Category: Dori Berman
Families Make Final Call for Intel Reform
By Dori Berman
WASHINGTON, November 30, 2004-Families of victims of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks will hold vigils this week in several cities nationwide urging House Republican leaders to allow the stalled intelligence reform bill to come to the floor for debate and a vote when Congress returns for a second lame-duck session next week.
“All of us hoped that by now.America would have the legislation it needs to prevent future attacks,” said 9/11 Family Steering Committee member Mary Fetchet. She expressed concern that, because of turf battles in the House, Americans remain vulnerable.
Fetchet, a New Canaan resident whose 24-year-old son, Brad, died in the attacks on the World Trade Center, appeared Tuesday at a press conference with Reps. Chris Shays (R-Conn.) and Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.) and several other 9/11 family members. The family members have appeared with Shays and Maloney numerous times throughout the past several months to urge Congress to pass a bill adopting the recommendations of the 9/11 Commission.
The vigils will take place Wednesday through Sunday in Boston, Los Angeles and New York from noon to 1 p.m. each day. The New York vigils, which Fetchet will attend, will be held at Ground Zero.
During the vigils, the family members will seek signatures on petitions urging Congress to act on the intelligence legislation when it returns to Washington Monday.
Shays, who has been a strong proponent of a bill that adheres to the 9/11 Commission recommendations, plans to speak during the Wednesday vigil at Ground Zero.
Separate bills were introduced in the House and Senate following the release of the 9/11 Commission’s report last summer.
The Senate bill mirrored the Commission’s recommendations, while the House bill adopted some of the recommendations but also included provisions that opponents of the House version considered extraneous. Both bills would establish a national intelligence director and a national counter-terrorism center.
A conference committee reached agreement on the bill during the lame-duck session before Thanksgiving. But Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.) kept the bill from reaching the House floor in response to pressure from some House Republican opponents of the compromise measure.
House Armed Services Committee chairman Duncan Hunter (R-Calif.) expressed concern that the bill would complicate the flow of intelligence to troops in the field, while House Judiciary Committee chairman James Sensenbrenner (R-Wis.) said he wanted the bill to contain provisions denying drivers’ licenses to illegal immigrants and requiring those immigrants to carry federal identification cards.
“None of us would ask Congressman Sensenbrenner or Congressman Hunter to vote for a bill they don’t believe in,” Shays said at the Tuesday press conference, adding that he is asking them only to allow floor debate on the bill.
Shays wrote a letter to Sensenbrenner Monday urging him to allow the legislation to move forward.
“I wholeheartedly agree with your well-known position on drivers’ license reform,” Shays wrote. He added, “In January, the Republican leadership will enjoy its greatest majority in Congress since the 1920s. I see no reason why our majority could not proceed with the drivers’ license and other immigration reforms at that time.”
Norwalker Tutors Children in Washington
By Dori Berman
WASHINGTON November 18, 2004--When Yazmin Kahn was nine or 10, her cousin found a wild turtle and, much to Kahn's dismay, kept it as a pet. Her mother, Rana Kahn, remembers the two children arguing, with Yazmin insisting that her cousin release the turtle back to the wild, where it belonged.
Finally, one day when her cousin was out, Yazmin released the turtle herself, angering her cousin, Rana Kahn laughingly recalled.
"She's a very passionate person," Rana Kahn said. "She stands up for what she believes in."
Yazmin Kahn, who will turn 22 next month, grew up in Norwalk but currently lives in Washington while participating in City Year, an Americorps program that places young people in an urban setting to perform community service. She spends her days tutoring students one-on-one in the D.C. public schools.
While the program commitment is for one year, Kahn hopes to stay on for a second year as a team leader. City Year development director Brett Norton sees Kahn in a leadership position in the future, whether with City Year or elsewhere.
"People with drive and intelligence and compassion generally find a place," he said. "In Yazmin I see a great instinctual person who knows what the problems are before they arise, and that's a great leadership quality."
Khan graduated from Norwalk High School in 2000, though she spent her junior and senior years at the Center for Japanese Studies Abroad at Brien McMahon High School. There, she studied Japanese culture, history and language.
