Rep. Louise M. Slaughter (NY-28) stood alongside retirees and senior advocates to offer details about a provision she wrote in the House health care bill that will help retirees lower their health insurance premiums. More specifically, the provision allows retires facing excessive increases to their employer-provided health insurance premiums to join into a national high-risk pool that will likely offer lower-cost insurance.

Joined by advocates from AARP, the American Cancer Society, and the Eastman Kodak Retirees Association, Slaughter spoke about her provision at Lifespan, which has provided service to Rochester area older adults and caregivers for 36 years.

“I’m so pleased I was able to include my provision to the House-passed health care bill which will likely save thousands of retirees hundreds of dollars in their health insurance premium costs each month.” said Slaughter.  “This is particularly welcome relief for retirees who are bracing for triple digit increases in their premiums next year. In the Rochester-area there are more than 8,000 retirees just from Kodak, many of whom are facing the prospect of paying 200-400 percent more for their health insurance starting in January. Many will see their monthly premium rise from about $400 to over $1,100 and that is exactly the type of ‘excessive’ increases that my provision will address.”

Rep. Louise Slaughter joined with members of the New York High-Speed Rail Coalition to argue that Upstate New York deserves its fair share of federal stimulus dollars allocated to create a national high-speed rail network.

Slaughter was joined by Congressmen Dan Maffei (NY-25) and Mike Arcuri (NY-24), members of the Syracuse Chamber of Commerce, State Senator Malcolm Smith and state and local lawmakers at the Syracuse’s William F. Walsh Regional Transportation Center to introduce the High-Speed Rail New York Coalition.

“The reason we’re all here today is clear; it’s because we all share the same vision,” said Slaughter. “What we envision is a network that starts by connecting Buffalo to Albany and expands to connect our state to Toronto through Niagara Falls, and Montreal to Albany creating a large economic development center and strengthening our international trade. We see a network that links to Chicago to the west and Boston, Baltimore and Washington to the east. We expect a more mobile workforce, and strengthened economies throughout Upstate NY, a cleaner and faster way to travel, and a way to highlight the wonderful aspects of each of our cities. In short, we expect progress.

“In Congress I’m working to ensure that Upstate New York gets its fair share of federal rail funds and I’ve been working steadily with Transportation Secretary LaHood, the Federal Rail Administration, and the White House on this very issue.”

Rep. Louise M. Slaughter (NY-28) announced that the Title II provisions of the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA), barring employers from discriminating against an employee based on either his/her genetic information, will go into effect November 21, 2009.

“We are all potential victims of genetic discrimination. With the implementation of these protections, an employer will no longer be able to hire or fire someone based on their genetic make-up,” said Slaughter. “By prohibiting the improper use of genetic information, Americans will be encouraged to take advantage of the tremendous life altering potential of genetic research.  It took thirteen years to pass GINA, and I just wish that Senator Kennedy, who worked tirelessly with me on this bill, was here to see this day.”

Rep. Louise M. Slaughter (D-NY) issued the following statement after the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission issued a blistering new report on Chinese espionage and trade practices.

“For too long our trade policy with respect to China has been to simply give large American corporations incentives to move there and lay off U.S. workers,” Slaughter said. “At the same time, we’ve provided few if any incentive to stay here and invest in this workforce. The result is that our legacy of talented and innovative workers has been eroded over the years to the point where we now have a vastly diminished manufacturing base. And our trade imbalance with China is substantial and growing each year. This report shows that the Chinese government systematically subsidizes their industry to target important areas of U.S. and world markets. These predatory trade practices violate international trade law, and reinforce my belief that we need to strengthen our trade enforcement efforts and rethink our trade relationship with China.”

Congresswoman Louise Slaughter (NY-28), Chairwoman of the House Rules Committee, today announced that the House approved a bill that would provide direct assistance to firefighters in Western New York so they can purchase equipment and vehicles, fund vital training and assist fire departments hire firefighting personnel.

“I’m so pleased Congress has reauthorized these vital grants because they will help our heroic firefighters in Western New York,” said Slaughter. “Last year fire companies in my district received more than $2.4 million from these programs. Reauthorizing these grant programs provides critical resources to local fire departments and renews our commitment to ensuring that communities across America have the equipment, training, and personnel that they count on during emergencies.”

Congresswoman Louise M. Slaughter today joined with members of the House Trade Working Group to strongly urge a new direction in United States trade policy ahead of the WTO Ministerial Conference in Geneva on November 30^th.

“My district has seen more than its share of job losses as a result of unfair foreign competition and dumping,” said Slaughter. “Once-great companies have downsized, moved to China and other countries, or simply closed their doors leaving people struggling to make ends meet.  The ripple effect on small local businesses has resulted in even more job losses which is not anything Western New York can afford right now.

Congresswoman Louise Slaughter today applauded the Newseum in Washington, D.C. for paying homage to one of Buffalo’s favorite sons, Tim Russert, as they unveiled their newest exhibit, "Inside Tim Russert's Office: If It's Sunday, It's 'Meet the Press'"

The exhibit recreates Russert's NBC Washington office much as it looked when he died of a heart attack in June 2008 while preparing for his next show.

“Tim was one of our nation’s great journalists so it is a fitting tribute that America’s preeminent news museum is honoring him,” said Slaughter. “He had a remarkable effect on people across this country and yet he never forgot who he was or about the people of Buffalo.

“Tim asked the questions he knew Western New Yorkers wanted answers to; he was no-nonsense. Every Sunday morning we knew we had a guy in our corner going toe-to-toe with the world’s most powerful leaders.”

For more information on visiting the Newseum in Washington, DC go to http://www.newseum.org/.

Rep. Louise Slaughter (NY-28) joined members of the community to explain that they would receive better health care, more choices and lowered costs thanks to the Affordable Health Care Act passed by the House last Saturday.

Slaughter was joined by members of the labor and faith communities, health care professionals, seniors and students as she emphasized the benefits for all Americans in the historic health care legislation.

“I am so proud to have joined many of my colleagues in making history and moving health care reform closer than ever to reality,” said Slaughter. “Since the time of Teddy Roosevelt we’ve been talking about making our health care system more accessible and more affordable to Americans. I was proud to vote for this historic legislation because I know all the wonderful things it will do for all of you.”

Rep. Louise Slaughter commemorated Veterans Day by honoring the courageous service and sacrifices of America’s veterans. She released the following statement:

“Over the years I’ve had the pleasure to get to know many many veterans and have the upmost respect for the sacrifices they and their families have made. Today I join all Americans in honoring their service.

“In Congress we’ve been working to fulfill our promise to veterans: when you defend our country, we’ll take care of you.

“I’m particularly proud of the new G.I. bill that allows a full four-year education to all veterans including men and women who served in Iraq and Afghanistan and their families. So often I hear of young troops volunteering to enter the service so that they can receive an education. They deserve so much more. They deserve body armor in the field adequate for the dangers they face and I’m proud to have devoted the last two years to making sure they have it. And when they come home, they deserve health care that’s prepared to deal with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and traumatic brain injuries."

Rep. Louise Slaughter, Chairwoman of the House Committee on Rules applauded the American Association of Retired Persons and joined them in praising the Affordable Health Care for America Act, noting it would greatly help senior citizens.

“I’m proud to see that in the many organizations that have signed on to support this bill, AARP has joined our coalition and endorsed our bill,” said Slaughter. “They represent 40 million seniors nationwide and understand that this bill will do more to protect seniors and bring down their medical costs than any other single piece of legislation in decades. The reason health care will succeed this time around is because we have support from so many important groups like AARP.”