johnveen@workingfamilies.com

Dear 19th Congressional District Resident:

^{On November 5th, send our comfortable incumbent, George Radanovich, a clear message by voting for his Democratic opponent, John Veen! Radanovich votes wrong on practically every issue of importance to working families. He's a "Contract on America" ultra-conservative of the Newt Gingrich variety, and slick packaging aside, his views and actions are harmful to our district and to our nation.} 

^{Veen's Five Point Program}

1. Invest in America and create good jobs here for Americas working families. Put more federal money into rebuilding America. Raise the federal minimum wage. Develop an effective strategy and program for stopping the export of good jobs. Reindustrialize the U.S. economy. Change tax laws that create incentives for destroying jobs. Negotiate pro-worker trade agreements. Stop the erosion of basic workers rights here at home. Redouble our efforts to realize the nearly 40-year old promise of equal pay for equal work, to inhibit contracting-out schemes and temporary employment that all too often turn decent jobs into marginal employment, and to rein in the privatization of public services, which often reduces the quality of service delivery and eliminates middle-class jobs, especially for women and minority workers.

2. Respect the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution by removing undemocratic barriers to workplace organizing.

3. Strengthen and protect retirement security. Stop the deterioration of employer-provided pensions, which is seriously weakening the three-legged stool of retirement protection: pensions, private savings and Social Security. We must shore up Social Security, not tear it down, and resist the efforts of the Bush Administration to replace guaranteed benefits with uninsured individual accounts like those held by the Enron employees.

4. Make high quality, affordable health care, including prescription drugs, available to all.

5. Improve and protect public education. A good education is a basic right of all in America, and not just a privileged few. Our public schools and colleges are the only way we can guarantee that right for all individuals. And a good, solid system of universal public education is the building block of our democracy, and our best insurance policy against becoming a deeply divided society.

John Veen has been an advocate for working families for 16 years as a union activist and community organizer. He's presently serving on the Executive Boards of the Fresno-Madera-Tulare-Kings Counties Central Labor Council and United Auto Workers Local 2350. He's also an officer of the California Democratic Party, serving as Region 8 Director.

Put working families first! Vote for Veen in November!

Key Votes: Radanovich Fails Working Families

Medicare Budget Protection 

Representative Spratt, D-SC, moved to instruct the House conferees during the House-Senate negotiations on the federal budget. The instructions would have been to create a federal budget for fiscal year 2002 that includes a Medicare prescription drug program, protection of the Medicare Hospital Trust Fund surplus, and increased aid to education. The motion was rejected. Radanovich voted no. Radanovich voted wrong.

Stop Biased Social Security Commission

Representative Filner, D-CA, offered an amendment to prohibit the use of federal funds to implement the recommendations of the Presidents Commission to Strengthen Social Security. All of President Bush's appointees favored privatization of Social Security accounts. In addition, there was no member representing workers or Social Security beneficiaries on the Commission. The amendment failed 188-238. Radanovich voted no. Radanovich voted wrong.

Voting Access

Representative Menendez, D-NJ, moved to send the election reform bill back to the appropriate committee in order to add language that ensures that voters have opportunities to correct ballot errors, have increased access to provisional voting, and ensure better polling place access for the disabled. Older Americans need these provisions, especially in light of the 2000 elections. The House leadership did not give the House the opportunity to vote on these provisions. Radanovich voted no. Radanovich voted wrong.

Ergonomics

 S.J. Res. 6-In November 2000, after more than a decade of struggle by workers and their unions to win federal rules to prevent crippling repetitive stress injuries in the workplace, the Occupation Safety and Health Administration issued the nations first workplace ergonomics standard. The CRA "resolution of disapproval" eliminated the ergonomics standard. Radanovich voted yes. Radanovich voted wrong.

Budget

Conference Report on H. Con. Res. 83-The fiscal year 2002 budget resolution called for spending $1.35 trillion worth of projected budget surpluses in fiscal years 2001-2011 to pay for tax cuts that would primarily benefit the wealthy. The budget resolution also weakened Social Security and Medicare. Radanovich voted yes. Radanovich voted wrong.

Economic Stimulus

H.R. 3090-The economic aftershocks of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on the United States, combined with the Bush recession, resulted in the lay-offs of hundreds of thousands of workers. The AFL-CIO and other working family advocates backed an economic stimulus plan to extend, expand and improve unemployment insurance benefits to help families make up for lost income; to help laid-off workers maintain or acquire health insurance; to provide funds to enable state unemployment systems to meet the surge in claims; and to provide help to the business community. But House Republican leaders and President George W. Bush supported a stimulus plan that focused on huge tax breaks for the wealthy and corporations. H.R. 3090 called for spending $162 billion over the next 10 years to pay for those additional tax cuts for large corporations and wealthy individuals. The only worker relief proposals were a $9 billion unemployment insurance block grant program and a $3 billion health care block grant program that did not guarantee any assistance to laid-off workers and their families. Radanovich voted yes. Radanovich voted wrong.

Economic Stimulus II

H.R. 3529-The first so-called economic stimulus bill that House Republican leaders narrowly squeaked through in October failed to go anywhere in the Senate. But instead of trying to reach a compromise that would have directed more help to working families, House leaders offered another economic stimulus bill that contained massive tax cuts for corporations and upper-income taxpayers, but only meager benefits for laid-off workers. The Republican bill provided 13 weeks of extended unemployment benefits, but no expansion of coverage and no increase in the weekly benefit. The bill provided a small tax credit for individuals to purchase health care on the private market, but no meaningful reforms that would have ensured that such coverage was available and affordable. The Democratic plan, which Republican leaders blocked from a vote, contained the 13-week UI extension, plus an increase in the weekly benefit and new eligibility rules to cover part-time and intermittent workers. The Democratic plan also included a 75 percent subsidy to cover the cost of COBRA, and more than $5 billion in direct aid to states. Radanovich voted yes. Radanovich voted wrong.