The votes today by the Senate Finance Committee to reject a public option as part of health care reform go against public opinion and against the best interests of Americans. 47 million of our fellow citizens go without health insurance and millions more have inadequate coverage. The Baucus proposal under consideration by the Finance Committee does not go far enough to earn the title of “reform.” Senator Ron Wyden is to be congratulated for his committee votes today in favor of the public option but I urge both Senator Wyden and Senator Jeff Merkley, my home state senators, to vote against any proposal on the senate floor that does not include a strong public option. The U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions has already adopted a superior reform bill that includes a public option. Proposals under consideration by the U.S. House also include a public option.

The United Church of Christ, with over 1.1 million Americans across the United States, including Oregon, has called for reform that includes: 

 - Coverage for all people 

 - Access regardless of ability to pay 

 - A full set of comprehensive benefits 

 - A choice of physicians and other providers 

- Elimination of racial and ethnic and other health care disparities 

- Waiver of pre-existing condition exclusions without age limits 

 - A robust public health insurance option

In the Christian tradition, we are called to heal the sick and is with that spirit that I join my voice to the overwhelming chorus of religious voices calling out for reform. America needs universal health care reform with a strong public option to move us closer to being a peaceable community.

The Senate Finance Commitee is set to vote on the public option tomorrow (Tuesday, Sept. 28th).  This will be a critical vote and all the committee members need to be contacted now.  Members include:

MAX BAUCUS, MT 
JOHN D. ROCKEFELLER IV, WV 
KENT CONRAD, ND 
JEFF BINGAMAN, NM 
JOHN F. KERRY, MA 
BLANCHE L. LINCOLN, AR
RON WYDEN, OR 
CHARLES E. SCHUMER, NY 
DEBBIE STABENOW, MI 
MARIA CANTWELL, WA
BILL NELSON, FL
ROBERT MENENDEZ, NJ

THOMAS CARPER, DE

CHUCK GRASSLEY, IA
ORRIN G. HATCH, UT
OLYMPIA J. SNOWE, ME
JON KYL, AZ
JIM BUNNING, KY
MIKE CRAPO, ID 
PAT ROBERTS, KS 
JOHN ENSIGN, NV
MIKE ENZI, WY

JOHN CORNYN, TX  

MoveOn.org sent out this action alert today to Oregon suppoters of the public option:

Tomorrow, Senator Ron Wyden will be voting on the public health insurance option—can you call his office right away?

Here's what's happening:

The Senate Finance Committee, of which Sen. Wyden is a member, is debating an awful health care bill that doesn't include the public option—the key to expanding coverage and bringing down costs.

Progressives have offered amendments that would add the public option to the bill, and the committee will begin voting on them tomorrow. Meanwhile, conservatives are pushing a bogus "trigger" amendment that would kill the public option through indefinite delay.

So we've got to show Sen. Wyden that his constituents are demanding real health care reform with a strong public health insurance option that's available immediately. Tell him to vote "yes" on the public option amendments, and "no" on the trigger.

Here's where to call:

Senator Ron Wyden
Phone: 202-224-5244

I both called Senator Wyden's office and faxed him this letter.

Please call your members of Congress NOW even if you have done it before. 

Time is running short. 

Statement by The Rev. Chuck Currie On Oregon Report Showing 18,000 Homeless Kids In Public Schools

Today the Oregon Department of Education (ODE) announced that “Oregon’s homeless student population for the 2008-09 school year was 18,059, an increase of nearly 14 percent from last school year.” The increase represents a moral failing on the part of our state.  

The increase was termed “predictable” by state officials in light of the nationwide economic crisis but the department also noted that the number of homeless students has increased every year for the last six years (since numbers were first tabulated).

We can be thankful that the Oregon Department of Education and local school districts have worked diligently to provide high quality educational services for homeless children within our public schools. Studies have shown that homeless children in public schools achieve academic success at the same levels as their housed peers.  

