Category: Fall 2003 Newswire
Gregg Investigates Academic Freemon on U.S.Campuses
WASHINGTON – U.S. Sen. Judd Gregg is leading a congressional inquiry to investigate whether, as college tuition costs soar across the country, the academic climate on campuses has remained free and open.
The New Hampshire Republican and chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee has called a series of four hearings before his committee to find out whether intellectual diversity is an “endangered species on America’s college campuses.”
In an interview, Gregg said: “I’m concerned that we’re developing a generation of people that don’t understand the basic history of the United States, especially how we developed a constitutional democracy. I’m concerned that on certain campuses there has been a failure of dialogue, that people who disagree with political correctness on the campus are not allowed to make their points, are marginalized. And I’m concerned that we’ve created an academic atmosphereá where dogma is becoming the rule of the day and indoctrination the manner to promote the dogma.”
Gregg, in a written opening statement before the second hearing held Wednesday, said: “Ultimately, this is a quality issue. While college tuitions go up and up, it’s fair to ask just what students and parents are getting for their money.”
Citing what he called a proliferation of “pet courses” – such as one called “pornography and prostitution in history” at Tennessee’s Vanderbilt University – that he said squeeze their way into curricula based on “interest-group politics” rather than academic merit, Gregg expressed concern that more traditional courses on American and European history are being replaced. But he added that it wasn’t government’s job to legislate what students should learn.
The hearings dovetail with a bill Gregg introduced earlier this year to provide grants to promote American government and civics education in U.S. schools. A committee hearing last month examined the content of the textbooks used in America’s primary and secondary schools.
“What are we teaching them about our American traditions if traditional subjects like political and constitutional history are shoved aside to make room for trendy courses designed to appeal to grievance-based politics?” Gregg asked in his opening remarks.
The committee also heard testimony from civil libertarian groups that fear that colleges and universities are infringing on students’ First Amendment right to free speech by imposing speech codes.
The Foundation for Individual Rights in Education ranks Dartmouth College and the University of New Hampshire among the worst offenders in the nation when it comes to vague rules that restrict students’ speech, said the group’s CEO, Thor Halvorssen, Thursday.
Both universities denied the allegations. “The foundation of Dartmouth College is that we are a marketplace of ideas and we are committed to the free exchange of all views,” said Laurel Stavis, a spokesperson for Darthmouth.
Kim Billings, a spokesperson for the University of New Hampshire called the allegation “ludicrous” and said, “Of course we support the First Amendment right to speecháif there’s one thing about a university, we all have an opinion about everything and we all listen to each other.”
On Wednesday, the foundation’s director of legal and public advocacy told the committee these speech codes are all the more disturbing at academic institutions that often claim to foster environments of free speech and open debate.
Professor David Johnson of Brooklyn College and the Graduate Center of the City University of New York testified that he was persecuted and nearly denied tenure because his areas of expertise – political, diplomatic and constitutional history – were considered too conservative by his institution.
Gregg echoed Johnson’s concerns.
“There appears to be an increasing number of incidents in which alternative viewpoints are either silenced or ignored in the classroom – often with hostility or disdain,” he said.
NH Sens. Yeah and Nay on Global Warming Bill
WASHINGTON - New Hampshire Republican Sens. Judd Gregg and John Sununu uncharacteristically split their votes Thursday on what some environmental advocates called the most significant vote on global climate change in the Senate's history.
The measure would have forced industries to reduce their carbon dioxide emissions to 2000 levels by the year 2010. It would also have allowed industries to buy and trade emissions credits to stay within the cap.
Gregg voted for the bill, which was sponsored by Sens. Joseph I. Lieberman, D-Conn, and John McCain, R-Ariz, while Sununu voted against it. The bill failed, 43-55.
Some environmental experts have long argued that carbon dioxide is the leading cause of global climate change, commonly called global warming.
Many Republicans, including the Bush administration, have opposed government caps on carbon dioxide emissions on the grounds that it could unfairly harm the fossil fuel industry and damage an already struggling economy. The administration, which openly opposed the bill, prefers industry self-policing. Other opponents have challenged the science behind climate change, saying that there's no proof any such thing as global warming exists.
U.S. Congressman Charles Bass, R-NH, introduced a bill in the House last month that would also impose a cap-and-trade system on a number of air pollutants emitted by power plants, including carbon dioxide. Gregg helped author a similar bill in the Senate.
