On Tuesday, exactly one year after the eve of Barack Obama’s election, Rock the Vote and Campus Progress hosted a conference call of national youth organizations to rate the progress of the Obama Administration and Congress on key issues that are affecting young constituents.
The conference aimed to examine issues including health care, higher education, veterans’ rights, gay rights, immigration, sustainable energy and the economy.
Conference organizers chose the first Tuesday of the month because in 2008 the day was “etched into minds of Americans,” said Heather Smith, executive director of Rock the Vote.
“The candidates reached out to the youth and they asked us specifically to go to the polls,” she said. “I think that young people will remember, people will ask, ‘where were you on election day?’”
Although Obama is not yet a year into his presidency, the groups hoped to chart the progress made thus far in the eyes of the new president’s young constituents. They plan to host more conferences in the near future.
Ari Matusiak, co-founder of Youth Invincibles and the Y.I. Want Change coalition, discussed the hot topic of health care. He said that, looking back on the last year, the United States still has a ways left to go to achieve its goals in health care reform. He described health care as the “best example of the spirit with which our generation is trying to deliver reform.”
He cited students’ ability to stay on their parents’ health care plan until the age of 26, added to the House of Representatives health care reform bill by Nancy Pelosi, as a
huge accomplishment.
Lindsay McCluskey, vice president of the United States Student Association, gave the Obama administration’s higher education-related efforts an “A”. She noted the passing of the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act in the House as a leap in the right direction.
However, McCluskey said, she would like to see some more progress on the Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors (DREAM) Act. She said that this act shows that “young people care about extending higher education access to immigration students,” she said. She hopes the bill will pass in the coming year.
In terms of sustainability, Jessy Tolkan, executive director of the Energy Action Coalition, called Obama’s and Congress’ progress exemplary. Tolkan was impressed by the steps made within the last year to improve sustainable energy use in the United States, highlighting Obama’s speech at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology on Oct. 23.
“He spoke about leading the world on climate and energy innovation and turning that commitment into a reality,” she said. “It’s now time to show the U.S. isn’t just about talk, it’s ready to lead.”
Ryan McCarrel, president of the University’s chapter of the College Democrats of America, agreed with many of the points made about both issues. However, he highlighted the reputation that health care issues are gaining.
“While the public is being frustrated or bored with health care debate, very real issues have been worked out between the Republicans and the Democrats,” McCarrel said.
“The agreement that insurance companies cannot discriminate on preexisting conditions has shown how these two parties have come together,” he said.
Even though, as McCarrel points out, the issue of insurance cost is something that the two parties has yet to work out, the action is thus far commendable, he said.
“We have not gotten this far, certainly, with any other health care bill since Medicaid and
Medicare in the ’50s,” he said.
“It’s important that health care and education aren’t necessarily separate issues. The better educated you are, the better health care. Better job — better health care,” McCarrel said.
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