Credit Card Companies Should Be Stopped

From Gouging Consumers Now!

In December 2008, after two years of study, the Federal Reserve approved regulations to crackdown on credit card industry’s gouging of consumers. Applied to the nation’s more than 16,000 credit card companies, the regulations:

· Prohibited the credit companies from raising interest rates on existing balances.

· Prohibited applying payments over the minimum in a way that maximized interest charges.

· Required companies to give consumers 45 days notice before any changes to the terms of the account, such as higher late penalties and interest rates.

· Required companies to send billings at least 21 days before the payment date.

While consumer advocates viewed the new regulations as good news, they viewed, as bad news, the effective date of the regulations – July 1, 2010. Why give the credit card companies a year and a half to continue fleecing consumers with their predatory unfair and deceptive practices?

One of the major disappointments of the 2009 General Assembly session was the rejection of HB 1048, which would have made Maryland the first state to make it illegal for credit card companies to apply increases in interest rates to existing balances.

According to the Government Accounting Office (GAO), in 2005, the six largest credit card issuers collected $7.4 billion in penalty fees alone. Interest rates were raised on consumers who open a new account. Spiking interest rates, from 14% to 29.9% sent consumers’ minimum payments soaring. The interest rate hikes on existing balances and late fee and penalty traps drive consumers deeper into debt and keep them in debt for years.

Indeed, consumers have accumulated $951 billion in revolving credit card debt, an average of $9,000 for every family with more than one card. Eighty percent of U.S. households have at least one credit card. According to Fitch Retail Credit Card Index, 60 day delinquencies have increased by nearly 24% since August 2008. The American Bankruptcy Institute notes that consumer bankruptcies rose nearly 33% in 2008 to more than 1 million filings.

Currently, legislation in Congress seeks to put the Federal Reserve’s new regulations into law and expedite the effective date for the rules. The bill to provide credit card holders with protection from unfair and deceptive practices has already been approved by the House Financial Services Committee. The bill, called the Credit Cardholders’ Bill of Rights, is expected to be voted on by the House of Representatives by May 1.

The Senate is considering a stronger bill, which prohibits companies from charging more than one over-limit fee per billing period and from charging interest on fees, from charging a fee to make a payment, applying interest rate increases to existing balances and raising interest rates at any time for any reason. In addition, credit card companies must publish their forms in plain-spoken language with no more fine print. The Senate bill is called the Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility and Disclosure Act.

The bill also limits aggressive marketing by card issuers to borrowers under 21. Far too often, the practice of issuing credit cards to college students and minors leaves these young people hopelessly in debt or forces parents to foot the bill.

For years, consumer protection legislation for credit card holders has been introduced in Congress, but beaten back by financial institutions and their lobbyists. It took 2 ½ years of study for the Federal Reserve to issue the strong credit card reform regulations in December 2008. I find it ludicrous that these regulations will not become effective for a year and a half in July 2010.

I am confident that strong credit card reform will be approved by Congress and signed into law by the President. I want to emphasize it is not the intention of these protections to strangle the credit card issuers and their ability to provide credit or make a reasonable profit. These new protections will put a stop to the unconscionable gouging of cardholders that has been going on for years.

Saving The Chesapeake Bay – More Promise Than Progress

After more than 25 years and $6 billion the multi-state and federal Bay cleanup effort shows more promise than progress. While there has been some progress, it’s not enough. For the most part, the efforts signs agreements whose deadlines we can’t meet and whose goals we fail to achieve. It’s heartbreaking that we keep falling short of rescuing this "crown jewel of estuaries," the largest estuary in the nation – the Chesapeake Bay.

Recently, the President of the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, William Baker, declared that the condition of the Chesapeake Bay remains "a national disgrace." In its 10th annual report released April 15, the Foundation gave the Bay’s health a grade of "D," giving it 28 points out of a possible 100.

The Bay is plagued by agricultural and suburban runoff pouring phosphorus and nitrogen into the water, which feed the oxygen deprived algae and create dead zones. The dead zones kill oysters and drives crabs away. There are 11,000 watermen harvesting shellfish faster than nature can replenish them. Exploding development along the watershed and a 34% increase in population since 1980 has increased the number of paved surfaces that feed polluted runoff from parking lots, highways, as well as commercial and residential buildings into a Bay rapidly losing the struggle to stay alive

In 1983, the first Chesapeake Bay Agreement was signed by officials of the EPA, the states of Maryland, Virginia and Pennsylvania and the District of Columbia. The agreement promised a coordinated effort to protect the water quality and living resources of the Bay. In 1987, another Chesapeake Bay Agreement set as its goal a 40% reduction in phosphorus and nitrogen by 2000. In 2000, that goal was not met. So, another agreement, Chesapeake 2000, again setting goals to reduce phosphorus and nitrogen by 2010 and remove the Chesapeake Bay from the EPA’s "dirty waters" list.

Throughout the years, the Program relied on computer models to track cleanup progress. However, the computers showed pollution reduction that might occur in the future, not what was really happening. The model’s version of the Chesapeake was healthier than the Bay actually was. In 2006, the U.S. Government Accountability Office – GAO – found that the EPA’s Chesapeake Bay Program tended to portray the Bay’s cleanup in an unduly positive light, saying it does not provide credible information on the Bay’s current health status.

By 2007, officials at the Chesapeake Bay Program acknowledged that it was unlikely that the cleanup deadlines set for 2010 could be met.

At last count, total phosphorus had fallen 30% and nitrogen, 22%, far from the 40% reduction goal for both.

The last oyster harvest was about 470,000, 96% less than in 1983. This summer about 17% of the Bay water had lowered oxygen levels.

The last crab harvest was about 39 million pounds, about 60% less than in 1983. A few weeks ago, it was announced that the crab harvest had rebounded with 50% increased over last year. The improvement was credited to harvest restrictions that need to continue to rebuild the species. However, Bill Goldsborough, a senior fisheries scientist at the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, said that while the numbers were encouraging, the number of juvenile crabs, on which future abundance depends, is not better than last year and well below the long term average.

On the positive side, the cleanup has cut pollution from more than 150 sewage plants, reducing their output of one key pollutant by 60%. Toxic dumping has been curtailed and 12,500 acres of wetlands has been restored. And the number of Chesapeake rockfish has increased by 15 times.

In November 2008, the cleanup leaders, the Governors of Maryland and Virginia, the District of Columbia mayor and the EPA Administrator pledged to give the effort new urgency. Believing that long term goals so not work, they will start setting short term goals for the Bay cleanup and creating consequences if goals are not met. By 2011, the EPA will set a Total Maximum Daily Load of pollution for the Bay, which will bring new cuts on farms and sewage plants.

The EPA Bay program director, Jeffrey L. Lape emphasized that the cleanup did not have enough money or legal muscle for the task. Paraphrasing a July report from the EPA inspector general, Lape said, "You lack the tools, programs and authorities to get the job done." According to the EPA it is time for a change.

The big unanswered question of the cleanup is how badly does the public really want it? Of course, no one is for a polluted Bay. But there is a big difference between the concept of a clean Bay and what actual life changes we are willing to make to get a clean Bay.

The 2009 General Assembly – The High Spots And The Low Spots

THE BUDGET THE DEFICIT AND THE STIMULUS DOLLARS - The 426th General Assembly session promised to be a tough one. It kept its promise. In sagging economy, Maryland’s unemployment rate rose to 6.7%, while revenue plummeted $2.5 billion from March 2008 to March 2009. There was a $2 billion budget deficit in the Governor’s nearly $14 billion operating budget…and no hope of overcoming it without state employee layoffs and steep cuts to crucial programs. The $3.7 billion in federal stimulus dollars enabled the state to effectively fund education, health care and transportation projects this year and next. The state spent $1 billion of the stimulus money for the next fiscal year which begins July 1. Hopefully, the economy will recover. If not, we will have a severe revenue shortfall and an even larger budget deficit and no stimulus dollars to overcome either the shortfall or the deficit. Some have called the stimulus dollars "a blessing." Others have called it "a curse." I think it is a little bit of both.

EDUCATION – Tuition at the undergraduate state universities will be frozen for the fourth consecutive year. State aid to community colleges will increase by over 3.5% or $7.7 million for each of the next two years. School construction and renovation will be funded with $260 million. Pell Grants for 60,000 Maryland students will increase from a maximum of $4,840 to $5,350. The college tax credit for 53,000 families will increase from $1,800 to $2,500. The Assembly approved the College Textbook Competition & Affordability Act of 2009, which is a plan to help control the soaring cost of college textbooks.

HEALTH – The Assembly approved legislation which made significant changes to health insurance in the small business market to give businesses more flexibility on choice in providing health insurance benefits to employees. Legislation was rejected to crack down on Medicaid fraud and give whistle blowers greater latitude to pursue Medicaid fraud and enable the state to collect triple damages. It is estimated that 10% of Medicaid dollars are lost to fraud. Estimates show Maryland stood to gain $22 million if the bill had been approved.

ELECTRIC RE-REGULATION – The Assembly rejected the Governor’s bill for a partial return to regulation. The measure, limited to residential and small commercial users, gave the Public Service Commission the authority to order utility companies to build power plants. As I saw it, there were at least two problems with the Governor’s bill. One problem was that it would not lower electric bills for at least a generation. The other problem was it imposed a surcharge on electric cooperatives, such as SMECO. I could not vote for the bill.