And while it was widely believed that Lieberman's and McCain's bill would fail, environmentalists nonetheless hailed it as a victory simply because it forced Senators to go on record on carbon dioxide emissions and climate change. The last time the Senate voted on the issue was in 1997, when it voted 95-0 against supporting the controversial Kyoto Protocol.
"We would like to applaud Sen. Gregg for his support on this historic vote," said Jan Pendlebury, a spokesperson with the New Hampshire office of the National Environmental Trust, an advocacy group that lobbied hard for the bill. "It's a shame that Sen. Sununu still questions the science on global warming after so many government-funded studies have clearly indicated the association between human activity and increasing atmospheric carbon level."
In a statement, Sununu said the bill and the strictures it would impose would not be cost- effective and could damage the economy.
"Enormous cost, minimal benefit. That's the bottom line," he said. "If we place harsh limits on CO2 emissions, energy costs for every American will go up. Meanwhile, China, Russia, Mexico and other countries are exempt [from the Kyoto Protocol], and when American manufacturing costs rise in order to comply with this bill, those jobs go overseas."
He also said that climate change data supplied by the United Nations indicated that global temperatures would increases despite the bill's caps.
In his own statement, Gregg said that the cap-and-trade strategy was economically sound and environmentally necessary to protect New Hampshire's natural beauty.
"This amendment addresses the emission of greenhouse gases in a responsible and prudent way," Gregg said. "The 'cap and trade' approach utilized in this amendment uses the market forces to achieve the most economical reduction in emissionsá."
He added: "Without addressing the emissions from utilities, manufacturers and factories, New Hampshire will continue toá be known as the tailpipe of our nation."
McCain-Lieberman Global Warming Bill Rejected by Senate
By Kevin Joy
WASHINGTON - The Senate on Thursday rejected a bill intended to combat global warming by lowering levels of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases.
The bill, cosponsored by Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman, D.-Conn., would have capped the amount of greenhouse gases industrial outlets could release. It was defeated by a vote of 55-43, suffering the same fate as the last proposal to fight global warming, which died in 1997.
President Bush opposed the measure, arguing emissions reductions should be voluntary.
Under the latest bill, companies that exceeded the projected annual limit of 10,000 metric tons of greenhouse gas could purchase emissions "credits" from other outlets producing less than the limit -a plan similar in structure to the successful acid rain trading program included in the 1990 Clean Air Act. Any company not meeting the limit would be fined three times the market value for each additional ton of greenhouse gas it emitted.
The bill's ultimate goal was to reduce carbon dioxide emissions in 2010 to levels measured in 2000.
On Wednesday, Lieberman described the legislation, which he sponsored with Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., as "a modest proposition" and blasted President Bush's failure to act against global warming. Senators last considered global warming six years ago, when they voted 95-0 against the more stringent Kyoto Protocol, an international treaty on climate change.
But in a statement following his bill's defeat, Lieberman said congressional attitudes toward environmental issues were steadily improving.
"Today's vote shows that the political climate is changing on climate change," he said. "Global warming is now on the front burner of the national agenda."
Political experts knew the bill's passage would be a long shot. It faced significant opposition from Republican lawmakers and the Bush administration, which prefer voluntary corporate emission reductions over federal enforcement. In addition, the Environmental Protection Agency decided in August that carbon dioxide couldn't be regulated as a pollutant.
Regardless, McCain said in a statement he was hopeful that the closeness of the vote would create a greater awareness of the problem of climate change when global warming legislation comes up for a vote in the future.
"We've lost a big battle today, but we'll win over time because climate change is real," McCain said. "You can only win by marshaling public opinion."
State and local governments now are leading the way on climate change. Last week, 12 states, including Connecticut, Massachusetts and Maine, filed suit against the EPA's decision not to regulate carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases. At the same time, 156 mayors-including those representing Bridgeport, Hamden, New Haven, Stamford, Waterbury and Windham-signed a statement sent to Bush and a host of government agencies in support of the McCain-Lieberman bill.
"We really hoped to get some visibility," said Susan Ode, the outreach director for the International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives, the group that organized the mayoral coalition. "It's an issue that has tremendous support among local governments."
While Bush argued that the global warming bill could endanger jobs and spike federal costs, a recent study by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology said McCain-Lieberman would cost approximately $20 per household per year.
