This past week, the Senate passed a new bill called GINA which stands for the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2007. Senator Biden co-sponsored this bill which was supported by every single senator. The purpose of this bill is to prevent the use of the information obtained through genetic testing for any reason. The bill is designed to prevent the discriminate against Americans in their employment or for their health insurance. It did not mention it but I assume this also applies to all other types of insurance. Senator Biden wants to stimulate the development of genetic testing and research so that science can discover cures of diseases and the prevention of diseases.
I would think that the House will also pass the bill and it will be signed into law by the Presidents signature. Americans need to have the opportunity to obtain genetic testing that may give information that will prolong their lives. This new bill, if it becomes law, will reduce and possibly eliminate the fear that the results of the testing may be used against them if the results are unfavorable. Senator Biden said that “Patients must be able to participate in genetic research or undergo genetic tests without fear that the information revealed will ultimately raise their health premiums or put their job at risk”. I agree with him. And, the most important part is that the insurance companies and employers will not have the ability to require the person to take a genetic test in order to obtain health insurance or get a job.
The other item this week that Senator Biden did was he issued a statement saying he has confirmed that North Korea gave Syria their technology for a nuclear power plant which may allow for the development of nuclear weapons. Senator Biden is the Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. He has taken the position that the United Stated must maintain existing sanctions against North Korea until they are open to full inspections, they agree to stop selling their nuclear technology, and they close their nuclear plants.
http://www6.lexisnexis.com/publisher/EndUser?Action=UserDisplayFullDocument&orgId=574&topicId=100007410&docId=l:781775166&start=4
Sunday, April 27, 2008
Monday, April 21, 2008
Biden Update
Senator Biden has recently spoken to Congress, calling on the need to continue exploration into child exploitation cases. Almost all instances of child exploitation are done through the internet. However, a recent figure suggests that the FBI has the resources to investigate only 2% of the cases it encounters. In addition, he attempted to garner support for the Combating Child Exploitation Act of 2007, which would improve enforcement of child exploitation violations.
As well, Biden released a statement in response to a report presented by the GAO which concerns the "regeneration of al Qaeda forces" and the lack of a "comprehensive plan" which was required by the 9/11 Commission. Biden requests that President Bush work with Congress in order to comply with provisions from the Commission which requests for a comprenensive plan which covers how America plans to over see the repression of terrorism in the middle east.
As well, Biden released a statement in response to a report presented by the GAO which concerns the "regeneration of al Qaeda forces" and the lack of a "comprehensive plan" which was required by the 9/11 Commission. Biden requests that President Bush work with Congress in order to comply with provisions from the Commission which requests for a comprenensive plan which covers how America plans to over see the repression of terrorism in the middle east.
Sunday, April 13, 2008
Biden
Senator Biden recently was on CNN’s Late Edition where he stated that the Iraqi government would change, not because of the next president, but the “reality on the ground will change the politics in Iraq.
Earlier this year, Biden made a promise to Obama and Clinton saying that he will remain neutral between the two candidates. He told them he will not side with either one and has kept that promise true throughout the year and will for the time to come. I was reading another article which stated that Biden talks to the two candidates on a weekly basis. I thought that was very interesting. It is easy to think that the candidates are so competitive; they either would not have time to talk to each other, or would not want to talk to another. Biden seems like a very good Senator by getting a sense of what is going on in both Obama’s and Clinton’s life, the presidency, and the election. Biden has also repeated that he believes the primaries will be the ultimate decider on who is elected president, not the super delegates (Biden being one of them).
Biden has claimed that he believes the “troop buildup” in Iraq is a failure. Biden commented on the current situation in Iraq: "The purpose of the surge was to bring violence in Iraq down so that its leaders could come together politically…Violence has come down, but the Iraqis have not come together."
