John Kerry - Important Accomplishments

angrydemocrat

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Sun Jan-02-05 09:25 PM
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John Kerry - Important Accomplishments

Important accomplishments of John Kerry that aren't mentioned very often and need need to be:

1)Fought to Help Victims Of Agent Orange - Beginning more than 15 years ago, John Kerry introduced legislation to assist veterans in receiving medical compensation after being exposed to a toxic chemical Agent Orange. John Kerry even testified before Congress to force the government to care for Vietnam veterans. John Kerry's bill, the Comprehensive Agent Orange Scientific Evidence Act, sought to require that the Veterans Administration (VA) look into the "health effects of exposure" to Agent Orange. John Kerry also voted to pass the Agent Orange Act of 1991 and the Veterans Agent Orange Exposure and Vietnam Service Benefits Act of 1989.

2)Fought for Affordable Housing - As a member of the Senate Housing Subcommittee, John Kerry has a long record of fighting for affordable housing. He shaped the first significant rewrite of the public housing program in over 20 years and worked to craft and pass a bill that helped save government billions of dollars in rental assistance payments, preserved thousands of affordable rental apartments, and helped finance the rehabilitation of those apartments. With Senator Jim Jeffords, Kerry sponsored the Affordable Housing Preservation Act to foster local partnerships between non-profits, state and local governments, and private landlords in order to keep existing housing projects available and affordable for low income tenants. He worked to create and implement the "mark-up to market" program and he co-authored the Affordable Housing for Seniors and Families Act of 2000.

3)Stood Up for America's Children - John Kerry wrote the bill that became the foundation for the 1997 State Children's Health Insurance Program (S-CHIP), which provided states with federal funding to help extend health insurance coverage to children whose families do not qualify for Medicaid. He introduced legislation to expand state and local early childhood development efforts, including education, child care and health care for children between birth and six years old. At the end of 2000, a version of this bipartisan legislation was signed into law. To address the needs of America's at-risk youth, John Kerry led the effort to establish the YouthBuild program, which provides young people with basic education toward a diploma and the skills training they need to get a good-paying job. YouthBuild also teaches leadership and civic engagement while providing students with adult mentors who help them overcome personal problems and participate in a supportive community with positive values.

4)Fought for America's Veterans - John Kerry has been a tireless champion of mandatory funding for veterans health care. He fought vigorously for full funding of VA health care and opposed the Bush administration's exclusion of Priority 8 veterans and its elimination of VA outreach efforts. He sought improved prescription drug benefits and authored legislation in 2003 to let veterans fill prescriptions written by non-VA doctors through the VA pharmacy. As chairman of the Senate Select Committee on POW/MIA Affairs, John Kerry investigated the fate of missing American soldiers in Vietnam and brought about the resolution of this difficult issue for their families and for the governments of both countries. In 1994, he sponsored an amendment with Senator McCain that urged the American government to lift it's 25-year trade embargo with Vietnam. He then worked closely with Senator McCain and President Clinton to facilitate full normalization of trade and diplomatic relations with Vietnam.

5)Fought to Protect America's Environment - John Kerry has been described by the League of Conservation Voters as an "environmental champion." He introduced legislation to improve standards for clean air and establish a fund to finance emissions reductions. He secured millions of dollars in funding to clean America's waterways, harbors, and drinking water, worked to strengthen the Safe Drinking Water Act, and introduced legislation in 1996 to ensure "protection in the quality of water." He sponsored legislation that extended and strengthened laws protecting marine mammals from commercial fishing. He helped protect America's National Parks and National Forests from pollution, excessive logging, and over development while ensuring that endangered species are preserved for all Americans to experience. He has opposed opening the Artic National Wildlife Refuge to drilling for over a decade, ensuring that future generations can experience this national treasure. He strongly advocated for U.S. participation in the Kyoto accords and other international environmental initiatives, and personally participated in many major world environmental summits, including conferences at Rio di Janeiro, Kyoto and the Hague.