"I was extremely interested in the Japanese culture," she said. "The program approached culture with what I thought was the proper attitude of immersion," instead of only one class a day. At the end of the school year, the program participants put their newly acquired knowledge to use during a trip to Japan.
Both of Kahn's parents are from India, though her mother spent much of her life in England. Her parents married and moved to Connecticut in 1980, where Kahn and her two younger sisters were born.
Her parents' international roots influenced Khan's desires to travel and learn other cultures, she said. She has visited England many times, and would like to travel to India and just about everywhere else.
After graduating from high school, Kahn attended American University in Washington, D.C., but returned to Norwalk after one year for financial reasons and took classes at Norwalk Community College. There, she wrote for the school's newspaper, The Voice .
She said she plans to use the education award that City Year participants receive to return to college, and she hopes to study international relations at Georgetown University, also in Washington.
Kahn chose Washington for her City Year experience because it appeals to her on many levels, she said, and she plans to stay in the city for several years. Her younger sister, Shreen, is a student at American University, and some of Kahn's friends from her year at the university remain in the area.
The diversity of Washington also appeals. A practicing Muslim, she said the Muslim community here is far bigger and more diverse than in Norwalk.
Each morning, Kahn travels into the city from the apartment in Silver Spring, Md., that she shares with three other Corps members, where she meets her team to prepare for the day. Corps members find their own housing and the program provides a stipend that amounts to approximately $150 per week after taxes, Kahn said.
On a recent, uncharacteristically warm November morning, Kahn stood in a circle with her teammates on the City Year's Campaign for Literacy Education team. The City Year D.C. corps is broken into five teams, each performing a different type of service around the city.
Sunmer, the team leader, called on Kahn to lead the daily readiness check.
Khan declared "great" the word of the day. She then checked off each piece of the City Year uniform. All Corps members wear black shoes or Timberland work boots, white or black socks, khaki pants, white shirts and the signature City Year red Timberland coats.
Khan's style is usually colorful and trendy, but in uniform she could almost pass for a young school teacher or a social worker. She is small in stature, with olive skin and black hair that falls above her shoulders. Her fingernails are long, but carefully squared, and perfectly groomed eyebrows frame her dark eyes. The tiny, purple stud that dots the spot directly below her bottom lip is almost invisible.
"You got your shoes?" she asked with as much enthusiasm as a 21-year-old can muster at 8:15 a.m., to which her team members responded with a synchronized, "Great!"
After checking off each item of clothing, Kahn asked her team members: "You got your hearts?"
"Great!"
"You got your minds?"
"Great!"
"You got your smiles?
"Great!"
"You got your souls full of grace?"
"Great!"
"You got your positive, can-do attitudes?"
"Great!"
City Year draws people from many walks of life. Some are college graduates from across the country who have not decided what to do next, others are residents of the cities they serve, seeking a way to give back to their own community. Some, Khan said, want to teach and are preparing for their futures.
"I'm here because I want to affect change," Khan said, adding that, despite differing motivations, all members are devoted. "There's no way you could get up every morning and do this unless you wanted to."
Following the readiness check, Kahn and her team members walked to their first tutoring stop of the day, Shaw-Howard Elementary school. The Corps members fetched their daily lesson plans, which they had prepared themselves the previous session, and proceeded to different classrooms. After leaving Shaw-Howard each day, the team tutors at two more schools, teaching the basics of reading and math to students of varying ages, some of whom are far behind the skills expected of their grade levels.
"It's easier with the younger kids," Khan said. "But with the older kids, I feel like there's more of an urgency. I would love to see my 15-year-old get all the way through-addition, subtraction, multiplication, division-so that she knows them when she gets to high school next year."
Khan seems wise beyond her years, speaking articulately and thoughtfully about community service and the country's problems. At a time when many of her peers are only voting because it is the trendy thing to do, Khan regularly writes letters to her congressional representatives, expressing her concerns about their actions.
