SNOWE LAYS OUT AMBITIOUS 2007 LEGISLATIVE AGENDA  

WASHINGTON, D.C . – U.S. Senator Olympia J. Snowe (R-Maine), announced an ambitious legislative agenda for the 110 th Congress to move Maine and America forward.

“The results of the 2006 mid-term elections proved more than ever that the American people want both political parties to work together to find real, lasting solutions to the problems facing our nation,” said Senator Snowe. “I look forward to working with my colleagues in the 110 th Congress to institute a changed policy in Iraq and build support for several key initiatives that I have championed – including a more effective health care system and a stronger economy for Maine and America.”

Below are Senator Snowe’s priorities for the 110 th Congress:

• Reduce sky-rocketing prescription drug prices. The passage of drug importation legislation will ensure that Americans can safely import prescription drugs at lower costs from countries with comparable safety standards to those in the U.S We must also remove restrictions that keep our government from negotiating the best prices for prescription drugs in the Medicare Prescription Drug Benefit.
•  Expand health care coverage.  As a member of the Senate Finance Committee, which oversees funding for SCHIP, Medicaid and Medicare, we must address the crisis of the uninsured by expanding healthcare coverage for children and small businesses.   We must start by fixing the shortfall in the State Children’s Health Insurance Plan (SCHIP) that threatens to impede thousands of children in Maine from receiving coverage and build on the successes of the program by expanding coverage to parents.  Small businesses must also get the quality coverage they need – by offering affordable, national Small Business Health Plans (SBHPs) - given that 97.5 percent of businesses in Maine are small and this would help thousands of Mainers.
• Increase the minimum wage. I support promoting greater economic opportunities to ensure that people in our state have access to higher quality jobs and we must begin this process by increasing the minimum wage to $7.25/hour.
• Provide small business tax relief.  As a member of the Finance Committee and the Ranking Member of the Small Business Committee, I support allowing small businesses to expense more of their investments in new equipment as they grow their businesses and allowing retail businesses who own their selling space to accelerate their depreciation deductions for their property improvements. I also believe businesses should be allowed greater flexibility for small business startups to choose the taxable year that makes the most sense for their business cycle, and expanding the availability of cash method accounting.  I also want to remove the barriers that small business face when offering cafeteria plans, and thus, eliminating the availability of this valuable incentive for small employers to offer health benefits to workers.  
• Develop Maine’s economy. To promote private and public investment in rural economies and small businesses, I will spearhead the expansion of initiatives like the New Markets Tax Credits, Empowerment Zones, and the extension of HUBZones, especially in Aroostook County. Furthermore, I intend to reintroduce the Northern Appalachian Economic Development Act, to pursue a regional solution to our shared economic problems.  This bill will serve as a catalyst for economic growth by providing $40 million in competitive grants throughout the rural regions of the Northeast.
• Work with the Navy to ensure an adequate workload for Kittery Portsmouth Naval Shipyard. I look forward to working with the Maine and New Hampshire delegations to guarantee that work efforts are balanced and that funding for all projects are equitable.
• Push for adequate funding for veteran’s healthcare. Members of the 110 th Congress must work together to pass a guaranteed veteran healthcare package that would remove veteran’s healthcare from annual appropriations battles. I will work through the appropriations process to ensure that the Veteran’s Affairs budget adequately meets all healthcare needs, including those returning veterans.
• Ensure hard-working, low-income families receive the benefit of the child tax credit. I have been championing this issue for many years and look forward to passing legislation that will expand the availability of the child tax credit for families in Maine and across America.
• Expand rural broadband access in Maine. Through broadband tax credits and expanding the Universal Service Fund, I believe we can make available the technologies to bridge the geographic and economic barriers to all Americans, including more Maine residents and businesses.
• Enforce “net neutrality” with Senator Dorgan (D-ND). With a new broadband network, we must guarantee that no company is able to use its ownership of the network to engage in anti-competitive behavior that would stifle the Internet as we know it.
• Confront climate change. We need to use our energy resources more efficiently and promote the use of renewable fuels like wind power, solar power, and bio-based fuels. While Congress has taken steps to encourage the development of alternative fuels, we must do more to establish policies that will help solve one of the most challenging issues affecting the global community.
• Raise average fuel economy standards for cars and light trucks. As energy prices increase, the cost of inefficiency increases.  Accordingly, since 2001, I have advocated increasing CAFÉ standards.  The energy crisis of the 1970's and our country’s subsequent response demonstrated that increasing CAFÉ standards is an effective response to an energy shortage.  The bill that I have introduced with Senator Feinstein, “The Ten-in-Ten Fuel Economy Act” would increase CAFÉ standards by 10 miles per gallon by 2017.  This legislation is estimated to save 2.5 million barrels of oil a day by 2025 – the same amount we currently import daily from the Persian Gulf.
• Protect Americans against genetic discrimination. I believe the Congress needs to enact the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act to protect Americans against potential discrimination based on their genetic information and allow individuals to utilize genetic tests without fear in order to benefit from our expanding knowledge of genetics to treat and prevent disease.
• Combat unfair foreign trade practices.    As Congress considers whether to renew the Administration’s authority to negotiate more free trade agreements, I will reintroduce legislation that will require the U.S. Trade Representative to investigate and challenge all unfair foreign trade practices, to ensure that the rights and competitiveness of U.S. workers and manufacturers are defended aggressively and consistently by their government.
• Provide the necessary support and medical treatment for our veterans. The Lane Evans Healthcare Benefits Improvement Act will provide critical mental health services for our veterans. The legislation will also create a data registry system that will create a comprehensive list of Veterans Affairs healthcare benefits, help with ongoing medical research, and ensure that the health benefits of our nation’s veterans are no longer compromised by budget shortfalls.
• Improve the implementation of the No Child Left Behind law. It is imperative that states, school districts, and schools have greater control and flexibility in implementing and executing the NCLB law. This legislation will stay true to the goals of increasing accountability, closing the achievement gap, and improving student performance.
• Strengthen energy efficiency standards in homes and commercial buildings.  The Energy Policy Act of 2005 included legislation I authored, the Efficient Energy Through Certified Technologies and Electricity Reliability Act (EFFECTER) Act, to provide tax incentives for improving energy efficiency in commercial buildings and newly-built and retrofitted homes.  Since these tax incentives expire this year, I will work to further extend them so that our country will curtail wasteful energy practices and reduce our reliance on foreign oil.

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