ON THE CAMPAIGN TRAIL – OBAMA AND ROMNEY

ON THE CAMPAIGN TRAIL – OBAMA AND ROMNEY

By:  Hope Wilkos, Writer/Blogger

Photographer:  George Whylie

Videographer:  Maxine Nolan

 

Our Presidential candidates have been busy.  President Obama has made some headway this past week with a couple of major platforms.

Both parties in the Senate have completed a deal that keeps student loan rates at their current record level low for one year.  The passage was due in large part to the amount of pressure that President Obama applied on Congress.  The House approved 373 to 52 votes and 74 to 19 votes in the Senate.  Obama will now put his signature on the bill.  It works out to a savings for over 7 million students at the current rate of 3.4%.  This is one area where both Obama and Romney agree.  In order to compensate for this deal, premiums for federal pension insurance will rise.  Eligibility for a federally subsidized loan will now be capped to 150% of the length of a college program.

The other big headline was the passage of the Affordable Health Care Act giving secure health coverage for the middle class. This is also a means to protect every American from insurance company abuses.  It gives states the flexibility and resources to customize their own needs although opinion is mixed on the  bill.  In summary, the Affordable Care Act is designed to keep health care costs low, promote prevention and most importantly, to hold insurance companies accountable.  Here are some of the current provisions:

• Insurance companies no longer have unchecked power to cancel your policy, deny your child coverage due to a pre-existing condition, or charge women more than men.

 

• Over 86 million Americans have gained from coverage of preventive care free of charge, like mammograms for women and wellness visits for seniors.

 

• Nearly 13 million Americans will receive a rebate this summer because their insurance company spent too much of their premium dollars on administrative costs or CEO bonuses.

 

• The law has already helped 5.3 million seniors and people with disabilities save an average of over $600 on prescription drugs in the “donut hole” in Medicare coverage.

 

• The law’s provisions to strengthen and protect Medicare by fighting fraud will continue.

 

• The law has helped 6.6 million young adults who have been able to stay on their parents’ plans until the age of 26, including 3.1 million young people who are newly insured.

Beginning in 2014, if you don’t have health insurance, this law will give you the benefit of choosing from a variety of affordable, private health insurance plans.

Friday found the President surveying the massive disaster area of Colorado ravaged by wildfires.  By declaring it a state of emergency and a major disaster, federal funding immediately becomes available to supplement State and local recovery efforts in the affected areas.

Meanwhile, GOP Candidate Mitt Romney is laying out his plan for the next four years if he were to get elected and claim victory.  It is extremely ambitious but hopefully not totally unachievable.  High on his list is the repeal of “ObamaCare” followed by tax cuts and deficit reduction, approval of the Keystone XL oil pipeline, more aggressive strictures for trade with China and repeal of the financial regulatory reform bill.

Both candidates are pushing their own specific immigration reform.  Romney is looking to secure our borders and make immigration happen in a very legal way.

Obama and Romney continue to campaign across the country in order to become the winning ticket just shy of 6 months.

PHOTO CREDITS:  Reuters