National energy, transportation and manufacturing sectors were responsible for approximately 85 percent of overall U.S. greenhouse gas emissions in 2000. The farming industry and households would have been exempt from McCain and Lieberman's reduction requirements.
Too Early to Tell Effects of NCLB Federal Funding
WASHINGTON - Ever since the No Child Left Behind act was signed into law in 2001, educators, New Hampshire legislators and federal officials have been debating whether the federal government is providing New Hampshire enough money to pay for the law's requirements.
Lorraine Patusky of the Office of Accountability of the New Hampshire Board of Education said it was too early to tell what kind of financial impact the new requirements will have on schools in the Granite State.
"The truth is we don't know," Patusky said. "The truth is we're much too early into this and we really don't know what the effects are going be because the effects aren't short term."
The law is intended to raise the standards of schools across the country by holding schools accountable for low test scores and unqualified teachers. Under the law, schools are expected to test their students annually, hire and retain higher-quality teachers and identify students needing special education.
U.S. Department of Education officials have defended the amount of federal funds allotted to New Hampshire schools, saying the state is expected to receive approximately $167.9 million in 2004, up $32.4 million from when President Bush entered the White House. Approximately $62.9 million is directed toward No Child Left Behind reforms.
But New Hampshire educators insist that the dollars are not enough, especially because of the costs of implementing the accountability tests within each school.
"What we've learned is that the testing that has to be done under this law is very expensive," said Steven Sacks, staff attorney for the National Education Association-New Hampshire. "And I question whether the Congress understood á the cost it would entail to undertake all this testing when they passed the law."
The U.S. Department of Education could not provide numbers on the cost of the new accountability testing. A report from the New Hampshire School Administrators Association, however, says implementing annual tests will cost approximately $5.5 million a year.
Patusky said part of the fiscal problem is that state legislators have cut education funding because of the expectation that the federal government will pick up the check, she said.
"If you look at the legislature, they're seeing that all of this money is coming into the state for No Child Left Behind," Patusky said. "So why do they need to fund things on a state level anymore?"
"That creates a feeling in the state that there's not enough money, when in fact the legislature had been appropriating money on an annual basis for [education], and they just stopped the funding."
One of the key goals of the No Child Left Behind law is to ensure the presence of high-quality teachers in the school system. Washington is expected to provide $13.6 million to New Hampshire in 2004 to help meet that goal, according to the U.S. Department of Education.
A report by the Concord-based Josiah Bartlett Center for Public Policy in February states that attracting and retaining high-quality teachers would cost New Hampshire schools approximately $11.5 million in 2004. However, a report last November from the New Hampshire School Administrators Association (NHSAA) put the cost at approximately $28 million.
The Bartlett report also concludes that the federal government is providing adequate funds if schools manage their money well, while the NHSAA report accuses Washington of failing to provide enough.
Patusky said the real financial effects of No Child Left Behind are probably "somewhere in the middle" of the two reports, and "neither one is probably accurate."
Part of the problem could be a disconnect in communication between the federal government and the state government, especially when it comes to specific financial figures, said the NEA's Sacks.
"The federal government has been pushing No Child Left Behind and the advantages of it without looking at the realities," Sacks said. "It frustrates educators because they're the ones that are dealing with the reality of this law on a day-to-day basis."
Bradley Learning the Ropes Inside the Beltway
By David Tamasi
WASHINGTON - A little more than a year ago, Jeb Bradley cast a vote in the New Hampshire House to establish an employee recognition and award program. Now, he is preparing to travel to Iraq as part of a congressional delegation.
The venture overseas--Bradley said he couldn't disclose the exact details of his trip yet--signals his conversion from state legislator to member of the U.S. Congress.
As his first year in the House comes to a close, Bradley said the biggest difference between serving in Congress and in the New Hampshire legislature is the need to understand a variety of domestic and foreign issues. He served 12 years in the state legislature.
"When I was in the legislature, I was able to almost exclusively focus on a couple of issues," he said in an interview. "Here, there are a lot of things that were not really part of my experience in the legislature."
Bradley listed foreign policy and veterans' affairs as two examples of subjects on which he had to "broaden my perspective."
Bradley defeated Democrat Martha Fuller Clark last November in a race for the House seat vacated by now-Senator John Sununu. Since he took the oath of office in January, Bradley has been thrown into the front lines of national policy debates over national security, the economy and health care.
