In This Issue:
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Sexual Violence Act·
Prescription Drug Act·
A Moment in History: Reflections from Obama's InaugurationWelcome to the second edition of Shumlin's Briefing. We are now in the fifth week of the 2009 legislative session and remain focused on the fiscal challenges that face Vermonters.
As the federal economic stimulus package has taken shape in Washington, we have worked closely with our federal delegation to ensure the needs of Vermonters are addressed. The Senate has been hard at work over the past few weeks identifying "shovel ready" projects so we will be poised to capitalize on the opportunities that the federal stimulus money presents.
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act passed the U.S. House last week and would bring approximately $1.2 billion in relief to Vermonters. We are grateful to our congressional delegation for their hard work and look forward to making smart investments that will put Vermonters back to work, build a green economy, repair our failing infrastructure, and bring wireless internet to every major town and back road.
While the federal stimulus money is a significant first step toward the recovery of our economy, it does not solve the state's budget deficit. Our state budget has been on an unsustainable track for years and we are now facing the result of the neglect of structural problems and inefficiencies. Even with the aid from the federal stimulus package, projections show that in FY11 we will be faced with a shortfall in our budget of roughly $260 million.
Governor Douglas has proposed solving our budget deficit by raising Vermonter's property taxes and putting our children's future at risk. In contrast, the Speaker and I are working hard to lay out a vision for Vermont that will make smart, strategic investments in our future and build lasting opportunities for Vermonters. It is time for us in Government to take a new look at how we make Government work best for the people of our state. In the upcoming weeks we will work to identify the inefficiencies as well as the opportunities that exist in our system to fundamentally rethink how we provide services to Vermonters. In a session that will test our values as Vermonters and require us to reaffirm our commitment to our most vulnerable citizens - building a more efficient government, maximizing the federal stimulus, utilizing our rainy day funds, and raising revenue will all be necessary to weather this crisis together.
SEXUAL VIOLENCE ACT
Following the tragic death of Brooke Bennett, Senator Shumlin called upon the Senate Judiciary Committee to hold a series of hearings to answer the many questions raised about our criminal justice system. S. 13, heralded as one of the toughest sex offender laws in the country, is the result of the many months of hard work by the Judiciary Committee.
The bill, which unanimously passed the Senate, is made up of a 34-point comprehensive plan for Vermont's sexual abuse response system to better protect our children. The bill includes fully funding and staffing special investigative units; requiring DNA samples from persons arraigned for a sex crime, domestic violence, or any felony; eliminating the option of a deferred sentence for a person charged with sexual abuse of a child and requiring periodic polygraph exams and supervision of computer activities as condition of probation for sex offenders.
A key component of the bill is the establishment of a 25-year mandatory minimum sentence for the charge of aggravated sexual assault on a child. This proposed law would not supplant existing sexual laws, but would create a new crime. One of the most ardent criticisms of 25 year mandatory minimum sentencing is that in cases that lack hard evidence, the perpetrator all too often ends up back on the streets. By retaining existing law, we do not impede on prosecutors' abilities to negotiate plea bargains in cases that lack the beyond-a-reasonable-doubt evidence needed to win jury trials.
Yet, it is the prevention measures that the bill contains that may have the greatest impact. In the Senate floor debate Judiciary Chairman, Senator Sears, pointed out that, "the perpetrators are no longer hiding behind bushes they are sitting across the dinner table." The bill sets in place a statewide child sexual abuse prevention plan, which includes mandating schools to focus on sexual abuse prevention efforts.
The tragic death of Brooke Bennett shocked and outraged Vermonters. Vermonters rightly expected the legislature to act swiftly and thoughtfully to correct any problems in our criminal justice system. The Senate has done just that by passing this bill in the first three weeks of the session. The bill is currently being considered in the House where it is also expected to pass swiftly.
PRESCRIPTION DRUG BILL
Senator Shumlin introduced legislation last week to bring in a higher degree of transparency into our health care system and take a step toward cutting rising health care costs.
