20/20 Vision Project

April, 2006

More Deficits, More Debt, More Denial
     President Bush's FY07 budget is badly out of sync with common sense and the needs of most Americans. Overall, he wants Congress to authorize $2.77 trillion, with a 7% increase in military
spending, including $10.4 billion for missile defense, $27.7 million for nuclear warhead redesign, and $250 million to reprocess plutonium from nuclear waste.  All this plus $120 billion in "supplementary" funds for the Iraq & Afghanistan wars.
    At the same time, the budget launches an unprecedented assault on domestic programs, ending or significantly reducing 141 programs.  Over five years, it targets Medicaid for $65 billion in cuts, Medicare for $17.2 billion, and veterans' services for $10.1 billion.  In Massachusetts alone, 400,000 seniors would lose Supplemental Food Program benefits, and huge cutbacks would be required in the Women, Infants and Children (WIC) program, Community Develelopment  Block Grants, vocational schools, and Community Oriented Policing.
    On top of this, Bush wants to impose or increase a wide range "user fees," including doubling federal air passenger fees and charging moderate income veterans for a range of medical services.  The budget also assumes $8 billion income over five years from drilling permits in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, which Congress recently rejected. With all this, it still proposes to make permanent the tax cuts for high income citizens conditionally approved in 2001 and 2003, and to continue national deficits at all-time highs.

ACTION: Contact your Representative and ask him to declare publicly, individually and collectively, that the Bush budget request is totally unacceptable. Urge  him to develop Congress' own budget proposal, continuing support for effective domestic programs, and planning for a staged withdrawal from Iraq and Afghanistan, termination of Cold War weapons building; an end to tax giveaways to the wealthy; and honest efforts to reduce the deficit.

March, 2006

India Nuclear Deal Torpedoes NPT
	President Bush has struck a nuclear deal with India which blatantly violates the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty (NPT) and several decades of bipartisan U.S. policy.  Under this agreement, India might increase its production  from about 7 to as many as 50 nuclear weapons per year.
	Until now, the NPT has worked reasonably well. Since 1970, states without nuclear arms have pledged not to pursue them, and in exchange received support for civilian nuclear programs and a commitment by the nuclear powers U.S., Russia, Britain, France, and China to move toward nuclear disarmament.  Only Israel, India, Pakistan, and probably North Korea have acquired them.  Now,  the deal with India effectively rewards a country for refusing to support the NPT, accelerates the nuclear arms race in Asia, and dramatically bolsters North Korean and Iranian drives for their own weapons.
	Congress can stop this nuclear deal by refusing to change the existing non-proliferation laws.  In addition, the 45-nation Nuclear Supplier Group can refuse to change its regulations which prohibit supplying countries who have not signed the NPT.  There are better ways to cement a new relationship between India and the U.S.
	Rep. Markey and Fred Upton (R-MI) have introduced H.Con.Res.318 opposing this deal and stressing the shared interest of India and the U.S. in reducing the dangers posed by nuclear weapons. Rep. Meehan has cosponsored the legislation, but so far Rep. Capuano has not.
	ACTION:  Urge Rep.Capuano to cosponsor H.Con.Res.318 and oppose administration efforts to undermine existing non-proliferation law. Thank Markey and Meehan for their initiative in stopping a dangerous agreement.  If you have time, also ask Kennedy and Kerry to introduce a similar Senate bill to halt this deal and prevent the worldwide spread of nuclear arms.

February, 2006

Verified Voting Now 

Action is needed now to assure that the election of 2006will not suffer the distortions and uncertainties of recent balloting. Electronic voting machines are under scrutiny and none has proven foolproof. A voter verified paper ballot provides the only sure way to confirm that election results are accurate. 

A bill in the House, HR 550, will mandate nationwide verified paper trails in all federal elections beginning with Nov. 2006. It also provides funding for implementation, mandatory random audits of election results, and a prohibition on hidden software, internetconnections or wireless access to voting machines. Strengthening accessibility mandates is included as well.  The bill is now in committee and needs immediate action. Introduced by Rush Holt of NJ, it has garnered bipartisan support from more that one third of house members, including Rep Markey and Meehan, but not Capuano.

In the Senate, SB 330 calls for voter verified paper ballots. Even though it does not include all of HR 550's assurances, it is an important companion to the House bill and needs the support of Senators Kennedy and Kerry, who have not yet endorsed it. 

ACTION: If you are in Capuano's district, write and asking him to cosponsor HR 550. Ask him to let you know his thinking if he is choosing not to endorse it. Those of you in Markey and Meehan's districts can thank them, and write to Senators Kennedy and Kerry to ask them to support SB 330 actively. 27 states have already mandated voter verified paper ballots, but that is not good enough. We need a national mandate to insure the Nov. election for all voters.

January, 2006

ACTION