"When I do town meetings at home, those are the big issues that people are talking about," he said.
Sitting in his Capitol Hill office, Bradley was relaxed as he hewed to the Republican Party line on a number of issues. He expressed support for President Bush, but acknowledged that many of his constituents are concerned about the conflict in Iraq.
"I get a lot of questions, certainly," he said. "But I think there is broad support for the President and an understanding that he is doing everything in his power to make Americans secure."
Bradley added that there will "always be people who argue over details."
Though the conflict in Iraq dominates the national and local headlines, Congress is also hoping to complete work on Medicare and energy legislation before recessing for the year in November. Bradley said he believed the Medicare reform bill had a better chance of passage than the energy bill but cautioned that his comments were based on "what he has heard."
And therein lies another change for Bradley. Last year in the state legislature, Bradley was an intimate player in the passage of the New Hampshire Clean Power Act. Now, as a freshman in Congress, he is generally out of the loop. Decisions in Congress are made by committee chairs and party leaders who gain positions, in part, because of their seniority. Freshmen are rarely involved in the discussions that lead to important legislation.
Currently, the Medicare bill is the focus of intense negotiations between House and Senate lawmakers. House Republicans are seeking a bill that would include a provision to allow private companies to compete with the government-sponsored health plan for seniors. Senate Democrats oppose this measure because, they say, it would leave poorer seniors with inadequate coverage. The issue has emerged as a key sticking point. Just this week Bush stepped into the fray to urge Congress to send him a bill he could sign.
"There is a lot of support for it [Medicare]," Bradley said. "I think that there will be ways of bridging the gap."
Bradley said he would not be surprised if there was a fallback position that would let private plans compete in some way to give seniors "some choice." House members, for example, would support medical savings accounts that allow people to set aside pre-tax dollars for their medical expenses, he said.
While expressing less confidence that consensus could be reached on an energy bill, Bradley said he doubted that a controversial provision to permit oil drilling in Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge would be included in the final version of the bill. Critics say the drilling would destroy the environment; proponents have argued it would reduce U.S. dependence on foreign oil.
Bradley said he also did not think Congress had an appetite for another round of tax cuts, but added that a bill to ease tax rates on corporations doing business overseas might be passed in the next several months. This would stem the loss of manufacturing jobs, he said.
Three weeks ago, Bradley flew on Air Force One with Bush, Sununu and fellow New Hampshire Republican Rep. Charlie Bass for a Manchester appearance before what he called a "friendly audience." Bradley said he expected the President to carry New Hampshire in the 2004 general election. Bush won by a narrow margin there in 2000.
Would the President's coattails help him in his own re-election effort?
"I hope so," Bradley laughed.
New Hampshire Senate Candidates Gregg, Cohen File Campaign Reports
By David Tamasi
WASHINGTON - While most New Hampshire voters are focused on the state's Democratic presidential primary Jan. 27, another statewide political race is looming next year.
Republican Senator Judd Gregg is seeking re-election to a third term, but faces a challenge from State Senator Burton J. Cohen, a Democrat from New Castle. Gregg is considered the favorite because of his high name recognition and his ability to raise money, which was strengthened when Gregg assumed the chairmanship of the powerful Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee when Republicans took control of the Senate this year.
Gregg reported raising $179,590 from July 1 through Sept. 30, while spending $69,413, according to records filed with the Federal Elections Commission. At the end of the three-month period, he had $1,218,300 cash on hand. Altogether, Gregg has raised $1,248,317 for his 2004 race, 57 percent of it -- $709,438 -- from political action committees (PACs). Most PACs represent business, labor or ideological interests, and committee chairs such as Gregg are often prime beneficiaries of their donations.
Yet despite Gregg's financial advantage, New Hampshire Democrats say they are optimistic about Cohen's chances.
"I think he [Cohen] is going to work very hard," said Pamela Walsh, spokeswoman for the New Hampshire Democratic Party. "There are weaknesses in Senator Gregg, and there is a growing unease with some of his positions."
Walsh blamed Gregg for Congress's failure to fully fund the No Child Left Behind Act, the education reform measure that became law in 2001. As a result, she said, New Hampshire taxpayers will have to pick an increased share of the tab to enforce the law's requirements for student testing and school performance.
The Cohen campaign insists the Democrat can be competitive with less money.
