Category: Max Heuer
Companies Not Being Advised to Move Offshore
By Max Heuer
WASHINGTON, Oct. 16, 2002–A Treasury Department official said Wednesday that accounting and consulting companies have stopped advising client companies to move their headquarters to countries that provide tax havens.
“Those kind of marketing activities have been put on ice,” said assistant Treasury secretary for tax policy Pam Olson at a hearing before the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Treasury and General Government. “We are cautiously optimistic that we’ve turned the corner.”
Sen. Byron Dorgan (D-ND), who chairs the subcommittee and was the only senator to attend the hearing, said the public embarrassment and media attention paid to embattled New Hampshire-based Tyco International has perhaps made companies reevaluate whether to move their headquarters.
Olson agreed, saying it was probably also “a combination” of the public pressure and the Internal Revenue Service’s “getting more aggressive.” She added, “There is still a lot of work to be done.”
Dorgan opened the hearing by playing a recording of an Internet broadcast by Ernst & Young, in which one of the accounting and consulting firm’s partners, Kate Barton, citedTyco as an example of offshore success.
In the recording, Barton says of the offshore move, “The improvement on earnings is powerful enough to say that maybe the patriotism issue should take a back seat.”
Tyco reportedly saved $400 million in 2001 by moving its headquarters in 1997 to Bermuda, where it pays no U.S. taxes on sales abroad and can lower its U.S. taxes on sales in the United States. Former Tyco CEO Dennis Kozlowski was indicted last month in New York on charges of enterprise corruption and grand larceny–stealing about $600 million from the company. Kozlowski resigned as chairman and CEO of the Exeter-based firm earlier this year amid accusations of tax evasion and misuse of Tyco funds.
But while Tyco was used symbolically at the hearing as an example of a company that moved offshore and failed, the Connecticut-based tool company Stanley Works was cited as a company that decided to move offshore but then stayed in the country once the spotlight was turned on its planned move.
The Securities and Exchange Commission was investigating Stanley Works for possibly deceiving shareholders on the economic effect of a move to Bermuda, when it decided on Aug. 1 to cancel the move less than three months after receiving shareholder approval to go offshore.
“Stanley Works decided to do the right thing,” Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal testified. “But there are corporations that already did go to Bermuda and are being favored because they did the wrong thing.”
He added that the Connecticut company was under heavy legal and public pressure at the time and is now at a “strong competitive disadvantage” because its main competitors exploit the loophole.
Dorgan also emphasized a lack of patriotism in company managers who move their companies offshore, but he said there are still many admirable American companies.
He asked whether companies that move their headquarters to Bermuda should receive the military protection of the United States.
“To Mr. Kozlowski and others, maybe they should call on the Bermuda Air Force and Navy to protect them,” Dorgan said, noting that Bermuda’s military numbers only 27 soldiers.
“Isn’t it the case [that corporations that move offshore] are saying, ‘We don’t want to contribute to this country’s defense’” Dorgan added.
Bills pending in both chambers would close the loophole.
“I support reform of the tax code that would eliminate this type of loophole,” Rep. John Sununu said in a phone interview after the hearing. He added that he supports a measure proposed by Rep. Bill Thomas (R-CA) that would penalize the stock holdings of executives whose companies move abroad, calling it “a step in the right direction.”
Colin Van Ostern, a spokesman for Gov. Jeanne Shaheen, Sununu’s Democratic opponent for the Senate, said in a phone interview, “One of Gov. Shaheen’s top priorities is to shut down offshore corporate tax loopholes.” Because of the loopholes, he added, “New Hampshire small businesses are forced to play on an unequal playing field.”
Published in The Manchester Union Leader, in New Hampshire.
Capitol Police Trying Out Segway
By Max Heuer
WASHINGTON, Oct. 16, 2002--Gliding atop a Segway Human Transporter, shifting forward then back and finally spinning around on the West front of the Capitol, Officer Ronald Sellner, a 10-year veteran of the Capitol Police force, was enjoying himself on a recent sunny weekday afternoon.
A crowd of about 10 watched Sellner, who ignored a handful of noisy anti-war protesters to talk with reporters and other passers by while he balanced on the Segway.