“Oregon schools are getting these students into class, despite their dire and often chaotic living situations,” State Schools Superintendent Susan  Castillo said.  “Thanks to the infusion of federal stimulus dollars for the Homeless Student Education program, over half of Oregon school districts will have additional funds to help serve students and families faced with homeless living situations this year.  District staff, public and nonprofit agencies and advocates need to work together cooperatively at this time, since the number of people affected by the economy is far too large for any single public entity to handle alone.”

At the same time, Oregon has no viable plan to fight homelessness or poverty.  Little attention has been paid to this issue and what efforts have come out of the Governor’s office have been little more than band-aid approaches. 

In 2007, religious leaders from across Oregon wrote Governor Kulongoski, Senator Wyden and then-Senator Smith calling the large number of homeless students a “moral scandal.”

Today’s numbers show that Oregon’s political leadership continues to largely ignore the plight of those facing homelessness in our society.  Over 18,000 homeless children in our schools is evidence of that.

-- The Rev. Chuck Currie

# # # 

News Release                         OREGON DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

September 18, 2009 

State Releases Homeless Student Count: Numbers Jump with Recession

SALEM – State Schools Superintendent Susan Castillo announced today that Oregon’s homeless student population for the 2008-09 school year was 18,059, an increase of nearly 14 percent from last school year.

The recent one-year jump, predictable in the wake of the state’s major economic recession, shows a spike in the upward trend that Oregon has experienced since this count began six years ago. Since the first count in the 2003-2004 school year, the number of homeless students in Oregon has risen 122 percent.

Number of Homeless Students in Oregon By School Year

•   8,143 (2003-04)
• 11,294 (2004-05)
• 13,159 (2005-06)
• 15,517 (2006-07)
• 15,859 (2007-08)
• 18,051 (2008-09)

Under the federal McKinney-Vento Act Program for Education of Homeless Students, homeless students are defined as those students who lack fixed, regular and adequate nighttime residence. A homeless family could live in an emergency shelter or share housing with others due to loss of housing or economic hardship, stay at motels, or live in cars, parks, public places, tents, trailers, or other similar settings.

“Oregon schools are getting these students into class, despite their dire and often chaotic living situations,” Castillo said.  “Thanks to the infusion of federal stimulus dollars for the Homeless Student Education program, over half of Oregon school districts will have additional funds to help serve students and families faced with homeless living situations this year.  District staff, public and nonprofit agencies and advocates need to work together cooperatively at this time, since the number of people affected by the economy is far too large for any single public entity to handle alone.”

Additional Findings From the 2008-09 Homeless Student Count

• 18,051 of Oregon’s 564,094 students (3.2 percent) were homeless for some period of time during 2008-09.
• 8,268 homeless students were in elementary schools (enrolled in grades K-5).
• 3,568 homeless students were in middle schools (enrolled in grades 6-8).
• 6,215 homeless students were in high schools (enrolled in grades 9-12).
• Just as in past years, the largest numbers of homeless students (2,134) were in 12^th
 grade.
• 3,041 students within the total count were unaccompanied homeless minors who had been abandoned by parents, or had run away from home or foster care placement.
• 13,312 homeless students shared housing with relatives or friends due to economic hardship, such as foreclosure, homes destroyed by floods or fires, job losses, etc.
• 754 students in Oregon lived in a motel as their primary residence during the 2008-2009 school year.
• 1,712 homeless students lived in a shelter or transitional housing as their primary residence.
• 2,264 students were “unsheltered,” meaning they lived in cars, sheds, tents, on the streets, and/or in structures not meant for human habitation.
• 50 of Oregon’s 197 school districts reported zero homeless students enrolled during 2008-2009. 