DEATH PENALTY I did not support a repeal of the death penalty. However, I voted for the compromise version of the bill which keeps the death penalty, but limits its use to murders where there is DNA evidence, or a video taped willingly given confession or to a video tape of the actual crime. While I support the death penalty, I believe that the compromise will prevent innocent people from being executed. I met Kirk Bloodsworth, a Marylander from the Eastern Shore, and can never forget his tragic experience. In 1985, Bloodsworth was sentenced to death for the rape and murder of a 9-year old child. In 1993, DNA evidence cleared him of the charge and he was released after spending 8 years in prison for a crime he did not commit. Bloodsworth was the first inmate released from death row by DNA evidence.

CARBON EMISSIONS – The Assembly approved the Greenhouse Gas Emissions Reduction Act of 2009 to reduce by 2020 greenhouse gas emissions by 25% from 2006 levels. While the bill exempts manufacturing facilities from its requirements, it is believed that half of the targets can be met through existing environmental law that curbs carbon emissions, such as regulations for power plant emissions and for cleaner burning cars.

TRUTH IN SENTENCING – Several bills were introduced dealing with diminution credits – "good time credits." These credits are earned by inmates for good behavior and taking vocation and educational courses. These credits can shorten a prison sentenced significantly. The Assembly approved a bill specifying that an inmate convicted of a violent crime committed on or after October 1, 2009, cannot be eligible for mandatory supervision release until he or she becomes eligible for parole, no matter how many good time credits are earned. The bill also requires circuit court judges to state in open court at the time of sentencing the minimum time that must be served for mandatory release eligibility, as well as the minimum time for parole eligibility.

STANDING IN ENVIRONMENTAL PROCEEDINGS – Approved legislation broadens the definition of those with legal standing to challenge environmental permits granted to developers and manufacturers. Current law gives standing only to those individuals within "sight or sound" of changes to environmentally sensitive areas. The legislation gives standing to other individuals and associations. This brings Maryland law into line with the broader federal policy.

CHESAPEAKE BAY NITROGEN REDUCTION ACT OF 2009 – Rural homeowners were dealt a blow with the passage of this bill. It requires homeowners to replace their septic systems with modern nitrogen reducing systems. These systems can cost as much as $12,000. In theory, homeowners can get a grant from the Bay Restoration Fund to pay for the new system. However, there are grave doubts about whether the Fund has enough money. While I support nitrogen reduction, I do not support putting the cost of such reduction on the backs of homeowners.

REAL ID –It is said that a good compromise is one that pleases neither side. Well, the compromised REAL ID bill certainly did not please me. I voted against it. I believe that anyone seeking a Maryland driver’s license should have to show proof of "legal presence" in this country. Although nobody wants to call it a two-tiered REAL ID law, it is. According to the new law, motorists who cannot prove they are in this country legally cannot get a license. However, those illegal immigrants who already have a license, can now get a one-time permit, which bears the stamp "not federally compliant." They can use it to drive, but not board a plane, enter a federal building or cross a border. The license will expire on July 1, 2015. Why are we letting illegals keep a license for 6 years?????

The Assembly adjourned at midnight April 13. There were 2,675 bills introduced. Of that number, 800 were approved for the Governor’s signature.

The Lethal Combination Of Drinking And Driving

In 2007, drunk driving claimed 20,281 lives on the nation’s highways. Nearly half (49%) of highway deaths are attributable to drunk driving. Indeed, every 33 minutes, a drunk driver kills a man, woman or child. The U.S. Department of Transportation points to drunk driving as the deadliest crime and the primary cause of death for those between the ages of 6 and 30.

There were 614 fatalities on Maryland highways in 2007. Of those deaths, 272 or 42% were caused by drunk drivers.

Those numbers are horrifying. However, the most horrifying thing is that these deaths are preventable. No other nation in the world has highway carnage even close to that of the U.S. The reason is that compared to other industrialized nations, the U.S. penalties for drunk driving are lenient. In the UK, a drunk driver is penalized with a one year jail sentence, a one year license suspension and a $250 fine. In Sweden, for the first drunk driving conviction, the penalty is one year in jail.

Japan’s 1970 Zero Tolerance law makes it illegal for any driver to drive with any amount of drink registering. While registered drivers more than doubled since 1970, Japan’s drunk driving deaths declined from 1,500 in 1970 to less than 500 in 1995. Tough and tougher laws would seem to be the answer to preventing needless death at the hands of the drunk driver. Nevertheless, in this nation and in this state, there is a consistently strong resistance to toughening drunk driving penalties. It should be noted that Maryland was the 49th state in 1988 to lower the blood alcohol content (BAC) from .13 to .10. Still, we keep trying.

The Task Force to Combat Driving Under the Influence of Drugs and Alcohol, established by the

2007 General Assembly, recommended several bills. The O’Malley Administration supported some of those recommendations. At this writing, the Administration backed bills appear to be well on the way to passage. Those bills would:

· Make it more difficult for repeat drunk drivers to receive probation before judgment (PBJ) by increasing from 5 years to 10 years the amount of time that has to pass between the first and second drunk driving offense before a judge can grant PBJ.

· Impose a one-year mandatory license suspension on drivers who violate drunk driving laws a second within five years. This law is a federal mandate. States that do not enact it will lose 1.5% of federal highway construction funds.

· Increase penalties for drivers who violate alcohol restrictions on their licenses to a fine of $500 and two months in jail.

One can’t help noticing that these three bills all deal with repeat drunk driving offenders. A 2001 MVA report revealed that drunk drivers make anywhere from 100 to 600 trips before they are arrested for the first time for drunk driving.

When we consider the injuries and death caused by the drunk driver in the United States, as compared to those in nations with tougher drunk driving laws, it becomes clear that tougher laws can prevent much of the tragedy.

Medicaid Fraud

Although I saw it with my own eyes, I still don’t believe it. However, it appears that the Maryland Senate gave Medicaid fraud a "thumbs up." The O’Malley Administration’s legislation to curb Medicaid fraud failed by one vote and little debate in the Senate.

Basically, the legislation would have given Maryland officials and whistle-blowers more latitude to pursue Medicaid and collect triple damages. It should be noted estimates contend that 10% of Medicaid dollars are lost to fraud. Since the federal government enacted similar legislation in 1986, it has recouped more than $16 billion. Maryland, feeling the pinch of falling revenue and a recession economy, certainly could have used money lost to Medicaid fraud.

Specifically, the bill prohibited a person from knowingly presenting a false or fraudulent claim for payment or approval under a State health plan or program. A state health plan is the Medicaid program, private health insurer, HMO, managed care or health care cooperative or alliance that provides health care services that are reimbursed. It prohibited a person from knowingly making a false record or statement to get a false or fraudulent claim paid. Violators would have been liable to the state for a civil penalty of at least $5,000 and up to $10,000 and triple the state’s damages resulting from the violation.

The measure also authorized a private party to bring an action on behalf of the state, in which he or she may seek any remedy available in the law, compensatory damages to compensate the state, court costs and attorney’s fees. To protect the whistle blower the bill prohibited retaliatory actions by an employer against an employee. The bill provided a statute of limitations of 6 years from the date of the violation. It was a good bill. I voted for it.

The Office of the Inspector General, under the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, works closely with the Medicaid Fraud Control Unit to contain Medicaid fraud, waste and abuse. The Office has identified the cost of claims erroneously paid by the state to be $17.5 million in fiscal 2007 and $20.9 million in fiscal 2008. The Governor has estimated a savings of $22 million had the Medicaid Fraud bill been approved. He was so certain of the savings that he put the $22 million in his budget as incoming revenue. So, one might say that with the defeat of the bill, Maryland lost $22 million and will have to make cuts to compensate for that loss.

The federal government enacted the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 (DRA) to establish incentives for states to enact antifraud legislation. States that enact the legislation are eligible to receive an increase of 10% of the recovery of funds.

Twenty-two states and the District of Columbia have approved false claims acts. Thirteen of those states qualify for increased recoveries under the DRA. Those states are: California, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Massachusetts, Nevada, New York, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia and Wisconsin. All 22 states can seek the triple damages penalty.

Maryland spends $5 billion on Medicaid annually. No one argues that some of that $5 billion is paid for fraudulent claims. Yet, the fate of the Governor’s Medicaid Fraud bill appears to indicate that Maryland is not too interested in collecting damages three times the amount of the fraudulent claims. This is as puzzling as it is troubling.

The ICC – A Monument To Massive

Irresponsible Government Spending

Can you imagine spending over $2 Billion for a road less than 20 miles long!

That strip of road, the Intercounty Connector (the ICC) is the most expensive public works project in Maryland’s history. We are paying for part of the road with $750 million worth of GARVEE (Grant Anticipated Revenue Vehicle) bonds. GARVEEs are backed by an agreement to deduct money from future federal payments to pay bondholders. What that means is that by relying on GARVEE bonds, the state is relinquishing future federal transportation dollars. For the ICC, Maryland has issued the largest amount of GARVEEs ever issued for a single project.