Dealing with angry protestors, lost tourists and Capitol crime can be grueling work but the Capitol Police force is currently testing the Segway to determine whether the device could make their job easier.
Sellner is one of six Capitol officers, selected out of 1400 mostly on the basis of seniority, chosen for the Segway test to determine whether it would improve response time and the effectiveness of officers moving quickly in a large crowd.
"It's like a futuristic Roman chariot," Sellner said, demonstrating his control over the two wheeled device by easing backward on it and then turning quickly. He added he thought his three-year-old son "would love it."
"It is very important" for Capitol police officers "to interact with the public and do hands-on work," deputy chief Marsha Krug said. "Standing on the Segway gives you the ability to have that personal interaction."
Krug added that the recently appointed Capitol Police Chief Terrance Gainer was "interested in utilizing technology" to upgrade police work.
The two Segway devices are being leased from the New Hampshire-based Segway company for two months at a total cost of $1,400.
Krug said different divisions within the department would be testing the vehicles every day, operating the vehicle on different terrains and in tight spaces among crowds of people to see if it could help an officer.
Officers need to move from the various congressional office buildings quickly, she said. "On the Segway a person can move rather quickly to an incident to assist in any kind of situation."
Sellner underwent an eight-hour training course, and said that learning to balance on the machine was the trickiest part of operating it.
Once while practicing, the machine's sensitivity made Sellner stop short accidentally and fall forward.
"You lean forward and it wants to go the full (12 miles an hour)," he said.
Sellner said he thought the Segway would help an officer in a footchase, but not necessarily more than a mountain bike or motorcycle.
While the device moves well up hills and on flat ground, Sellner said it could not climb stairs, an important consideration since there are numerous staircases on the Capitol grounds.
The police have about 6 or 7 mountain bikes and 30 to 40 motorcycles on patrol each day, Sellner said.
Krug said the Segway costs $4,000 to $5,000, depending on the features, and that there is some concern officers would become "less fit" if they rarely had to walk on patrols.
She said the decision about whether to purchase any Segways for the department would be made before the end of this year, after a survey. Krug said there is a small amount of money available in this year's budget that could go toward buying a few of the machines, but a major purchase would have to be included in future budgets.
The National Parks Service, Boston EMS Department and the Chicago Police Department are also testing the Segway, considering possible future use in their departments.
Published in The Manchester Union Leader, in New Hampshire.
Supreme Court Debates N.H. Man’s Case
By Max Heuer
WASHINGTON, Oct. 09, 2002--Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor said Wednesday that a 1998 law extending copyrights by 20 years was not sound policy, but she questioned whether the act was unconstitutional.
"I agree in terms of policy [that the law] flies in the face of what the framers had in mind," O'Connor said during oral arguments before the Court. "But does it make it unconstitutional?"
New Hampshire Internet publisher Eric Eldred's attorney presented the oral argument against the Sonny Bono Copyright Term Extension Act, which lengthened copyright terms from 50 years after the author's death to 70 years after.
While the Court's decision will have major consequences for media giants and other publishing companies that could stand to lose millions if deprived of important copyrights, the Court focused on whether Congress has exceeded its constitutional power to grant copyrights "for limited times."
The international community also has an important stake in the decision; the act has harmonized U.S. law with a European Union directive and avoided potential copyright discrepancies abroad.
Eldred's lawyer, Stanford University Law School professor Lawrence Lessig, argued that the act gave Congress more power than the Constitution had vested in the legislative branch. Lessig also argued that extending copyright terms violated First Amendment free-press rights.
Several justices pointed to past copyright extensions as precedents for the 1998 law and debated the validity of any First Amendment argument because of ambiguities in the case before it.
The case, Eldred et al v. Ashcroft, is the first time the Supreme Court has heard a challenge to Congress's power to extend copyright term limits, despite its long history of exercising the provision. Copyright protections, first granted in 1790, were extended in 1831, 1909 and 1976 as well as in 1998.
Justice Stephen Breyer said "chaos would ensue" if the 1998 extension was declared unconstitutional on grounds that would also make unconstitutional the 1976 law, which first extended the copyright protection to 50 years.
Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg said there is no "clear line" in the First Amendment that determines who gets its benefits.
O'Connor questioned whether Lessig's two completely different arguments in opposing the 1998 law could be used at the same time.
"I don't think there are examples [where the] Framers seem to have adopted these two [arguments]," she said. "I think there are not examples where you examine [the case] under copyright law and if that doesn't work [use the] First Amendment."
Other Justices prodded U.S. Solicitor General Theodore Olson, who was defending the 1998 statute on the government's behalf, on whether the constitutional copyright laws were currently limiting anything.
Justice John Paul Stevens asked Olson if he thought the constitutional clause really imposed limitations on Congress at all.
The solicitor general said he didn't think "there were any substantive limitations" in the clause.
Breyer challenged the government's assertion that the act promotes creativity and artistic creation through added protection.
The Copyright Act of 1790 "originally was to encourage invention," Breyer said, asking Olson if the 1998 act served only to regulate dissemination.
"If we have to ask [whether the] most plausible [intent of the act is] to reward invested interest or stimulate new works… it's probably the former," O'Connor said.
"Limited time doesn't mean anything unless once [a time is set], that's that," Justice Antonin Scalia told Olson.
Olson responded that Congress has been extending copyright protections since the first law, in 1790. He said the precedent in the Supreme Court has been to uphold laws that have been "consistent and unchallenged for over a century."
"The issue is only whether once Congress [makes] a judgment it can change it," Olson said.
"I can find a lot of fault with what Congress did here, because it takes a lot of things out of the public domain," O'Connor said. "It's longer than one would think desirable, but is it not limited?"
Published in The Manchester Union Leader, in New Hampshire.
Sununu Sr. Keeping Busy: Still Anxious Watching Son Campaign
By Max Heuer
WASHINGTON, Oct. 02, 2002--John H. Sununu says watching one of his eight sons try to climb up the political ladder is a lot harder than when he was doing it himself.
Sununu did his climbing a long time ago, first in his three terms as governor of New Hampshire and then as chief of staff in the first Bush administration.
So the elder Sununu knows what it's like to work in positions that provide a white-hot national and state spotlight.
But Sununu also says it is tougher watching his son Rep. John E. Sununu (NH-01) campaign against Granite State Democratic Gov. Jeanne Shaheen in one of the most closely watched contests for a seat in a narrowly divided Senate.
"It is ten times worse being the father of a candidate," he said in an interview Wednesday. "The anxiety level is much worse."
Though he's been in the private sector since 1992, the attention Sununu garnered while in office clearly still bothers him. He refers to the "talking heads of TV" as "biased" and "ignorant."
But the elder Sununu's worries haven't compelled him to interfere with his son's campaign, he said.
"I learned a long time ago the only advice ever taken is advice asked for," the former governor said. "There is some asking," he said, "but I wait until he calls."
In the meantime, he still isn't shy about offering his opinions on other issues.
Sununu has his own lobbying and consulting business, JHS Associates, sits on several boards and is a trustee for the George Bush Presidential Library Foundation.
Sununu says he is "loving it" in the private sector, and clearly his political connections have come in handy along the way.
This week, American International Airports - an airport concessions firm that currently manages 33 airports in Latin America and one in Armenia - announced that Sununu has been appointed its chairman.
AIA CEO John H. Tonelli, who attended a speech Sununu gave here Wednesday, said that former president George Bush referred Sununu.
Tonelli said Sununu understands the political systems of the Latin American countries the firm currently works with, and the Eastern European countries such as Bulgaria, Croatia and Romania where AIA is in negotiations.
Moreover, Tonelli said, Sununu "knows a lot of people" and "has a Rolodex of people he can call."
Tonelli said his original thought was that Sununu would serve mostly as an important "figurehead" for the company. But it turns out, he said, that the former governor wants to play an active role.
Tonelli added he chose Sununu, who is fluent in Spanish, over the likes of a former Secretary of State or a national security adviser - Henry A. Kissinger and Brent Scowcroft were two he had in mind - because of his "innovative ideas" and experience in the business world.
