• Earlier this month, Congressman Henry A. Waxman (D-Los Angeles), chairman of the House of Representatives Energy and Commerce Committee, announced that he had asked Congresswoman Lois Capps (D-Santa Barbara) to again serve as vice chair of the committee’s Health Subcommittee. Capps was also appointed to the position during the 110th Congress. The Health Subcommittee has jurisdiction over health care issues, including Medicaid and Medicare, public health, research, and food and drug policy. As the vice chair, Capps will help shape the agenda of the Subcommittee for the 111th Congress. “I am thrilled to be returning to this leadership role on the Health Subcommittee,” Capps said in a release to the media. “In these difficult economic times, more Americans than ever are struggling to obtain access to quality, affordable healthcare. We have to do more to help provide essential healthcare to all who need it.” Capps is the author of many health-related pieces of legislation, including the HEART for Women Act, the Comprehensive Cancer Care Improvement Act, the Nursing Reinvestment Act, the Direct Support Professionals Fairness and Security Act, and the National Pain Care Policy Act.
• Assemblyman Sam Blakeslee (R-San Luis Obispo) recently introduced a measure to honor California’s servicemen and -women wounded and killed in combat by designating a portion of Highway 101 as part of the United States Purple Heart Trail. The legislation would add the stretch of Highway 101 from San Luis Obispo to San Ardo to the system. Since 1932, 1.7 million veterans have received the honorable Purple Heart Medal. As of today, more than 28,000 Californians have been given the decoration. “Purple Heart recipients deserve this recognition,” Blakeslee said in a press release. “As we go about our daily business on the Central Coast, it is only fitting that we remember those who sacrificed to make our freedom possible.” The Purple Heart Trail was established in 1992 by the Military Order of the Purple Heart. The National Trail starts in Mount Vernon, Virginia, and travels across the United States to California. More than 20 states have implemented the trail, including Hawaii.
This article appears in Feb 19-26, 2009.