I strongly opposed the construction of the ICC. When it was being rammed through the General Assembly in 2005, I called the ICC "a monument to massive irresponsible government spending" which 75% of Marylanders will never see or use. The ICC is an 18.8 mile toll highway extending from the I-207/I-370 corridor in Montgomery County to I-95/US 1 corridor in Prince George’s County. It will be Maryland’s first fully electronic facility. It was estimated to cost $2.4 billion, of which $2 billion is borrowed. Rising material and construction costs have boosted the ICC cost to $.2.6 billion today. With this in mind, will we ever get a replacement for the Governor Thomas Johnson Bridge?

Our transportation dollars are shrinking. In the first round of budget cuts, the transportation budget was cut severely. Spending for the state’s transportation plan has shrunk to $8.5 billion over the next 6 years, instead of the $10.5 billion it originally planned.

Evidently, there are several senators having second thoughts about the ICC. They have introduced a proposal to stop construction and spending on the ICC. Some of the sponsors of the legislation – SB 753 – represent Montgomery and Prince George’s Counties. The bill eliminates all funding for the ICC and requires the Maryland Transportation (MdTA) to retire specified debts incurred to pay for it. It also diverts a portion of future unappropriated general fund surpluses from the Revenue Stabilization Account to the Transportation Trust Fund.

In 2006, the Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) cut by nearly 50% its safety level for maximum allowable fine soot and other pollution from vehicle emissions. An environmental study by E.H. Pechan and Associates, Inc. shows that the ICC will violate the new tighter federal Clean Air Act standards for soot. The study projected that the concentration of soot in the air along the completed ICC route would increase from 14% to 100%.

The Environmental Defense and the Sierra Club have been fighting in court to stop the ICC. These and other environmental advocacy groups have petitioned the U. S. Department of Transportation to withhold further approvals of the ICC and based on the recent studies, re-evaluate the government’s earlier determination that the road will not harm the environment and human health. The environmentalists lost the court battle and the ICC construction continues.

I don’t believe it is ever too late to recognize a mistake and correct it. The ICC can be characterized as a giant sponge absorbing Maryland’s transportation dollars, as well as the state’s options for other highway construction projects. I will support the effort to cut our losses and stop the ICC if it reaches the Senate floor.

Death Penalty Restricted

Maryland is one of 36 states with a death penalty. This year, legislation to repeal the death penalty is being considered in Maryland and seven other states – Colorado, Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Mexico and Washington.

In Maryland, 53% of the people support the death penalty. I have always opposed the repeal of the death penalty in Maryland.

The Maryland Commission on Capital Punishment, established by the 2008 General Assembly, is the fourth time in the past 15 years that a study of the death penalty was ordered by the Legislature. Two of the studies found that racial disparity in the death penalty existed and continued to exist. The third study found that there was geographic as well as racial disparity. None of these studies recommended that Maryland keep or repeal the death penalty. The Maryland Commission on Capital Punishment voted 13 to 9 to abolish capital punishment.

The reasons for abolishment cited by the Commission included: the racial and geographic disparities that exist…the costliness of death penalty appeals process…the toll the long process takes on survivors…the lack of persuasive evidence that the risk of execution is a deterrent to crime…and the unavailability of DNA evidence in some cases opens the real possibility of wrongly executing an innocent person.

In 2008, the Department of Corrections informed that the average annual cost of maintaining a death penalty inmate is about $46,810, compared to about $39,316 for a maximum security inmate. Since 1978, five convicted murderers have been executed. There are now five inmates on death row. The length of time on death row varies. However, three of the current death row inmates have been there over 20 years. There is no way to precisely determine if and when any of the five death sentences might be carried out due to the lengthy appeals process. The three death row inmates executed in the 1990s were there 12, 10 and 4 years. In 2008, an Abell Foundation study revealed that the long appeals process brings the cost of the death penalty to $186 million, at least three times greater than the state would have spent to imprison for life those convicted of first degree murder.

This year, the Judicial Proceedings Committee, once again, rejected the death penalty repeal bill, despite the fact that the Governor strongly supported it. In an unusual move, the Senate voted to bring the bill to the floor for a full senate vote.

As an opponent of death penalty repeal, I was going to cast my vote against the bill. But three crucial amendments to the bill were approved to restrict the use of the death penalty and nearly abolish the chance of executing an innocent person. The amendments prohibit death sentences based solely on eyewitness testimony and require either DNA or a videotaped confession or a videotaping of the crime.

The Innocence Institute, which investigates wrongful convictions, revealed that of 38 cases in which wrongfully convicted persons were exonerated through DNA evidence, 2/3 of the original convictions were based on eyewitness testimony. In one case, five separate witnesses wrongly identified the defendant. In a 1992 study by Loftus and Doyle recorded verdicts in a mock trial. With no eyewitness identification, 18% of the jury verdicts were guilty. With eyewitness testimony, the guilty verdicts rose to 72%. Several studies found that juries tend to base their decision on a confident eyewitness even when other factors, such as poor visibility or bias, question the validity.

DNA has propelled the criminal investigation process light years ahead of where it was. In 1993, Kirk Bloodsworth of Maryland was the first person on death row to be found innocent by DNA evidence.

Bloodsworth was wrongly convicted in 1985 of the rape and murder of a 9-year old child. He always claimed he was innocent. DNA proved it.

In the heart of most people, including this Senator, who supports the death penalty, is the nagging fear of executing an innocent person. The three amendments added to the repeal bill keep the death penalty law, but significantly limit its use and the chances of executing the wrong person. To me, the bill with the amendments was legislation I could support. I voted for the amended death penalty bill.

DRIVING AND TEXTING – A DISASTER WAITING TO HAPPEN!

We are a nation of multi-taskers. We even multi-task while driving.

We eat and drink while we drive. We operate and listen to radios, CDs and book tapes while we drive. We talk on cell phones, both hand held and hands free while we drive. We shave, apply makeup and comb our hair while we drive. We text message while we drive. We take part in conversation with our passengers while we drive. And, yes, some drivers have even been spotted reading while they drive.

Indeed, many of us hurl a ton of metal down at the road at 55 mph distracted by other activities. The distracted driver is the dangerous driver whose response time and quick judgment are slowed to varying degrees by all other manner of activities with which he or she is occupied.

While other states imposed bans on cell phoning while driving, for the past several years, the General Assembly has rejected that legislation. This year we have legislation before us to prohibit driving while text messaging. The bill prohibits a driver from using a text message device to write, send or read a text message while operating a vehicle. Violators will be guilty of a misdemeanor and subject to a maximum fine of $500. I support the bill. In fact, I see banning texting while driving almost a no brainer. When we ban texting, we are prohibiting writing, reading and operating a hand held cell phone while driving.

While few studies have quantified the distraction caused by texting while driving, experts have estimated that driver inattention is a factor in 80% of motor vehicle crashes and 65% of near crashes. Driver distraction is a factor in about 4.9 million accidents, 34,000 fatalities and 2.1 million injuries.

In Maryland, the law forbids the use of cell phones only to minors holding a learners permit or provisional license. This prohibition on novice drivers is enforceable only as a secondary offense. Maryland also has a negligent driving law. According to that law, a person driving in a careless or imprudent manner that endangers property or human life is guilty of negligent driving. Anyone convicted of negligent driving is assessed one point against his or her driving record and is guilty of a misdemeanor subject to a maximum fine of $500. If texting while driving is not negligent driving according to the law, I would welcome an explanation of why it is not. Certainly, texting while driving is careless and imprudent. Is it not?

General statewide restrictions on hand held cell phoning while driving may effectively make driving while texting illegal, since texting requires that the cell phone be hand held. According to the National Governors Highway Safety Association, the District of Columbia, Washington, New Jersey and Alaska specifically ban texting while driving. General restrictions on cell phone use are on the books in California, Connecticut, Louisiana, Minnesota and Phoenix, Arizona.

Highway safety experts estimate that the nearly 250 million wireless phone users in the United States sent about 158 billion text messages in 2006. It is not known how many of these messages ere sent while people were operating motor vehicles, but driving while texting appears to be a growing trend. A study by Nationwide Insurance estimated that 20% of all drivers send or receive text messages. A Zogby poll of drivers between the ages of 18 and 24 revealed that 66% confessed to texting while driving. That is scary because it is these young drivers are responsible for a disproportionate percentage of driving crashes. Their inexperience and belief in their own mortality make them dangerous enough. Text messaging can make them only more dangerous.

I earnestly hope that in the 2009 General Assembly, the ban on texting while driving does not meet the same fate as the ban on cell phoning.

Community Colleges – The Backbone Of Higher Education

Community Colleges, which began as stepchildren of higher education, have become the backbone of higher education.

Today, community colleges are a lower cost alternative to getting started in higher education. They have become a way for low and middle income families to afford college for their children. Increasingly, the unemployed look to community colleges as a way to learn new and more marketable skills. Community colleges are part of the answer to addressing the continuing and deepening nursing shortage. The business community looks to community colleges as a significant source of skilled labor.

In 2007, the National Governors Association asked four-year colleges and universities to replicate the responsiveness to regional economic needs that has been standard practice at community colleges.

