Max Baucus wants to make certain that our troops returning home from abroad aren't left out in the cold without sufficient medical treatment. He was "outraged" by the mistreatment of our soldiers at the Walter Reed Hospital and vows to make some serious changes to help the military and fix the current administration's code of ethics.

"...I co-sponsored the Dignity for Wounded Warriors Act of 2007, which requires that recovering service members be quartered in facilities of the highest service standard and provides for semiannual inspections. The bill also increases training and support services for veterans care workers. "

-Baucus.senate.gov

Baucus also believes that the government needs to take sufficiently larger steps to make absolutely sure returning heroes get the best medical attention and the care that they require.

Democratic Senator Max Baucus has served and represented the people of the state of Montana on the Senate floor for the past 30 years. He has been active as a politician for Montana since 1973 as a member of the state legislature and as a Representative in the House.

Senator Max Baucus and Kent Conrad recently introduced legislation aiming for the development of a new Health Care Comparative Effectiveness Research Institute. The Institute would be a privately owned, non-profit organization that collected and reviewed health care data from across the nation and provided comparative analyses with the goal of increasing the efficiency of our health care system.

The objective of the Institute would be to provide fair, relevant, and accurate information on medical services, budgets, and practices to both physicians and patients alike. The legislation is apart of Baucus' push for more transparency, honesty, and integrity in our medical system at both the state and national levels.

A primary necessity for all Montanans, says Baucus is access to affordable health care and good coverage. As a representative for a state that is home to seven federally recognized tribes, Baucus knows that making certain all of the tribes have access to health care is a top priority.

Baucus wrote a letter of concern regarding medical coverage for Native Americans to Inspector General David Levinson of Health and Human Services last month requesting his assistance in making certain the tribes get what they need.

From Baucus's letter: “As a Montanan, I understand the situation in Indian Country. I know that access to health care is not what it should be. As Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, I have fought to make things better. I have pushed for increased funding for IHS. I’m committed to doing all I can to make sure we fulfill our promise to folks in Indian Country.”

His efforts were applauded by Jon Tester of the Senate Indian Affairs Committee who was instructed to look into Native American health care on the frontier. Tester gave a statement saying: “Improving the quality of health care in Indian Country requires all hands on deck. Many tribes face health care crises, which is why Max and I work so hard to make sure agencies like the Indian Health Service get the job done.”

The concern for specific federally funded necessities for veterans and Native American tribes in Montana has often been addressed, but most efforts have come up short. Will Baucus be able to make a significant change and open the negligent eyes of congress, or will other pet projects of his such as funding for gun manufacturers and winning the trust of the Montanan majority slow his progress?

"It's unconscionable that CMS has let the insurance industry's materials including essential items like pharmacy directories and summaries of benefits fail to properly inform seniors 85 percent of the time."

Senator Max Baucus (D), chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, and fighting for reelection against Bob Kelleher (R), spoke out against a recent report by federal auditors claiming that up to 85% of the marketing and advertising materials used by private insurers for their prescriptive drug plans have failed to meet the requirements set by Medicare guidelines.

The requirements were intended to increase affordability and accessibility of prescription drugs to elderly citizens and the issue itself points to a much larger problem within the relationship of private enterprise to our current health care system.

Baucus' expressed outrage at the report reflects a deep commitment to the care of the elderly and the accessibility, efficiency, and affordability of medical services in our country.

The House of Representatives may be scheduled to vote on the bipartisan energy bill that would potentially lift the ban on offshore drilling on America's coastline and end some of the tax breaks that the oil industry has enjoyed under the Bush Administration as soon as next week.

At the same time, the tandem duo of Sen. Max Baucus and Chuck Grassley (see above post) revealed yesterday (Thursday) their plan to extend tax credits to solar and wind energy initiatives and provide up to $2.5 billion to clean oil facilities. Yet, even more, the bill will potentially provide $7,500 in tax credits to buyers of plug-in electric vehicles. The funding for the plan will be provided by the tax break reduction of the oil companies.

This bill, Baucus says, "has the right tax policy to create thousands of jobs, jump-start alternative energy solutions and finally move America away from our dependence on foreign oil."

“I don’t know how it happened,” Mr. Kelleher, 85, said of finishing ahead of five challengers in the Republican primary in June. “I guess they finally said, ‘That old bastard’s right.’ ”

The state Republican Party chairman, Erik Iverson, is less charitable. He even refused to allow Mr. Kelleher to speak at the party’s convention in June. Mr. Iverson suggested that primary voters were confused in selecting Mr. Kelleher, though he granted that Mr. Kelleher’s name was probably the most widely known because of his 15 or so other bids for various offices over the last half century as a Republican, a Democrat and a Green.

“Bob’s ideology, with the exception that he’s pro-life, doesn’t even remotely resemble the platform of the Montana Republican Party,” Mr. Iverson said.

Clearly, the Republicans aren't going to vote for Kelleher. Baucus has 67% of the votes, so it's kind of a done deal.

What I don't see discussed elsewhere, although there isn't a whole lot of press on this race, is the fact that Kelleher is 85 YEARS OLD. Given the flack McCain takes for his age (read: ancient!), it's odd that he got the nomination based on that negative criteria alone. Kelleher may truly be a maverick, but, heaven forbid, he might not even live until January.

Baucus is a popular incumbent. The "confusion" of primary voters on the Republican ticket, and the shoe-in status of this and other Democratic candidates for the senate i.e, Warner in Virginia, reflects the paucity of electable Republican candidates, in my opinion, due to the Bush drag on their coattails.

Also, Kelleher and Republican confusion aside, another plus sign in Baucus's favor is his area of expertise. At DSCC.org (Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee),

"For 28 years, Senator Baucus has served on the powerful Senate Finance Committee. Currently Max is Chairman of the Committee. This position is important to his home state of Montana, and America because the committee has jurisdiction over taxes, Social Security, Medicare, health care programs, and international trade. The Finance Committee is also responsible for examining all budget and tax plans that come before Congress."

All the pertinent money issues are in there. It the right type of experience at the right time.

Baucus Votes for Bailout

Baucus explained on the Senate floor that the current bill would limit executive compensation and protect taxpayers' dollars. However, Baucus also wrote a provision in the bill that would require an independent Inspector General to oversee how tax dollars are spent. At the vote he stated,

"This bill includes my proposal to create an independent Inspector General to oversee this effort — this effort and nothing else. I designed the office of this Inspector General to be truly independent — with the necessary resources to fight for every taxpayer dollar."

"I designed this Inspector General to be accountable only to Congress and the American taxpayer. It will be my personal mission to make sure that this watchdog does his or her job."

Baucus also supported parts of the bill that critics argue are nongermane to the bailout: tax credits for renewable energy, limiting the alternative minimum tax, and extend other tax cuts.

Max Baucus (D) and Chuck Grassley (R), both members of the Senate Finance Committee, have issued a statement declaring that the next congressional session will deal directly the practice of income-shifting and companies moving jobs overseas to dodge taxes.

"I do not intend to allow U.S. multinationals to sidestep their fair share of taxes by moving income offshore. This GZO report will help the Finance Committee develop a better understanding of how the tax code works today for U.S. multinational business as we determine how changes could affect our country's global competitiveness and economic security."

Baucus and Grassley are responding to the recent General Accounting Office report that showed a dramatic increase of income being reported in foreign jurisdictions with lower tax rates.

A move like this by the Montana Senator (if successful) will look good to both independent, Democratic, and even fiscally conservative Republicans who vote in favor of any legislation that openly endorses domestic markets and may have potential to preserve his seat in November.