Sununu's background in business and management has served him well since leaving politics: He was once a partner in Trinity International Partners, a private financial firm.
Sununu also has a background in engineering - like his son, he attended Massachusetts Institute of Technology - and was associate dean and associate professor at Tufts University engineering school until 1973.
Despite his own work in the press - he co-hosted CNN's "Crossfire" after leaving the White House in 1992 until 1998 - Sununu reserved his harshest comments for the news media Wednesday while speaking at a Latin American investment summit that had partly coincided with the IMF and World Bank meetings.
He said the American "liberal press" was "dumb" and that it "miscommunicates" with the American public.
During his speech to the Latin American investors, Sununu reminisced about his days in the White House at the end of the Cold War.
"In 1991, when Gorbachev came to the White House and asked President Bush [to explain to him] the differences in governing in a democracy or a dictatorship, I had the CIA translate the Federalist Papers into Russian." Those 18th-century exchanges of views on the newly drafted U.S. Constitution were early evidence, he said, that "one of the greatest strengths of the [American] system…[is] called checks and balances."
Sununu said that the Bush administration's foreign policy had been "distracted" by the events of Sept. 11 and was focusing less on important economic issues in Latin America.
Outlining his prescription for societal success in Latin America, Sununu said "followership" was key. (Countries, he said need a "society that is confident enough in its leaders that they will… choose to follow its leaders when a decision is made," Sununu said.
He acknowledged in the interview after the speech that, for him, the responsibility for making those decisions had passed, and that he was "leaving the politics to the next generation."
Published in The Manchester Union Leader, in New Hampshire.
Smith Speaks for Helms
By Max Heuer
WASHINGTON, Oct. 02, 2002--Sen. Bob Smith was among a collection of senators who honored retiring Sen. Jesse Helms Wednesday on the Senate floor.
Smith called Helms (R-NC) a "treasured friend, a confidant and a great senator" and added that Helms was a role model.
Smith, who will be leaving the Senate as well after losing the GOP primary last month to Rep. John Sununu (NH-01), spoke passionately of the long-serving Helms.
"You are an irresistible force for liberty," Smith said. "You are an immovable object against big spending and morality."
Helms has served in the Senate since winning election in 1972. He is the senior minority member of the Foreign Relations Committee and is a member of the Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry and the Rules and Administration Committees.
A staunch conservative leader, Helms was recognized by Smith for his dedication to a variety of issues, specifically his advocacy of school prayer, his opposition to abortion and his support for lower taxes. Smith even evoked a comparison to famed New Hampshire Senator Daniel Webster.
"I'm standing now at the desk of Daniel Webster, and there are going to be a lot of people following the senator from North Carolina that are going to be proud to stand at the desk of Senator Helms," Smith said. "You don't worry about the opponents or distorted reports by the news media. You follow your heart."
Published in The Manchester Union Leader, in New Hampshire.
N.H. Turns Out Highest Increase in Primary Voters in Nation
By Max Heuer
WASHINGTON, Oct. 02, 2002--Voter turnout in last month's New Hampshire primary election jumped dramatically from the 1998 midterm elections, recording the highest increase in any state this year and helping to keep the national turnout from dropping to an all-time low.
Both national and state experts say the spike in New Hampshire was largely because of heightened interest in the Republican Senate primary.
But while it is unclear if and how the increase in turnout will affect the Nov. 5 general election, the Granite State historically has been one of the most politically active states in turnout in the country, particularly in congressional and presidential elections. That was not the case four years ago, however, during the last midterm elections.
Nearly 24 percent of the Granite State's voting-age population cast a ballot in this year's midterm primary, more than 11 percentage points higher than in the 1998 elections, according to a report last week by the Committee for the Study of the American Electorate (CSAE)..
Nationally, turnout in states holding primary elections this year increased since 1998 by two-tenths of a percentage point, to 17 percent.
New Hampshire's turnout was the eighth-highest in the nation, a bright contrast to 1998, when only Colorado and New Jersey produced lower primary turnouts.
