Rhode Island

Rhode Island Democrats
by Pierre Herve

            The tiny little city-state with a mouthful of an official name, Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, has as turbulent a political history as any state in the Union. In 1787 while the other 12 original states were sending their delegates to the Constitutional Convention, Rhode Island was rebelling against because many leaders felt that it was wrong and refused to pay their share for the Revolutionary War. Instead, Rhode Island delayed joining the Union until it was brought to Georges Washington,s attention, who pressured them to act promptly. In 1790, Rhode Island was finally admitted as a state in the Union and join forces with the others. Rhode Island has for capital city Providence and it is the largest and the most populated city in the area. In 1990 for example, the city of Providence had a population of 161,000 compare to the Rhode Island general population of 1,003,464 during that same year, which decline to 990,225 in 1996.
Rhode Island has an area of 1,545 square miles and divided into two Congressional District. The first Congressional District located in the eastern half of Rhode Island, east of Narragansett Bay, a line that cuts through Providence and then proceeds west and north to the Massachusetts - Connecticut - Rhode Island border. It includes much of Providence including elite College Hill around Brown University. Ethnically, this district is the more French Canadian and less Italian of the two Rhode Island districts; politically, it is strongly Democratic in most elections because since 1930's, thousands of immigrants from French Canada, Ireland and Italy had come to Rhode Island to work in the textile mills. By the early 1900's this colony of dissident Protestants had become the most heavily catholic state in the nation and was shifted in 1928 to the Democratic Party after Al Smith had made several appeals to them for support during his candidacy. Meanwhile, all French Canadians that were newcomers continued to locate in the eastern part of Rhode Island, while the Irish and Italian began to relocate and move further to the west.
            The second Congressional District is the Western half of Rhode Island. While the first includes many mill towns, the second has most of its population in working and middle class towns like Granston and Warwick, which despite their Anglo Saxon names, are inhabited mostly by people with Irish, Italian, French and Portuguese surnames. The second district also has the affluent suburbs to the South along Narragansett Bay and the area around Westerly, where many residents work at the Electric Boat Shipyards in Groton Connecticut.
            Rhode Island Democratic Party has been fighting for long to set standards for every resident in Rhode Island to benefit from. Rhode Island Democrats successfully authored and sponsored legislation on education, health care, pension reform, and environmental issues include legislation requiring life time supervision for child molesters; graduated licenses for teenage drivers; the Home Care Client Bill of Rights; and the law that gives tax breaks to company that suffer disasters. The two major issues that Rhode Island Democratic party focuses the most are education and health care. The main reason is that in Rhode Island for example, the number of children between 5 and 17 years of age continue to increase dramatically, and the number of elderly from 65 and older also continue to increase, while the number of children under 5 years old stay steady and hasn't change much.
            Rhode Island is one of top per-capita spenders on education but ranks 45 in SAT scores according to Cohen (author of Almanacs of American Politics.) Meanwhile, Rhode Island Democrats feel Threatened by their old promise and decided to add, additional funds for education because they believe that education must become the number one priority. In July of this year, Rhode island Democrats established three important programs including a pilot program entitled Drop Everything And Read (DEAR) running until August 9 at the East Providence recreation sites. Second, volunteers need to assist East Providence school teachers during summer school and read with children for grades 1 to 3. Third, and Reach Out and read a pediatric intervention for children and parents especially children who speak other languages beside English. Fourth, Provide free transportation for those who decided to participate. The Drop Everything and Read (DEAR) program forces members of the community including students in junior high school and college to volunteer in this literacy enrichment program, which designed to boost up children reading skills.
            The second approach towards educations was on the computer accessibility. Rhode Island Democrats believe that every child should have access to computer as well as the Internet before they go to high school. Just last year, Rhode Island Democrats introduced a legislation that new school buildings would be wired for computer network services. Meanwhile, in Town Providence, YMCA a technology center, which affiliates to Democratic party and funded by GTECH, step forward, and offered its assistance to children to low-income families from Kindergarten through eight grades with basic computer and Internet skills. Now, this program has been expanded to adults as well.
            Rhode Island Democrats believe that parents should have a say in their children education. In 1997, they helped pass a bill that they themselves introduced that guarantee tax credits for parents who want to invest on their children education. Under this pre-paid tuition program, an individual would invest a specific amount of money with the State Investment Commission, and be guaranteed that a year=s tuition cost would be covered at the college or university when the child is ready to attend.