"We expect to be outspent," said Jesse Burchfield, Cohen's campaign manager. "But it is going well, and we are meeting our targets."
Cohen reported raising $98,271 from July 1 through Sept. 30 and spending $69,429, according to FEC reports. He ended the third quarter with $187,904 cash on hand. For the year, Cohen has raised $256,893. He has also lent his campaign $65,000 of his own money. In addition, Cohen reported receiving a $1,000 contribution from actress Susan Sarandon and donating $1,000 to the Democratic presidential campaign of Massachusetts Senator John Kerry.
In the last three months, Cohen spent $52,390, or about 75 percent of his total spending, on political consultants and staff. Of that, $21,200 went to the political fundraising firm of Cunningham, Harris and Associates, a significant expenditure that demonstrates Cohen's effort to bridge some of the fundraising gap with Gregg.
New Hampshire Republican Senator John Sununu, who does not face reelection until 2008, reported raising $6,050 in the three months that ended Sept. 30, while spending $28,951. He had $15,296 on hand.
The most recent campaign filing for Massachusetts Democratic Senator Edward M. Kennedy showed that during the same time period, he raised $21,670, spent $54,903 and had $62,948 cash available. He also has $3,469,109 left over from his landslide reelection in 2000, money he can spend in his next race. Kennedy, 71, was first elected to the Senate in 1962. Aides have said that he will seek another term in 2006.
NH Schools See Potential Challenges in Visa System
WASHINGTON - New Hampshire college officials are voicing concern that the newly tightened U.S. visa system could seriously delay the student visa application process and hurt their chances of attracting quality foreign students who may choose to go elsewhere for their education.
Recently, a Rwandan doctoral student in environmental studies at Antioch New England Graduate School missed his first semester of classes because of a delay in his visa application.
The school allowed "plenty of time" for him to receive his visa, but the need for clearance in Washington caused delays, according to Laura Andrews, Antioch's associate director of admissions. The student finally received his visa in August after months of delays and was able to begin his studies in September.
"That I don't think would have happened prior to Sept. 11," Andrews said.
Since the government instituted higher scrutiny of non-immigrant visas in response to the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, New Hampshire college officials have been concerned that international students might be deterred by the lengthy and more in-depth application process.
Testifying before a subcommittee of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee last week, John Aber, the University of New Hampshire's vice president for research and public service, praised the federal government's work in strengthening the country's immigration process to avoid another terrorist attack but raised concern about the impact on foreign students.Since 2001, the United States has stepped up border security, requested more data from visa applicants and asked schools to report on the activities of foreign students.
To date student visa applications at UNH have not been affected by the government's increased scrutiny, Aber told the International Operations and Terrorism Subcommittee, which Sen. John Sununu (R-N.H.) chairs. The university receives approximately 800 applications a year from international students, scholars and families, and two to four of them are rejected each year because of suspicions of terrorist affiliations, he reported. That number has not increased since before the terrorist attacks.
But international students could begin looking to other countries for schooling to avoid long waits for non-immigrant visas - a three- to nine-month process -- leading to a sharp decline in science and technology students, Aber said. He said one-third of U.S. science and engineering doctoral degrees are awarded to foreign students.
"There is general agreement that the optimum management of our research enterprise requires free and open access by U.S. universities and laboratories to the pool of aspiring students and scholars who hold citizenship in other countries," he said. "This pool provides a significant part of the energy and talent that drives our technological advancement."
Other countries, such as Canada, have begun to compete for these scholars by boasting faster visa applications processes, Aber said. Because of the lengthy process, some foreign students attending American universities have been prohibited from traveling home to visit their families during holidays, he testified.
But Antioch's Andrews said that many of the college's approximately 20 international students- have had few problems when returning to the United States after a holiday. She has heard from some students that crossing the border has become a "smoother" experience."
"None of them are from the particular countries which are being watched, but from what I've [heard] á none of our students have any trouble," Andrews said.
None of the international students who started at Franklin Pierce College this fall were denied visas, but added interview requirements have lengthened the application process, said Susan Oehlschlaeger, the school's director of international student services.
"The worst impact on maybe one or two of them was that they actually had to change their travel arrangements," she said.
Students at Keene State College have not seen many problems either, according to Angela Yang, director of national and international exchange. One student attending the college under an exchange program did, however, miss a portion of his semester when his visa application was delayed.
