Healthcare reform was the leading topic for questions--not surprisingly, given the venue and the fact that Gillibrand is one of the highest profile officials to endorse a public option. Though it wasn't just the "Kossacks" bringing the subject up; when asked about her most important priority this congressional session, Gillibrand said the following:
One of the most urgent needs we have this year is tackling health care reform. I think it is imperative that we include a not-for-profit public option, or a Medicare for all plan. I think it makes the most sense to allow Americans to buy in to Medicare at something like 5% of their income. In this way, we increase competition with the private providers, plus we begin to focus on preventive care as a nation over emergency room care. Right now, we have over 47M Americans who do not have access to affordable coverage -- allowing people to buy into a public plan creates that shift which will lower costs for everyone.
Also, we must address the unemployment in NY - nationally we are at 8.5%, but in parts of NY we are at 12% and in some communities of color at 15%. Our veterans just back from Iraq and Afghanistan are also facing almost double the unemployment rate of the national average -- we have to create jobs and get our economy working again.
Admittedly I haven't had a lot of time to think about it, but the whole 5% of income thing seems very sound to my mind. Yes, there's ways around it that would need to be dealt with: stuff like direct pay versus investments, stock options, and how to make sure the wealthy pay their share without messing with people's retirement funds. But on the flip side, it scales well to minimize the impact on people making less.
When she was asked explicitly about her efforts on behalf of a "public option:"
I am fighting everyday to make sure we have a public option -- as I said, it is essential to real reform.
In response to followup questions, it was later explained by her netroots outreach guy, Todd Beeton, that she opposes the idea of "trigger" provisions which would kick in a public option 7 years after passage.
The Senator also unequivocally endorsed gay rights, including the elimination of the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy and the "Defense of Marriage Act."
I support marriage equality. It is important that we fight for equal rights, equal justice and civil rights in our communities, and committed gay couples should be able to enjoy all the rights of committed straight couples through gay marriage.
I support repeal of DOMA, DADT, and will fight for marriage equality.
On veterans issues:
Yes. I am working on 2 things right now for our vets. First, I am working on getting businesses info on a 6k tax credit when they hire returning vets from Iraq and Afghanistan. Second, I have a bill to make the VA pro-active, not reactive to streamline receiving information about what benefits they are eligible for and have earned. This will be transformative for our vets because now there are significant backlogs and too much red tape for them to get access to the care they need and deserve.
To be honest, I had no idea that there was such a tax credit.
On gun laws:
Thanks for your question. The biggest problem we have in NY now with gun violence is that 85% of the guns used in crimes come from out of state. And, 90% of those guns are illegal. I have been meeting with moms who have lost children, classmates who have lost friends, Commissioner Kelly, Mayor Bloomberg, NYers against gun violence and Brady Campaign on how to address these grave concerns. I am working on a bill to be the state of the art anti-trafficking bill to give law enforcement the tools the need to crack down on these traffickers and keep guns out of the hands of criminals. I also support the Second Amendment so NYers can still enjoy hunting as part of our heritage and culture.
I was relieved to hear this, since anti-trafficking efforts are an excellent way to avoid harassing legal gun owners while still working to reduce gun violence... and I'll refrain here from doing the song-and-dance number I usually do talking about the inherent link between urban crime and poverty.
TAP's own Robert Harding got a question answered on the subject of what immigration measures the Senator supports:
Robert:
Thanks for your note. I support comprehensive immigration reform with a path to earned citizenship. I know the difficulties so many of our farmers are having. We need to have at least 2 significant changes in our immigration reform -- first, family reunification needs to be addressed in a better way than before -- having an 8 year backlog is unacceptable. Also, we need fix the system so we have the right number of visas that are needed in this country -- "right-sizing" immigration reform.
She also provided her thoughts on Sonia Sotomayor's nomination.
I think that she will be confirmed by a wide margin. Her experience on the bench is greater than any sitting Justice had when they were appointed. She supports the rule of law, and has an excellent record to look to. I will do everything I can to convince my colleagues to support her. She is a fantastic choice by our President.
At the end of the alloted time, the Senator excused herself to go have a meeting and then preside over the Senate, noting that she would be available on CSPAN if anyone wanted to watch. She also inquired about what people thought of politicians using Twitter, which got a generally negative response from the DKos crowd. Personally, I agree with them--the amount of feedback you can provide in 140 letters is inconsequential compared to the possibility for doing what a lot of Twittering politicos seem to have been doing with it, which is showing that you're not paying attention to what's going on around you. Todd Beeton reported back that the Senator enjoyed the exchange, was disappointed she couldn't answer more questions, and looks forward to doing it again.
A highlight of the event, though, was a high-level smackdown of a jaded DKos poster who insisted that the responses were nothing more than a staffer copying pre-prepared text. He was promptly rewarded by a reply from Senator Gillibrand:
Lame [...] I am typing it myself as fast as I can....
Photo courtesy Todd Beeton.
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