[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.

                          ____________________