09.05.2003

Florida Ranks Low on Federal Totem Pole, says Deutsch
'This shouldn't be done to one of the most dynamic and significant states'

By DALE M. KING, Boca Raton News

While a third-year law student at Yale, Peter Deutsch came to Florida to work on a Medicare appeals program. "I saw people being evicted from nursing homes," he recalled. After graduating, he ran for the Florida State Legislature, won, and "on my first day, I filed a bill banning nursing home evictions. Twenty-two years later, it is still on the books."

Deutsch, now a congressman, is a candidate for the U.S. Senate seat now being held by Bob Graham. Before flying up to the Democratic National Convention in Boston, he spoke to fellow party members Tuesday at a meeting of the Democratic Club of Boca Delray. His motivation for seeking a chair in the Upper Chamber "is the same as when I ran for the legislature in 1982 - to improve the lives of the people of Florida," he said.

Deutsch said he's upset that Florida is getting short shrift from the Feds. The Sunshine State ranks 43rd in federal grants for transportation, 45th in federal housing grants, 47th in federal money for the environment and 45th in grant money for education. "This shouldn't be done to one of the most dynamic and significant states," he said. "If Florida were at the national average, it would receive an additional $7 million - money that could be used for teachers, transportation and the environment."

If chosen to follow in Democrat Graham's footsteps, "I will do the same things I have been doing the past 12 years in Congress. Six years from now, judge me on my success." Deutsch is one of about 20 candidates - Democrats, Republicans and unaffiliated office seekers - running in the Aug. 31 primaries and the Nov. 2 general election.

In the Senate, Deutsch said he will fight for "universal health care - so that every man, woman and child is covered." He focused on the need for stem cell research to open up new vistas in medical treatment. "Fifty-eight senators have signed a bill to overturn the president's decision to ban stem cell research," he said. "The president's decision hurt research on the most horrific illnesses. [Stem cell research] is best potential to help." He said insulin-creating stem cells have helped diabetics. "There is amazing potential," he said.

Deutsch slammed President Bush on Medicare, saying the Republican bill that passed this year "is not about prescription drugs, it's about Karl Rove and the president getting through the election."

"Just because you're a senior citizen doesn't mean you're stupid," he said. "If it's such a good bill, why isn't it going into effect until 2006? It's not such a good bill."

The congressman also took Bush to task for his "Leave No Child Behind" education bill, saying, "It leaves every child behind. The president in Washington and his brother in Tallahassee want to destroy public schools in America. That's what vouchers and paying for home schooling are all about."

The nation, he said, "is in absolutely fundamentally worse shape" under Bush. "Three years ago, we were trying to think of ways to spend a surplus. Now, we have the largest deficit in the history of the world." He said 24 million jobs were created during the Clinton administration. Since Bush took office, three million were lost.

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