A highly competitive GOP Senate primary race between incumbent Bob Smith and Rep. John Sununu, along with a variety of other races on the Republican ticket, accounted for 8 of the 11 percentage points, said CSAE director Curtis Gans, an expert in voter turnout. In a phone interview Tuesday, Gans added that the increase "essentially had to do with the intensity of feelings in the Republican Senate race."
But New Hampshire Secretary of State William Gardner said in a phone interview Wednesday there was more than a Senate race motivating GOP voters.
"There were a lot of contests further down on the ballot," Gardner said. "In the state House of Representatives half of the districts had a Republican primary."
He added that there also were 11 state Senate GOP contests, the congressional seat that Sununu will vacate and a gubernatorial nomination.
That was a huge difference from 1998-the lowest-ever mid-term primary turnout nationally-- when unchallenged incumbents in the Senate, House and the governor's office hurt any real competition in the New Hampshire primary elections, Gardner said.
Gans predicted that this year's Senate election between Democratic Gov. Jeanne Shaheen and Sununu will produce a "reasonably good turnout" and that turnout could get even better if some of Smith's supporters go ahead with the write-in campaign for Smith that they announced this week.
And while Gardner said that a high primary turnout does not make a high general election turnout "automatic," he thought it was likely.
"It does have some impact because if more people in the primary have more interest, particularly if they are coming out because a neighbor is running for state representative, it's a good sign there will be a high turnout," he said.
Generally, Gardner said, Republicans in New Hampshire have more candidates and therefore more contested primaries than Democrats.
However, it isn't clear which party the higher turnout would help.
Gans said that historically, the number of people turning out to vote lends no advantage to either party.
But whether any turnout increase would help or hurt either party this year depends more on current events than on how many people decided to vote in the primary, Gardner said.
Republicans rank slightly higher than independents in the Granite State's voting base, with Democrats a distant third.
According to numbers from 2001 that Gardner's office made public, there are 233,363 Republicans, 232,805 independents and 167,062 Democrats registered in the Granite State.
Because New Hampshire lets people register to vote on Election Day, national events that happen within a week of the election could be critical to the turnout, Gardner said.
"(For) those that make up their minds the last week or weekend, it depends if something provides the passion for these voters who sometimes they vote, sometimes they don't, or aren't registered, and something happens that motivates them to come out," Gardner said.
On a national level, it is somewhat rare for voter turnout to increase as dramatically as it did in New Hampshire this year. There are a few other recent examples of it, however, particularly when "the heart of a party is at stake," Gans said.
The Pennsylvania Democratic gubernatorial primary this year in which former Philadelphia Mayor Ed Rendell defeated state auditor Bob Casey produced a similar increase in turnout, Gans said.
Overall though, Gans said, the outlook is pretty bleak for heightened political participation.
"It is obvious that nothing has fundamentally changed in the pattern of very low voter participation in American political life," Gans said in a news release. "The events of Sept. 11, 2001, or the rekindling of those sentiments in 2002 may have helped boost patriotic fervor, but that did not carry over into political participation."
However, Gans also noted in the phone interview that "democracy tends to be healthier in New Hampshire than many states."
Published in The Manchester Union Leader, in New Hampshire.
Sierra Club Report On Nashua Blames Bush
By Max Heuer
WASHINGTON, Sept 26, 2002--The Sierra Club Thursday used the Mohawk Tannery site in Nashua as an example of what it says is the Bush administration's failed environmental policy.
In a report entitled "Leaving Our Communities At Risk," the environmental group pointed to a Granite State site that has been a contentious issue for the Nashua community.
The Tannery site is near the Amherst Street School, and Nashua Alderman at-large Paula Johnson says she has heard reports of children playing on the polluted grounds.
The Tannery is loaded with hazardous substances, including chromium, that, according to the Sierra Club report, can cause convulsions, kidney and liver damage and death.
The Sierra Club reports that the Environmental Protection Agency has made a proposal to clean up the site, but there is no definite time frame for cleanup and it is not on the Superfund National Priorities List. There are currently 19 Superfund sites in New Hampshire.
But the city avoided the list because, Nashua Mayor Bernard Streeter said, because Nashua is trying to obtain direct congressional appropriations to expedite a process that can take 8 to 10 years through the Superfund.
