgeting by fully accounting for known expenses like the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan that previous administrations left out in order to make the deficit look smaller. To bring change and restore integrity to Washington, this budget puts an unprecedented effort into rooting out waste, fraud and abuse in government spending.

The Republican budget would have cut healthcare for the neediest, privatized Medicare, and offered our wealthiest citizens another tax cut. We’ve tried those failed policies for the last eight years and here we are today in the worst economic crisis we’ve seen since the Great Depression.

President Obama inherited a record Republican deficit from the Bush Administration, which began with a $5.6 trillion surplus. The national debt is now double what it was when Bush first took office, wages are flat and unemployment is skyrocketing.

I believe the House-passed economic plan takes the necessary steps to dig our economy out of the hole the Bush Administration dug, drastically cut the deficit, and stimulate growth that helps all of us.

Sincerely,

Charlie Wilson
Member of Congress
Ohio’s Sixth District

Letter From Congressman Wilson

Dear Friends,

There are many highlights from this week to tell you. First, I hosted a telephone town hall meeting on healthcare reform on Wednesday evening and more than 4,700 residents from across Ohio’s Sixth District took the time to listen to part or all of the meeting; some offered their stories and opinions about healthcare reform. Since healthcare reform will be one of the most complex issues we’ll deal with this year, I wanted to reach out to the residents of southern and eastern Ohio early on in the process.

Healthcare costs have increased four times faster than inflation and that’s hit working families extremely hard. As families fight to pay for, or even find healthcare, we need to engage in positive discussion and debate to solve our healthcare problems. Every American citizen should be getting the best possible coverage at the best possible price. I hope you’ll stay in touch with my office as the debate on healthcare reform progresses in Congress.

RECOVERY FUNDS AT WORK:

This week I was also able to make several announcements about funds that will soon be headed to the Sixth District from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

First the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) posted that it will begin distributing one-time payments of $250 in June to eligible veterans and their survivors to help mitigate the effects of the current economy. To be eligible, VA beneficiaries must have received compensation, pension, dependency and indemnity compensation, or spina bifida benefits at any time between November 2008 and January 2009. No application is necessary. The VA will use its existing payment records to determine eligibility.

This economy is hurting families all across the country, but the jobless rate for veterans who served in Iraq and Afghanistan and who are 18 and older is 11.2 percent. That’s significantly higher than the corresponding 8.8 percent rate for non-veterans in the same age group. Though $250 won’t solve their problems, it tells our veterans that we know they’re hurting. We hope this will not only help them, but help the economy.

In addition, the Social Security Administration will be sending out $250 economic recovery payments to people who receive Social Security and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits beginning in early May. No action is required to get this one-time payment either. However, if someone receives both Social Security/SSI and VA benefits, he or she will receive only one $250 payment.

On Wednesday, I was able to announce that the Sixth District will receive more than $6.8 million to make improvements to public housing as part of the Recovery Act. The metropolitan housing authorities of Portsmouth, Jefferson, Ironton, Belmont, Columbiana, Athens, Gallia and Noble will use that money to develop, finance and modernize their public housing.

Yesterday I also announced that our district would benefit from nearly $171 million in transportation and transit projects. I was proud to support the Recovery Act because I knew it would mean hundreds of transportation and transit jobs for our area. I’m pleased that the state is focusing on projects like the Nelsonville Bypass ($150 million) and the Wellsville Intermodal Facility ($5.7 million). These are just two examples of the excellent infrastructure projects to be funded in our region that will boost our long term economic health.

Finally, just today I was able to announce that our district is set to receive more than $600,000 in health center funding from the Recovery Act. Many families rely on community health clinics as their main healthcare provider. So, not only are these funds being invested in much needed healthcare for our area, but the money will help create or save more than 13 jobs.

Sincerely,

Charlie Wilson
Member of Congress
Ohio’s Sixth District

Proposal of Congressman Wilson

Dear Friends,

This week we are focused on the ridiculous bonuses paid to American  International Group (AIG) employees at taxpayer expense, and rightly so; but I worry about the next shoe that’s going to drop. I believe that shoe will be the flipping of the compensation structure at financial companies. Due to the critical eye of Congress and the American taxpayer on bonuses, there is now an effort by the companies to flip that compensation structure.