The news that Governor O’Malley, who is a strong advocate for education, was considering cutting state aid to community colleges was as incomprehensible as it was upsetting. Community colleges had faced an $8 million cut in the current fiscal budget, but the Governor reversed course in January because of the likely arrival of federal stimulus funds.

I have written to the Governor urging him not to cut $50 million from state aid to 15 of the 16 community colleges in his FY 2010 budget which will be up for consideration by the current General Assembly session. He has held out hope that stimulus money would make the cut unnecessary. We now know for certain that Maryland will receive $3.8 billion from the stimulus aid.

A cut of $50 million from the community college budget would result in course reductions and a 3% to 9% tuition increase in FY 2010, which begins July 1. In an increasingly difficult economy, the students who need it the most will find the doors of Maryland’s community colleges shut in their faces.

I commend the Governor for freezing tuition for the fourth consecutive at the University of Maryland’s institutions and at Morgan State University. I believe that the Governor is committed to keeping education affordable for Maryland families. But to freeze tuition at four-year colleges and cut funds to community colleges is tantamount to taking one step forward and two steps backward.

Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick has unveiled a plan to provide community college free to all state residents within 10 years. New Jersey students who graduate in the top 20% of their high school class pay no community college tuition. Indiana provides full community college tuition to students, who beginning in grade 8, maintain a 2.0 grade point average and stay away from drugs and alcohol.

These states are marching in the right direction. In my letter to the Governor, I said that I am hopeful that with the assurance of stimulus money, you will not cut state aid to community colleges, but rather use those stimulus funds to restore substantial capital and operating money to our community colleges and consider giving them a state tuition freeze as well.

Now, more than ever before, investment in Maryland’s community colleges will give the State and its citizens the biggest bank for the buck.

Twice Violated

Victims and their families who hear their violator sentenced in court and then, learn of his release several years short of his sentence are stunned and angry. They feel they have been violated twice…once by the criminal and then, by the criminal justice system. Why, they demand should a court that sentences criminals routinely shorten their sentences?

Securing truth in criminal sentencing continues to be a challenge. Criminal sentencing is downright confusing and has made the public lose confidence in the criminal justice system.

For example, criminals sentenced to life are eligible for parole in 15 years. Those sentenced to death live on death row for 15 or more years, while they exhaust all their appeals. And while their appeals run their course, they stand a good chance of having their sentence changed to life without possibility of parole. Add to that confusion, the fact that until 2004, in Maryland alone a judge had the power to reduce a convicted criminal’s sentence at any time for any reason, as long as the defense attorney filed a request for sentenced review within 90 days after sentencing.

The practice of judicial sentence reduction often ends in cruel situations. In Prince George’s County, a criminal who pleaded guilty to murdering a county policeman and store clerk in the commission of a burglary was sentenced to two life terms. After serving 16 years, a judge reconsidered his sentence, and he was released from prison. A Maryland man, still grieving for his murdered father, learned the murderer, serving a life sentence, was going to have his sentence reduced.

Sentence reduction usually occurred after the crime had faded from the public memory. But the crime remains fresh in the mind of the victims and their families as long as they live. All too often, victims and families are not notified about the early release of the criminal who violated them or their loved one.

Law, court rule and case law in 40 states either denies judges the power to reduce sentences or limits to a year or less the time in which they can do it. While Connecticut imposes no time limit on judicial sentenced reconsideration, it allows such reconsideration only for sentences of 3 years or less. California imposes a 120 day time limit on judicial reconsideration.

Legislation to impose a time limit on judicial reconsideration has failed consistently in the General Assembly. Most judges opposed the legislation. However, retired Court of Appeals Judge John F. McAuliffe said, he "can’t remember a single case in 13 years that I needed to hold more than a year."

Finally, the Maryland Court of Appeals bowed to public outrage, the demand of state prosecutors and victims rights advocacy groups by putting a 5-year limit on the time in which a sentence could be reduced. A shorter time limit would be more in keeping with other state limits.

Diminution or "good time" credits also fly in the face of truth in sentencing. Under current law, inmates can generally reduce their sentences by 10 days every month. The rate is 5 days a month for inmates that have committed cries of violence or drug offenses. With participation in work programs, an additional 10 days a month can be taken off a sentence. Legislation has been introduced to deny good time credits to convicted child sexual offenders, so that they are imprisoned as long as possible.

Other legislation has been introduced to establish a Truth in Sentencing Task Force to examine whether judges should retain their authority to revise sentences after handing them down and consider revising or eliminating the credits that reduce inmates’ sentences. The 11-member Task Force will be composed of representatives of the State Police and the Department of Safety and Correctional Services, the Public Defender, the Attorney General, Maryland Bar Association and the Chairs of the Senate Judicial Proceedings and House Judiciary Committee.

Those who support keeping good time credits see them as a way of controlling inmate behavior, as well as reducing overcrowding and prison operating costs. I understand this. But the task force will have to decide whether those factors should override the public confidence in the criminal justice system.

Financial Aid Can Help You Get A College Education

We are at that time of year when high school seniors and their parents contemplate attending college with excitement, high hopes and dread. The dread comes with the reality of the cost of college and how to afford that cost.

First, to apply for most state, federal and college need-based financial aid, as well as the Maryland Senatorial or Delegate Scholarship awards, students must complete and submit the Free Application for Federal Financial Aid (FAFSA) by March 1. A paper FAFSA can be obtained from your high school, libraries and by calling the Federal Student Aid Information Center at 1-800-433-3243. Also, call this number for help in completing your FAFSA. A FAFSA can be obtained and filed online www.fafsa.ed.gov.

Each year, the State of Maryland awards to Maryland students nearly $95 million in need-based grants and academic merit scholarships through its 28 programs. Each year, 40,000 students get money that ranges from $200 per semester to nearly $18,000 per year. The state also offers graduate and professional scholarship grants up to $5,000 for those enrolled in graduate schools for medicine, dentistry, law, social work, veterinary science, pharmacy or nursing.

There are four basic sources of financial aid – federal, state, colleges and universities and private sources, such as civic and veterans’ organizations and churches.

The four types of financial aid are:

· Merit-based aid, which is given to students who have special talents, skills or have earned good grades.

· Need-based aid, which is given to students who show they have financial needs. The Guaranteed Access or GA grant is a primary need-based aid program. A student must file a GA grant application by March 1. A GA grant equals 100% of financial need, ranging from $400 to the maximum award of $13,800. To be eligible, a student must have a cumulative grade point average (GPA) of 2.5. Maximum income for a family of four is $25,155. For the most up to date income information, refer to the Maryland Higher Education (MHEC) website www.mhec.state.md.us

· Loans – unlike need-based aid, loans must be repaid, usually with interest, after graduation or if college attendance stops. Among Maryland’s financial programs are special career and occupational programs to assist in repayment of loans for dentists and physicians. In addition, there is a graduate nursing faculty scholarship and living expenses grant.

· Work-Study or Student Employment, which gives students the opportunity to work and earn money to help pay for school.

Among Maryland’s 28 student financial aid programs, the state offers a foster care tuition waiver, which picks up the cost of tuition and fees to 2-year or 4-year state colleges and universities. To be eligible, students must have lived in a foster care home in Maryland at the time they graduated from high school or successfully completed a general equivalency development examination (GED). Also eligible are students who have lives in a Maryland foster care home on their 14th birthday and were adopted after their 14th birthday.

To get answers to your questions, contact:

The Maryland Higher Education Commission

839 Bestgate Road, Suite 400

Annapolis, MD 21401

410-260-4565 or 1-800-974-1024

TTY 1-800-735-2258

www.mhec.state.md.us

My Senatorial Scholarship is offered to students in my Legislative District. The members of my Scholarship Awards Committee meet 3 times a year to make awards. By Maryland law, in order to be considered, you MUST have filed your FAFSA, be enrolled in a Maryland institute of higher education, (this also includes some trade schools), and be a legal resident of Legislative District 29. You may also be considered if you attend a school out of state if you are pursuing a unique major (a major which is not offered in the State of Maryland). To obtain an application, or to obtain more information, please contact my Annapolis office, at 1-800-492-7122, Ext. 3673 or my Great Mills Office at 301-994-2826.

A College Board publication, Education Pays, notes that the typical full-time-year-round worker in the United States with a four-year college degree earned $49,900 or 62% more than the $30,800 earned by the typical full-time year-round worker with a high school diploma. The benefit of education cannot be measured in dollars alone, but rather in potential realized and the realization of a fulfilled life.

Doctor Shortage In Rural Maryland

– Task Force Recommendations

In February 2008, the Maryland Hospital Association and MedChi, which represents 7,200 doctors, reported to the Senate Education Health & Environmental Affairs Committee, that Maryland’s doctor shortage was 16% below the national average. According to the National Rural Health Association, while 25% of the population lives in rural areas, only about 10% of the nation’s physicians practice there.

The worst doctor shortages are in rural Maryland. Southern Maryland has the most alarming shortage, which is 83.3% below the national average. Western Maryland’s shortage is 66.7% below the national average, and the Eastern Shore shortage is 60% below the national average. As Vice-Chairman of the Committee and a life long Southern Marylander, I was extremely at a bad situation, which is rapidly becoming deplorable and dangerous.