"We haven't had immediate or direct experiences in terms of what the students have been able to share with us of their experiences," Yang said.
For Oehlschlaeger, the tightened visa system requires better communication with international applicants.
"I think mostly what it tells us is the warning that we have to give to students about how long this process is going to take," she said.
FBI Crime Report Shows Maine is Safe
WASHINGTON - Maine's number of reported crimes dropped in 2002, defying the national trend, according to an FBI report released Monday.
Nationwide, an estimated 11.9 million crimes were reported to police in 2002, an increase of less than one tenth of 1 percent over 2001. In Maine, the number of reported crimes in 2002 was 34,381, a drop of 0.6 percent from the 34,588 crimes in 2001.
The FBI report shows only six states, two of them in New England, had lower 2002 crime rates or crime indexes -- the number of crimes per 100,000 people -- than Maine.
In New England, New Hampshire and Vermont have slightly lower crime rates than Maine. In terms of violent crimes, only North Dakota and Vermont had rates lower than Maine's.
The FBI statistics reveal striking regional differences: the Northeast had by far the lowest crime rate last year, at 2,889.0 per 100,000 people, with the Midwest next at 3,883.1, the West at 4,418.8 and the South at 4,721.9.
Maine's crime index last year was 2,656.0, well below the national crime index of 4,118.8.
Michael P. Cantara, the commissioner of the Maine Department of Public Safety called the FBI report and similar ones produced by his agency "a barometer of how safe people are in Maine and how effective law enforcement is."
In the past seven years, Maine's crime figures have been flat or slightly declining, according to Cantara.
Asked why Maine is such a safe state, Cantara, drawing on his 22 years of experience as a prosecutor and then public safety commissioner, emphasized the values of Maine residents.
"Our communities are still intact," he said.
Cantara said he expected the downward trend to continue, even though some crimes, such as sexual and elderly abuse, might increase. The number of forcible rapes rose from 326 in 2001 to 377 in 2002.
In some cases, Cantara said, it is the reporting, not necessarily the crimes, that has risen.
Crimes such as sexual abuse are coming "out of the shadows of shame and denial, so we can expect an increase in cases reported," he said. The growth in the number of senior citizens in Maine also makes them a greater target for emotional, sexual and financial abuse, he said.
Senate Set to Vote on National Privacy Standard
by Becky Evans
WASHINGTON - Flying above the headquarters of Citigroup Inc. in Midtown Manhattan last week, a lone airplane scrawled five digits across a clear-blue sky: the first part of Citigroup Chairman Charles Prince's Social Security number.
The Foundation for Taxpayer & Consumer Rights, a California-based consumer group, used the skywriting stunt to illustrate the problem of identity theft and to protest Citigroup's support of financial privacy legislation that will be debated in the U.S. Senate this week.
The controversial bill, sponsored by Sen. Richard Shelby (R-Ala.), would reauthorize the Fair Credit Reporting Act, a 1970 federal law that established national credit reporting standards. Unless reauthorized, several provisions of the law will expire at the end of the year.
Shelby's bill would strengthen existing law by requiring merchants to eliminate credit card and bank account numbers on electronic receipts, increasing the maximum penalty for identity theft from three to five years in prison and allowing consumers to place fraud alerts on their consumer reports.
But consumers' groups said the bill doesn't go far enough to protect Americans from the growing crime of identity theft, which occurs when someone steals a Social Security number or other personal information to obtain credit, merchandise or services in someone else's name.
The Foundation for Taxpayer & Consumer Rights and other advocacy groups oppose a provision in the bill and in the current law that prevents states from passing financial privacy laws that are tougher than the federal law.
Jamie Court, executive director of the taxpayers' foundation, said the bill would prevent California's recently passed privacy law from taking effect next July as planned. The law would allow consumers to prevent financial institutions from giving or selling their private financial information to corporate affiliates.
If the federal bill is passed, it also would undermine legislation sponsored by Massachusetts State Rep. William M. Straus (D-Mattapoisett) that would provide consumers with the same protections as the California law, said Eric Bourassa, a consumer associate for the Massachusetts Public Interest Research Group.
Rep. Straus said he would "be disappointed if Congress takes away from the states the ability to provide strong privacy protectionsáMy personal hope is that they leave the states alone on this."
In 1995, Massachusetts became the first state to grant consumers the right to a free credit report each year, so they can better monitor their credit records for fraud. If the federal bill is passed, this law would remain intact, but additional privacy protections would be blocked.
