WHAT HAS JOHN KERRY EVER DONE?

[Tripp]

The next time somebody asks you can either direct them here or print it out or of course you could direct them to his website which is where all this came from.
Someone I work with was standing around asking, so...


WHAT HAS KERRY EVER DONE?

Building a Stronger Economy

Crossed Party Lines to Support a Balanced Budget and Cast the Decisive
Vote to Create 23 Million New Jobs. Shortly after joining the Senate,
John Kerry crossed party lines to bring fiscal discipline back to Washington.

Fought for Gramm-Rudman-Hollings, Deficit Reduction Act, Balanced Budget Act.
John Kerry cosponsored and voted for the landmark Gramm-Rudman-Hollings
balanced budget and deficit reduction bill to end runaway deficits. In 1993,
John Kerry supported the Deficit Reduction Act, which put America back
on track toward a balanced budget and fiscal discipline. John Kerry's vote
reduced the deficit and resulted in the creation of 23 million new jobs.
John Kerry also voted for the historic 1997 Balanced Budget Act, which
dramatically reduced spending and balanced the budget for the first time
in a generation.

Helped Increase the Minimum Wage.
John Kerry was instrumental in passing the most recent increase in
the minimum wage - to $5.15 per hour in 1997.

Fought for the Child Tax Credit.
John Kerry led a successful fight for an amendment he introduced to
make sure that all working families receive a child tax credit.

Stood Up for Small Business.
As chairman of the Senate Small Business Committee,
John Kerry promoted policies to increase access to capital,
open international markets, foster innovative technology companies,
reduce red tape and increase federal contracting opportunities.
He also created and improved the MicroLoan program,
expanded the successful nationwide Women's Business Centers
 (WBC) and loan programs that help the small businesses of
reservists stay afloat while they are on active duty.  

Making America Safer

Fought For 100,000 Additional Cops on the Street.
As a former prosecutor, John Kerry understands the
importance of strong law enforcement. That's why he
led the fight to add police on our streets through his
amendment to the 1993 Crime Control bill. John Kerry's
 amendment provided for $150 million to hire 100,000
new police officers - a measure widely regarded as having
helped to lower the crime rate across the country.

Fought to Modernize and Strengthen America's Military.
John Kerry has supported over $4 trillion in defense funding
and has supported virtually every successful weapons system
in use by today's military. In 2002, John Kerry voted for the
 largest increase in defense spending since the 1980's.
And because John Kerry understands that our national
security begins with the men and women who risk their
lives to protect it, he has supported pay increases,
benefit increases, and quality-of-life improvements for
America's men and women in uniform throughout his career.


Fought Global Terrorism.
John Kerry introduced critical legislation for cracking down
on international laundering of terrorist funds. He was one
of the key architects of anti-money-laundering provisions
in the Patriot Act designed to deny financing for terrorists,
and he has consistently used these provisions to press the
Bush administration to crack down on terrorist financing
activities by Syria and Saudi Arabia. He introduced a bill
to ban arms exports to countries that provide support for
acts of international terrorism, a proposal that was
incorporated into the final 1990 State Department Authorization Bill.

Made the Homeland More Secure.
John Kerry was an original co-sponsor of the Aviation
and Transportation Security Act of 2001, which improved
our nation's airline security after September 11th.
He also helped pass legislation in response to
September 11th that placed armed Coast Guard
personnel on high-risk vehicles such as oil and
gas tankers as they enter port.

Worked to Prevent the Spread of Nuclear, Biological and Chemical Weapons.
John Kerry has made preventing the spread of
nuclear weapons a top priority. He fought for
ratification of the Comprehensive Nuclear
Test Ban Treaty, fought against withdrawal
from the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty, and has
been a strong and persistent advocate of
programs that help secure nuclear, biological
and chemical weapons stockpiles and materials
in the former Soviet Union so they do not fall
into the hands of hostile states or terrorists.  

Expanding and Improving Health Care for All Americans
A Leader in Expanding Access and Lowering the
Cost of Health Care for America's Children.
John Kerry was there at the beginning of the
fight to provide the largest investment in children's
 health care since the creation of Medicaid.

