l\”l NewDem Jim Davis, Ron Kind, and Adam Smith Leading the House New Democrat Coalition into the 108th Congress. he three co-chairs of the provide resources and incentives for New Democrat Coali- innovation,” said Kind, a member of tion-the largest orga- the House Education and Workforce nized caucus in the U.S. Committee, who was able to play an House of Representa- influential role in shaping the final out- tives-face a tough challenge in the come. 108th Congress, just as they did in the Working with colleagues in the 107th. These two sessions are the first Senate, House NDC members also pro- since the NDC’s formation in 1997 in vided key swing votes to pass the long- which the 70-plus-member group has sought Trade Promotion Authority bill, had to shape the political center without which set an aggressive agenda for the benefit of a Clinton White House opening foreign markets to American ro counter the GOP’s worst impulses. goods and services. NDC members “President Bush has certainly tended helped guide the debate to ensure that IV to push policy debates to the right,” said the bill fundamentally improved assis- REP. JIMDAVIS: Florida, 11th District Rep. Adam Smith (D-Wash.), who took tance for workers displaced by trade over the three-way NDC co-chair- competition. manship in April 2002 with colleagues In the 108th Congress, the three co- Jim Davis (D-Fla.) and Ron Kind (D- chairs will lead their caucus in the Wis.), succeeding the group’s founders, struggle to restore fiscal discipline to the Cal Dooley (D-Calif.),Jim Moran (D- budget process, so the country can both Va.) and Tim Roemer (D-Ind.). fight terrorism and grow the economy. But even with a Republican admin- “We believe everything must be on istration, the NDC continues the table for this discussion,” to hold significant leverage in they wrote in August, a House almost evenly “including provisions of the divided. Its members repre- tax cut passed into law last year sent swing districts around the but not yet enacted, corporate country. As a group, they are tax loopholes that allow busi- the voice of independent-minded nesses to evade taxes by incorporating America. And if Republicans want to overseas, and spending programs.” REP. RON KIND: Wisconsin, Third District get anything done, they have to move Moran has described Davis, Kind, far enough to the center to attract at least and Smith as “three of the best and some NDC votes. brightest members of Congress.” Each In the last Congress, the NDC has the studiousness of a policy wonk achieved policy victories on a number and the skills of a political tactician. of important fronts. Together, they are becoming a cohesive Notably, its members helped design unit, sharing the NDC’s leadership the framework for sweeping education responsibilities. Davis acts as the group’s reform legislation that set high standards liaison to the Democratic Party lead- for student achievement in public ership. Kind handles the relationships schools. The bill also provided more with political fundraising groups like resources for schools to meet those stan- the New Democrat Network and the dards and demanded accountability for Democratic Congressional Campaign results. Committee. And Smith serves as the “Those new reforms will significantly.- group’s liaison to the Democratic Lead- streamline the federal bureaucracy, and ership Council. + REP. ADAM SMITH: Washington, Ninth District LICENSED TO UNZ.ORG ELECTRONIC REPRODUCTION PROHIBITED Robert Butki n up to the child and his Eric Reeves parents to make the ’ tate-operated college savings choice [that] is best he typical shopping list of a local \ programs-known as 529 for them,” said government may include rock , plans-are an increasingly Butkin. salt for icy roads, chalk for popular way to squirrel away money The plan allows teachers, and paper for office copiers. for tuition. But not all are alike. anyone to chip in, But stocking up on even such simple Their fees, restrictions, and return S 7I not just family. Indi- necessities has traditionally required vary widely from state to state. viduals can automat- an arduous procurement process-with Oklahoma’s plan has been one of the ically deduct as little requests for proposals, bids, and mounds I State Treasurer , highest rated in the country under the lead- Robert Butkin as $15 from their of paper work. ership of State Treasurer Robert Butkin. paychecks or bank 1 Now, thanks to North Carolina State It was one of only nine to earn an ‘R“in -- - -__ accounts to con- I Sen. Eric Reeves, local governments in a USA Today analysis of 43 plans’ overall tribute to a 529 savings plan, and they can his state have a better way. operations and investment performance. claim $2,500 per year in state tax deduc- A new law authored by Reeves allows “We intentionally designed the pro- tions. That incentive helped double the cities, school boards, and other local author- gram to be flexible,” said