“Unfortunately, families living in poverty struggling to get by is not a new concept in Oregon; it’s a reality we’ve been dealing with for years,” said Castillo.   “District staff work diligently to ensure these students can participate in public school along with their peers, and receive the additional help they need to attend school without stigmatization. This year, due to increased foreclosures and high unemployment, we are also faced with a group of students new to poverty that we are helping during this difficult time. As we do so, we are always mindful of the need to avoid labeling the very students we are assisting. ”  

Federal funds for educationally-disadvantaged students are used in most Oregon districts in combination with funds targeted specifically for assisting homeless students.  Oregon also received slightly over $1 million in additional federal McKinney-Vento funding under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

“Oregon leads the nation in combining federal funds to support homeless students,” said Barbara Duffield, Policy Director for the National Association for the Education of Homeless Children and Youth. “By ensuring that federal programs are working in tandem to meet homeless students’ needs, Oregon has developed a model that should be replicated in other states.”

Mary Travers Of Peter, Paul And Mary Dies

 

Toll-free number:  1-888-797-8717

Ecumenical Ministries of Oregon and the Oregon Interfaith Health Justice Campaign are joining with people of faith across the nation by calling our on legislators to support health care reform.  Now is the time to let your members of congress know your belief that health care that covers everyone is a moral imperative.

The time is NOW!
We have never been so close to making health care reform happen in the U.S. But what that reform will look like depends on who has the ear of our elected leaders. If we want a health care system that reflects our faith-inspired values, it will be up to us to communicate those values.

Tips for a successful phone call:
-Dial the toll-free number 1-888-797-8717.
- Once you are connected with the Capitol Switchboard, ask for the offices of your Senators or Representative by name.
-Once you are connected with the office, ask to speak with the health care staffer.
-Tell them your name, what congregation you are from including the city and state.
-Tell them that enacting health reform this year is a moral imperative.
-If you know they are a strong supporter of health care reform thank them for their support.
-Feel free to tell them about why you see health reform as a moral imperative and what you hope to see included in health reform legislation.

This toll-free number was made possible with support from the United Church of Christ Justice and Witness Ministries and the General Board of Church and Society of the United Methodist Church in collaboration with Faithful Reform in Health Care.

[If we are so successful that you get repeated busy signals, don't worry... your dialed attempt will be counted! Just send an email with the same message instead: Senators   Representative]

This evening we took our trusty dog Hazel to our neighborhood park for the Summer's End Dog Fest.

 

Here's the scoop on the event from Film Action Oregon, the primary sponsor:

The goal of the first annual Summer's End Dog Fest is to bring together Portland's dog lovers and the residents of Hollywood, Grant Park, Laurelhurst and Irvington neighborhoods at a special event at Grant Park, famous for its statues of Beverly Cleary's Ramona and her dog, Ribsy. The purpose of this event is to build community, raise funds and awareness for Film Action Oregon / The Hollywood Theatre, and simply to have fun.

We had a good time and the twins, who ran into a couple of their new classmates, enjoyed watching the wiener dog races.

 

 

We'll look forward to attending again next year.

Today was my final Sunday as the interim minister at Parkrose Community United Church of Christ.  Our Scripture reading during worship was Luke 4:16-19.  My sermon, which you can download the podcast of below, dealt with how our denomination might live out the ministry that Jesus calls us to in his first sermon as related by Luke: 

The United Church of Christ: The Next Generation

(click with the RIGHT mouse button on the hyperlink and choose “Save Target As” and save to your desktop or other folder – once downloaded click on the file to listen).

Now On ITunes

You can now subscribe to my podcasts on ITunes by clicking here. 

There was a bit of a "Star Trek" theme going today.  Apparently, I'm thought of as something of a fan.  Several parishioners showed up wearing Spock ears and Star Trek insignia.  A Southern style dinner was held afterwords complete with fried chicken and sweet tea.  It couldn't have been a nicer send off and I'll post some photos once they become available to me.

Here are some photos from the service:

  

Wack job conservatives - led by FOX News' Glenn Beck and a Republican-run PAC - are rallying on the National Mall today to protest, well, everything.  They're armed with Confederate flags and this sign:

 

Via Politico.