I believe that for every problem, there are solutions. Therefore, with Senator "Mac" Middleton of Charles County, I sponsored SB 459 to establish a 15-member Task Force to Review Physician Shortages in Rural Areas. The Task Force, composed of representatives of state agencies, medical schools, hospitals, higher education and the General Assembly, was directed to study the recruitment and retention of primary care physicians, as well as efforts and programs to encourage physicians to practice in rural areas. The Task Force was also charged with making recommendations for achieving these goals to the General Assembly.

On January 21, the Task Force reported its findings and recommendations. The major recommendations included"

· Expansion of the Loan Assistance Repayment Program (LARP) for medical residents and physicians with educational debt who agree to locate in designated shortage areas. The average debt of a medical school graduate is $147,000. This mammoth debt combined with Maryland’s low reimbursement rates and high cost of living are a real negative factor for doctors to live in and serve rural residents.

· Seek broader state and federal health professional shortage areas and medically underserved areas and populations (HPSA/MUA (P). Such action could increase potential funding and allow newly designated areas to qualify for physicians under the J-1 Visa program. Additionally, allowing more designated shortage areas would encourage more applicants to apply for LARP to help address physician shortages.

· Address physician reimbursement disparities in shortage areas. Increasing physician reimbursement with more focus on physician retention initiative will improve network adequacy and expand access to physicians for the underserved.

· Encourage partnerships between teaching programs and hospitals in shortage areas to build a medical student pipeline and identify potential medical school students and medical residents who could be encouraged to consider practicing in those areas. These partnerships would help to increase incentives to promote rural practice and may build strong bonds with local communities and lead to long term professional relationships in rural and underserved areas.

· Continue to explore how telehealth/telemedicine can address access barriers. Additionally, explore and implement reimbursement mechanisms to support telehealth/telemedicine.

· With respect to undergraduate medical education and primary care resident training, implement a 4-weeksummer placement program for UMSCM medical students in rural regions. In addition, implement a one month rural Family and Community Medicine and Primary Care resident rotation. These programs add opportunities for medical school students and doctors to become connected with local communities and local hospitals, increasing the likelihood that they may permanently locate in these areas.

· Develop additional and intensive health care careers education programs for elementary, middle, high school and college students in shortage areas. Establish an agreement with the two Baltimore medical schools that works to foster medical school admission of rural qualified medical student applicants that meet all academic requirements in exchange for service in rural and other underserved areas of Maryland.

· Establish much needed coordination among the agencies dealing with health care workforce shortages. Ask the Department of Health & Mental Hygiene Secretary to recommend a strategy for coordinating these agencies.

The Task Force has served up a tall order of recommendations, all effective and worth acting on. At the very least, we should begin to implement the low cost or no cost recommendations. Any step forward is better than standing still. The shortage of doctors in rural Maryland is a growing health care crisis and a matter of life and death.

The Bay’s Imperiled Blue Crab Crop

The General Assembly has just convened and we have already had two briefings on the Blue Crab situation.

Nothing says "Chesapeake Bay" like the Maryland blue crab. Crabbing is one of the Bay’s few surviving commercial fisheries. About a thousand Maryland watermen earn all or part of their living on the water. Thousands more in the region work for businesses connected to crabbing, such as seafood processors, restaurants and marinas.

The blue crab is in trouble. Since 1983, the crab harvest is down 60%. In 2006, there were 26 million pounds of crabs caught. In 2007, that number fell to 22.2 million pounds, only slightly higher than the lowest recorded harvest of 20.2 million pounds in 2000.

In May 2008, over the objections of watermen and some legislators, including this Senator, regulations were approved to cut the female blue crab harvest by one-third. Scientists have voiced their apprehension about Chesapeake crabs reaching dangerously low numbers. Governor O’Malley and Virginia Governor Tim Kaine see the harvest cuts as necessary to prevent crabs from going into decline. They believe the cuts will restore the blue crab to levels of abundance.

The new crabbing rules include closing the blue crab season for harvesting females on October 23rd – about seven weeks early. In addition, a tiered system of bushel limits on females was put in place. The system is based on the average of a waterman’s catch over the past four years. For example, a waterman who averaged 40 or more bushels of females will be limited to 50 bushels. A waterman with an average of 20 -40 bushels is limited to 30 bushels. In addition, recreational crabbers are prohibited from catching females, except for soft crabs. State officials believe that the new regulations will protect 10 million to 15 million female crabs, allowing them time to reproduce.

Virginia has also acted in concert with Maryland to reduce the crab harvest by one-third. This is the first time the two states have cooperated in such a large scale effort to halt a crab decline.

In May, Governor O’Malley asked the U. S. Commerce Secretary to declare the Chesapeake Bay’s blue crab fishery a disaster. It is the first time a Chesapeake Bay industry has been declared a disaster. The Governor said he hopes to get $15 million to create jobs for watermen who will suffer economically from the harvesting cut. In September 2008, the U. S. Commerce Department declared the Chesapeake Bay’s blue crab fishery a federal disaster. The agency noted that blue crab stocks have declined 70%. In response, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration – NOAA – this month, approved $10 million in disaster relief for Maryland’s blue crab fishery.

NOAA said it would release $2.2 million to help the state restructure and create economic and diversification activities for watermen, such as farming oysters and working in "geotourism." The release of the remaining $7.8 million is contingent upon Maryland compliance with environmental and other provisions in its own plan which outlines how the funds will be used.

President of the Maryland Watermen’s Association, Larry Simns, has urged officials not to extend the harvesting restrictions for another year or two. Simns said, "We may be able to survive this year, but we can’t last for three to five years."

Watermen have stated that instead of restricting crabbing, state officials should focus on pollution that has destroyed the habitat for crabs. Let’s face it, overharvesting is only half of the problem. Bay pollution is the other half.

Indeed, after 25 years and almost $6 billion for cleaning up the Bay, the state has failed to meet its cleanup deadlines. Instead of achieving a 40% reduction of nitrogen and phosphorous in Bay waters by 2000, according to the EPA, nitrogen has been reduced by 13% and phosphorus by 25%. The nitrogen and phosphorous feed the algae blooms, which deplete the oxygen, creating dead zones in which shellfish cannot exist. Failure to meet the 2000 cleanup deadline and the announcement last year by the multi-state public officials that there is no hope of meeting the 2010 deadline stand as stark proof that the Bay is not getting healthier. The officials of Maryland, Virginia, Pennsylvania, Delaware, West Virginia, New York and the District of Columbia now say they will set their sights on shorter term goals. So far, they have not stated what those shorter term goals will be.

Meanwhile, it is the watermen who pay for continued Bay pollution. It is the watermen who have to endure harvest cutbacks and strict new regulations and still try to survive. Once upon a time, generations of families made good livings from harvesting the Bay’s rich bounty of fish and shellfish. That rich heritage and way of life is passing as pollution continues to strangle Chesapeake Bay fisheries. Because I am basically an optimist, I continue to be hopeful that we will muster the political will and necessary funds to turn the situation around. However, neither the watermen nor the Chesapeake can live on hope alone.

Maryland – Happy 375th Birthday

This year marks the 375th birthday of the State of Maryland, one of the original 13 colonies and today, the 42nd largest state in the nation.

In 1634, Leonard Calvert, Maryland’s first governor and other settlers aboard the Ark and the Dove landed on St Clements Island. They came ashore on March 25 to celebrate the Feast of Annunciation, and it is on that day that Marylanders celebrate Maryland Day.

As a life long Marylander and a son of Southern Maryland, I have had a long fascination with the history of this colonial state that began in my home county of St. Mary’s. Maryland contains within its boundaries an astoundingly diverse geography, including flat tidewater marshes, beaches, rolling foothills and mountains.

During its long history, Maryland and its citizens have blazed trails and compiled an impressive list of firsts. The first college in America, Washington College, was founded in Chestertown in 1782. The first highway in America funded by the U. S. treasury was the Cumberland Road, which ran from Cumberland, Maryland to Vandalia, Illinois and was constructed between 1806 and 1840. Baltimore was home to the first African American, Thurgood Marshall, appointed to the U. S. Supreme Court.

Perhaps more than any other accomplishment, I am proud of Maryland because it has been in the forefront of breaking down the walls of religious, racial and gender discrimination.

In 1649, Maryland became the first colony to pass a religious liberty law enacted by an established legislature. The law, The Toleration Act of Maryland, was passed to provide religious harmony among Christians. It proved to be a compromise between Catholics and Protestants for toleration of all Christian religions.

The law attracted to Maryland thousands of Europeans seeking to escape religious persecution. Maryland was a place where they could live in peace and freely practice their religion.

The Maryland Constitution of 1776 provided that "all persons professing the Christian religion are equally entitled to protection in their religious liberty."

Article 35 stated "No other test or qualification ought to be required on admission to any office of trust or profit than such oath of support and fidelity to the State…and a declaration of belief in Christian religion." In short, the Maryland Constitution excluded anyone who was not a Christian from holding public office.

This was later changed by Senator Thomas Kennedy, representing Hagerstown, who in 1826, passed a bill allowing Jews to hold public office. The legislation had failed twice before and it ultimately gained approval by only one vote.

Kennedy persevered until he won because he was outraged at the injustice of excluding an entire group of people because of their religious beliefs. He said for him, religion was "a question which rests, or ought to rest between man and his Creator alone."