Proximity to the nation's political center seems appropriate for someone as politically-minded as Khan. She said she hopes to stay in Washington for a number of years, but does not wish to work on Capitol Hill.
"I'm more interested in social change and justice," she said. "I'm a card-carrying member of the ACLU and I'm a member of moveon.org."
Still, it will be years before Kahn settles down. There are countless places to visit. Another year in City Year possibly awaits her, and she has considered the Peace Corps as an option after that.
Where will she end up?
"Norwalk is a great place to raise kids, and its diversity is a strength," she said, as opposed to the surrounding, more homogenous towns. "It will always be a base for me."
Most likely, however, she sees herself in New York City, "because it's the greatest city in the world."
Dodd Pushes for Funding for Norwalk Water Project
By Dori Berman
WASHINGTON, October 27, 2004--When Congress returns to Washington following the elections next month, Norwalk officials hope that Sen. Chris Dodd (D-Conn.) can help secure federal funds for the city to implement an innovative project to prevent harmful runoff into the Long Island Sound.
Proposed by the Long Island Soundkeepers, an organization that has battled pollution in the Sound for almost 20 years, the project may be implemented by next spring if the group and the city can secure funding, said Terry Backer, who heads Soundkeepers.
The test project would involve sponge-like inserts in the city's storm drains that would filter grease, oil, pesticides, trash and other harmful materials out of the water emptying into the Sound. The "Smart Sponge" technology, produced by AbTech Industries in Scottsdale, Ariz., also can be conditioned to treat bacteria and is relatively easy to maintain, Backer said.
Field tests showed that the filters trap an average of 95 percent of oil and grease in storm water runoff, according to AbTech's website.
The Department of Public Works and Soundkeepers have chosen two areas of the city, South Norwalk and the vicinity of the public works center, to test the technology. Fifty storm drains in each area would get the inserts.
While similar projects are up and running in other communities nationwide, it would be the first of its kind in a marine environment like Norwalk's where seafood production is an issue, Backer said.
"Norwalk is a really great location," Backer said. "It's got a great harbor, and it's a microcosm with both urban and suburban areas. We think it's a pretty good investment in terms of recreation and quality of life."
The Soundkeepers took their idea for the project to Mayor Alex Knopp, who has a strong environmental record, Backer said. The group and the city are working together to secure federal and state funds for the project. They also are pursuing private grants.
"Norwalk regards the environmental health of the Long Island Sound as important because the Norwalk harbor is our most important natural resource," Knopp said. "The harbor has played an important role in the history of the Norwalk economy."
While other measures have been taken to reduce pollution of the Sound, they do not eliminate what Backer called "lifestyle pollution," including by-products from cars, domestic animals and industry. Regulations are in place for companies and individuals, he said, but the community must do more to preserve the Sound as a source of recreation and economic benefits.
"Everyone gets the idea that if you're going to swim in the water and eat the food you want it to be clean," Backer said. The Soundkeepers expect to get funding from at least some of the sources they have been soliciting.
When Congress reconvenes next month, it will take up the appropriations bills that have not yet been passed for fiscal year 2005. If Dodd and Sen. Joe Lieberman (D-Conn.) can secure the federal funds, the money would come to Norwalk through the Environmental Protection Agency.
"Sen. Dodd has worked-and will continue to work hard-to fund this important project," Dodd spokesman Marvin Fast said. Dodd won committee approval of $400,000 for this project earlier this fall.
"He intends to continue to fight to ensure this important project moves forward," Fast said. "He is hopeful that this critically important funding can be provided to the city of Norwalk in a timely fashion."
The city also is seeking state funds from the Department of Environmental Protection, which makes grants to municipalities from the money it receives through the Long Island Sound license plate program.
Farrell Will Need More Than Money to Win
By Dori Berman
WASHINGTON, October 20, 2004 - While Diane Farrell has more going for her than recent photo opportunities with big-name Democrats, Rep. Chris Shays still holds the advantage in what many have called his toughest race yet.
As of Sept. 30, Farrell had raised $1.25 million to Shays' $1.7 million, an impressive amount for a challenger by most standards. In the 2002 election cycle, challengers to House members raised an average of $198,000.
