Jerry McNerney's website

McNerney to host economic summit in Stockton on "Innovation, Entrepreneurship and Renewable Energy"

Congressman Jerry McNerney is moving forward on his commitment to revitalize the economy in the San Joaquin Valley by exploring and leveraging new opportunities for growth and job creation. As the Oakland Tribune's Josh Richman reported recently:

Rep. Jerry McNerney, D-Pleasanton, today announced he’ll be the honorary chairman of an economic summit Aug. 22 at the University of the Pacific in Stockton at which business, education, transportation, and economic development experts from across the Central Valley and the Bay Area will discuss how to spur San Joaquin County’s economic growth.

“I am committed to helping create jobs in San Joaquin, particularly in the area of new energy technology,” McNerney said in a news release. “I spent my career before arriving in Congress working with wind energy and other forms of clean energy technology. I know that San Joaquin — with both man-made and natural attributes — is well-positioned to benefit from the expanding use, investment in, and development of these energy sources.”

The “2007 Economic Summit: Innovation, Entrepreneurship and Renewable Energy” summit is being organized by the Public Forum Institute. It aims to explore ideas — including tax incentives and reduced regulatory burdens — for empowering entrepreneurs and small businesses to locate or expand business in San Joaquin; identify promising opportunities for further development of renewable energy businesses; discuss creating “smart growth” guidelines for urban planning and affordable housing; and examine what’s needed to provide sufficient job training to local residents while investing more in science, mat, engineering and technology education to create a pipeline for high-tech and entrepreneurial jobs. McNerney will kick it off with an opening address before panel discussions get underway.

Stay tuned for more news on this special event as it develops...

Tracy Press agrees with McNerney: "Forget politics; vets deserve retreat clinic"

Despite long odds, Congressman Jerry McNerney is committed to doing everything he can to save the Livermore VA hospital from closure: 

Livermore’s 115-acre VA Medical Center, with its hospital and nursing home, is almost certain to close because of the federal VA department’s budgeting problems. But McNerney is pushing to keep the center open to treat post-traumatic stress disorder and other psychiatric illnesses faced by veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan.

"We hope to use it as a residence for veterans that might need some time to adjust to PTSD," McNerney said in a telephone interview Monday.

But Nicholson, who is the subject of a lawsuit brought by disabled veterans and who has submitted his resignation and will leave his post Oct. 1, is not committing himself to the idea.

"We did go meet with Secretary Nicholson, and he seemed interested in our ideas and suggestions, but he didn’t commit to anything," McNerney said. "He seemed genuinely concerned."

Meanwhile, in an editorial, the Tracy Press recognizes that politics might play a role in whether or not the Livermore facility stays open:

If it hasn’t already, Karl Rove-style White House politics is about to bite Rep. Jerry McNerney, D-Pleasanton. The victim might be the Livermore Veterans Affairs Medical Center, which the Pleasanton Democrat has campaigned hard to keep open, even if with a different mission.

In an attempt to win back the House for the Republicans in 2008, Rove, the senior adviser to President Bush, has been charting the vulnerabilities of House Democrats. McNerney, a freshman representative who upset seven-term Rep. Richard Pombo, R-Tracy, last fall, is No. 2 on the hit list of 36.

Opinion leaders across the political spectrum recognize that the Livermore facility is the perfect location to treat veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injury. The Press argues that no matter what side of the political aisle you stand on, devoting the VA to this unique mission is the right thing to do:

Politics should be removed from the decision of Veterans Affairs Secretary Jim Nicholson or his successor. There are an estimated 320,000 to 800,000 veterans returning from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan who might seek treatment for combat disabilities, about one-third of them with psychological symptoms. For example, of the 229,015 veterans who sought VA care from 2002 through 2006, 83,889 were diagnosed with a mental disorder, including PSTD, drug abuse or depression.

Based on these statistics, Nicholson announced last week that more psychologists and social workers would be added and the number of drop-in treatments clinics expanded from 209 to 232. The Livermore VA facility should be such a drop-in clinic as well as an extended care center for the more severe patients who have served our nation with valor.

To remove partisan politics from this critical veterans issue, we encourage any and all Republican candidates in the 2008 11th House District race to support this new mission for the Livermore VA Medical Center.

To read more complete coverage of Congressman McNerney's months-long effort to save the Livermore VA from closure, please click here.

NBC11: McNerney fights to save Livermore VA

NOTE: James Nicholson, Secretary of Veterans Affairs, resigned today.

From NBC11:

Congressman Jerry McNerney, D-Pleasanton, met with U.S. Secretary of Veterans Affairs James Nicholson last week to discuss the possibility of opening an inpatient psychiatric facility at the Livermore Veteran's Affairs Medical Center.

Andy Stone, communications director for McNerney's office, said Tuesday that Nicholson has expressed interest in the idea and would likely make a decision on the proposal soon.

McNerney envisions a facility that would provide patients with a peaceful refuge in which to receive treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injury, according to a letter he sent to Nicholson.

According to a the U.S. Department of Defense's Task Force on Mental Health, the two illnesses are the "signature injuries" of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The task force reported that more recent data indicated that 38 percent of U.S. Army soldiers, 31 percent of U.S. Marines and 49 percent of members of the U.S. National Guard reported experiencing psychological symptoms after combat deployment. Psychological concerns are also significantly higher among service members who are repeatedly deployed, a rapidly growing number of military personnel, according to the report.

Meanwhile, the Livermore hospital, which "sits on a peaceful, serene hillside nestled in the foothills to the south of Livermore," according to McNerney, has been slated for closure.

The Capital Asset Realignment for Enhanced Services commission recommended in 2004 that the 30-bed facility be moved to Palo Alto.