Currently, most Wall Street firms use a compensation approach where bonuses make up a majority of the total income package for more senior employees. So, salaries are kept relatively low and bonuses are, by comparison, huge.

But this week, I read in the Wall Street Journal that companies – anticipating Congressional action on bonuses - are trying to go around Congress by proposing to significantly increase salaries rather than have to deal with scrutiny of bonuses.

That is why I introduced the TARP Wage Accountability Act.

The TARP Wage Accountability Act would stop such proposals in their tracks. My bill would force companies that took 10 billion dollars or more in TARP funds to abide by the government Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) structure set for military and government employees. This year for example, that would mean that salaries for AIG employees couldn’t be raised more than 3.9%.

If the COLA is good enough for our soldiers and government workers, it should be good enough for Wall Street. The intent of my bill is to stop those TARP recipients that are scheming to change their pay structure to reward themselves with double or triple their salaries. I want to make sure that taxpayer money does not go to outrageous raises – raises that are not deserved.

Sincerely,

Charlie Wilson
Member of Congress
Ohio’s Sixth District

This makes me a bit uneasy.  First of all, I don’t share many people’s outrage over the AIG bonuses.  It was a very small fraction of the amount of money the government gave them.  But I’m just not comfortable about the government telling a private company how much of a raise they can give employees and/or executives irregardless of how much money we give them.  I can’t seem to put it in profound words at the moment, but I find the very notion icky.  If you don’t like what they are doing then pull the TARP money off of them or don’t give them any more and let them sink or swim on their own.  But don’t be in the business of telling them how much and how they can compensate those on their payroll.

Letter from Congressman Wilson on TARP Money for Ohio

Dear Friends,

This week I am pleased to tell you that the U.S. Department of Energy and the U.S. Department of Labor have announced that funds from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act have been released to Ohio.

Ohio will receive more than $362 million for weatherization funding and energy efficiency grants as part of the Recovery Act.

Putting Ohioans back to work weatherizing homes just makes good sense. It’s an investment that pays back in three ways: it creates sorely needed jobs, it will help families save money on their energy bills and it will help move this country toward energy independence.

According to the U.S. Department of Energy, Ohio will receive $266,781,409 for the Weatherization Assistance Program and $96,083,000 for the State Energy Program.

The funding will support weatherization of homes, including adding more insulation, sealing leaks and modernizing heating and air conditioning equipment.

The Weatherization Assistance Program will allow an average investment of up to $6,500 per home in energy efficiency upgrades and will be available for families making up to 200% of the federal poverty level – or about $44,000 a year for a family of four. The DOE’s Weatherization Assistance Program allows low-income families to reduce their energy bills by making their homes more energy efficient, reducing heating bills by an average of 32% and overall energy bills by hundreds of dollars per year.

How to Apply: Funds will be added to the State’s Weatherization Program. Individuals can apply for the Ohio Department of Development Energy Assistance Programs here or by calling 1-800-282-0880.

The State Energy Program funding will be available for rebates to consumers for home energy audits or other energy saving improvements; development of renewable energy projects for clean electricity generation and alternative fuels; promotion of Energy Star products; efficiency upgrades for state and local government buildings; and other innovative state efforts to help save families money on their energy bills.

How to Apply: Funds will be distributed at the State’s discretion. Please visit recovery.ohio.gov for more information and to apply through the State.

Ohio will also receive more than $153 million in Workforce Investment Act (WIA) grants as part of the Recovery Act.

According to the U.S. Department of Labor, Ohio will receive $56,158,510 for WIA Youth Activities, $23,386,373 for WIA Adult Activities, $58,511,252 for WIA Dislocated Worker Activities, and $15,017,635 for Wagner-Peyser Employment Services.

In this tough economy, it’s a good thing that we’re investing in Main Street and in our workers and their families who are suffering. These programs help train workers and develop talent.

How to Apply: Funds will be distributed to the states by formula. The State of Ohio administers Workforce Investment grants through a series of One-Stops through the Ohio Department of Jobs and Family Services. A map of the Ohio One-Stop system can be found here.