Are hate and fear all the Republicans have left to offer America?

Tonight the president made a spirited argument before Congress on the need for health care reform.  Perhaps his best and most important line in the speech came near the middle:

...I will not back down on the basic principle that if Americans can’t find affordable coverage, we will provide you with a choice.

That choice, the president stated, should come in the form of a public option.

...an additional step we can take to keep insurance companies honest is by making a not-for-profit public option available in the insurance exchange.  Let me be clear – it would only be an option for those who don’t have insurance.  No one would be forced to choose it, and it would not impact those of you who already have insurance.  In fact, based on Congressional Budget Office estimates, we believe that less than 5% of Americans would sign up.
 
Despite all this, the insurance companies and their allies don’t like this idea.  They argue that these private companies can’t fairly compete with the government.  And they’d be right if taxpayers were subsidizing this public insurance option.  But they won’t be.  I have insisted that like any private insurance company, the public insurance option would have to be self-sufficient and rely on the premiums it collects.  But by avoiding some of the overhead that gets eaten up at private companies by profits, excessive administrative costs and executive salaries, it could provide a good deal for consumers.  It would also keep pressure on private insurers to keep their policies affordable and treat their customers better, the same way public colleges and universities provide additional choice and competition to students without in any way inhibiting a vibrant system of private colleges and universities.
 
It’s worth noting that a strong majority of Americans still favor a public insurance option of the sort I’ve proposed tonight. 

This was the president's strongest argument yet for health care reform. 

As I have said before, health care reform is a moral issue.  Religious leaders have been saying that for a generation.  To leave tens of millions of Americans without health insurance in the midst of such wealth is, simply put, a sin.  President Obama rightly invoked Senator Kennedy's memory and words tonight to make that moral case.

Only a strong public option, however, will help us reach the goal of universal care.  There may be different ways to shape the public option but I agree with Progressive House democrats who have said they will vote against any bill that does not include a strong public option simply for the reason that without one the insurance companies will never cover all of our people. 

Sadly, most Republicans seem opposed to any kind of meaningful reform.  Perhaps the oddest moment of the speech came when U.S. Rep. Joe Wilson (R-SC) actually heckled the president.  The Republican response offered by Rep. Charles Boustany (R-LA) was filled with, you've just got to say it, lies that would make Sarah Palin proud.

Another strong moment came near the end of the address when the president declared:

I understand how difficult this health care debate has been.  I know that many in this country are deeply skeptical that government is looking out for them.  I understand that the politically safe move would be to kick the can further down the road – to defer reform one more year, or one more election, or one more term. 
 
But that’s not what the moment calls for.  That’s not what we came here to do.  We did not come to fear the future.  We came here to shape it.  I still believe we can act even when it’s hard.  I still believe we can replace acrimony with civility, and gridlock with progress.  I still believe we can do great things, and that here and now we will meet history’s test.

I believe that as well and I hope the president and the Congress can deliver real reform.

Related:  Listen to the audio podcast of my remarks at the early September Health Care rally here in Portland, Oregon:

Download CCPDXHealthCareRally082909

(click with the RIGHT mouse button on the hyperlink and choose “Save Target As” and save to your desktop or other folder – once downloaded click on the file to listen).

Now On ITunes

You can now subscribe to my podcasts on ITunes by clicking here.   