California Senators Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer, both Democrats, are expected to introduce an amendment to the federal bill that would limit the amount of sensitive consumer information corporations can disburse.
"The dirty little secret is that corporations can share private information with thousands of affiliatesá making it easier to know everything about everyone," Mr. Court said. To prove his point, he said he bought Mr. Prince's Social Security number on the Internet for $30. For the same price, Mr. Court's organization also bought the Social Security numbers of Gov. Mitt Romney and Mayor Thomas M. Menino in September.
A recent study by the Federal Trade Commission showed that nearly 10 million Americans, 2,957 of them Massachusetts residents, were victims of identity theft in 2002. Identity theft victims spend an average of $1,400 and 600 hours trying to clear their names, according to the Identity Theft Resource Center, a nonprofit group dedicated to raising public awareness of identity theft.
Banks, insurance companies and other financial institutions support the federal bill, even though they are also victims of identity theft, according to lobbyists working on their behalf.
"Everyone knows that, at the end of day, financial institutions have to absorb the losses from identity theft," said Nessa Feddis, senior counsel at the American Bankers Association. The bankers' group belongs to the Financial Services Coordinating Council, which has lobbied in support of the bill.
Ms. Feddis said permanent federal pre-emption of state privacy laws would be necessary to preserve the current nationwide credit system "that allows anyone to get a credit card or mortgage from anywhere in the country.
"If you have 50 different states adopting different rules, it makes the credit system inefficient and expensive," she said. "We are talking about 50 different forms you have to fill out, which complicates things and adds expenses. There is no tangible consumer benefit."
Ms. Feddis said the federal bill includes new regulations that would protect consumers from identity theft and improve the accuracy and accessibility of consumer credit reports.
But consumer groups assert these measures are not strong enough. They say that if financial institutions were serious about cracking down on identity theft, they would support a stronger bill that prohibited affiliates from sharing consumer information. The institutions haven't done that, Mr. Court said, because it would cost them more than identity theft does.
"They want to be able to share information with any company they want, so they can market you in more ways," he said. "To them the cost of identity theft is an easy write-off compared to the benefits of trading personal information."
Massachusetts does not require companies to obtain permission from consumers before selling their private data.
Shelley Curran, policy analyst at the Consumers Union, a nonprofit testing organization that publishes Consumer Reports, said there is a "simple connection" between information sharing and identity theft.
"If a financial institution has 1,700 affiliates, that means information can be shared in 1,700 different places, making it easier for computer hackers to steal consumers' information," she said.
It is to protect this information sharing that Citigroup and other financial institutions have been "throwing megabucks" at members of the House and Senate banking committees to pass legislation that prevents states from enacting tough privacy laws, said Linda Foley, executive director of the Identity Theft Resource Center.
The Center for Responsive Politics, an independent organization that monitors campaign contributions, reported that Citigroup and other businesses that support the Senate bill contributed more than $471,000 in the first half of this year to Republicans and Democrats on the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee, which passed the bill.
"In terms of the banking committee, which obviously gets most of its money from banking and financial interests, it is not an uncommon concern that industry is giving influence by giving money," said Sheryl Fred, a researcher at the center. "Consumer groups are concerned because these consumer groups don't give a lot of money."
Citigroup spent $4.6 million on lobbying in the first six months of this year, according to a report filed with Congress. The investment bank is also the top contributor to Sen. Shelby's 2004 re-election campaign. According to the Center for Responsive Politics, Citigroup contributed $62,000 to Sen. Shelby, who chairs the Senate banking committee.
Banks, credit unions, and insurers have also made major campaign contributions to members of the House Financial Services Committee, which passed a similar privacy bill in September. The House bill, which passed by a vote of 292-30, would permanently extend the 1996 Fair Credit Reporting Act provision that prevents states from enacting stronger privacy protections.
Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.), the senior Democrat on the committee, voted in favor of the bill. Frank received a $5,000 contribution from the American Bankers Association, a key supporter of the reauthorization bill. But spokespersons for consumer groups said Frank worked hard to add consumer protections to the bill.
"Barney Frank was trying to add amendments to strengthen what was already a bad bill," said Ms. Foley, of the Identity Theft Resource Center.
