[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 122 (Thursday, July 2, 2020)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4214-S4215]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
VERMONT STATE OF THE UNION ESSAY CONTEST FINALISTS
Mr. SANDERS. Mr. President, I ask to have printed in the
Record some of the finalist essays written by Vermont High School
students as part of the 10th annual ``State of the Union'' essay
contest conducted by my office.
The material follows:
Ethan Mello, Woodstock Union High School, Junior
I believe that the most pressing issue facing our country
today is the issue of affordable healthcare. This issue is
unique to the United States among developed nations, but for
years we have refused to take action. Not only could
switching to a universal healthcare system lower costs, but
could also ensure that, like the rest of the countries in the
modernized world, the US insures all of its citizens as a
human right.
A universal healthcare system is a system where all of the
inhabitants of a country are guaranteed healthcare at no
cost. The government pays for all medical bills, and the
system makes sure that even the poor can be helped when they
get sick. Government paying for healthcare means higher
taxes, but no deductible costs. This system is a staple in
most European countries, as well as in Canada. The US is one
of the only major countries to not yet adopt this system. In
fact, out of the 33 developed countries recognized by The
Balance financial website, 32 have universal healthcare. The
UN has accepted universal healthcare as the best choice for
countries, and has a goal of worldwide universal healthcare
coverage by 2030. If the US keeps its current healthcare
system, they are unlikely to meet this goal.
In our country the healthcare system is structured so that
private companies provide insurance. However, his insurance
often doesn't encompass drug prices or certain other costs,
and is not affordable by the poor. The US has a Medicaid
system for some low income citizens, but this program does
not apply to everyone who is unable to consistently pay for
healthcare this has led to over 30 million Americans choosing
not to purchase healthcare, a dangerous choice if they get
sick or need emergency operations. Our system also allows
insurance companies to jack up prices to make profit, and
allows prescription drug companies to charge outrageous
amounts for cheap pills. The US had the highest insurance
costs relative to GDP in the world. This cost has not made
our life expectancy better either, as in that respect we are
still worse off than we should be as the most powerful
country in the world.
Universal healthcare has proven very effective when it has
been used in other countries. Universal healthcare lowers
healthcare costs, and eliminates administrative costs due to
the fact that it is completely run by one entity, the
government. In the United States this lower cost of
healthcare could not only boost the economy, but also allow
for more social mobility for the lower class, and less
earnings for the billionaire drug company executives.
Changing the healthcare system of the United States to
universal healthcare will not be an easy task, but it is one
that is necessary for the good of our country as well as the
people in it. In the next election, we need to ensure we
elect politicians who not only support universal healthcare,
but are willing to fight for it.
Salama Mbilizi, Winooski High School, Senior
``Why should we study for a future that is being taken away
from us? We demand a safe future is that really too much to
ask?'' asks climate activist Greta Thunberg. This young
Swedish environmentalist has gained international attention
for her concerns about climate change.
I am a girl from Africa who came to the U.S. as a refugee
and I don't want to become a ``climate refugee,'' like people
in California who have lost homes due to fire. Climate change
first created droughts in California, which lasted over a
decade according to Climate Central. There is an 80 percent
chance of a multi-decade-long drought by 2100.
Human activities, such as burning fossil fuels, cause
climate change. Exhaust gases from cars, uncontrolled factory
releases, burning of low-quality coal for heating, even
airplanes and ships create air pollution. We should reduce
the use of oil and gas, and use alternative energy sources
such as wind and solar power.
The government should start investing more in public
transportation, which can reduce greenhouse gas emissions
because fewer people will have to drive and we can reduce air
pollution. According to Energy News Network, ``Public transit
produces significantly less air pollution per passenger mile
than a standard car carrying a single driver. Buses emit 20%
less carbon monoxide, 10% as much hydrocarbons, and 75% as
much nitrogen oxides per passenger mile than an automobile
with a single occupant.'' Smarter public transportation will
increase ridership, cut the number of cars on the road,
reduce traffic, and lower greenhouse gas emissions. We could
also recycle more plastics and stop cutting down forests.
Unless we change our behaviors, global warming will continue
and we will continue to experience weather extremes, forest
fires, and massive pollution.
When 195 nations met in 2015, they agreed to reduce
greenhouse gas emissions as part of the landmark Paris
Agreement. The United States later backed out of that
agreement but states and cities are still interested. I call
on Congress to pass and support legislation to help our
environment by honoring the Paris Agreement!
I have a personal interest because climate change affects
my life as well as our planet. If we don't change our
behavior, we will suffer and some of us will die. Already,
animals are going extinct at an alarming rate, reducing the
balance in our world and the quality of our life.
Scientists say that if we don't stop pollution and
greenhouse gases, Earth will be here for only a few hundred
years. But if we can reduce greenhouse gases, Earth can
remain okay for a million more years. Think about what will
happen to us, your children and grandchildren. I want to be
here for as many years as I can, enjoying this world I live
in.
Patrick Meskill, Essex High School, Junior
Vaccines Cause Adults
The law dictates a child as property until the age of 18.
While this is usually for the good of the child, what does it
mean for the fate of children with misinformed parents? Anti-
vax is a deadly philosophy of being against vaccinations, a
philosophy that gets children killed. While yes, children are
protected from abuse and neglect under Child Protective
Services, there is no law to protect them from their own
parent's ideas. Parent's can avoid federally required
vaccines under religious or superstitious reasons in 45 of
the 50 states (NCSL). However, when the safety of the public
is at stake, the anti-vax culture becomes a truly worldwide
epidemic.
The confusion comes from a defrocked former doctor, Andrew
Wakefield, who first proposed the vaccine/autism connection
(Ruth). The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) did an inquiry
in 2001 to address the
[[Page S4215]]
accusations, and found no connection to autism in vaccines.
Another complaint isolated the mercury in vaccines. Vaccines
contain small amounts of mercury to form thimerosal, a
preservative. These small amounts aren't any more than the
amount in 3 ounces of tuna fish. Nonetheless, the FDA
attempted lowering the amount of mercury in vaccines, but
still saw no relief in rising autism numbers. In 2004, 10 out
of the 13 authors on Wakefield's paper retracted their
hypothesis (Mayor). Then in 2010, the medical journal ``The
Lancet'' retracted Wakefield's paper, calling several
elements incorrect. America can now agree vaccines should be
made mandatory (Dyer).
Medical marvels have continued to raise humanity to higher
levels of immunity, causing fatal diseases to go nearly
extinct. These include measles, mumps, rubella, polio,
chickenpox, and smallpox. However, they still remain only
``nearly extinct.'' Modern day preventable diseases have yet
to fade from America due to anti-vax. One study performed in
1982, watched 25 vaccinated and 25 unvaccinated children for
the first 5 years of their lives. The result? One vaccinated
child had mild measles but didn't die, while the unvaccinated
children saw 14 deaths by measles and one of tetanus (Epoke).
The Center for Disease Control and Prevention reports that
2018 has had more measles outbreaks than any year this
decade, and they typically start in unvaccinated groups
(CDC).
Vaccines should be mandatory. Schools have begun to act on
this already by requiring their students to be vaccinated to
attend. In Australia, parents will be charged every 2 weeks
A$28 (roughly 20 USD) for having unvaccinated children, per
child (Pasha-Robinson). These laws are something that should
be present in the United States. The flu shot is already
absolutely free with most health insurances, showing how
recommended it is. This science has been around for a long
time, and only recently, thanks to the internet's easily
accessible misinformation, has it been verbally contested. We
must make vaccines mandatory to protect our country from
preventable diseases. Yours or someone else's life may depend
on it.
____________________