R's vs. Reality

 NEW CASTLE —  During the 2005-2006 election cycle, the Delaware Democratic Party issued a comprehensive report and pamphlet for voters outlining our strategy for improving education, widening access to more affordable health care and advancing renewable energy sources.  Now, the Republicans are rolling out nearly the same initiatives, claiming them as their own vision for Delaware.

“Following the 2006 elections, Democrats went right to work on this agenda, passing a number of bills in the Senate only to see many of them stalled in the Republican-controlled House,” said Chairman John Daniello.  “It’s frustrating that after years of stalling these initiatives, Republicans have now decided to campaign on them.”

Here are three of the five Democratic sponsored bills that would have a large impact on insuring the uninsured:

SB 37 - Sponsored by Sen. Patricia Blevins(D-Elsmere) This bill passed in the Senate on a 17-3 vote but has been bottled up in the House Economic Development/Banking and Insurance Committee since June, 2007.  It would grant the Delaware Insurance Department the same authority to review health insurance premium rates that it now has for auto insurance, homeowners’ insurance, and all other lines of property and casualty insurance.  The passage and signing of this bill could prevent citizens from getting over charged for health insurance.

SB 6 - Sponsored by Sen. Patricia Blevins (D-Elsmere) This bill passed the Senate on a 17-1 vote and has been bottled up in the House Economic Development/Banking and Insurance Committee since June, 2007.  It would create a statewide health insurance purchasing pool to allow individuals and small businesses to obtain the most favorable premiums possible from the private insurance market.

HB 267 - Sponsored by Rep. Hazel Plant (D-Wilmington) This bill was introduced in the house and assigned to the Economic Development/Banking and Insurance Committee, where it’s been bottled up since June, 2007.  It would ensure that individuals who are eligible for the Federal Medicare program due to a disability are able to purchase the same Medicare Supplement available to individuals eligible for Medicare due to age.

This campaign season, you’ll also hear Republicans talk about opening government and making legislature more transparent.  But last month when they had a chance to widen government transparency, Republicans voted along party lines against Democratic legislation.

Here are two of the Democratic amendments that would have broadened government transparency:

House Amendment 3 to House Bill 354:

HB 354 calls for public officers to file annual reports as to close relatives who also work for the State.  The Democrats’ HA 3 would have widened the scope of the bill to include more public intuitions, thus closing a loophole that could potentially leave out public officers with relatives employed by any college, university or institute of higher learning of the State of Delaware and entities such as the DRBA, the Port of Wilmington and DSWA from disclosure.  All but one Republican voted against closing this loophole.  The Republican who didn’t vote it down was absent.

HA 1 to HB 354:

This is another Democratic measure to close a Republican loophole.  It would have changed the meaning of “Significant State funding” from:  “Any organization that receives 1/3 of its annual operating budget from the State of Delaware annually,” to: Any amount of funding the public or private intuition has received or shall receive from the state. Every Republican voted against closing this reasonable loophole.

House Democrats provide overwhelming support to open government bills.  Nearly every open government bill in the Delaware House of Representatives has several Democratic sponsors and typically passes unopposed.

House Bill 70 was sponsored exclusively by Democrats. It would allow the public to have access to meetings of the Delaware General Assembly except for caucuses.  It would also provide the public with access to records of the Delaware General Assembly.

After more than a year, House Republicans have failed to act on the bill.

“When it comes time to running for office, Republicans are just now getting serious about governing,” said Daniello.  “I’m confident Delaware voters will realize that for the last several years Democrats have prioritized and worked diligently to advance an agenda that benefits everyone in this state.” 

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