The commission, which was working under former Secretary of Veterans Affairs Anthony Principi, recommended that the 150-bed nursing home facility, however, remain open.

For background on Congressman McNerney's efforts to keep the Livermore facility open (as well as other blog posts related to Veterans Affairs), click here.

McNerney votes for Responsible Redeployment from Iraq Act

On Thursday, Congressman Jerry McNerney voted for the Responsible Redeployment from Iraq Act, helping House Democrats pass the bill by a 223-201 margin. This margin marks the largest vote in favor of redeployment to date.

The Act requires the U.S. to begin redeploying troops from Iraq within 120 days and to complete the redeployment  by April 1, 2008.

Congressman McNerney released the following statement upon passage of the bill:

"Today, in a White House report on Iraq , we learned that the Iraqi government has failed to meet certain benchmarks for success.  Yet still the President has asked that we be patient as he pursues his plan for more troops, more time and more of the same in Iraq.

"After more than four years of engagement in Iraq, it is far past time to recognize certain truths:

* The President's stay-the-course strategy is failing;
* The Iraqis must take responsibility for their own country;
* This war has severely diminished our military readiness and diverted our attention in the war on terror; and
* We must change course.

"That is why I wholeheartedly support the Responsible Redeployment from Iraq Act.  This bill represents a comprehensive strategy to move in a new direction by responsibly redeploying our troops, demanding the Iraqis stand up and take responsibility for their country, and refocusing our efforts on disrupting and destroying the terrorist networks that threaten our national security."

Click here to read more about Jerry's support for a new direction in Iraq, including past votes.

McNerney helps prevent cuts to lab worker retirement benefits

Responding to a blizzard of impassioned calls and emails from employees at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Congressman Jerry McNerney has helped prevent an estimated 20% cut in lab workers' retirement benefits.

Under the new plan, when the new manager takes over Oct. 1, Livermore workers will be given the same benefits as Los Alamos workers currently have under their new corporate manager, rather than lesser packages as was planned.

One month ago, lab workers deeply concerned about the impending cuts asked Congressman McNerney and other members for assistance. Congressman McNerney responded by signing a letter to Secretary of Energy Samuel Bodman and hosting a special town hall with lab workers and their families:

In June, Rep. Jerry McNerney, D-Pleasanton, co-signed a letter with Tauscher and others to Secretary of Energy Samuel Bodman expressing concerns about planned benefits.

McNerney said his office was receiving more than 10 calls and e-mails an hour on this issue, and several hundred people showed up at a meeting he held July 2 to hear employee concerns about their benefits. He said younger employees gave him the impression that they were ready to leave the lab over the issue.

"The real concern is that if they don't offer attractive benefits, they aren't going to be able to attract and retain the caliber of personnel needed to assess national security issues," McNerney said.

In a separate press release, Congressman McNerney said:

"I met with hundreds of Livermore Lab employees last week and heard from hundreds more through emails and phone calls to my offices," Rep. McNerney said.  "Late last week, I took all of those comments and concerns and brought them directly to the NNSA and Energy Secretary Bodman.  Based on feedback the proposed plan received, the Department of Energy will now offer a benefits package on par with benefits received by employees at Los Alamos National Laboratory," Rep. McNerney continued.

[...]

"It is critical that the compensation provided to Livermore Lab employees is good enough to attract the best talent for the laboratory," said Rep. McNerney.  "The original NNSA-proposed package was not in the best interest of the laboratories, the scientific community, or national security."

"This move is a great first step towards providing lab employees with appropriate benefits.  I will continue to work with the NNSA and the Department of Energy to ensure employees receive the benefits they deserve, thus ensuring that Lawrence Livermore can continue the groundbreaking work in the national interest, for which it has a richly deserved reputation," Rep. McNerney said.

Contra Costa Times: "McNerney comes through..."

Congressman Jerry McNerney continues to earn praise from local press for his constituent services in the 11th Congressional District.

Alan Elias of the Contra Costa Times is lauding McNerney's responsiveness to a group of Dublin high school students desperately needing passports before a long-scheduled group trip abroad.

Due to federal changes in passport rules, there have been significant delays in the processing of passport applications -- in some cases, for many months.

Which brings us to Dublin High School foreign language teacher Jennifer Lea and the participants of her European study-abroad program. After planning and saving up for the trip all year, four group members had not received their passports just 11 days before their scheduled June 23 departure.

Understandably panicked, Lea contacted McNerney's office to see whether it would be possible to apply some congressional arm-twisting at the State Department.

One of his Pleasanton staff members heeded the teacher's appeal, got all of the necessary forms signed and sealed (hey, it's the government, after all), and got on the phone to the Charleston, S.C., Passport Office to apply enough pressure to crowbar the passports back to Dublin within a week -- in time for all students to make the flight.

"I know the students had worked hard to raise the money for the trip, and it's wonderful that they were able to enjoy themselves and experience foreign cultures," McNerney said in an e-mail.

This isn't the first time the Congressman has stepped in to help constituents urgently in need of a passport. Just a few weeks ago, the Lodi News-Sentinel told readers about Congressman McNerney's efforts to provide critical assistance to a woman seeking a passport for immediate health care in Canada.

And Lisa Vorderbrueggen, of the Times, wrote about a Lodi woman who was quite impressed with Congressman McNerney's responsiveness to an issue with her social security benefits:

"Oh, I'll vote for Jerry, you betcha," said Lodi Republican Deborah Kafton after McNerney's office helped restore her Social Security disability payments. "The fact that he helped me, a small person in the world, I would back him all the way. My opinion (on other political issues) might be different, but that would be the case with any politician."

You can read other articles about Congressman McNerney's service to his constituents by clicking here.