Sincerely,

Charlie Wilson
Member of Congress
Ohio’s Sixth District

From the Outbox of Congressman Wilson

***Editor’s Note: the table he references will be appended to the bottom of the posting***

Dear friends,

In the wake of dire news from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, this morning I joined President Obama, Gov. Ted Strickland and several other members of the Ohio Congressional Delegation in Columbus to announce some welcome good news: the stimulus money is flowing to Ohio and jobs are being saved.

This morning, the President and I watched as more than two dozen new police recruits in Columbus were sworn in as officers. In January, these recruits received notices that they would be laid off, before they even got started serving their city. But with the announcement that federal recovery money would soon arrive, Columbus Mayor Michael Coleman said he could afford to have the recruits join the force.

This is exactly the kind of effect we’d hoped the Recovery Package would have on our communities. This package has always been about getting America back to work. We saved these young recruits jobs today. That’s about two dozen people who won’t have to file for unemployment this month.

The nation’s unemployment rate jumped to 8.1 percent in February, its highest level in 25 years. The Bureau of Labor Statistics announced this morning that the economy shed another 651,000 jobs last month.

This is the highest unemployment rate in 25 years. 4.4 million Americans have now lost their jobs since the recession began. More disturbing is that there are nearly 3 million Americans who’ve been out of work for six months or more. I’m committed to doing what it takes and to working with my friends across the aisle to get this economy moving again. We inherited this economic crisis after 8 years of disastrous policies and it’ll take some time to get us out of this mess, but a celebration like today’s shows that we’ll do it, bit by bit, job by job.

After the event, I was thrilled to announce that the sixth district will receive $395,228 in Recovery funding through the Department of Justice’s Edward Byrne Justice Assistance Grant (JAG) Program.

These grants will allow local governments to support or improve law enforcement programs like prevention and education programs or corrections and drug treatment programs, just to name a few examples.

For the complete list of Sixth District recipients, see the table to the right.

In addition, Ohio is set to receive $179,808,408 in Federal Transportation Administration funds from the Recovery Package. Of that, $29,837,234 is for assistance to rural and small urban public transportation systems. These projects could include the construction, renovation or upgrade of a transit system station, or allow a system to acquire, rehabilitate or overhaul their buses or trains.

I’m pleased that the vote I cast just a few weeks has resulted in this kind of money flowing into Ohio and directly into Ohio’s Sixth District. That was the point of using already existing federal distribution formulas, so that the funding would move quickly and put Ohioans to work.

With that said, I’m mindful that some of the funding formulas will mean that many of Ohio’s rural areas will have to compete for funding. I’ve recently written to Gov. Strickland about my concern that rural areas, like many of the counties that make up Ohio’s Sixth Congressional District, get their fair share of the Recovery Funding. In my letter to Gov. Strickland, dated March 5, I wrote:

“Given the urgency associated with dispersing these funds, I agree with Congress’ decision to use existing formulas for programs like Community Development Block Grants (CDBG) and the Community Oriented Policing Program (COPS). I think we both understand and can agree that these valuable funds must be distributed quickly, especially to communities with large populations and high poverty levels. However, I am concerned that this distribution process leaves out rural areas that lack concentrated population centers.

We both know from personal experience that rural Americans make vital contributions to our state and national economies. When I voted for the Recovery Act, I did so knowing that it was meant to help rural Ohioans who are suffering from the same rising unemployment nightmare that our urban and suburban neighbors are facing. In fact, unemployment rates during each quarter of 2008 were higher in non-metropolitan areas than in metropolitan areas.

Apart from the formulaic spending requirements, you and your Administration have a great deal of discretion when it comes to spending Ohio’s significant Recovery funding allocation. I urge you to ensure that our state’s rural communities receive their fair share.”

I reminded Gov. Strickland that we are lucky to have a Governor who, because of his roots, understands our district’s needs.