Mathias de Sousa, of African and Portuguese decent, is believed the first black Marylander. He was one of nine indentured servants brought to Maryland by Jesuit missionaries. He was on the Ark when it arrived in the St. Mary’s River in 1634.

His indenture was finished in 1638. In Maryland, his race never held him back. Mathias de Sousa became a mariner and fur trader. In 1642, he sailed as master of a ketch belonging to the Provincial Secretary John Lewger. While living in St. Mary’s County, he served in the 1642 legislative assembly of freemen.

No record remains of de Sousa’s activities after 1642, but his legacy of courage and success is regarded with great pride by all the citizens of Maryland. At the 350th celebration of Maryland Day in 1987, St. Mary’s County erected a plaque in St. Mary’s City honoring Mathias de Sousa.

Maryland’s most famous daughter was Margaret Brent, who arrived in Maryland in 1638.

She is most noted for appearing before the Maryland Assembly in 1648 to request a vote. Actually, she requested two votes, one for herself and one as Lord Baltimore’s attorney. That Margaret had courage, no one can doubt. She asked for a vote when women, queens excepted, were not allowed direct participation in political life. Many view Margaret Brent as the nation’s first feminist.

She was a businesswoman and a landowner. As an unmarried woman, she could legally own and manage her own property.

Margaret Brent was the first woman in North America to act as an attorney before a Court of achievement. There are public schools in Maryland and other states named after Margaret Brent.

Thomas Kennedy, Mathias de Sousa and Margaret Brent blazed trails to prove that anything is possible in America. They are Maryland examples of the courage and the deep belief it takes to move mountains. They dared to be different. Today, that difference is remembered and honored.

Gouging Credit Card Users

Have you ever felt your credit card company over-charged you? You are not alone. For years consumer and consumer protection groups have complained in vain about credit card issuers’ unbridled ability to change the interest rates and fee rules whenever they wanted to. Among the abuses practiced by credit card issuers are raising the interest rates on existing balances, subjecting consumers to short payment windows and charging excessive upfront fees to consumers with blemished credit histories.

Up to now, strong lobbying efforts on behalf of the $970 billion credit card industry have stymied congress from enacting strong credit card regulations.

After a 2 ½ year study, the Federal Reserve, the federal Office of Thrift Supervision and the National Credit Union Administration approved the most sweeping crackdown on the credit card industry in decades. The new rules come at a time of economic recession and rising unemployment when consumers are having an increasingly difficult time paying off their credit card debt. The only negative aspect of the new credit reform is that it does not become effective until July 2010. Meanwhile, credit card debt is growing rapidly.

According to the Fitch Retail Credit Card Index, 60 day delinquencies have increased by nearly 24% to 4.8% since August 2008. Increases in credit card delinquencies have already led many banks to raise rates. Consumers have accumulated $951 billion in revolving credit card debt – an average of $9,000 for every family with more than one card. Moody’s Investors Service points out that the average interest rate on that debt is 14%. The credit default rate is increasing, up 48% from a year ago.

The Government Accounting Office reveals that in 2005, the six largest credit card issuers collected $7.4 billion in penalty fees alone.

The new regulations cover more than 16,000 credit card issuers, including" Citigroup Inc, Bank of America Corp., Capital One Financial Group, Chase, etc. Among the many new regulations, the credit card reform regulations will:

· Prohibit interest rate hikes on existing balances unless a variable rate card is involved, or a promotional rate has expired or a payment is more than 30 days late.

· Prohibit brief payment windows by requiring issuers to send billing statements at least 21 days before the due date to allow customers enough time to make a payment before getting slapped with a late penalty.

· Prohibit credit card issuers from applying payments only to a consumer’s balance with the lowest interest rate. Cards often have multiple interest rates for balance transfers, new purchases and cash advances. Applying payments to the balance with the lowest interest rate makes the other debt with higher interest rates last longer and thus, makes more money for the credit card companies.

· Require credit issuers to give consumers 45 days notice before any changes to the terms of the consumer’s account, such as higher late penalties and interest rates. Under current rules, most companies give 15 days notice before such changes are made.

· Prohibit over-the-limit fees, based on "holds" on consumers’ accounts if it is triggered solely by a temporary hold placed on available credit. This is something most hotels do.

Many in congress regard the new rules as a significant step forward. However, many, including Senator Christopher Dodd (D. Connecticut) expect that the top priority for the Senate Committee on Banking and Housing and Urban Affairs will be expanding credit card reform, including higher regulation of marketing targeted to young consumers.

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke asserted, "These protections will allow consumers to access credit on terms that are fair and more easily understood." As I see it, these reforms are long overdue.

Red Ink & Revenue Shortfalls Will Dominate 2009 General Assembly

When the 2009 Maryland General Assembly convenes on January 14, it will face a $2 billion budget deficit. A recession economy, the housing market, rising unemployment and shrinking consumer spending continue to undercut every state revenue source.

In December, the Spending Affordability Committee made it lowest recommendation on budget spending increases since its establishment in 1982. The Committee recommended that Governor O’Malley keep spending increases to 0.7% or $146 million. It also recommended cutting 1,000 of the 3,340 vacant state positions.

Watching the economic downturn gathers steam and in the face of declining revenue, Governor O’Malley has already made cuts of $300 million in the current budget.

Just about every state, including Maryland, is struggling with falling revenue and rising needs of its citizens. Maryland, along with the other states, is hoping for federal funds to help avoid fiscal catastrophe. We should know by early February if federal help will materialize.

A contributing factor to Maryland’s continuing budget deficit is the state’s habit of spending more money than it has. It is a bad habit that the state cannot seem to break. For example, the General Assembly met in special session in November 2007 to address a $1.7 billion budget deficit. At the root of that deficit was the passage of the Thornton education plan in 2002 to significantly increase spending on education. The problem was that the state was approved Thornton without any money to fund it. To me, passage of Thornton was as fiscally irresponsible as a state could get. It was for that reason that I opposed Thornton.

In the November 2007 Special Session, I also voted against state’s largest tax increase in its history. To add insult to injury, while balancing the budget with a $1.4 billion tax increase, the special session also approved increased funding for Chesapeake Bay cleanup…an additional $400 million for road maintenance and new projects and a 5-year program to expand Medicaid to insure 100,000 more adults and give small businesses subsidies to enable them to provide health insurance to their employees. These spending increases were based on projected revenue increases that have not materialized. While digging the state’s way out of a mammoth budget deficit, the state simultaneously increased transportation, health care and environmental spending. In short, once again, the state was spending money it did not have.

And guess what? We now find ourselves facing the second huge budget deficit in two years. The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. By that measure, Maryland’s spending habits are insane.

Now for the first time in decades, the state is considering deep budget cuts in usually untouchable programs and services. Some of the cuts already enacted or being considered:

· Require state employees to take 2 to 5 days of unpaid leave for a savings of $34.4 million.

· Cut the Geographic Cost of Education Index (GCEI) funds to the less wealthy counties to save $38 million.

· Reduce operating and bond funds of the University System of Maryland for a savings of $30 million.

· Reduce state support for Community colleges to save $16.3 million.

· Reduce state support for Maryland private colleges for a savings of $8.4 million.

· Reduce state scholarships and financial aid for needy students by $1.8 million.

· Freeze child care subsidies for working poor to eliminate 2,500 children to save $5.3 million.

· Cut community mental health services by 1% to save $3.6 million.

· Cut 25% of monthly temporary disability assistance to save $4.6 million

· Cut $2.5 billion from the transportation budget over the next six years. This is in addition to $1.1 billion in reductions made in September to transportation’s six year $10.5 billion program.

The 2009 session promises to be a painful one. One can only hope that the lesson learned is that the state must let its revenue resources determine its spending. There will be no money for new programs in 2009. Raising taxes again is or should be out of the question. No question about it, balancing the budget will be the dominate issue in 2009.

I will be attending to my Legislative duties in Annapolis during the next 90 days. During that time, I will be available on Mondays for meetings, and my Great Mills office will be staffed on Mondays and by Appointments.

I encourage citizens to contact their Representatives and voice their thoughts and opinions about issues that are important to them. I look forward to hearing from you. I always take what I "hear from back home" to Annapolis when I vote on any legislation.

When you contact me, please include your mailing address, and above all please print or write legibly. If I can not read your correspondence, I cannot respond to your request. If you leave a voice mail message, please be sure to include a telephone number for a returned call.

My staff and I are as close as a telephone call away. My toll-free number is 1-800-492-7122, Ext. 3673. You may also leave a message in my Great Mills at 301-994-2826, as messages are checked frequently.

The Shameful Waste Of Young America’s

Math & Science Potential

The facts are awful. But we must face them in order to correct them. Countless studies have come to the same conclusion - America is falling behind the rest of the world in math and science education and achievement. The United States now ranks 25th among 30 industrialized countries in math and science.

The importance of science and math education cannot be emphasized too strongly. It is science and math education that will enable our nation to compete effectively in the global economy. A 2005 report from the National Academy of Sciences showed that science and math education is particularly important to the nation’s economic future.

The Trends in International Math and Science Study – TIMSS – tests have been administered every four years since 1995. Last year, TIMSS tested a sampling of students from 50 other countries. The test involved 2,000 students in 500 public and private schools in grades 4 and 8.

