Three Northwest writers are on this week's Northwest Bestseller list: Lavinia, by Portland author Ursula K. Le Guin; The Hearts of Horses by Molly Gloss; and The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie. Week ending May 4, 2008.

Senator Maria Cantwell's Weekly Update

FTC Finally Stepping Up to Police Oil and Gas Markets
 
With volatile oil prices exceeding $120 per barrel, and gasoline and diesel pump prices already topping $4 per gallon in some regions, we need to make sure there’s a cop on the beat to ensure Americans aren’t being exploited by bad marketplace actors.  That’s why I welcomed the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) announcement last Thursday that it will move forward in fulfilling its statutory obligation to protect consumers from manipulation in the wholesale oil and gasoline markets.  For weeks, I and other members of Congress have been urging the FTC to use its new regulatory authority to stop oil market manipulation granted them by a Cantwell-authored provision included in the 2007 Energy Bill.  My legislation prohibited the market manipulation in the crude oil, gasoline, or petroleum distillates markets, and authorized the FTC to impose civil penalties of up to $1 million per violation.
 
Oil industry analysts and even oil company executives agree that today’s out of control petroleum markets can’t be explained by normal market fundamentals, and I hope that aggressive action by the FTC may burst the energy price bubble that is dragging down our economy.  This situation is so serious, and Americans' confidence has been so damaged, that I plan to work with my colleagues on the Energy and Natural Resources and Commerce Committees to hold hearings on oil and gas market manipulation and FTC’s rulemaking process. Congress must pursue vigilant oversight over these markets to ensure that Americans aren't the victims of a few rogue traders manipulating markets.
 
BLM Decision to Reject Mining Near Mount St. Helens is the Right Move
 
Last Wednesday, I applauded the Bureau of Land Management (BLM)'s decision to reject an application for hardrock mining on environmentally sensitive land at the edge of Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument.  After carefully weighing all the information, including extensive public comment, the BLM made the right decision. Mount St. Helens, and the lands nearby, are key pieces of Washington's natural heritage and should be preserved and enjoyed for recreation, not for exploitation by a private mining company.  We stood up and demanded that BLM keep inappropriate development out of sensitive lands, and fortunately they listened.
 
I have worked diligently to highlight local opposition to the mine as well as the environmental sensitivity of the proposed mine area.  In April 2007, I sent a letter to BLM's Acting Director Jim Hughes urging the agency to reconsider its plan to approve the mine. Rejection of this application means that scientific research, recreational opportunities, municipal drinking water supplies, and threatened salmon and steelhead runs in the river won't be endangered.  I am also currently working with my colleagues on reforming the Mining Law of 1872, a 136 year old law that governs mining on western public lands to ensure that America's most pristine places are protected from the effects of hardrock mining. Moving forward, we must have meaningful reform of our antiquated mining laws to balance mineral development and the protection of our national treasures and western waters.
 
President’s Tired Energy Proposals Won’t Help Struggling Consumers
 
Following President Bush's speech last week on the economy, I was disappointed that his only suggestion for helping Americans struggling under record high energy prices involved opening up more public lands for oil and gas drilling.  These policies have already been rejected by Congress and the American people many times, and would do nothing to help lower today's out of control gasoline prices.  According to the Department of Energy, drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge would only reduce gasoline prices by a penny per gallon, and only in 20 years, when drilling is at or near peak production.  Meanwhile, oil companies are sitting on 33 million acres of the public outer continental shelf lands leased to them for oil and gas production.  Yet they choose to not produce oil and gas from two thirds of the onshore public lands leased to them, letting more than 31 million areas sit idle.
 
It is time for the President to put political rhetoric aside and work with Congress to increase investment in renewable energy and help end our dependence on fossil fuels.  For seven years, President Bush has ignored every effort to work with Congress to enact comprehensive energy policies, and now American taxpayers are the ones suffering.  When we have oil company executives testifying before Congress that oil should be around $50-60 a barrel, we have to ask tough questions.  Is there a cop on the beat protecting American consumers?  Two weeks ago, I called on President Bush and Attorney General Mukasy to create an Oil and Gas Market Fraud Task Force to examine fraud and manipulation of oil and gas markets.  President Bush is right about one thing, there isn't a magic wand we can wave to bring down gas prices, but we also can't sit on the sidelines and continue to do nothing. 
 
