Competition is Senator Markey's economic mantra, and his pro-competition policies have benefited job creation in Massachusetts and throughout the country.
Senator Markey believes Congress must continue working toward enacting a more progressive tax code, make targeted cuts to defense spending and nuclear weapons, put an end to unnecessary oil subsidies, and the expand innovative programs in Medicare that improve the quality of health care for beneficiaries. Senator Markey also believes we must make smart investments now that will create jobs and grow our economy. In the Senate, Ed is working to create jobs in ways that emphasize areas in which Massachusetts excels: education; investment in high-tech, medical, and clean energy industries; and strong support for the teachers, first responders and union workers that form the backbone of our communities. As a member of the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship and Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, Senator Markey plays a key role in the oversight of American consumer-related and business issues.
Investing in America's largely untapped clean energy resources -- especially wind, solar and geothermal power -- will help create jobs, reduce America’s reliance on foreign oil, and keep the United States competitive in the global clean energy race. Markey is a Congressional champion for unleashing America’s clean energy revolution and creating the jobs that accompany increasing energy efficiency and harnessing clean energy resources. In the House of Representatives, Markey authored the renewable electricity standard in the historic American Clean Energy and Security Act. In the Senate, he introduced the American Renewable Energy and Efficiency Act, which would quadruple America’s clean energy production, create 400,000 jobs and save American households $90 billion by 2030.
Senator Markey is committed to improving the quality of education at all levels and believes we should do all we can to insure every American has the opportunity to succeed in the global marketplace. By rewarding projects and programs that elevate educational standards and performance, Senator Markey believes we can develop more successful teaching methods and produce better results. Senator Markey also has advocated for universal pre-K, increased online privacy protections for children, programs to fight childhood obesity and teen smoking, and fair access to affordable student loans so that every child can achieve the dream of a college education.
Senator Markey is a national leader on telecommunications and technology policy, passing legislation that helped lay the foundation for the digital revolution. In the House of Representatives, he co-authored the three landmark bills that ushered in a new era for communications, consumer choice and innovation – the 1992 Cable Act, the 1993 law that moved over 200 MHz of spectrum, and the Telecommunications Act of 1996, which established the “E-rate” rate for schools and libraries and the V-Chip for parental control of TV violence.
Competition is Senator Markey’s economic mantra. Accordingly, he has been instrumental in breaking up anti-consumer, anti-innovative monopolies in telephone service, cable television, and international satellite services. He was a principal author of the requirement that the Bell Operating companies accept local telephone service in the 1990s. His pro-competition policies have created jobs in Massachusetts and throughout the country. He is a champion for Net Neutrality and nondiscrimination on the Internet and for new sources of effective competition to cable TV franchises, telephone operators, and other wireless services.
He also is the champion for stronger online privacy protections, especially for children. In 1999 Senator Markey co-founded the Bi-Partisan Congressional Privacy Caucus, which aims to educate members of Congress and staff on matters of privacy.
Rising energy prices and the recovering economy means that more than 200,000 Bay State low-income households, veterans, and seniors rely on the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) to make ends meet. Senator Markey has been a staunch advocate for increased funding for this program throughout his career and is author of the law that established the Northeast Home Heating Oil Reserve.
Senator Markey also continues to be a leader in the preservation of community action and anti-poverty programs funded through the Community Service Block Grants budget.
Covering 1,065 agencies in 99 percent of U.S. counties, community action programs last year provided critical supports to 20.7 million Americans facing an array of challenges ranging from extreme poverty and disability to the lack of employment. Nationally, the Community Service Block Grants (CSBG) budget is $680 million, with Massachusetts receiving $17 million that is designated to 24 community action programs.
