Senate Dance Frustrates

So close, and yet so far. The Senate leadership was not able to reach cloture (the 60 votes needed to end any potential filibuster and bring a bill to the floor to allow debate) on several important initiatives. Tax extender legislation, energy policy and relief, Medicare, and several others not only stalled, but came to a complete halt.

Majority leader Reid may seek to introduce separate bills with components of each of those larger pieces of legislation. Many segments of the population clearly need relief, but the parties were unable to reach any compromise or agreement. I'm guessing that negotiations continue behind the scenes, and that while public stances and messages are calculated for campaign spin, serious and honest brokering is taking place privately to bring some of this needed relief.

Even staff knew that the Medicare bill would be close to not moving forward, as Senator Baucus (Finance Committee chair) had only 53 expected yes votes (7 short), and that he needed to leave town last Friday for his son's wedding. Isn't there an unwritten rule that Congressional families aren't allowed to plan any life events while Congress is in session? I thought I even saw that in staff contracts (kidding, but staff is very careful about always being available when the Senate is in session).

Knowing that Congress takes recess in August, there's even an effort to be available on the weekends in July as necessary to be sure that sunset bills and bills needing reauthorization happen before that break period. And with the conventions approaching, the parties will want to have some "wins" to brag about, understandably.

I hope to meet with the Senator tomorrow to update him on projects that I've been working on, and seeing what public health projects he may have a particular interest on. I've reached out to colleagues to see what particular pieces of policy they feel are missing from the federal agenda from their point of view. I have 6 months left to try to make progress, and am seeking particular unmet needs that aren't yet on the Congressional radar. Any suggestions?

Some of the issues are clearly local or state, such as insurance coverage, planning and zoning initiatives, health professional licensure and certification, education. Federally, we cover national defense, interstate commerce (which health care is often considered), and regional issues, such as transportation, energy/environment, and entitlement programs. There is also federal regulation and oversight, and grant funding for research and demonstration programs.

Watching the very small progress made lately in the Senate is very frustrating and disappointing to those of us wanting to do good for the country. Having a presidential race, the entire House and 1/3 of the Senate campaigning, and a very partisan Congress with neither chamber having a veto-proof majority sets a challenging stage for collaboration. I often hear conversations about "waiting to see who takes the White House" and just "waiting until next year."

On the other hand, despite the extreme weather (hot, humid, and hail), I've been enjoying the city. And no, the market hasn't had my favorite cherry chocolate bread for over a month! (I put in a special request for July 6th, the next time I'll be up at the Dupont Circle farmer's market.) The raisin pumpernickel, while delicious, is a sad cousin to the ccb. The strawberries, on the other hand, have been fabulous! And with signs threatening that this week might be the last, I bought 6 quarts for smoothies and freezing (good thing I toted up some plastic leftover containers from Trader Joe's grapes for the big haul). And today at the market I saw cherries still on the branch! I saw that one other time, in Moldova from the orchard behind the house where we were being hosted. Both branches' cherries were delicious.

I found a better bike route to work - along Pennsylvania Ave to Constitution and up the hill (and in the heat, it's really a hill!) to the garage. The ride home is more fun, as I can cut through the mall to the basin and Potomac Park to the bike trail and home again along the water.

Summer festivals are gearing up. I saw a wonderful evening of ballet at the Kennedy Center, capped with 12 songs by Frank Sinatra (beautifully costumed and choreographed - with wit, whimsy, and mastery). Ben Miller and Indigenous performed (free!) outside the Smithsonian Museum of the American Indian (also fabulous), and the National Sculpture Garden has free jazz every Friday evening.

I also enjoyed the amazing artifacts in the Smithsonian Museum of African Art - masks that represented status, rituals, and culture. The National Gallery of Art has a display of recently uncovered Afghanistan artifacts, including the jewelry from five burial tombs. One coin found in one of the females' tombs was thought to have originated in France. Amazing stories about the Silk Road. I confess to eavesdropping in on a "private tour" being given to three distinguished looking guests. (Most of the tourists were blue-jeanned and comfortable; these three were well-suited and silver-haired.) Upon closer notice of the guests, rather that listening to the tour guide, I noticed a body guard, looked a little closer, and realized I was standing next to Donald Rumsfeld. With some of his unpopular decisions, maybe he does need a bodyguard...

Today my spousal unit and I discovered another great bike loop - the Capitol Crescent Trail, which starts right from K St. in Georgetown, along the Canal, and then heads to Bethesda, where it picks up the bike trail in Rock Creek Park. Best of all, Beach Drive is closed to cars on the weekend, so us bikes just cruise downhill on the road - much smoother and less congested than the multi-use ("on your left") trail.

And whoever thought of putting swimming pools on apartment rooftops was a genius. Even though they're not much more than wading pools with five feet of water, coming back from a sweaty bike ride and jumping in a pool is just grand. You can look around and see other rooftop pools, the National Cathedral, the Washington Monument, airplanes coming in for a landing. Not to mention all the 20-year olds eyeing each other. Very entertaining and refreshing.

The Society for Public Health Education, Inc. (SOPHE) programming committee accepted my abstract for the annual meeting, so San Diego, California, here I come. The public health fellow from ASPH (Association of Schools of Public Health), who works with the Senate HELP committee, and I will talk about our experiences working in a Senate committee and personal office at the late October conference. Looking forward to it.

In the meantime, the applications for the 2009 APHA fellows are in and I'll participate in their review and selection later this summer. I'm gratified to see some strong candidates, one of whom will follow in my footsteps. (I'm trying to make those shoes very big!)

So, another chance to suggest public health policy for me to consider working on this session - any thoughts?