I learn from my mistakes.

In 2000, when a settlement was looming in the lawsuit brought by the states against the tobacco industry, I introduced a bill creating a separate fund for the monetary damages Maryland would receive.

My legislation required that the money be spent to address the harms caused by smoking, most importantly persuading teenagers not to start smoking and helping adults stop smoking.

We also allowed the fund to be used for Medicaid costs related to smoking.

That was a mistake.

Far too much of the money has gone to Medicaid.

Maryland recently entered into a contract with three law firms to sue the pharmaceutical industry to recover damages for the harm caused by opioids.

House Bill 1274 was heard today in the Appropriations Committee.

It would create a fund to improve access to Naloxone, organize primary and secondary education campaigns to prevent opioid use, and expand access to crisis beds and residential treatment services, among other uses.

None of the money would go to Medicaid.

With a fiscal note of $19 million, House Bill 677 will not pass.

I knew that before I began my testimony.

My legislation would provide benefits to individuals who are not eligible for the federal Food Stamps program, now known as SNAP. Two categories of people could be affected: federal workers if there is another shutdown and Able Bodied Adults Without Dependents, as they are identified in federal law.

We can hope that there won’t be another shutdown, but we need to be prepared if there is.

For certain, the Trump Administration supports work requirements for single adults, the ABAWDs.

My concern, and that of many others, is that those requirements will be punitive.

That’s why I also introduced House Bill 415, which would create a pilot program where people on Medicaid can voluntarily seek work.  (Many of these people would also be eligible for SNAP benefits.)

The outcome for both of my bills is unfavorable.

The issues they raise could be dealt with in the budget bill.

That’s why I wrote a budget analyst: “Can you draft committee narrative [for the budget bill] addressing the issues raised by my two bills?  I will then do the legwork of discussing it with the two committees” that have heard my bills.

 

“It’s not too early to start planning our witnesses for the hearing on our bill.  Below is to get the discussion started.”

I sent that email to the advocates I’m working with on a bill being heard next week.

I proposed two panels of witnesses.

My email had the desired effect.

It prompted a discussion of adding a witness with expertise in an aspect of the issue that

would not be addressed by my two panels.

The broader point: one of the things I’ve learned over my career is that the more you seek other people’s input, the better your end product.

Mark Iwry grew up in Mt. Washington.  We’ve known each other since childhood.

Mark’s parents – Sam and Nina Iwry — were born in Poland.

They both escaped the Nazis and fled to Shanghai, where more than 20,000 Jews found refuge.

I asked Mark and his wife Daryl to join me, my mother, and brother Bruce Sunday at the Jewish Refugees and Shanghai exhibit at the Jewish Museum of Maryland.

At lunch beforehand, Mark related that his mother, a hospital administrator, had rescued her future husband after he had been beaten unconscious by a guard who had discovered his  activities in the underground enabling Jewish families to escape from the Nazis to Palestine, Australia, and other safe havens,

The exhibit panels were prepared by the Shanghai Jewish Refugees Museum.

Many told the story of individuals’ time in Shanghai and their joyous return with family decades later.

One made reference to Ghoya, a Japanese official.

“That’s who tortured my father,” Mark told me.

—

I left the Jewish Museum and headed to Cedardale Road, where Frank Robinson lived in 1966, when he led the Orioles to a World Series championship.

I met the neighborhood “kids” from that era – black and white.

They talked about other Orioles and Colts who lived there – all were black.  It was one of the few integrated neighborhoods in Baltimore.

A story was told about a minor league baseball player who visited Frank.

His mother lived in the neighborhood.

His name was Reggie Jackson.

The MVP of the October 1966 World Series met Mr. October.

 

I highly recommend Samuel Iwry’s autobiography, “To Wear the Dust of War: From Bialystok to Shanhsi to the Promised Land” (available on Amazon)