National Issues

The following is a column by Nobel Prize-winning economist Paul Krugman that originally appeared in the New York Times on August 8.  Although it certainly has overtones here in New Jersey, it shows the battles we are fighting in New Jersey are part of a national fight.  To view the article at the NYT website, click here.

President Barack Obama signed the final pieces of the health insurance reform package into law today, making permanent a few improvements to the bill passed earlier this week. 

The improvements will ensure middle class families are not hurt by the provision designed to tax "Cadillac" health plans, and takes federal funding for some college scholarship programs away from commercial banks and focusing it instead on new education initiatives. 

President Obama made recess appointments of Craig Becker and Mark Pearce to the National Labor Relations Board over the weekend, ending months of partisan obstruction over the nominations.  CWA President Larry Cohen called the appointments "critical to removing a backlog of cases and bringing justice to our workplaces." 

The US House voted late last night on a landmark package of health care reform that will finally guarantee quality, affordable health care coverage for all Americans.  It is immediately being hailed as the biggest legislative acheivement since Civil Rights and Medicare.

CWA President Larry Cohen commended House Democrats for voting for the bill, saying:

Negotiators in Washington have reached a tentative deal on the excise tax on so-called “Cadillac” health care benefits.  The deal is part of negotiations between President Obama, and leaders of the House and Senate in Washington, designed to reconcile differences in the health care bills passed by each chamber.