Gov. Jim Doyle, D-Wis., has worked tirelessly to ensure that health care is a birthright for all rather than a commodity for the rich. This has been an uphill battle as Mark Green, R-Wis., and the Republican-controlled Congress have been reluctant to provide low- and middle-income families with the health care funding they depend on.

Since taking office, Doyle has made Wisconsin one of the first states to help its citizens get prescription drugs through Canada, where prescriptions can be up to 50 percent less expensive. In Congress, Green voted against allowing Americans to save on prescription drugs by re-importing them from Canada. The question needs to be asked, did the $40,000 that Green received from big drug interests have an effect on his vote?

Faced with federal cuts to Medicaid and other important programs by Green and his fellow GOP members, Doyle has created new initiatives in the state of Wisconsin to create state-level programs that would make health care affordable for all. One such initiative is BadgerCare Plus, which would ensure that every child has affordable access to comprehensive health care.

After Green cast the deciding vote to pass President Bush’s disastrous Medicare Part D, which nearly eliminated SeniorCare, Wisconsin’s prescription drug program for seniors, Doyle successfully negotiated the continuation of SeniorCare with the federal government.

The Medicare bill Green voted for prevents the federal government from negotiating lower prices with drug companies, while giving away $139 billion to the big drug companies. In addition to Medicare Part D, Green also cast the deciding vote on a bill that cut nearly $7 billion from Medicaid, which cut benefits for thousands of children, seniors and disabled people in Wisconsin.

Tax free Health Savings Accounts, pushed in the state legislature by candidates Ron Brown, R-Eau Claire and Rob Kreibich, R-Eau Claire, benefit only the healthiest and wealthiest at the expense of those most in need of affordable health care. These accounts would only provide another means for the wealthy to shelter their money from taxes. Green has been a strong advocate of this plan in the U.S. Congress and has promised to push this agenda here in Wisconsin. Doyle has had to repeatedly veto such legislation coming from the state Legislature as he understands that we need to find a solution that benefits everyone, not just the wealthy.

Providing health care to employees is a huge burden on small businesses. Doyle has established an initiative that would set up a large insurance pool with lower rates that employers could join. The idea is simple – the more people insured, the smaller effect one person getting sick would have on the entire group’s premiums.

Stem cell research is key in making Wisconsin a leader in the medical community. Doyle has played an essential role in launching a $750 million public-private strategy to encourage stem cell research in Wisconsin. Green may claim to support stem cell research, but by looking at his close voting ties with the GOP and President Bush, you will see that he has not only voted to stop federal funding of stem cell research, but even goes as far as banning and even criminalizing such scientific progress.

Green has gone as far as saying that he supported a Republican bill in the Wisconsin Legislature that would have banned stem cell research in the state. Thankfully Doyle was around to veto this bill that would have put our research institutions at a disadvantage.

Doyle has fought to protect a woman’s right to choose in times of a hostile Republican Legislature made of people like Kreibich and Brown who believe they know what is best for a woman’s body. Green is, in fact, one of the most anti-choice legislators in the country, receiving a 0 percent rating from Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin for his stance on women’s health issues.

Doyle’s record is strong on women’s health care rights. The governor stood against the Food and Drug Administration for its delayed approval of over-the-counter sales of emergency contraception, previously shown to be safe. Doyle has also fought for a family planning waiver program that provides health care to more than 55,000 low-income women.

Green and the Republican-run, do-nothing Congress have accomplished nothing in terms of progress in health care while having complete control of both the Wisconsin Legislature and the U.S. Congress. While Doyle has spent his time in office fighting for the people of Wisconsin, Green has been busy pushing an extreme agenda in the U.S. Congress that is out of touch with mainstream Wisconsin.

The College Democrats are thankful that we have a governor who stands up to the Republican-controlled Legislature. However, it is unfortunate that Doyle has had to spend much of his time vetoing extreme legislation that favors big business rather than the average working Wisconsin resident.

It is the hope of my fellow College Democrats and I that with the help of Gov. Doyle, and a return to a Wisconsin Legislature run by candidates such as Jeff Smith and Kathleen Vinehout, Wisconsin will further its support for working families and the middle class rather than big-money drug companies.