Wrote Pre-Cursor Bill to S-CHIP, Providing Coverage for up to 5 Million Children.
John Kerry's 1996 bill, the Healthy Children,
 Family Assistance Health Insurance Program,
 was the precursor to the successful State Children's
 Health Insurance Program (S-CHIP) that became
law in 1997.
S-CHIP provides funding to cover 5 million children.

Improved Coverage and Care for America's Veterans.
John Kerry has been a tireless champion of mandatory
 funding for veterans' health care. He fought vigorously
 for full funding of Veterans Administration (VA) health
care and opposed the Bush administration's exclusion
of Priority 8 veterans and its elimination of VA outreach
efforts. He sought improved prescription drug benefits
and authored legislation in 2003 to let veterans fill
prescriptions written by non-VA doctors through the
VA pharmacy.

Improved Post-Natal Care.
John Kerry co-sponsored an amendment that
successfully required health care plans to provide
coverage for a minimum hospital stay for a mother
and child following the birth of the child.

Fought HIV/AIDS.
John Kerry was among the earliest supporters of
 the Ryan White Comprehensive AIDS Resources
Emergency (CARE) Act, which today is the largest
discretionary federal investment in treatment and
support services for individuals and families living
with HIV or AIDS. Today, 533,000 Americans with
HIV/AIDS receive better treatment through this program.

Addressed America's Nursing Shortage.
John Kerry wrote the Nurse Reinvestment Act
 to help relieve a nationwide, crisis-level shortage
of registered nurses by encouraging more young
people to choose a career in nursing. Today,
enrollment rates at undergraduate nursing programs are up by 17 percent.  

[Tripp]

Making America More Respected
in the World

Helped Spread Democracy and Human Rights Throughout the World.
John Kerry was a leading advocate for democratic elections in the Philippines,
 serving as an elections monitor as part of a Senate delegation that
 uncovered the fraud that led to the ouster of President Ferdinand Marcos.
 He was a strong proponent of U.S. participation in the NATO
intervention that put an end to the ethnic cleansing in Kosovo.
 He worked with the United Nations and Cambodian government
officials to facilitate the creation of the genocide tribunal in
Cambodia that will prosecute key members of the Khmer Rouge.
He sponsored the Code of Conduct of Arms Transfers Act,
which prohibited U.S. military assistance and arms transfers
to nations that do not adequately protect the human rights of
their citizens. And he co-sponsored bipartisan legislation which
imposed sanctions on Burma's military regime for detaining
Aung San Suu Kyi and repressing her National League for Democracy party.


Fought Global HIV/AIDS.
 John Kerry authored major elements of the Global AIDS
and Tuberculosis Relief Act of 2000, legislation which at
the time provided the most money ever for fighting AIDS,
malaria and tuberculosis around the world. He sponsored
the bipartisan U.S. Leadership Against HIV/AIDS,
Tuberculosis, and Malaria Act of 2002, comprehensive
legislation that was unanimously approved by the Senate
and became the foundation of the global AIDS legislation
that was passed by congress and signed by President Bush.

Fought International Crime, Corruption and Drug Trafficking.
John Kerry chaired the landmark hearings that uncovered the
 Bank of Credit and Commerce International (BCCI) scandal -
the largest banking corruption scandal in modern times.
He led hearings which provided evidence that Haitian
military officials were involved in drug trafficking to the
United States. He also led hearings on corruption and
drug trafficking by Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega,
 and introduced legislation requiring the Reagan
administration to cut off foreign aid to Panama
because of drug-related corruption within its government.

Uncovered Government Corruption.
John Kerry went on a fact-finding mission to Nicaragua
 and presented his findings to the Senate Foreign
Relations Committee. Based in part on John Kerry's
groundbreaking findings, the committee reached a
consensus decision to investigate the Contra guerillas
 and their connection to drug trafficking in the
United States. The resulting investigation
uncovered the Iran-Contra scandal, a scheme that
diverted profits from illegal arms sales to Iran to
support the Contra guerilla fighters in Nicaragua.  

Other Important Accomplishments

Took on the Task of Investigating POW/MIA Issues.
John Kerry and John McCain "doggedly investigated"
 an important and volatile issue which some described
 as an "unglamorous task that nobody else wanted."
Regarding the investigation, John McCain said, "John
Kerry handled the chairmanship of that committee with
tremendous skill." In 1994, John Kerry sponsored an
amendment with McCain that urged the American
government to lift its 25-year trade embargo with
Vietnam. He then worked closely with McCain
and President Clinton to facilitate full normalization
of trade and diplomatic relations with Vietnam.

