American College of Cardiology

On March 5, the ACC held a breakfast during a regional "fly-in" for members from Michigan, Ohio, and Pennsylvania. Rep. James C. Greenwood, R-Pa., spoke about the liability reform bill he introduced in the House, H.R. 5, the "Help Efficient, Accessible, Low-Cost, Timely, Healthcare (HEALTH) Act." The ACC PAC made a contribution to the National Republican Congressional Committee on his behalf.

On March 6, the ACC participated in a fundraiser for Rep. Michael Burgess, R-Texas. Rep. Burgess, an obstetrician, decided to run for Congress in 2002 because he was upset that Congress did nothing to stop the 5.4 percent cut in Medicare payments to physicians at the end of 2001. Rep. Burgess is very supportive of medical liability reform and is concerned about the problem of the uninsured. With respect to the uninsured, Rep. Burgess supports medical savings account expansion, the creation of association health plans, and tax credits for the purchase of health insurance.

Vulnerable in 2004… The National Journal recently issued its pre-season Senate vulnerability rankings for the 2004 election cycle. The magazine lists five races that they have determined will be in play throughout. With the retirement of Sen. Zell Miller, D, Georgia is expected to provide a tight race. Sen. Peter Fitzgerald, R, is currently polling with under 30 percent favorability for re-election in Illinois. Sen. Fritz Hollings, D, has yet to decide whether to seek re-election in South Carolina. If he does run, that still only gives the Democrats a slightly more than 50-50 chance of holding this seat. Sen. John Edwards, D, has yet to announce his plans for re-election in North Carolina while simultaneously running for the presidency. Either way, the last senator to win re-election to this seat was Sam Ervin in 1968. Lastly, presidential candidate Sen. Bob Graham, D, of Florida does not have to decide whether to file for re-election to his Senate seat until July. If he wins the presidential nomination, the seat becomes open. If he loses the nomination, potential challengers can use his defeat to expose any vulnerabilities.

Primary Challenger for Specter… Rep. Patrick Toomey has announced he will challenge Sen. Arlen Specter in the Pennsylvania GOP primary for the senior Senator's seat. "This is an ideological race. I'm a conservative. Sen. Specter is a liberal," Rep. Toomey told CongressDaily. White House officials, party leaders, and colleagues have discouraged the primary challenge. Although Sen. Specter is heavily favored to win the GOP nomination, a bitter primary could drain his campaign resources and political capital. The ACC PAC has contributed to Sen. Specter's 2004 primary and general campaigns.

Health and Public Office… The recent health problems of two potential contenders for the 2004 Democratic presidential nomination, Sen. John Kerry and Sen. Bob Graham (the latter of whom underwent valve replacement and double-bypass surgery), have once again brought calls from some on Capitol Hill that candidates for president and vice president should be more forthcoming about their health history. But not everybody agrees. "I don't know why the public should have a right to see Dick Cheney's EKGs going back over the past 20 years. That's not information the public can make any sense of," Jeffrey Khan, director of the Center for Bioethics at the University of Minnesota, told Copley News Service. "What we need is a qualified independent assessment of whether he is fit enough to do his job and finish his term."

Heard on the Hill… Clarifying U.S. policy on the war on terror, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld stated, "There are known knowns. These are things we know that we know. There are known unknowns. That is to say, there are things that we know we don't know. But there are also unknown unknowns. There are things we don't know we don't know."