Press Releases
Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur released the following statement to mark the 46th anniversary of Medicare being signed into law:
"Before Medicare was enacted 46 years ago when President Lyndon Johnson championed its passage, barely half of all American seniors had health care coverage. Today our nation has achieved health insurance coverage or all seniors, or "universal" coverage.
Americans pay into Medicare their entire working lives for the ability to benefit from comprehensive health care coverage in their retirements. We must continue to protect this promise to the American people.
It's time for everybody to quit playing politics and put our country first. This debate over the debt ceiling is a disservice to the American people. No one is winning this Beltway debate, and the nation stands to lose.
Putting our nation's credit rating at stake is dangerous and irresponsible. To allow America to default for the first time in its history would cause harm to every working family. Default would mean higher interest rates on cars, houses and student loans. It would mean fewer jobs and less growth.
What's more, this debate is keeping us from dealing with the important issues: economic growth and job creation.
Congresswoman Kaptur spoke in favor of solar energy as she sought to amend legislation that provides funds for the U.S. Department of Energy.
Following on the heels of last week's federal award for new vehicles for TARTA, Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur today announced $1 million in federal funds for solar panels and solar equipment at the transit authority's main offices on Central Avenue.
Kaptur said the $1 million was awarded by the Federal Transit Administration (FTA), whose administrator, Peter M. Rogoff, visited Toledo last week to announce $3.49 million in new vehicles for TARTA's paratransit fleet.
The interest rate on subsidized student loans has been cut in half over the past four years, saving students and families thousands of dollars.
Legislation that was passed by a Democratic-led Congress in 2007 resulted in four annual interest rate cuts, starting in July 2008 when the rate on subsidized student loans stood at 6.8 percent.
The last of the four rate reductions took effect on July 1 and brought the interest rate down to 3.4 percent.
"Making higher education more affordable must be a top priority for getting our economy back on track," said Congresswoman Kaptur, a member of the House Appropriations Committee who voted in favor the College Cost Reduction and Access Act.
Congresswoman Kaptur helped kick off a capital campaign for the next phase of the successful Oneida Street greenhouse project.
The campaign goal is to raise $271,000 to build a farm training center at the site. Young people from the community will themselves build the center, where they will then learn urban agriculture techniques, aquaculture, apiary science, gardening, and life skills.
On June 27, Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur and other regional & local leaders welcomed Mr. Luc Peeters, Manager of Sustainability & External Relations at Mechelen Auctions of Belgium. During the day, they met to discuss ways local growers could maximize production and partner with local retailers. With concerns about food quality and increasing costs, many Americans are looking to buy locally grown produce; an opportunity where our local greenhouse industry hopes to increase their market share.
Congresswoman Kaptur held a telephone town hall meeting with constituents to discuss Social Security and Medicare.
Click here to listen to the recording. (This recording may take a few minutes to download)
Ms. Bowersox, the 2010 runnerup on American Idol, and Mr. Beebe, an entering freshman at St. John's Jesuit High School, lobbied Congresswoman Kaptur to support federal research into better treatments and a cure for type 1 diabetes.
"Everyone knows someone with diabetes—a relative, a neighbor or a co-worker. We cannot rest until we find a solution to improve the quality of life for millions of people," said Kaptur. "It's not only the right thing to do—it will also save billions of dollars in medical care. I commend William and Crystal for carrying the cause of diabetes research to the highest levels."
Congresswoman Kaptur reminded area farmers they have until July 1 to apply for funding to a new water quality program under the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI).
Eligible farmers can receive technical and financial assistance to implement conservation practices on their properties to help protect water quality in the Western Basin of Lake Erie.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture will pay a portion of the costs of keeping sediment and nutrients out of the lake. "Millions of Ohioans depend on Lake Erie for drinking water and recreation," said Congresswoman Kaptur. "Phosphate pollution and excessive sedimentation are issues that need to be addressed."