We joined fellow Senate Recycling Caucus co-chair, Sen. Tom Carper (D-DE), in writing this piece about the importance of recycling. It was published in The Huffington Post on November 25, 2013.

Every year as summer turns to fall, it's hard not to stop, look around, and contemplate the beauty of our country. From the splendor of the forests and farmlands of Arkansas and the Southeast, to the cool, crisp scenes of Delaware and the mid-Atlantic, the U.S. is filled with natural beauty and it's important to keep it that way. That's why every November, folks across the nation take part in an effort to maintain America's natural beauty by participating in America Recycles Day -- a time to think about what each of us can do to be better environmental stewards while simultaneously strengthening our economy for future generations.

As co-chairs of the Senate Recycling Caucus, we are working with our colleagues and stakeholders to raise awareness of the many benefits of recycling. Most Americans are familiar with traditional municipal recycling efforts that encourage individuals to recycle household or office goods such as paper or soda cans and bottles. Every little bit helps when it comes to recycling and we are encouraged that municipal recycling rates are increasing year after year, and we strongly encourage further participation in these programs.

But there's more to recycling than just traditional municipal recycling programs. The United States is home to robust and growing commercial recycling and re-manufacturing industries. For example, the recycling and re-manufacturing industries generated more than $236 billion in annual revenue in past years and created more than one million good-paying American jobs. Also encouraging, the Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries notes that scrap recycling generates $4 billion in state and local revenues annually. Increasing recycling rates and collection programs continue to contribute to the economic growth of these industries which in turn helps the larger American economy.

These statistics offer a window into the benefits of recycling nationally, but we have also seen recycling success stories first hand in our home states. In Arkansas, this success story is found in the rebirth of the American steel industry. Today more than 60 percent of the steel in the United States is produced by recycling scrap metal. Innovation in steel recycling technology has enabled the U.S. steel industry to reduce its energy intensity by 28 percent since 1990. One Arkansas company, Nucor, has the capacity to recycle 6 million tons of steel per year in Arkansas, and over 27 million tons nationwide, making it North America's largest recycler. Recycling and re-manufacturing enables American workers to compete in a global market flooded with subsidized foreign steel.

Similarly, Delaware has realized significant economic and environmental benefits since Delaware's Universal Recycling Law was passed in 2010. A recent report showed that in 2012, more than 40 percent of recyclables in the state were diverted from landfills and Delaware's recycling, reuse, and re-manufacturing industry contributed $346 million to the State's economy in 2009. For example, the recycling boost has spawned opportunities in the poultry industry. In 2001 Perdue Farms created -- with the encouragement and support of the State of Delaware -- the Perdue AgriRecycle plant in southern Delaware. It takes raw poultry litter and processes it into an pelletized, organic fertilizer sold to Scotts and Holly Tone for use on lawns, park land and golf courses throughout the First State and beyond. Recycling poultry litter amounts to a "win-win" situation by enabling poultry producers to responsibly manage the disposal of poultry litter - which benefits the surrounding watershed and fishing economy -- while also creating a valuable organic fertilizer.

Additionally, a number of Delaware restaurants are now recycling compostable food waste. This lowers their waste disposal costs and nurtures a growing industry utilizing yard waste to make rich mulch and compost soil.

In short, our country is recycling everything from aluminum cans, cardboard, and glass bottles to electronics, cars, and refrigerators. The recycling and remanufacturing industries give our country access to valuable raw materials -- including rare and expensive materials - while reducing energy use, air and water pollution, and the need for old methods of waste disposal.

In honor of America Recycles Day, we invite you to join us in making a concerted effort to recycle. When you recycle, you literally reinvest in American manufacturing, providing raw materials for America's factories and economic opportunity for your community. You can be a part of the solution, helping to responsibly support and preserve both our environment and economy.

Lost in the hyper partisanship of Senator Reid’s power grab this week was the bipartisan reauthorization of a rare Washington success story: the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR). Started under the vision and leadership of President George W. Bush, PEPFAR, the U.S. government initiative to combat HIV/AIDS around the world, has been credited with saving millions of lives over the past ten years.