Sincerely,

Charlie Wilson
Member of Congress
Ohio’s Sixth District

Sixth District Recipients of JAG Funding:

Athens City	$22,006
East Liverpool City	$11,330
Wellsville Village	$10,894
Jefferson County	$29,849
Steubenville City	$51,419
Mahoning County	$13,508
Boardman Township	$47,061
Scioto County	$33,771
Portsmouth City	$83,447
Belmont County	$11,765
Gallia County	$13,944
Lawrence County	$12,419
Marietta City	$16,994
Mingo Junction Village	$13,944
Washington County	$22,877
TOTAL for OH-6	$395,228

Letter From Congressman Wilson

Dear Friends,

It was a big week in Washington. On Tuesday night President Obama clearly and honestly laid out the grave challenges we face as a nation. He thoughtfully outlined a plan that includes tough choices. He believes our great country is up to the challenge. Like him, I believe we have been through worse and come out better. We can do it again. The only real danger we face is doing too little.

When the President released his FY2010 budget on Thursday, I was very encouraged with how he plans to deal with the deficits and debt we inherited. President Obama will cut our annual spending deficit in half by the end of his term. More importantly he didn’t sugar coat the budget and honestly accounted for real expenses like the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

In addition, President Obama’s budget emphasizes our shared values and will make long term investments in energy, healthcare and education, which I believe will lay the proper foundation for our economic recovery and long term economic growth. I believe this is a solid blueprint on which Congress can build its budget and I look forward to starting that process.

Speaking of budgets, I’m proud to announce that Congress is close to finishing the leftover budget work of last year for FY2009. $7,937,643 in federal dollars could soon be headed directly to Ohio’s Sixth District. The federal funds are part of the $410 billion Omnibus spending bill which passed the House this week and now heads to the Senate.

This legislation eliminates programs that haven’t performed the way they should, and includes strict accountability measures to ensure that American tax dollars are spent wisely.  In addition, earmarks have been further reduced by 5% below last year’s levels, building on last year’s 43% reduction.

I’m proud of this spending bill. We’ve made responsible cuts, but are spending money where it needs to be spent. If there’s one thing I hear a lot from people all along the Ohio River and up into Mahoning and Columbiana Counties is that they feel Ohio doesn’t always get its fair share. I’m proud to bring nearly $8 million back home in federal investment. Each of these projects will help our district; these aren’t bridges to nowhere.

Programs Back Home Slate to Receive Funding in the 2009 Spending Bill:

• $295,000 for an initiative known as “From Steel to Scholars” for Mahoning County.
• Along with Rep. Tim Ryan (OH-17), I secured $245,643 for Mahoning County’s “Salute to Success” program, an entrepreneurship development initiative.
• Along with Sen. George Voinovich, I successfully secured $951,500 for an advanced carbon capture and storage project at the R.E. Burger Power Plant in Belmont County.
• $86,000 for the Dillonvale Senior Center in Jefferson County.
• Along with Congressman Zack Space (OH-18) I secured $688,000 for crucial infrastructure improvements at Ohio University Airport in Athens County.
• Along with Sen. George Voinovich, I also secured $238,000 to expand the Southeast Ohio Center for Excellence in Mathematics and Science in Athens County.
• Along with Rep. Space, Sen. Voinovich and Sen. Sherrod Brown, I secured $232,750 to expand Ohio University’s Economic Development through Entrepreneurship in Appalachia program.
• $475,000 for the Chesapeake By-Pass in Lawrence County.
• Along with Rep. Geoff Davis (KY-4) and Sen. George Voinovich, I also secured $335,000 for the Army Corps of Engineers’ project at Greenup Lock and Dams in Scioto County.
• $250,000 for the Gallipolis Communication Interoperability Project and the development of a city-wide first responders’ radio communication system.
• $50,000 each for Mahoning, Columbiana, Belmont, Noble, Athens and the Scioto County Sheriff Departments for much needed equipment. (Total of $300,000)
• Finally, the total for the 2009 appropriations that I secured for the Sixth Congressional District reflects two projects previously announced when the Defense bill was signed into law in December 2008. Those previously announced projects include $2.24 million for an alternative energy project at Ohio University and $1.6 million awarded for continuing research at OU on lightweight heat exchangers for airplanes and spacecraft.