Butkin. Unlike number of participants in the Oklahoma ities to dramatically increase efficiency some state plans, which require 529 funds plan in eight months. using electronic bidding and procurement. to be used in-state, the Oklahoma Savings An account can be opened with as Under the law, local governments may now Plan gives students more freedom. They little as $25, and there are no contri- hold “reverse auctions” based may use the money in-state or out-of-state, bution limits until the fund has earned on the model pioneered for a private or public university, in a two- $235,000. The point, said Butkin, is “to by Priceline.com, year or four-year college, or for post-sec- make the American Dream come alive which allows buyers ondary vocational instruction. “It is entirely for everyone.” + to name the prices they’d like to pay and lets sellers Daphna Edwards Ziman scramble to offer the best deals they can. / \- hildren’s advocate Daphna Ziman believes the foster care system has its pri- Reeves believes the orities backwards: It rewards itself with more federal and state money as administrative cost sav- I I State Sen. it pushes “problem children” up the institutional ladder from foster fami- ings from this model 1 EricReeves I ! lies to residential treatment centers for “troubled” youth. will be substantial. “If Cn,a[r,tn , She argues the incentives should be reversed: Foster programs should be rewarded utilized fully,” he con- r- ~ I for the progress children make, not their deterioration. tends, “e-procurement “It’s a billion dollar business,” says Ziman, founder and chair of the non-partisan, in [information technology] alone could i, California-based organization Children Uniting Nations. The system’s save the state 40 percent. In tough budget current structure practically encourages underachievement, she times such as these, that money can be ’ says, reinforcing the stigma of the foster child as “incorrigible.” better used to reduce class size in our Ziman, a foster parent herself, is a vocal proponent of men- schools, and to help seniors pay for pre- toring programs that break that dysfunctional cycle by helping scription drugs.” children succeed both academically and socially. The law does not prescribe a one-size- She has championed an innovative model that insists on fits-aU solution. LOCA governments may rigorous training for mentors, providing them the skills to customize electronic bidding systems to develop productive relationships with foster children.The model suit their needs-or use a combination requires mentors to make extended commitments to the chil- of electronic and paper bidding. dren, and it depends heavily on building networks between public I Reeves does not see the new law as an I Daphna Edwards entities and the corporate community to recruit volunteers. end in itself, but rather one step toward Ziman Started in Los kgeles, Ziman hopes to see the approach go fully harnessing the power of new tech- Children 5 Aduocate __..~ national. Legislation introduced in the U.S. Senate by Sen. Mary nologies to make governments more effi- Landrieu (D-La.), with co-sponsors Evan Bayh (D-Ind.) and John cient and effective. Kerry (D-Mass.) could help achieve that goal. It would authorize $19 million a year “E-government,’’he says, “has the for public-private partnerships to provide mentoring for foster children. potential to truly reform government to Research shows 45 percent of mentored teens are less likely to use drugs, and make it more nimble so that it can react 49 percent have better academic performance. + to our needs.” + LICENSED TO UNZ.ORG ELECTRONIC REPRODUCTION PROHIBITED of , i Every Friday on NDOL.org :. the- I The Ideas That Conquered the World: Peace, Democracy, and Free Markets in the Twenty-first Pay-for-perfomance in health care a Century 11 by Michael Mandelbaum Public Affairs + 496 pp. + $30.00 One of the surprising pcculiari- Despite war clouds over Iraq, a resur- ties of health care is that doctors gent a1 Qaeda, a nuclear North Korea, arc not paid more for delivering and uncooperative allies, political sci- higher quality care. In fact, doctors entist Michael Mandelbaum still believes who are good at preventing trips to the good news vastly outweighs the bad. the hospital for their parients with Thumbing his nose at conventional chronic conditions like diabetes and wisdom, he argues that Sept. 11 did not asthma may actually lose money shake the Western world’s foundations. because they don’t end LIPbilling for In fact, it strengthened our faith in the as many procedures. pillars of liberal democracy, capitalism, The National Academy of Sci- and peaceful relations among states, ences’ Institute &Medicine (IOM) because militant Islamists and rogue recently released a study proposing regimes do not offer an alternative ide- that the federal government use its enormous purchasing power in health car1 ology with any real drawing power.