One of Frank's amendments, which was approved on the House floor by a vote of 233-189, would make it easier for consumers to identify and remove inaccurate information from their credit reports.
"I wanted to go further, but couldn't because of the Republican majority" in the House, Mr. Frank said. "We improved somewhat how a consumer can respond once they are a victim, but that's not enough."
Frank said consumers should be able to prevent companies from sharing their personal information.
Lawmakers who support the federal bill say it helps financial institutions and consumers alike.
"From Senator Shelby's perspective, it strikes a proper balance between the operation of consumer credit markets and consumer privacy concerns," said Andrew Gray, spokesman for Republicans on the Senate banking committee. He said the committee debated the legislation for six months and held half a dozen hearings.
"We were able to craft a strong, bipartisan legislation that received the unanimous support of the committee," he said. "The House passed a similar bill permanently extending the FCRA provision...Clearly, there is broad and overwhelming support in the U.S. Congress to enact an FCRA bill into law this year."
Ed Mierzwinski, a consumer advocate with the Massachusetts Public Interest Research Group, said he is concerned that the federal bill would stifle new ideas at the state-level.
"Virtually every piece of this bill is based on an existing state law," he said. "So if you permanently prevent states from passing laws in future, where will these ideas come from?"
The Year 2007 Looks to be a Promising One for New Britain
WASHINGTON - The expected completion in 2007 of a bus route stretching about nine miles from Hartford to New Britain will reduce traffic congestion on Interstate 84 and stimulate economic development in New Britain, according to Michael Sanders, transit administrator for the Connecticut Department of Transportation (CDOT).
The U.S. Senate has approved a transportation appropriations bill for next year that includes more than $40 million to help reduce traffic congestion and improve air quality in Connecticut. Of that, $10 million would be spent on the Hartford-New Britain Busway. But the version approved earlier by the House includes no funds for the busway.
"This measure can literally help transport Connecticut to a brighter future," said U.S. Senator Christopher Dodd (D-Conn.). "It is a tremendous step in the right direction to help create new jobs, improve air quality, ease commute times and provide a better quality of life for families all across our state. I hope the House will agree with these important Connecticut priorities."
House and Senate negotiators now must try to reconcile the two versions of the bill. Dodd's office said the full $10 million still might be approved.
Connecticut, like other states, is suffering from increased automobile use, with traffic congestion turning what should be short commutes into long, frustrating ones.
The state's solution is a two-lane exclusive bus roadway, with about 12 stations, including one in New Britain and one in Newington. The project will cost $175 million or more, depending on the final design, Sanders said.
"We're still in the preliminary design," he said. "So it's reasonable that the cost could increase."
James Boice, chief of planning for CDOT, is optimistic that some part of the $10 million the Senate has approved will also be approved by the House. He said the roadway would be built with or without the $10 million. Congress has appropriated more than $17 million for the project in the last three fiscal years.
"These funds will encourage more commuters to use transit, get more cars off our clogged interstates and ensure our continued ability to attract new businesses to the state," said U.S. Senator Joseph Lieberman (D-Conn.).
According to Dodd's office, the busway project has a dual purpose: to decrease congestion on I-84 and to create jobs. "It kills two birds with one stone," an aide said.
Peter Agostini, president of the New Britain Transportation Co., said the busway would be a "huge benefit" and boost the economy of New Britain as Hartford residents come to work in the city.
But, Agostini said, generating a sufficient passenger load to justify it may be difficult.
"Connecticut's a tough sell," he said. "It's one of the wealthiest states in the country, and they think, 'God forbid you take away our automobile.' "
Agostini added that he is certain people will take the bus if it is marketed properly. The state has been marketing public transportation in general, Boice said. But little has been done for the future busway.
"There is no heavy-duty marketing yet because we will not start service for four years," Sanders said. "That would be kind of premature."
Sanders was optimistic the new roadway would be a boon for New Britain.
"Clearly, people from Hartford will come to New Britain. It certainly will increase transportation infrastructure in New Britain," he said. He added that "there will be a lot of economic development along the whole route."
The exclusive busway would follow rail lines, some of them abandoned, from Hartford through Newington and into New Britain center, eliminating some of the environmental problems that building a busway from scratch would have entailed, according to Ned Hurle, director of environmental planning for CDOT.
According to a CDOT report, the exclusive busway would cut bus travel time between Hartford and New Britain by 11 minutes and bring it close to automobile drive times.