Streeter called the Sierra Club's report "obviously a political press conference to embarrass the present administration in Washington."
The Bush administration did not include a reauthorization of the Superfund "polluters pay" tax in this year's budget. The Superfund was created to clean up environmentally hazardous sites around the country.
The "polluters pay" tax required businesses that created an environmental hazard to pay for the cleanup.
While the tax has not been reauthorized since 1995, Bush's decision marks the first time a president has failed to include it in a budget proposal to Congress, shifting the financing of the Superfund to the taxpayers at large.
"We've seen over the last several years a decrease in the amount of money that goes to Superfund," Sierra Club legislative director Debbie Sease said Thursday. But more importantly, Sease said, the burden for paying for Superfund is now on taxpayers, not polluting businesses.
"In 1995, taxpayers only paid 18 percent [of the cost of the Superfund]," Sease said, adding that in fiscal 2003, the general taxpayer would pay 54 percent and by 2004 "likely will have to pick it all up."
Sease also said electing Democratic Gov. Jeanne Shaheen to the Senate would be an important step in "pushing back" the Bush administration's policy because of Shaheen's superior record on environmental issues, adding that her policy is superior to that of her opponent, GOP Rep. John Sununu.
But Sununu said this simply wasn't true.
"The Sierra Club should spend some money hiring a new research assistant because they can't get their facts straight," Sununu said in a press release. "John Sununu is on record supporting reauthorizing the Superfund surcharges on chemical manufacturers and oil producers that expired in 1995."
Sununu added that he and Shaheen disagreed over the need to reform the program to soften its demands on small businesses.
The Shaheen campaign said Sununu's calls for reform would hurt New Hampshire.
"Governor Shaheen supports protections for New Hampshire small businesses, but she also supports making polluters clean up," said Shaheen spokesman Colin Van Ostern."Sununu's attempt to say that reforms need to be made before it's reauthorized is exactly why there are sites in New Hampshire that are not being cleaned up today, because there is no money in the Superfund."
On Tuesday, the Sierra Club announced it would be distributing information packets and sponsoring ads attacking Sununu's record on the environment.
Published in The Manchester Union Leader, in New Hampshire.
N.H. Senators Respond to Daschle’s Angry Words
By Max Heuer
WASHINGTON, Sept 25, 2002--Scathing remarks from Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle (D-SD) Wednesday accusing President Bush of trying to politicize the looming war in Iraq were met with harsh rebukes from New Hampshire's two Republican senators.
"In my experience I've never heard such an irresponsible statement by a major legislative leader in that he based his allegations on statements which the president and vice president had not made," Gregg said Thursday.
Daschle was responding to remarks Bush made at a political event in New Jersey this week, saying that Democrats had sold out to special interests on labor issues in the Homeland Security bill and that its Senate opponents are "not interested in the security of the American people."
"The president ought to apologize," Daschle said. "He ought to apologize to the American people. That is wrong. He ought not politicize this war. We ought not politicize the rhetoric about war and life and death."
Gregg said the president's remarks were taken out of context by the media and that Daschle was just frustrated.
Daschle "then hyperbolized into a period of almost uncontrolled rage." Gregg added. "He appears to have personalized it and I think that is a big mistake."
"Our country must join together to stave off threats at home and abroad," Sen. Bob Smith said in a press release. "The Democrats should not be playing partisan politics during these challenging times."
Published in The Manchester Union Leader, in New Hampshire.
HELP Marks Up Two Gregg Bills
By Max Heuer
WASHINGTON, Sept. 25, 2002--The Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee approved a pile of bills Wednesday, two of which were sponsored by the committee's ranking Republican, Sen. Judd Gregg (R-NH).
Gregg sponsored the bipartisan Food Allergen Labeling and Consumer Protection Act with committee chairman. Edward Kennedy (D-MA) and the Keeping Children and Families Safe Act with Kennedy and Sen. Chris Dodd (D-CT).
The food allergen legislation would require food companies to identify major food allergens on a product's label.
The second bill includes a reauthorization of the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act, which Gregg supports.