Biden is Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and said last week that the President finally admitted that he will continue the Iraq War right up to the day he leaves office to let the next President decide when to end the war. Senator Biden is an outspoken critic of the war and is doing his best to try to force President Bush to end it before he leaves office. He believes that President Bush is advancing new initiatives in Iraq that have the sole purpose of forcing the next President to continue what Senator believes “is a failed policy”.
Senator Biden is concerned that President Bush will create some sort of binding agreement that the US will protect Iraq if it is attacked by any country or group. Senator is particularly concerned what the definition of a group is.
The most interesting thing I learned last week was Senator Biden bill he calls the “Second Chance Act”. This new law was signed by President Bush on April 9, 2008 which gives Felons opportunities to obtain work back in society. The new bill will provide “job training, literacy training, substance-abuse treatment, counseling, education, housing and mentoring services upon release.” Biden feels most felons go back to prison simply because they have not been trained to earn a living in our society.
I believe we have the highest percentage of our citizens in prison and on parole than any country in the world. One out of every 29 adult citizens in our country is a convicted felon. This statistic alone should prove something is wrong about the US sending so many of our citizens to prison. Biden is at least doing something to help which is more than most of the Congress is doing in this area.
http://biden.senate.gov/press/press_releases/
http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2008/04/13/sunday-roundup-the-next-steps-in-iraq/
http://cbs3.com/delawarewire/22.0.html?type=nplocal&state=DE&category=News&filename=DE--Campaign-Biden.xml
http://weblogs.baltimoresun.com/news/politics/blog/2008/04/kerry_hammers_mccain_on_100yea.html
Earlier this year, Biden made a promise to Obama and Clinton saying that he will remain neutral between the two candidates. He told them he will not side with either one and has kept that promise true throughout the year and will for the time to come. I was reading another article which stated that Biden talks to the two candidates on a weekly basis. I thought that was very interesting. It is easy to think that the candidates are so competitive; they either would not have time to talk to each other, or would not want to talk to another. Biden seems like a very good Senator by getting a sense of what is going on in both Obama’s and Clinton’s life, the presidency, and the election. Biden has also repeated that he believes the primaries will be the ultimate decider on who is elected president, not the super delegates (Biden being one of them).
Biden has claimed that he believes the “troop buildup” in Iraq is a failure. Biden commented on the current situation in Iraq: "The purpose of the surge was to bring violence in Iraq down so that its leaders could come together politically…Violence has come down, but the Iraqis have not come together."
Biden is Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and said last week that the President finally admitted that he will continue the Iraq War right up to the day he leaves office to let the next President decide when to end the war. Senator Biden is an outspoken critic of the war and is doing his best to try to force President Bush to end it before he leaves office. He believes that President Bush is advancing new initiatives in Iraq that have the sole purpose of forcing the next President to continue what Senator believes “is a failed policy”.
Senator Biden is concerned that President Bush will create some sort of binding agreement that the US will protect Iraq if it is attacked by any country or group. Senator is particularly concerned what the definition of a group is.
The most interesting thing I learned last week was Senator Biden bill he calls the “Second Chance Act”. This new law was signed by President Bush on April 9, 2008 which gives Felons opportunities to obtain work back in society. The new bill will provide “job training, literacy training, substance-abuse treatment, counseling, education, housing and mentoring services upon release.” Biden feels most felons go back to prison simply because they have not been trained to earn a living in our society.
I believe we have the highest percentage of our citizens in prison and on parole than any country in the world. One out of every 29 adult citizens in our country is a convicted felon. This statistic alone should prove something is wrong about the US sending so many of our citizens to prison. Biden is at least doing something to help which is more than most of the Congress is doing in this area.
http://biden.senate.gov/press/press_releases/
http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2008/04/13/sunday-roundup-the-next-steps-in-iraq/
http://cbs3.com/delawarewire/22.0.html?type=nplocal&state=DE&category=News&filename=DE--Campaign-Biden.xml
http://weblogs.baltimoresun.com/news/politics/blog/2008/04/kerry_hammers_mccain_on_100yea.html
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