Even with a significant campaign chest, however, the odds are stacked against Farrell.
Only four incumbents lost House seats in 2002. The average spending by challengers who won was $1.6 million.
"To overcome Shays' incumbency advantage would be extremely difficult," said Jeff Ladewig, political science professor at the University of Connecticut.
A poll the university conducted last week showed Shays with a seven-point advantage over Farrell, a large gap to overcome in only two weeks, Ladewig said. At the same time, according to the poll, 18 percent said they were still undecided.
Farrell's campaign officials, however, remain confident in her chances to close the gap.
"I think 2002 was a very different year than 2004. I think people are very eager for change both across the country and in Connecticut," said Adam Wood, campaign manager for Farrell.
Wood attributed Farrell's fundraising success to her strong record as Westport's first selectwoman and to grassroots local support.
"We have an extraordinary amount of people making small contributions, literally thousands of them from this district," he said. Of the $1.2 million raised, 89 percent, or $1.1 million, came from individual donors, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.
Shays has not faced an opponent as well funded as Farrell during his nine terms in the House, Wood noted. In 2002, Shays' opponent, Stephanie Sanchez, raised only $119,000, while Shays raised $976,000. Shays won with 64 percent of the vote.
Stressing that money has an impact on a campaign, Wood said that the money goes to communicating the differences between the candidates through television and radio ads and mailings to voters.
But Shays is not focused on fundraising wars, said Sarah Moore, his campaign spokeswoman. Instead, she said, his focus is on running the best race possible.
"Chris feels like he will win or lose this election based on the job he's done, and he feels he's done a great job," Moore said.
Herb Shepherdson, chairman of the Connecticut Republican Party, dismissed Farrell's fundraising success as the result of aggressive campaigning.
"I think Chris is still going to win. I think the people are happy with him and they're going to send him back," Shepherdson said.
While Farrell is close to Shays in funds raised, she had only $422,000 still available on Sept. 30, compared to the $879,000 Shays had on hand.
Both candidates have received support from well-known politicians in their parties. Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y) joined Farrell in Westport for a campaign fundraiser earlier this month.
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi will attend a reception in Farrell's honor on Friday, the same day former New York mayor Rudolph Giuliani will visit the district on Shays' behalf. Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) also has campaigned with Shays in Connecticut.
Election Reforms Might Not Prevent Problems
By Dori Berman
WASHINGTON, October 14, 2004 - With Election Day just weeks away, stories of disenfranchised Florida voters in 2000 have Americans wondering if the nightmare that occurred four years ago could repeat itself.
Election reforms mandated by the Help America Vote Act of 2002 are intended to solve some of the problems that instigated the recount debacle in the 2000 presidential election. But some of those reforms will not be implemented in time for the Nov. 2 election, and some may cause even more confusion.
"I think that there will be [problems this year]," said Dan Seligson, editor of electionline.org, a non-partisan Website providing election reform news and analysis. "It looks like it's going to be an extremely close race. The way the election is run is going to be heavily scrutinized."
One change that the 2002 law mandated is the replacement of punch-card and lever-voting machines with electronic voting systems. The goal is to make the machines more accessible to people with disabilities and increase accuracy by avoiding hanging chads and other problems that make ballots unreadable.
Approximately 30 percent of voters throughout the country will use electronic machines this year, but Connecticut voters will still use lever machines.
While Connecticut Secretary of State Susan Bysiewicz secured $32.7 million in federal funds available to states to replace voting systems, polling places in the state will not be equipped with the new systems until Election Day 2005.
"We are moving very prudently and cautiously," Bysiewicz said in a statement after securing the federal funds. "We want to have the benefit of being able to review the experience of other states using electronic systems this Election Day prior to purchasing any new machines for Connecticut voters."
By Election Day 2005 each polling place throughout the state will have one electronic voting machine purchased with the federal funds. Bysiewicz's office will then distribute the remaining funds to municipalities on a first-come, first-serve basis. The deadline for compliance with the electronic voting mandate is 2006.
