The Larsen Letter - July 2007

[Snohomish County Democrats]

  The Larsen Letter  ________________________________________________________________________
  July 2007 * Edition 6
   
  Thank you to all of you who participated in my May 2007 Democratic Strategy Meetings. Each meeting was helpful and informative. I appreciate each of you taking the time to share your thoughts as I tackle each of the issues we discussed in the other Washington. 
  
   
  Weekend Events
   
  This weekend I will be attending two important Democratic functions and I look forward to seeing each of you there.
   
  Snohomish County Summer Picnic
  10200 Quil Ceda Blvd, Tulalip
  11:00am – 2:00pm
   
  Island County Summer Fest
  4632 Tompkins Rd. Langley
  5:00pm – 9:00pm 
   
  If you have any questions or feedback about The Larsen Letter please e-mail me at rick at ricklarsen.org or call me at 425-259-1866.
   
  Best,
   L   
  _____________________________________________________________
  Congressional Update
   
  I want to give you a quick update on some of my work in Congress. The new Democratic Congress is taking our country in a new direction and we’ve already made important progress for working families.
   
  Under Democratic leadership the House has passed the largest investment in college aid in 63 years, voted to make the largest increase in VA funding since the Veterans Administration was founded, and raised our nation’s minimum wage for the first time in a decade. While our investments in college aid and veterans’ care need to be approved by the Senate, our minimum wage increase has been signed into law and will go into effect on July 24. 
   
  Largest Increase in College Aid Investment in 63 Years
  This month the House passed the single largest investment in college financial aid in 63 years to help millions of students pay for college. The College Cost Reduction Act of 2007 would boost college financial aid by approximately $18 billion over the next five years. Over the next five years, Washington students would get $234 million more in college aid to help them afford a college education without going dangerously into debt.  
  Under the legislation, the maximum value of the Pell Grant scholarship would increase by $500 over the next five years, and interest rates would be cut in half on need-based student loans.
   
  The College Cost Reduction Act includes a number of other provisions that would ease the financial burden on students and families, including tuition assistance for excellent undergraduate students who agree to teach in the nation’s public schools, loan forgiveness for college graduates who go into public service professions and increased federal loan limits so that students won’t have to rely as heavily on costlier private loans.
  This legislation pays for itself by reducing federal subsidies paid to lenders in the college loan industry by $19 billion.  
   
  Largest VA Funding Increase in 77 Years
                                 
  This month, the House passed the Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Appropriations bill for 2008 which provides the largest single increase in the VA budget in the 77-year history of the Veterans Administration.  The bill honors veterans and their families by increasing the VA budget by $6.7 billion above Fiscal Year 2007 funding, $3.8 billion above the President’s request for Fiscal Year 2008. It also increases the VA’s maintenance and repair budget to prevent the conditions uncovered at Walter Reed and other medical facilities from occurring in the VA system.
   
  We can’t take a ‘nickel and dime’ approach to veterans’ care. This bill gives the VA resources they need to continue providing essential services to veterans across the country, including many of the 75,000 veterans who call Northwest Washington home. 
   
  First Federal Minimum Wage Increase in a Decade
   
  Washington state lead the way with a strong living wage, and our national policy is finally catching up.
   
  The Democratic Congress has raised the federal minimum wage for the first time in nearly a decade. On July 24th, millions of Americans will get a pay raise.
   
  It has been a decade since American workers have seen an increase in the federal minimum wage. Over the past decade, inflation has all but erased the effect of the last minimum wage hike. Our federal minimum wage has reached its lowest effective level in more than a half a century, and American families are feeling the squeeze.
   
  Nearly 13 million people will likely benefit from the pay raise, including more than six million children of low-wage workers. 
   
  America workers who work hard and play by the rules should earn enough to provide for their families and have their own shot at the American dream.
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