"Each year, close to one million children in the United States are abused or neglected," Gregg said in a press release. "These funds will help provide grants to states for additional training for child and family service workers."
The measure also includes new state requirements aimed at improving accountability and service.
Gregg also supported bills aimed at preventing birth defects and developmental disabilities, increasing funding for pharmacy education and adding funds for the Education Department for research and for new National Research and Development Centers. All three bills also were approved Wednesday.
Published in The Manchester Union Leader, in New Hampshire.
Gregg Makes Case for West Nile Virus Bill
By Max Heuer
WASHINGTON, Sept. 25, 2002--New Hampshire Sen. Judd Gregg (R) made the case this week for the need to increase funding for research and programs to combat the West Nile virus, a growing peril around the country that is spreading in the Granite State
"We're seeing in my state the death of the bird population, which is clearly tied to West Nile virus infection, and the fact is that [the virus] could be transmitted to humans in northern New England," Gregg said Tuesday at a joint Senate hearing on the virus by the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee and the Governmental Affairs Subcommittee On Oversight Of Government Management, Restructuring and the District of Columbia.
While there are no reports of human infection in New Hampshire to date, about 100 birds have tested positive for the virus in New Hampshire since May compared to a total of 83 birds in all of 2001.
While mosquitoes spread the virus, it is prevalent in many birds.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says there is no evidence to suggest transfer from person to person or from animal to person, ruling out any direct bird-to-human transfer. But the CDC also noted that the presence of dead birds in an area might indicate that the virus is being spread from mosquitoes to birds.
The most recent finding this week was a dead bird from Loudon. This development confirmed "that West Nile virus continues to spread across our state, and northward," Dr. Jose Montero, chief of the New Hampshire bureau of communicable disease, said in a press release Wednesday.
For most humans, exposure to the virus usually brings flu-like symptoms, according to the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services.
But the virus can be fatal to the elderly, young children and people with weakend immune systems.
Both Gregg, the ranking Republican on the Health Committee, and committee chairman Edward Kennedy (D-MA) highlighted the spread of the virus this year in particular.
The virus was first discovered in New York City in 1999. A total of 151 cases and 19 deaths from the virus were reported through 2001.
This year, however, the numbers have spiked - as of Wednesday, 98 people had died and 2,072 cases had been reported to the CDC. The virus also has spread west, with its highest incidences this year in Illinois, Louisiana, Michigan, and Ohio.
"The news of the spread of the West Nile virus at such a fast rate is alarming," Gregg said in a press release this week.
Gregg introduced legislation last week that would provide $100 million to the CDC to develop mosquito abatement programs, a method of chemical spraying over large land areas to prevent the spread of the disease in mosquitoes.
The bill also directs the National Institutes of Health to research insect control methods and asks various organizations, including the Red Cross, to look into the virus's potential impact on blood supply.
At Tuesday's hearing, Gregg pressed Dr. Jesse L. Goodman, deputy director of the Food and Drug Administration's Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, on how long it would take to set up a testing system for the virus in blood banks.
Goodman said a testing system could be available as soon as next summer, but added that would be "an optimistic" outlook. Another major issue, Gregg said, is the need to balance the environmental concerns with the need to combat a fatal virus.
"Obviously we're known for years that certain types of spraying do have a significant environmental impact," he said. "Is it appropriate for us, however, to initiate aggressive spraying programs in the face of those environmental impacts because the human impact of not doing the spraying is more significant?"
Among those testifying about the issue was CDC director Dr. Julie Louise Gerberding.
"Spraying usually is really the last resort, and the · assistance that CDC provides usually suggests that we not institute spraying programs until there are actually human cases in an area, because we try to deal with the problem through all other means first," Gerberding said.
The CDC recommends the use of insect repellent that contains the chemical DEET to ward off mosquitoes carrying the virus, but warns that infants should not use it. DEET is safe for use on young children in a concentration no higher than 10 percent, Gerberding said.
A vaccine for the West Nile virus is in the works and may be available in about three years, Dr. Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said at the committee hearing.
Published in The Manchester Union Leader, in New Hampshire.