The bill strengthens Vermont's current gift disclosure law by banning many gifts from manufacturers of prescription drugs, medical devices and biological products. The bill also mandates full disclosure of allowable gifts to physicians, health care organizations, non-profit groups and state-funded academic institutions.
A founding member of NLARX, a national legislative organization dedicated to reducing prescription drug prices, Senator Shumlin found himself increasingly alarmed at the relationship between pharmaceutical companies and physicians. Unfortunately, there is reason for such alarm. According to a report by the state attorney general's office, pharmaceutical companies have recently increased the amount they spend in order to influence the sale of their products. During fiscal year 2007, companies spent more than $3.1 million to market their medicines to physicians, a 33-percent increase over fiscal year 2006 and a 42-percent increase over fiscal year 2005.
The bill introduced by Senator Shumlin and co-signed by 29 of his Senate colleagues is an attempt to bring a greater degree of transparency into the relationship between doctors and the pharmaceutical companies. The legislation not only bans many gifts, it also allows consumers going to their doctor to know whether their physician is taking money from the pharmaceutical companies. The bill is a good step toward putting an end to the practice where pharmaceutical companies spend millions of dollars to draw consumers and providers to more expensive drugs.
Senator Shumlin is joined in support for this bill by the Vermont Medical Society, the Vermont Association for Mental Health, and the Vermont Psychiatric Association. The bill is currently being reviewed by the Senate Finance Committee.
A Moment in History: Reflections from Obama's Inauguration
I was fortunate enough to be one of the thousands who got to witness history on January 20, 2009.
I arrived in Washington D.C. a few days prior to the inauguration to a different city then the one I was used to visiting. There was a sense of community and friendliness more akin to a small Vermont village than a large metropolitan city. Strangers greeted each other with friendly grins, opened doors for each other, and even anxious, bustling metro riders seemed to have more patience for one another. There was a constant buzz of excitement in the air as locals and visitors alike looked forward to the beginning of a new era with optimism and hope.
We awoke early on inauguration day in order to get into the city and beat the ticket holding masses through our designated gate. My wife Deb, my friend David, and myself were determined to secure a good vantage point from which to watch the inauguration. We were staying with friends in Maryland, four miles from downtown, and had brought bikes from Vermont to ride into the city. Peddling downtown in the frosty darkness at 6:30 am to beat the crowds was somewhat surreal. The ride was cold but fun as few drivers dared venture out onto the roads and besides the pedestrians we had them practically to ourselves.
The scene at the capitol building was a chaotic one with millions of people converging on a relatively small area at once. Unused to the cold weather, most were bundled in several layers of cotton hoodies. Gripping coffee cups, people desperately tried to figure out which line they were supposed to be in to enter their assigned gate. When the gates were opened at 9 am any system that was in place immediately broke down and people from all parts of the line surged toward the gate where security was only allowing people in one at a time. With a bit of luck and a lot of determination all three of us managed to squeeze through the gate and metal detectors before 10 am.
We scored a viewing spot directly behind the seated section and waited for the ceremony to begin. As the sense of excitement heightened it was incredible to watch the people filling up our small area. The weight of history showed clearly on the faces of the elderly African Americans who smiled up at the stage. Young children waved American flags with Obama's face printed in the middle. Everyone jostled to get the best view of the one man everyone was there to see and encourage.
The announcement of the Honorable George W. Bush was met with a booing from the crowd estimated to be in the millions. A rendition of "na na na na hey hey hey goodbye" that would have made any Fenway regular proud was taken up by the crowd. Equally impressive was the silence that swept over the crowd when the newly sworn in, President Obama took the stage.
When Obama had finished his speech and the applause had died down I glanced over at an elderly African American woman and caught her eye. She threw me an embarrassed glance and with tears running down her face said, "I am sorry but I honestly never thought my grandchildren would see this day." Two total strangers, we embraced a new beginning for America after the most torturous eight years in America's presidential history.