Our family is in Palo Alto this week for the memorial service for Carolyn Smith, Liz's step mother, the twin's grandmother, and my mother-in-law. Carolyn passed away on Saturday morning. Here's the obituary that ran today in The San Francisco Chronicle:

CAROLYN OLEMAN SMITH Carolyn Oleman Smith, musician, attorney, and community volunteer, died peacefully at home on September 5, 2009 of breast cancer. Carolyn was born in Portland, Oregon on May 10, 1930. She spent her childhood in several small rural towns in Oregon, but her parents always drove her to Portland, up to 90 miles each way, for piano lessons. She studied music and piano performance at Redlands University and at the University of Oregon, where she graduated first in her class, before completing graduate study in music at San Francisco State University. After teaching music in the Berkeley and Piedmont public schools, directing choirs, and serving as a piano teacher and highly-regarded accompanist, Carolyn graduated from Hastings Law School and practiced law for several years in San Mateo. In 1978, she moved to Palo Alto, where she devoted herself full-time to music performance, collaborating with many of the finest musicians and ensembles on the Peninsula. In 1990, she joined the Manzanita Piano Quartet, with whom she performed until the year of her death. Her husband Chalmers joined the quartet in 2001 as violist. Carolyn volunteered countless hours with the Stanford Hospital Auxiliary, even throughout her final illness, chairing several committees, mentoring hundreds of junior volunteers and serving as President. She also lent her formidable energy and administrative talents to her Mu Phi Epsilon chapter and the Palo Alto Fortnightly Club. She will be remembered fondly by many young volunteers and musicians. Carolyn belonged to the First Congregational Church of Palo Alto. Carolyn is survived by her husband of 31 years, Chalmers Smith, and by her three children: Alison Trembly and her husband, Ara; Todd Rumph and his wife Ruth Elowitz; and Stephen Rumph, She is also survived by two stepdaughters, Sarah Smith and Elizabeth Smith Currie, together with their husbands Paul Stein and Chuck Currie. Carolyn took special delight in her 6 grandchildren, Natalia Lentini Bost, Susanne Lentini, and Davida Lentini; Naomi and Aaron Rumph; and Nastassja Marti, as well as her 5 step-grandchildren and her great-grandson Avery Bost. Her great heart loved them all. Carolyn enjoyed traveling and attending concerts with her husband. She was happiest, however, when her family would gather in her home to play board games. Her devotion to family life culminated in 2007, when the entire extended family celebrated Carolyn's and Chalmers' thirtieth anniversary at the Sun River resort in Bend, Oregon. A memorial service will be held on Wednesday, September 9 at 10 am at the First Congregational Church of Palo Alto, 1985 Louis Road at Embarcardero Road, Palo Alto. The family invites you to contribute, in lieu of flowers, to a charity of your choice.

The president of the United States of America is going to talk with students this week in a special address. Our nation’s fringe lunatic right-wing is fighting mad and charging the address is part of some massive socialist plot on the part of the White House. They should shut up.

Students ought to be able to hear their president speak without interference of reactionary political activists and right-wing radio talk show hosts who see plots behind every corner. And frankly, whoever the president is – Democrat or Republican – they deserve more respect.

I fought hard to keep George W. Bush out of the White House in 2000 (when Al Gore won the popular vote but lost the Supreme Court decision) and in 2004. I fought even harder against his disastrous policies that have left America weakened economically and more at risk of terrorist attack.

But when President Bush came to Portland in 2002 and spoke at Parkrose High School I was invited to attend by then-U.S. Senator Gordon Smith and I went. When I agreed with what President Bush had to say, I applauded. Our elected officials deserve to be heard.

While vigorous debate – and even protest – are patriotic expressions of democratic values it really should go without saying that there is nothing patriotic about the criticisms from the right about the president’s planned address to students. He’ll tell the kids to work hard and stay in school.

Sadly, many on the right seek to demonize President Obama when his own story of hard work and perseverance could and should serve as an inspiration to public school students everywhere.

On the other hand, Utah’s conservative Republican governor, Gary Herbert, said today:

I think it's great. To hear from the president of the United States is an important thing.

I hope parents will take the opportunity to discuss the issues with their children, hear what the president’s views are and what his vision is for the future of America. If they agree, then explain that. If they disagree, explain to their children why. I see nothing but good coming out of this.

Democracy only works when we are willing to listen.