As Voice of America notes, PEPFAR “supports almost six million people worldwide who are receiving anti-retroviral drugs, and has provided care and support to nearly 15 million people, including more than 4.5 million orphans and vulnerable children.”

Prior to the creation of the program, an estimated 100,000 people were on anti-retroviral drugs in sub-Saharan Africa. Five years later, when President Bush left office, close to two million people were receiving these life-saving drugs. One million babies have now been born HIV-negative thanks to PEPFAR's mother-to-child interventions.

As we continue to build on those incredible results, PEPFAR is increasingly transitioning from an emergency U.S.-led program to one in which recipient countries increasingly sustain the effort themselves. This reauthorization will continue the program on this path while ensuring that strong accountability and oversight mechanisms are followed to continue this success.

As we approach the holiday season, it is important to remember that the U.S. still has a vital role in helping the less fortunate around the globe. In 2003, when signing the legislation we passed to create the program, President Bush called PEPFAR "a medical version of the Marshall Plan." It truly exemplifies the ideals for which our nation stands. I am excited that we will be able to continue the important work of this life-saving program.

The Senate Veteran Affairs Committee took an important step in continuing our promise to the men and women who served in the Armed Forces by funding, in advance, all veteran services such as compensation and pensions and vocational rehabilitation loans programs the same way we do veterans’ health accounts by passing The Putting Veterans Funding First Act of 2013. 

This legislation introduced by my colleague Mark Begich (D-AK) and I, would to allow for better planning and management of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and would prevent veterans' benefits from being jeopardized in the event of future lapses in funding. This is a common sense way to fulfill our commitment to take care of the men and women who sacrificed for our country and provide them with the services on which they rely by funding them one year in advance. 

While the legislation is widely supported by Veteran Service Organizations, VA Secretary Shinseki is not embracing this idea. As Military Times reports “Shinseki made the point that veterans still would be hurt in a shutdown because many VA programs are inextricably intertwined with other federal agencies.” I agree that we should eliminate the threat of interruptions in government services and this legislation would prevent veterans’ benefits from being threatened in the future. 

The approval by the Senate committee is a major hurdle and I encourage the House to support H.R. 813, similar legislation that has been introduced in that chamber.

“If you like your health care plan, you’ll be able to keep your health care plan” is a phrase President Obama often repeated while campaigning for his signature health care law.

It was meant to alleviate the concerns that millions of Americans had about being forced off their insurance and/or losing their doctors. Turns out those concerns were valid.

This oft-repeated, “promise” was a “whopper” of a lie, according to the Fact Checker blog at The Washington Post.  

The Post writes:

The president’s statements were sweeping and unequivocal — and made both before and after the bill became law. The White House now cites technicalities to avoid admitting that he went too far in his repeated pledge, which, after all, is one of the most famous statements of his presidency.

The president’s promise apparently came with a very large caveat: “If you like your health care plan, you’ll be able to keep your health care plan — if we deem it to be adequate.” 

What President Obama really meant was if he likes your health care plan you can keep it. If not, you’re out of luck.

One month in and at least 3.5 million Americans have received insurance cancellation notices. That number is only expected to continue to climb in the final weeks of 2013 and beyond.

The President’s response to the mess he created is telling the millions of Americans who have received cancellation notices they can “just shop around” for new policies that often come with more expensive premiums and higher deductibles.

There’s a better way forward, Mr. President. Short of repealing and replacing this disaster of a program, we need to add flexibility to the standards for policies under Obamacare and give Americans the freedom to keep their plans if they so choose. We can easily accomplish that by passing a bill introduced by Senator Ron Johnson (R-WI), which has the support of a majority of Senate Republicans, including myself, and will give Americans who like their individual policies the ability to keep them.

Decreased coverage, increased premiums and expanded government is not what the American people want, need or deserve. This is not what they want in a healthcare system. The real solution is repealing this law and replacing it with healthcare reform that will work. Until we can achieve that goal, we must offer some relief to the millions of Americans who are now receiving cancellation notices thanks to Obamacare.