Fought to Help Victims of Agent Orange.
Beginning more than 15 years ago,
John Kerry introduced legislation to assist
veterans in receiving medical compensation
after being exposed to the toxic chemical Agent Orange.
John Kerry even testified before Congress to force
 the government to care for Vietnam veterans.
John Kerry's bill, the Comprehensive Agent
Orange Scientific Evidence Review Act, sought
to require that the Veterans Administration(VA)
look into the "health effects of exposure" to Agent Orange.
John Kerry also voted to pass the Agent Orange Act of
1991 and the Veterans' Agent Orange Exposure and
Vietnam Service Benefits Act of 1989.

Fought to Protect America's Environment.
John Kerry has been described by the League of
Conservation Voters as an "environmental champion."
He introduced legislation to improve standards for clean air
and establish a fund to finance emissions reductions.
He secured millions of dollars in funding to clean
America's waterways, harbors, and drinking water,
worked to strengthen the Safe Drinking Water Act,
and introduced legislation in 1996 to ensure
 "protection in the quality of our water."
He sponsored legislation that extended
and strengthened laws protecting marine
mammals from commercial fishing.
He helped protect America's National Parks
and National Forests from pollution, excessive
logging, and overdevelopment while ensuring
that endangered species are preserved for all
 Americans to experience. He has opposed
opening the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge
to drilling for over a decade, ensuring that
future generations can experience this
national treasure. He strongly advocated
 for U.S. participation in the Kyoto accords
and other international environmental initiatives,
 and personally participated in many major world
environmental summits, including conferences at
Rio di Janiero, Kyoto and the Hague.

Fought for America's Veterans.
John Kerry has been a tireless champion
of mandatory funding for veterans' health care.
He fought vigorously for full funding of VA health
care and opposed the Bush administration's
exclusion of Priority 8 veterans and its elimination
 of VA outreach efforts. He sought improved
 prescription drug benefits and authored
 legislation in 2003 to let veterans fill
 prescriptions written by non-VA doctors
through the VA pharmacy. As chairman
of the Senate Select Committee on POW/MIA
Affairs, John Kerry investigated the fate
of missing American soldiers in Vietnam
and brought about the resolution of this
difficult issue for their families and for the
governments of both countries. In 1994,
he sponsored an amendment with Senator
McCain that urged the American government
to lift its 25-year trade embargo with Vietnam.
He then worked closely with Senator McCain
and President Clinton to facilitate full normalization
of trade and diplomatic relations with Vietnam.
 
Stood Up for America's Children.
John Kerry wrote the bill that became the foundation
 for the 1997 State Children's Health Insurance Program
 (S-CHIP), which provided states with federal funding to
help extend health insurance coverage to children whose
families do not qualify for Medicaid. He introduced legislation
 to expand state and local early childhood development efforts,
 including education, child care and health care for children
between birth and six years old. At the end of 2000,
 a version of this bipartisan legislation was signed into law.
To address the needs of America's at-risk youth,
John Kerry led the effort to establish the YouthBuild
 program, which provides young people with basic
education toward a diploma and the skills training
they need to get a good-paying job. YouthBuild also
 teaches leadership and civic engagement while
 providing students with adult mentors who help them
overcome personal problems and participate in a
supportive community with positive values.

Fought for Affordable Housing.
As a member of the Senate Housing Subcommittee,
John Kerry has a long record of fighting for affordable
housing. He shaped the first significant rewrite of the
 public housing program in over 20 years and worked
to craft and pass a bill that helped save the government
 billions of dollars in rental assistance payments, preserved
 thousands of affordable rental apartments, and helped
 finance the rehabilitation of those apartments. With
 Senator Jim Jeffords (I-VT), John Kerry sponsored the
Affordable Housing Preservation Act to foster local
partnerships between non-profits, state and local
governments, and private landlords in order to keep
existing housing projects available and affordable for
low-income tenants. He worked to create and implement
the "mark-up to market" program and he co-authored
the Affordable Housing for Seniors and Families Act of 2000.

[regular tom]

don't forget to mention how he killed a bunch of gooks in 'nam!  

[TheSTLKid]

take it to the (not so) young democrats' isle, tripper mcblogkins.