Sincerely,

Charlie Wilson
Member of Congress
Ohio’s Sixth District

Letter From Congressman Wilson

Dear Friends:

Today I joined a majority in the House of Representatives in support of critical legislation to create and save 3.5 million American jobs that will be signed into law next week. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act was approved by a vote of 246-183. President Obama’s job creation package, passed by Congress, will invest quickly in the economy and rebuild America, make us more globally competitive and energy independent, and transform our economy for long-term growth. In addition, it will give 95 percent of American workers an immediate tax cut.

This is one of the biggest tax cuts ever. That’s an important step in President Obama’s historic plan to start to get the American economy back on track.

America faces the worst economic crisis since The Great Depression. Currently the economy is shedding 10,000 – 20,000 jobs per day.

Our choice was action vs. inaction. I voted for action. Who would stand by and do nothing while their community, their country falls off a cliff?

This jobs and economic recovery plan contains strategic efforts:

• Creating or saving 133,000 jobs here in Ohio over the next two years;

• Providing a Making Work Pay tax cut of up to $800 for 4,530,000 Ohio workers and their families, designed to start paying out immediately into workers’ paychecks, as well as tax cuts to spur businesses large and small;

• Transforming Our Economy With Clean, Efficient, American Energy and Innovation and Technology that will create more than 1 million jobs;

• Lowering Health Care Costs and improving care by computerizing medical records, which will create hundreds of thousands of jobs, and helping those who cannot afford health care in these tough times;

• Modernizing Roads and Bridges to create jobs with an extra $935,677,030 in Ohio, the boldest investment in infrastructure since the creation of the interstate highway system a half century ago;

• Education for the 21st Century, modernizing schools and making college more affordable with improved Pell Grants for the 268,804 Pell Grant recipients in Ohio and a higher education tax credit for 128,000 students in our state;

• Helping Workers Hurt by the Economy, including seniors, Ohioans who’ve lost their healthcare and the 464,800 Ohioans currently out of work;

• Saving the Jobs of teachers, police officers, health care workers, and protecting the vital services they provide;

• Extending broadband services to underserved communities across the country, so that rural businesses can compete with any company in the world. For every dollar invested in broadband, the economy sees a ten-fold return on that investment; and

• Unprecedented accountability and transparency measures will ensure that taxpayer dollars are spent wisely and effectively—including no earmarked projects and a new recovery.gov website that will allow Americans to track each investment.

This is an investment in change. I firmly believe today’s vote is a victory for our country, for our economy and for our rural Ohio communities that, in particular, have been hurting for so long.

Sincerely,

Charlie Wilson
Member of Congress
Ohio’s Sixth District

Congressman Wilson Touts SCHIP

Dear Friends,

This week I proudly joined a majority in the House of Representatives in support of the final version of bipartisan legislation to provide health care to 11 million children in modest-income families. The State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) Reauthorization Act was approved by a vote of 290-135. President Obama signed the bill into law immediately afterward.

I have fought for this legislation since coming to Congress in 2007. This is the same legislation that President Bush vetoed twice in the last Congress. I am so pleased that, at last, we can expand health coverage for our children.

This is one step closer to being able to provide every child in our nation with affordable, high-quality health care. By improving the health of children we’ll improve their chance for success. In addition, we’ll reduce the much more expensive use of emergency rooms for primary care. That’s just good common sense.

The State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) was created in 1997 to provide health care coverage for children in families that earn too little to afford health insurance for their children themselves but too much to qualify for Medicaid. This bill will give states the resources and incentives necessary to reach and cover millions of uninsured children who are currently eligible for, but not enrolled in, SCHIP and Medicaid.

This bipartisan bill reauthorizes the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) through FY 2013. It preserves the coverage for all 7.1 million children currently covered by SCHIP, including preserving the coverage of 231,538 children in Ohio. It also provides coverage for 4.1 million uninsured children who are currently eligible for, but not enrolled in, SCHIP and Medicaid, including up to 119,000 children in Ohio.

In our current economic situation, with rising unemployment, this children’s health bill is critical. With parents losing employer-sponsored health care for their children, the need for this common sense legislation grows every day.

Charlie Wilson
Member of Congress
Ohio’s Sixth District

Sincerely,