Eighth grade students in Singapore, Taiwan, Japan, South Korea, England, Hungary, Slovenia, the Czech Republic, Hong Kong and Russia outperformed U.S. students in science. Eighth grade students in Taiwan, South Korea, Singapore, Hong Kong, Japan, Hungary, England and Russia outperformed U. S. students in math.

Except for the No Child Left Behind program, there has been little emphasis on math. One of the criticisms of the program is that it places no emphasis on science.

According to Dr. Shirley Malcolm, director of Education and Human Resources at the American Association for the Advancement of Science, stated, "There are fewer and fewer students, who think that math, science or engineering is what they want to do." Dr. Malcolm is hardly the first to sound this warning. In 1983, a bipartisan federal commission warned that the country was engulfed in a "rising tide of mediocrity. The report cited a "steady decline in science achievement." More than twenty years later, a panel established by the National Academies, one of the nation’s leading organization in science, medicine and engineering, said much the same thing.

In a 2005 report titled "Rising Above the Gathering Storm" it was stated that the erosion of the nation’s scientific and technical strength threatened America’s strategic and economic security.

There is no shortage of ideas about how to turn things around. Experts who study the issue see several problems.

Some place the blame on the way classes are taught, with too much emphasis on memorizing terminology and not enough on concepts. Others emphasize that most students receive teaching to the test instruction. In this type of teaching, science labs are organized like cookbooks, with the ingredients, equipment and instructions. The results are known in advance.

Dr. Malcolm has stated that students should be given the opportunity to do real research. They should be given a chance to frame a question and decide what kind of evidence is relevant and figure out how to collect it.

Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings said the studies and test scores "reconfirm what we have long known…If we set high expectations, our children will rise to the challenge."

In stressing the importance of math and science, California Congressmen George Miller, Chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee, said, "It is troubling that our students are behind their international peers in both science and math. The fields of science and math are key to our country’s economic vitality and competitiveness. It’s increasingly clear that building a world class education system that provides students with a strong foundation in science and math must be part of any meaningful long-term economic recovery strategy."

The U.S. education system has been ailing for decades; however, 25 years ago, the nation was still number one in college graduation rates. Today, we are 21st. That fact is as alarming as it is sad. The truth of the matter is that we, as a nation, have not put emphasis on science and math education. We have been plagued with a serious shortage of math teachers for as long as I can remember.

Through our complacency, we have created the problem.

President-elect Obama’s education plan includes support for charter schools that focus on math and science programs and a re-emphasis of science and math subjects across the public education system. There is hope for the future that America will live up to its potential and once again be the world leader in education. We must not sell young America short by short changing our education system.

Stuffed Ham Made the Old Fashioned Way

As the song goes, "We need a little Christmas." This is not the best of times for millions of Americans. However, it is a good time to stop and remember Christmas is about giving, but not about gifts. It is a time when families come together and find strength, love and hope.

My favorite memories of Christmas are about my blessedly big family coming together, the smells of pine needles and good food and the shared joy of a marvelous celebration.

No narrative about Christmas would be complete without mentioning Santa Claus. The white-bearded jolly gentleman was born in the U.S. in the late 1860s. His name derived from the Dutch word for St. Nicholas – Sintaklaas. Santa Claus did not become an important person at Christmas until Washington Irving put him in his novel written in 1806. The first Santa Claus was still known as St. Nicholas. He got the name, the red suit and the reindeer and sleigh in 1863. However, his job description never changed – he did bring presents to children every year.

Christmas is celebrated around the globe in many lands and in many different ways with many different traditions. Even in the United States, Christmas celebrations vary greatly among the nation’s regions because of the variety of nationalities which have settled there.

In Pennsylvania, the Moravians build a landscape, called a putz under the Christmas tree. In the same state, Germans are given gifts by Beinsnickle, who taps them with his switch if they have been naughty. Europeans who settled in the South would send Christmas greetings to their distant neighbors by shooting firearms and setting off fireworks. In Hawaii, this practice is still in use. However Santa Claus arrives by boat and Christmas dinner is eaten outdoors.

Polish Americans on Christmas Eve spread hay on their kitchen floor and under the tablecloth to remind them of a stable and a manger. Arizonans often follow the Mexican traditions called Las Posadas. Families play out the parts of Mary and

Joseph searching for somewhere to stay. In parts of New Mexico, people place lighted candles in paper bags filled with sand on streets and rooftops to light the way for the Christ Child.

As time moves on many of these Christmas customs are practiced less and less and remembered only by other generations. Like everything else in a melting pot nation our Christmas traditions have become homogenized.

Maybe that’s not such a bad thing because it enables the real Christmas message to emerge from under a blanket of customs. That message of giving, hope and love is needed especially today as our nation struggles with a sagging economy, rising unemployment and apprehension about the future. Yes, today, more than ever, "We need a little Christmas."

At this extra special time of year, when families are getting together to share a holiday meal, I get many requests for the recipe my Mother, Marie Dyson, used for her famous Southern Maryland Stuffed Ham. As my gift to you, it gives me great pleasure to share her recipe. I am sure she would approve!

12 lb. corned ham or country cured ham

6 lbs. cabbage

3 lbs onions

1 lb. kale

Celery seed – 2 tablespoons

Salt & Black Pepper to taste

Red Pepper

Blanche kale, chop cabbage and onions in small pieces (if you can stand the tears from the onions). Mix all together and add seasonings. Never measured red pepper in my life – just sprinkled on mixture until hands begin to burn slightly while mixing. Some of my neighbors scald their mixture before packing into ham – Guess I got too anxions to get the ham packed, so I started packing as soon as I had it mixed.

To get ham ready for packing, cut deep slits in the ham, opposite from the way you slice the ham.

Pack and push as much stuffing mixture into holes as you can, covering top of ham if you have any left over. Put into clean cheese cloth bag. I use a pillow case because its easier to just tie at top and not much chance of stuffing falling out.

Cook in large pot at least 4 hours and start timing when water begins to boil and keep boiling entire time. Place a rack (I use an aluminum pie tine), in bottom of pan, to prevent ham from sticking to bottom.

Cool before slicing.

P.S. Juices from pot when ham is removed is excellent for seasoning vegetables.

And whether you say Joyeux Noel or Feliz Navidad or Zalig Kerstfeast, it’s Merry Christmas. And I, along with the entire Dyson family, wish you a Happy Holiday and a good New Year.

American Health Care Is Sick

In this, the greatest, most free and most wealthy nation on the planet, 47 million of citizens are significantly barred from getting the health care they need. These are the uninsured.

Another large segment of Americans – 14% -have difficulty getting the health care they need and find many health care procedures and treatments unaffordable. Many with serious illnesses can’t afford to buy health insurance that covers their illness. These are the underinsured.

Still another segment of Americans must struggle and cope with senseless obstacles and red tape to get the test, procedures and treatments they need. Believe it or not, these are the insured.

Both the underinsured and the insured cannot keep up with the spiraling cost of health care. Out of pocket spending often runs thousands of dollars for someone with a serious illness. According to a Harvard University study, illness and medical debt are at the root of 46% of personal bankruptcies.

The U.S. spends 16% of its gross domestic product for health care. That is more than any other nation in the world spends for health care, yet, the state of our health is poor. The U.S. ranks 29th in infant mortality and 19th out of 19 industrialized nations in preventable deaths.

One significant reason for this shameful showing is that we do little to prevent illness. Instead, we treat illness. When the HMOs came on the health care scene a few decades ago, they boasted that they would reduce sickness and high health care costs by emphasizing preventive health care. They have done none of those things.

The fundamental structure of our health care system does not encourage preventive health care. Instead, the more health care provided, the greater the reward to the health care providers and facilities. The system provides no incentive to keep people out of doctors’ offices, hospitals and imaging centers. Donald Berwick, President of the Institute for Health Care Improvements in Cambridge, Massachusetts, asserts, "The current system is very hospital-centric. We all wait for people to get sick, and then we invest enormous sums to fix them up. We should build primary care as the core."

The CIA World Factbook’s most recent report informs that the U.S. life expectancy is 78.14 years, giving us a ranking of 46th out of 223 countries. As a nation, we are behind almost all other advanced industrial nations. Life expectancy in Japan is 82.07 and in Canada, it is 81.16.

Another fact worth noting is that government-run Medicare has administration costs much lower than those of private insurance companies that make huge profits.

The World Health Organization (WHO) examined the quality of health care in 191 countries. The study concluded that while the U.S. spends a higher portion of its gross domestic product than any other country, the U.S. ranks 37th in performance. Highest scores went to France, Italy and Spain.

In 2008, a study sponsored by the Commonwealth Fund compared U.S. medical care to Australia, Canada, Germany, New Zealand and the United Kingdom. The study revealed that while the U.S. has the most costly health care system in the world, the U.S. consistently underperforms. It ranks last or next to last on five measurements of a high performance health system: quality, access, efficiency, equity and healthy lives.

The conclusion of every study is the same. While we spend the most, we have the least to show for it in health care results.

Today, health care spending accounts for $1 out of every $6 spent in the U.S. economy. It is projected that by 2025, health care costs will consume $1 out of every $4 spent. If the system continues to function as it does, it is a foregone conclusion that we will not get any greater quality of health care than we do now.