Towns that choose not to immediately replace all of their machines will face the risk that if it is decided that the lever machines need to be replaced, the towns will have to use municipal funds to purchase new machines.
The fact that Connecticut voters will not use electronic machines this year does not necessarily disadvantage them.
"In Connecticut they've been having successful elections on lever machines for many years," Seligson said. "It doesn't mean that the system is going to break down suddenly this year." He added that some authorities in Connecticut like the way the lever systems work and have no desire to change something that has not caused problems in the past.
While the voting machines in Connecticut will look familiar, voters will notice other changes when they arrive at their polling locations.
Most notable, perhaps, is the use of provisional ballots. In 2000, poll workers turned away thousands of voters in Florida and elsewhere because their names were not listed on the polling place's registered voters list. In many cases, the voter had simply gone to the wrong polling location.
This year, those same voters would have the option of casting a provisional ballot. If the voter's registration can later be verified, the ballot will be counted.
"That's really a critical protection. No one can be turned away from polls anymore," Seligson said. "Ironically, some people think it's the provisional ballots that will cause a 2004 meltdown."
Different practices in different states complicate the matter of counting provisional ballots. Some states, including Connecticut and Florida, will not count provisional ballots cast in the wrong polling place. Other states plan to count ballots as long as they are cast in the proper county, or even anywhere in the state.
The 2002 voting act included several provisions to combat these problems. First, poll workers are being trained to assist voters in finding the proper voting location. A person's home address, for example, can tell the poll worker where the voter is registered to cast his or her ballot.
In addition, states are required to compile a statewide uniform voter registration list. Previously, each precinct had a list of registered voters in that precinct. Now poll workers also would have access to a statewide list to establish if people are actually registered to vote, even if they are registered in a different jurisdiction.
Connecticut's centralized system has been up and running since September 2003, but 34 states still lack uniform statewide lists.
Even with the reforms, if the election is close it may not be decided on Nov. 2.
"If one candidate wins by 8 or 10 percent or more, there won't be any problems," Seligson said. With less than three weeks to go, that seems unlikely.
Shays Intelligence Bill Shot Down
By Dori Berman
WASHINGTON, October 7, 2004-The House passed an intelligence overhaul bill Friday that would call for the greatest changes in the nation's intelligence system since the beginning of the Cold War, just as Congress is about to adjourn for the final time before the presidential election.
The bill differs from the intelligence reform bill passed Wednesday by the Senate, setting up a difficult reconciliation in a conference committee between the chambers later this month.
The House and Senate bills both call for the creation of a national intelligence director and a National Counterterrorism Center. The bills differ in that the House bill gives significantly less budgetary power to the national director than does the Senate bill, a power highly recommended by the 9/11 Commission, whose recommendations the bills were drafted to adopt.
Passage came after the defeat Thursday night of an amendment to the bill that would have substituted a bipartisan bill similar to the Senate version. Instead, the bill passed was one drafted by House Republican leaders.
Rep. Chris Shays (R-Conn.) had championed the bipartisan measure. Despite its defeat, Shays seemed confident that a positive intelligence reform bill would arrive on the President's desk before the election.
"A good bill will pass and I think it will be closer to the Senate bill than the House bill, because I believe ultimately that the president is going to say 'I like the Senate bill more'," Shays said Thursday afternoon. President Bush and the bipartisan 9/11 Commission have endorsed the Senate bill, co-sponsored by Sens. Joe Lieberman (D-Conn.) and Susan Collins (R-Maine).
The bipartisan amendment would have adopted all 41 recommendations of the 9/11 Commission, while the House leadership bill picks up only 11. The leadership measure also includes more than 50 provisions that the commission had not recommended, Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.), another champion of the measure, said Thursday at a news conference.
Some of those provisions have sparked controversy, with civil liberties groups objecting strongly to one, for example, that would make it easier to deport aliens without a hearing.
Before the amendment was brought to a vote Thursday, Shays said he would vote for the House leadership bill if Menendez substitute was rejected.
