Background and History of Political Involvement
Bill Nelson is a member of the Democratic Party and a senior US Senator from Florida. His family comes from Panhandle making him a “true son of Florida” (Biography, 2017, para. 1). He started his public service back in 1972 with electing to the Florida Legislature and represented Orlando and the Space Coast in the US Congress for six terms then. In 1994, Nelson became a State Treasurer, Insurance Commissioner, and Fire Marshal and served six years in the post. Since November of 2000, Nelson has been serving as the US Senator from Florida for three terms (Biography, 2017).
Nelson’s political involvement during his service to the country is very wide. In 1972-1990, Nelson fought for better education, supported the fight against racketeering crimes, passed the “nation’s first law against computer crime” (Career highlights, 2017, para. 4). Moreover, he was a chairman of the Space Subcommittee of the Science, Space, and Technology Committee, and spent six days aboard the Columbia space shuttle in 1986, orbiting the Earth (Biography, 2017).
Being in the post of Florida Treasurer, Insurance Commissioner, and Fire Marshal, Nelson contributed a lot to Florida’s wellbeing. For example, he protected the elder people from the life insurance sales abuses, started a vast investigation of insurers that had been selling “junk burial policies” to the minorities (Career highlights, 2017, para. 2). He also demonstrated his concerns about Florida’s environment by protecting it from offshore drilling and untested fuels usage in Tampa Bay (Career highlights, 2017).
As a Senator, Bill Nelson called for treatment for veterans who have been harmed during chemical and biological weapons testing on US soldiers in the 1960s. He continued his computer-crimes-policy and established penalties for spammers sending e-mails involving “fraud, identity theft, obscenity, child pornography and the sexual exploitation of children” (Career highlights, 2017, para. 2).
Current Political Involvement
In his current third term, Nelson keeps sticking to his major political directions: better education, lower taxes, Medicare, Social Security, and so on. According to the data published by GovTrack (2017), Nelson chooses bills to sponsor mainly in the following areas: Health – 26%, International Affairs – 14%, Armed Forces and National Security – 14%, Science, Technology, Communications – 13%, Taxation – 10%, Crime and Law Enforcement – 10%, Environmental Protection – 8%, and Water Resources Development – 6%. Thus, his judicial interest is demonstrated through some of the latest bills that he sponsored: “S. 1521: Student Loan Relief Act of 2017, S. Res. 190: A resolution honoring the memory of the victims of the terrorist attack on the Pulse Orlando nightclub one year ago, S. 1301: Resident Physician Shortage Reduction Act of 2017, S. 1291: Advancing Medical Resident Training in Community Hospitals Act of 2017,” and so on (GovTrack, 2017, para. 6).
Currently, Sen. Bill Nelson is a member of four committees, which are the Committee on Commerce, Science & Transportation, the Committee on Armed Services, the Committee on Finance, and the Special Committee on Aging. The first one deals with a broad range of issues, for example, science, technology, transportation, consumer affairs, communications, and so on (Jurisdiction, 2017). The second one deals with the US defense, military, and “monitors threats to our national defense through the Emerging Threats and Capabilities subcommittee” (Committees, 2017, para. 2). In the Committee on Finance, Bill Nelson holds a position of a senior member. The major duty of the committee is to oversee the federal tax code. The Special Committee on Aging primarily deals with issues of the elderly: nursing quality, retirement security, and so on (Committees, 2017).
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The Obamacare Repeal Bill Interview Questions
What do you see behind the GOP health care plan?
It seems that this bill is focused on “huge cuts to Medicaid, allows insurance companies to hike rates for older Americans, and takes coverage away from millions of people” (as cited in Leary, 2017a, para.1). Thus, there is, seemingly, nothing positive for the nation behind the bill.
Do you believe that the GOP Obamacare repeal bill will fix the nation’s health care system?
It seems that the health care system is going to be destroyed but not fixed at all. The repeal bill will result in Medicare decimation, and thus people will lose their insurances. The bill will “hurt a lot of Floridians,” which is why it should be opposed (as cited in Leary, 2017a, para. 1).
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What is Floridians’ attitude towards the bill?
People are opposing the bill as well. They is begging not to take away their health care, which has saved many lives (Leary, 2017b). We should fix what we have rather than destroy it.
Do you think the GOP Obamacare repeal bill will be successful?
It is likely to be “dead” since Republicans have already got two voices against it, and “they can’t afford another senator” (as cited in Sexton, 2017, para. 2).
Personal Reflection
Despite the initial opposition of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act back in 2010, it is now agreed by many that there are a lot of positive sides of the Act that will be destroyed if the bill repeal will be successful. Millions of people will be deprived of their right to health insurance. The bill repeal will decimate Medicaid for social groups, which ultimately need it, for example, poor people, children, seniors in nursing homes, children’s programs, and so on. By now, Obamacare is firmly bound with the current health care system. Thus, I believe that repealing this bill looks like rush measures, which spread panic among the nation. We need a thoroughly thought-out health care plan ensuring that millions are not hurt during its implementation.
References
Biography. (2017). Web.
Career highlights. (2017). Web.
Committees. (2017). Web.
GovTrack. (2017). Sen. Bill Nelson. Web.
Jurisdiction. (2017). Web.
Leary, A. (2017a). Bill Nelson: ‘This latest Republican health care bill is just as bad as the previous versions’. Web.
Leary, A. (2017b). Bill Nelson: time to work on bipartisan fixes to Obamacare. Web.
Sexton, C. (2017). Nelson says health care bill is dead. Web.