http://www.capitoldecisions.com/news/ en default@elivz.com Copyright 2010 2010-02-22T05:23:40+00:00 http://www.capitoldecisions.com/site/worst-tornado-in-two-decades/ http://www.capitoldecisions.com/site/worst-tornado-in-two-decades/#When:05:23:40Z May 3, 1999, a deadly series of 59 storms and tornadoes roared through Oklahoma and neighborhing states, devastating homes, taking 44 lives, and leaving disaster in its wake. It was the worst storm disaster in two decades. One F5 tornado, the strongest category, took aim at Midwest City, Okla., a city of 60,000 people a few miles east of Oklahoma City. Five people were killed; nearly 200 homes and 27 businesses destroyed. The center of the city was wiped away. Over the next five years, Capitol Decisions Inc. worked with the leaders of Midwest City to find as much Federal assistance as possible to restore the shaken community.  CDI helped Midwest City develop a strategy for economic recovery that has produced more than $4 million in funding for downtown revitalization funding through the Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Department of Transportation. The money helped the city construct a conference center and rehabilitate and modernize downtown streetscapes.  “These improvements stimulated private reinvestment in the area resulting in the construction of five new hotels and a new Home Depot,” said Midwest City Manager J. Guy Henson. “Without the knowledge and assistance of Capitol Decisions, it is unlikely we would have experienced our level of success in the rebuilding of the hospitality district.” 2010-02-22T05:23:40+00:00 http://www.capitoldecisions.com/site/fair-mental-health-care/ http://www.capitoldecisions.com/site/fair-mental-health-care/#When:05:13:51Z On October 3, 2008, President George W. Bush signed a new law that ended health insurance discrimination against individuals with mental health and substance-use disorders.  This “parity” law requires that co-pays, deductibles, and annual and lifetime caps on addiction and mental health benefits to be the same as those on medical and surgical benefits.  Much credit for making this important piece of legislation reality goes to the 300 organizations of the Parity Now Coalition, co-chaired by Carol McDaid of Capitol Decisions Inc., the principal lobbyist behind passage of the law. “This is a civil-rights issue,” the late-Sen. Edward Kennedy said at the time. “With passage of this bill, fundamental justice arrives for millions of our fellow Americans who deal with mental illness.” Using all the tools of government relations, from grassroots organizing, to use of the Internet and media, to direct advocacy with Members of Congress and the Administration, CDI and Ms. McDaid helped build a powerful coalition, direct its energies in the most productive ways, and after much effort, achieve what all now recognize as a breakthrough in health care. The Parity NOW Coalition has become the model for successfully advocating for inclusion of addiction and mental health benefits in health-care reform legislation. “Untreated mental illness results in 1.3 billion lost days of work or school in our country every year. Yet bipartisan and independent research shows there is no significant cost to insuring mental illness like any other medical disease,” said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. “With this legislation, we are making an investment in the strength and productivity of our nation.” 2010-02-22T05:13:51+00:00