            Rhode Island Democrats believe that everyone should have access to health care. In march of this year, they created the A21st Century Health Care Fund=s Legislation to provide treatment for thousands of Rhode Island residents who are extremely ill. Under this legislation, some of the money from the settlement with the tobacco companies would be restricted to health care needs, while a portion would be set aside for advertising especially to curb tobacco use among children as well as adults, and another portion would be set aside for future use. The second approach that Rhode Island Democrats take towards health care is that many elderly as well as people with disabilities were receive very little treatment. And in many instances, patient were forced to make the decision to go into a nursing home when other options would be more preferable to them and far less costly to tax payers. So Rhode Island Democrats took $14 million from the FY 2000 budget and paid for a plan that would establish a long term care system where the level of care fits the level of needs and Rhode islanders of all income would automatically have access to quality care through this Long Term Care Improvement plan. For example, to be eligible for Medical Assistance before this plan was put in place, seniors and disabled cannot have more than $555.333 a month less than $ 6,700 a year in assets. But Rhode island Democrats try to change that. This year alone, they passed another bill that raise the seniors income as well as the disabled to $804.00 a month instead of $555.333 that they were able to have. Under the Long Term Care Improvement plan, Health officials would provide 170 to 200 more residential care and assisted living medicaid waiver slots. Addressing the unmet mental health needs of older adults living in the community. Expanding the network of long term care information and case management. Providing resources to allow the Department of Health and the state Long Term Care program to fully meet their responsibilities. Reducing waiting times for seniors, using the state paratransit program for medical trips to an average of two weeks and to address other critical paratransit needs. Providing a long overdue increase in the personal needs allowance for nursing home residents. Reducing the waiting list for meals on wheels. Expanding Respite services. And providing funds for needed home modifications for persons with disabilities.
            Rhode Island democrats could not do more. Not too long ago, Rhode Island Democrats fought very hard to provide pharmaceutical assistance to the elderly. Finally they successfully pass a bill that can do exactly what they were hoping for. Prior to the new law, seniors could not participate in RIPAC if they had drug coverage through a medicare supplemental or managed health care plan. After this new bill was pass, seniors have more freedom to do as they wish. Under this plan, depression drugs and medications approved for the treatment of Alzheimer=s disease would be covered automatically
            Perhaps the single most important environmental action taken by Rhode Island Democrats was due in response to the state's largest oil spill in 1996 involving the tug Scandia and the barge North Cape. The senate convened a special commission to investigate the causes of the spill and appropriate measures that the state could take to better safe guard its natural resources and coastline. The special commission concluded that the existing laws were inadequate. Meanwhile, Rhode Island Democrats quickly introduced a piece of legislation that established the Oil Spill Prevention And Response (OSPAR) to strengthen Rhode Island=s oils spill and pollution prevention laws. While this bill was created, Rhode Island Democrats were quicked to establish a Restoration Program and Trust Fund under this legislation so that 25% of all fees collected and all criminal and civil penalties would be allocated specifically to that trust fund restricted solely to fund habitat restoration.
            Another issue that Rhode Island Democrats started to challenge since last year was the Emissions for the Motor Vehicle Inspection program in their area because many of them believe that heavy smoke and fumes that come out of tailpipe are one of the greatest threats to their environment. So with the pressure of some environmentalist group, Rhode Island Democrats quickly introduced a bill that takes effect in June this year that every driver has to make sure that their tailpipe been tested and pass the test inspection before any car can get its inspection sticker.
            Rhode Island Democrats took a strong approach towards welfare. They create a plan that would change the public assistance program to a program that provides temporary financial assistance to eligible families with children while facilitating the entry or re-entry of the adult family members into the work force with the necessary supports. So in 1996 they enacted the Family Independence Act., Which first requires healthy able adult recipients to find work and includes a reduction in benefits to families who do not comply with the work requirements. Second, a reduction in benefits for people who move into the state and seek assistance. Third, a lifetime time limit for adults in receiving AFDÇ benefits of 5 years. Fourth, Job training and education as a first requirement. Fifth, teens residency requirement, which requires minor parents to remain within the home of a parent or in a supervised setting in order to receive that benefits.
            Members of Rhode Island Democratic Party have strive very hard to make life less painful for everyone because many of them believe that everyone should have equal rights and opportunity. Not too long ago, Rhode Island Democrats established a legislation that prohibit discrimination in credit, housing, employment and public accommodations towards women, blacks, gays including people from different ethnic background.
            This year, the state budget has raised many issues about what should be done about the surplus and where the money should be spent on because after the republican governor proposes his budget for the fiscal year, many democrats were furious and override the governor's veto. One of the reason was that in four different proposals, the governor failed to realize how much that his budget was going to affect the lives of many Rhode Island residents. For example, the governor=s budget includes of maintain the hospital tax at 4.4 percent, which the democrats argue that would have a massive negative impact on Rhode Island's Health Care Industry. Second, the republican governor proposed an early retirement plan, which the democrats argue that would have added 1/4 of a billion dollars in liability to the pension fund. So Rhode Island Democrats asked the governor to reconsider his proposal.
            Many Rhode Island residents including members of the Rhode Island Republican Party believe that Rhode Island businessmen should not get special tax cut from the state because many of them believe that giving out tax breaks and subsidies in order to lure a business or to keep businesses from going elsewhere means less money would go to education and infrastructure. However, Rhode Island Democrats saw the opposite. Just last year, Rhode Island Democrats introduced two legislation that would provide tax credits for one and tax reduction for the other. The first bill that was enacted was the business tax credits, which takes effect this year. Under this bill, qualified businesses located in an enterprise zone would automatically get a tax credit if they employ persons that live in the surrounding area. The second bill was the Job Development Act., which takes effect since 1997 that any company that open their doors and create jobs for Rhode Island residents between July 1,1997 and July 1, 1998 would automatically qualify for reduction on the corporate tax rates.