It appears to be a vicious cycle. The more we spend, the less we get. Our health care system is sick and getting sicker. Major reform is urgent.

Fda Bucks Scientific Evidence Of Bpa’s Toxicity

In direct contradiction to overwhelming scientific evidence, the federal Food and Drug Administration has declared Bisphonel A (BPA) products as safe.

BPA, a common plastic additive is a key component found in food can containers, baby bottles, dental sealants, children’s toys and plastic utensils, such as children’s "sippy" cups. Human contact with BPA is nearly unavoidable.

BPA, developed in 1891 as a synthetic form of estrogen, did not come into wide usage until the 1950s. The additive began to be used to make polycarbonate plastic, epoxy resins to line food and beverage cans.

Dozens of scientific studies have revealed that BPA, which mimics the female hormone estrogen, is linked to birth defects in boys, heart disease in adults, lower sperm counts, diabetes, hyperactivity, miscarriage and breast cancer in animals.

Last year, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reviewed 258 scientific studies of BPA. The overwhelming number of studies showed BPA is harmful to human life and health. It is worth noting that the only studies that found BPA safe were those paid for by the chemical industry.

In October, the scientific studies indicating BPA’s harmful effects led Canada to add BPA to its list of toxic chemicals and ban its use, particularly in baby bottles. Tagging BPA as a hazardous and dangerous substance, Canadian Health Minister Tony Clement said the chemical is particularly dangerous to newborns and infants. He cited concerns that the chemical in polycarbonate products and epoxy linings in cans migrate into food and beverages. Canada now restricts the importation, sale and advertising of bottlers made with BPA.

The results of scientific analyses revealing the dangers of BPA have been conveyed to the French Agency for Food Safety (AFSSA) and the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA). The analysis was commissioned by the advocacy group Antidote Europe.

Because human contact with BPA products is universal, and it is only in recent years, that BPA has been revealed as dangerous to human life and health, scientists note that BPA can be found in the urine of 93% of Americans. Children and infants are most at risk because they cannot metabolize and excrete the chemical as quickly as adults and older children.

Disregarding the FDA assessment, many businesses have chosen to rely on the overwhelming scientific evidence that BPA is toxic and have pulled plastic products containing BPA from their shelves. Those businesses include: CVS, Toys "R" Us, Wal-Mart and Safeway.

In spite of all the evidence to the contrary, the Federal Food & Drug Administration (FDA), leaning heavily on the chemical industry’s scientific evidence, released a draft assessment August 15, 2008 declaring the safety of BPA in food contact products, such as baby bottles, water bottles and food containers. In response to the FDA’s assessment, Sonya Lunder, a senior analyst with the Environmental Working Group, said, "You cannot tell parents with a straight face that BPA is safe." Yet, that is exactly what the FDA has done.

The National Institutes of Health recently expressed "some concern:" over the effects of the chemical on a baby’s brain and reproductive system. Disregarding the FDA assessment, many businesses have chosen to rely on the overwhelming scientific evidence that BPA is toxic and have pulled plastic products containing BPA from their shelves. Those businesses include: CVS, Toys "R" Us, Wal-Mart and Safeway.

It looks like the FDA stands alone, refusing to acknowledge that BPA is a toxic chemical and is a danger to human beings. I am hopeful that a new federal administration and a new congress will be moved by common sense and ban BPA products, something the FDA should have already done.

THE ECONOMY

It is impossible to ignore the economy – Even with crude oil prices falling another 3.7% last Tuesday to a record $54.95 a barrel. It’s just not good. However, after reviewing just how bad it is, I want to offer some much-needed perspective to the situation.

According to the Labor Department, first time claims for unemployment benefits rose to 576,000, the highest level since the period right after 9/11. Unemployment has risen to 6.1%, a 14-year high. By contrast, unemployment peaked at 6.3% in 2003 after the short recession of 2001. It peaked at 7.8% in the 1990-1992 recession and above 10% in the 1980-1982 recession. During the Great Depression, unemployment was between 25% and 30%.

Government tax revenues are down 7.5% within the last year.

The initial cost of the $700 billion bail out has pushed the U.S. budget deficit for October alone to a record $2.37.2 billion, the highest increase recorded for a single month. The budget deficit is on track to reach an unfathomable $1 trillion for the year.

Three wild selling days on Wall Street in September wiped out $1 trillion in shareholder value. In mid November the DOW rose 6.67%. Each day since has brought a wildly up and down spiraling DOW.

401Ks are losing value rapidly, making retirement only a far away dream for too many Americans.

Businesses bankruptcies rise as the recession strangles small businesses and large businesses alike and consumers cut discretionary spending. Last month, retail sales were down 2.8%, the sharpest monthly decline ever recorded.

Target’s retail sales are down 24% for the third quarter. Citibank Corporation will dismiss 53,00 employees over the next few months. That’s in addition to the 22,000 who have already lost their jobs.

What can possibly be the good news, you ask? Well, we’ve been through other economic recessions and eventually come out on top. Some headlines during the 1990 recession, sound eerily familiar:

“Real Estate Bust” – Newsweek, October 1, 1900
“Can America Still Compete” – Time, October 29, 1990
“The Consumer Has Seen the Future and Gotten Depressed” – Business Week, December 10,1990
“How the Real Estate Crash Threatens Financial Institutions” – U. S. News, November 17, 1990
“How Safe Is Your Job” – Newsweek, November 5, 1990


On the positive side, government is doing everything it can to stop the slide. There is much more it can do. However, I believe and hope government now realizes it cannot give out taxpayers’ dollars without strings attached and sharp oversight.

Unlike the Great Depression, there is a concentrated global response to what is recognized as a global recession. An unprecedented emergency meeting of world leaders was called recently. They have reached a consensus for a comprehensive action plan within the next few months to reshape and regulate international financial institutions and strengthen transparency and accountability.

Not for one minute, would I try to paint a rosy picture or diminish the extent to which the economic condition is dire. Nor will I diminish the time and sacrifice it will take to get the economy back on track. Nevertheless, I am convinced there is nothing we, Americans, cannot overcome with strong leadership, determination and faith in ourselves. We have done so in the past. We will do so now. And we will do so in the future.


 

The Unseen Wounds Of War

This year suicides among active duty soldiers are climbing on pace to top last year’s all time record. More than likely, for the first time since the Vietnam War, suicides will exceed the rate among the general U. S. population. The army’s suicide rate has increased from 12.4 per 100,000 in 2003 to 18.1 per 100,000 in 2997 to an anticipated 19.5 this year.

The nature of fighting, particularly in Iraq, has been called "360-365" combat. Paul Sullivan, director of Veterans for Common Sense, said, "What that means is that veterans are completely surrounded by combat for one year. Nearly all of our soldiers are under fire or being subjected to mortar rounds or roadside bombs or witnessing the deaths of civilians or fellow soldiers."

The uncertainty of random injury and death in mid-east urban warfare coupled with the multiple combat deployments the troops must endure often results in psychological damage to even the most combat hardened soldiers. In this war there are no enemy lines, no enemy uniforms. The enemy can be any age or gender and often approaches with smiles.

Studies have shown that the young men and women serving in the mid-east conflicts have a high risk of contracting Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome (PTSS) and depression. It has also been shown that left untreated, PTSS often results in addiction, divorce, domestic abuse, unemployment, homelessness and suicide.

A RAND Corp. study released in April informed that as many as 300,000 troops who served in Iraq and Afghanistan may be suffering from depression or PTSS. The RAND study echoed earlier Pentagon studies suggesting widespread incidences of depression and PTSS among returning troops. The study revealed that as many as two in five of the 1.64 million Americans sent to Iraq and Afghanistan have returned with serious mental problems and/or potentially disabling brain injuries.

The RAND study suggests that only half of those needing treatment seek it, only half of those receive "minimally adequate care."

In response to the need to get veterans mental health care, the 2008 Maryland General Assembly passed legislation to identify gaps in access to mental health care needed by returning veterans and get them to care locations.

At first, the military discouraged reporting symptoms of depression to get medical care. The soldiers were left to grapple with their depression alone and often feel as though they were not measuring up to army standards.

Today, the Army employs a number of suicide prevention efforts, such as hiring large numbers of new mental health providers and establishing an intervention program to teach junior army leaders suicidal patterns of behavior and how to prevent suicides.

The ACE program involves three steps ask, care and escort.

ASK direct questions, such as "are you thinking of killing yourself?"

CARE for your buddy by taking away weapons.

And ESCORT your buddy to a chaplain or a health care provider.

The Veterans Affairs Department launched a suicide hot line last year, which is credited with preventing 1,221 veterans from taking their lives. The hot line has served 22,000 veterans. In 90% of the calls, a veteran was contacted and referred for help.

There is no excuse for government not to undertake and fully fund a comprehensive and intense mental health outreach program at the VA and military base hospitals. Military commanders must address the need to eliminate the stigma attached to these unseen wounds of war.

The men and women who have fight for us pay a heavy price.

Depression and PTSS, the unseen wounds of war, can rob them of fulfilled lives and ultimately take their lives.

These men and women deserve to be medically treated and made whole.

That’s what supporting our troops really means.