47 Million Americans Living Without Health Care is a Crime
 
Early last week, I urged policymakers to put politics aside and work toward providing health care to the millions of Americans, and the millions of American children, who are living without health insurance.  Last week marked Cover the Uninsured Week, a nonpartisan campaign organized by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) to advocate for health coverage for all Americans.  For years, I have worked to support health insurance coverage for all Americans.  Cover the Uninsured Week gives policymakers, employers, families, and grassroots advocates the opportunity to reflect on the plight of 47 million Americans, including nearly 10 million children, living without health coverage. The system is not working, and members of both parties need to come together and advance solutions that will provide peace of mind to every American family.

From Sen. Patty Murray: 

U.S. Senator Patty Murray and U.S. Representative Adam Smith today introduced legislation to address national Medicare reimbursement disparities that hurt Washington state.  The legislation, which Murray and Smith first introduced in 2002, raises Washington state’s Medicare reimbursement rates to the national average and ensures that all states receive at least the national average of per-patient spending.  The MediFair Act ensures that Washington state’s seniors are on par with seniors around the country and stops punishing the state’s health care system for providing efficient, quality care.

"Washington state seniors have spent their lives working hard, raising their families, and paying into the Medicare system. But when they retire, they find that their access to health care depends upon where they happen to live," Senator Murray said. "The MediFair Act is a starting point for eliminating the regional inequities in Medicare. Our bill ensures that seniors are not penalized when they choose to retire and that doctors aren't forced to choose between staying in business or taking Medicare patients."

“Washington state’s Medicare program is one of the most efficient in the country.  The federal program punishes our lack of waste and low utilization through very low reimbursement rates for our seniors and health care system.  We should reward good government, not punish it, and the MediFair Act is a good step in that direction,” Smith said.

The MediFair Act will ensure Washington’s seniors and health care system get fair treatment from the federal Medicare program and reward efficiency instead of punishing it.   The bill increases reimbursement rates for Washington state to the national average and directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to require other states be more efficient.

The federal Medicare and Medicare Advantage systems cover health care for senior citizens by reimbursing doctors, hospitals, home health care, nursing homes and HMOs.  Washington state worked hard to create an efficient Medicare system.  Instead of rewarding Washington state’s responsible administration of their program, the federal government’s payment formula repays our state with one of the lowest reimbursement rates in the country.  

In 2003, for example, per capita spending under traditional Medicare was $5,661 for beneficiaries in Seattle, $9,752 for those in Los Angeles, and $11,340 for those in Miami. Continuing cuts to the Medicare program hit our state particularly hard and cause Medicare providers and insurance companies to seriously consider not participating in the Washington state Medicare program.  We need to protect choice for our seniors and ensure they can find a Medicare provider when they seek medical care.

Smith and Murray introduced the MediFair Act in their respective chambers of Congress on Thursday.  U.S. Reps. Brian Baird (D-Wash.), Norm Dicks (D-Wash.),  Jay Inslee (D-Wash.), Rick Larsen (D-Wash.) and Jim McDermott (D-Wash.) cosponsored the bill. The House and the Senate must approve their versions of the legislation before the President can sign it into law.  Smith and Murray introduced similar legislation in 2005.

Mr. David Aguilar
Chief, U.S. Border Patrol

Dear Chief Aguilar:

I write to ask further questions about the United States Border Patrol’s checkpoint operations at the Anacortes Ferry Terminal in Washington State.

Since the commencement of your operations, I have heard from many of my constituents: some expressing support, some expressing opposition. Additionally, I have spoken with my local and Washington, D.C.–based staff, talked to local elected officials, received a briefing from your staff in D.C., and had an excellent and informative conversation with Deputy Chief Joe Guiliano, Border Patrol Blaine Sector.

Senator Maria Cantwell's Weekly Update

Fraud in the Oil and Gas Markets

Last week, Congressman Jay Inslee (D-WA-01) and I called for the creation of an Oil and Gas Market Fraud Task Force at the Department of Justice to root out potential fraud and manipulation in these critical markets. We sent a letter to President George W. Bush and Attorney General Michael Mukasey urging the new task force be created immediately. With record gas prices dragging our economy into a recession and $120 per barrel cost of oil that can't be explained by historic market forces, a new Enron-style Task Force should be created to examine abnormalities in the oil and gas markets. The Department of Justice stepped in to help investigate Enron's manipulation of electricity prices, now it needs to step up and investigate potential corruption in oil and gas markets.