"I am not critical that [the GOP leadership bill] is not a significant step forward; it's just not as far as it needs to be," he said.
Shays Crosses Party Leadership
By Dori Berman
WASHINGTON, September 30, 2004-Rep. Christopher Shays broke party ranks Thursday, urging the House leadership to allow consideration of a bipartisan intelligence reform bill instead of legislation drafted solely by the Republican leaders.
Shays and three other House Republicans joined 16 House Democrats in a letter to the House leaders declaring that the Republican bill does not reflect all of the recommendations of the 9/11 commission.
"This just can't be a Republican bill. It needs to be a Republican and Democrat bill like it is in the Senate," Shays said at a news conference Thursday, where members of the 9-11 Commission and the Family Steering Committee endorsed bipartisan legislation sponsored by Shays and Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.). The Family Steering Committee is a group of people who lost loved ones in the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks, and endorses the 9/11 Commission recommendations.
The Shays-Maloney bill was drafted to closely resemble the Senate bill, co-sponsored by Sens. Joe Lieberman (D-Conn.) and Susan Collins (R-Maine), to allow intelligence reform to pass Congress swiftly, avoiding a long, difficult conference committee on the bill.
"If we can have a bill in the House and Senate that are fairly close with a few differences, then we have a better chance of passing legislation," said Shays, the chairman of said the Government Reform Subcommittee on National Security, Emerging Threats and International Relations . The White House, the 9/11 Commission and the family steering committee have endorsed the Collins-Lieberman bill.
Like its Senate counterpart, the Shays-Maloney bill would create a national intelligence director with budgetary power to oversee the nation's intelligence-gathering operations and establish a National Counterterrorism Center.
Shays and Maloney argued that the House leadership bill, which the Government Reform Committee approved Wednesday, has extraneous provisions that should be considered as separate legislation, such as a measure that would make easier the deportation of aliens without a court hearing. The immediate goal should be to enact the recommendations of the 9/11 commission and quickly pass intelligence reform legislation that will ensure the safety of the American people, they said.
"I have a concern that some on my side of the aisle want there to be some poison pills," Shays said. "No one is saying [the leadership bill] is not a good bill, but it does not fully reflect the direction that the commission wanted."
Shays proposed an amendment to the leadership bill that would have aligned it more closely with the Collins-Lieberman bill, but the amendment failed Wednesday during the Government Reform Committee mark-up session.
The letter sent Thursday requested that House leaders allow that a similar amendment be considered when the legislation reaches the House floor.
Westport first selectwoman Diane Farrell did not express support for either House bill.
"If implementing the 9/11 commission's recommendations was truly a priority for the White House and leadership in the House of Representatives, action would have been taken immediately upon the commission releasing its report," Farrell said in a written statement. "While I commend the hard work of my colleague, Sen. Lieberman, more should have been done by those in key positions of oversight on this issue prior to October of an election year to address a flawed intelligence system of our national security."
Shays was surprised at Farrell's criticism of Lieberman.
"I don't know anyone who has worked harder on this than him," Shays said. "I think that he is a real hero on this issue. Joe has put aside temptations to be partisan."
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527 Reform Bill Introduced
September 23, 2004
By Dori Berman
WASHINGTON--Campaign finance reform advocates, including Rep. Christopher Shays, Republican of Connecticut, introduced new legislation Wednesday that would force greater disclosure from non-profit political organizations, known as 527s, and force them to abide by federal contribution limits.
Named for the section of the tax code governing their status, the groups can currently raise unlimited sums of money with limited disclosure. Such 527s as “Swift Boat Veterans for Truth” have sparked controversy during this year’s election with their television ads.
The legislation, also sponsored by Marty Meehan, Democrat of Massachusetts, among others, comes on the heels of a lawsuit the pair filed last week against the Federal Election Commission, or FEC, accusing it of allowing a loophole through which the 527s can avoid the 2002 campaign finance overhaul commonly known as the McCain-Feingold law. Other sponsors of the bill included Sens.
John McCain, Republican of Arizona, Russ Feingold, Democrat of Wisconsin, and
Senator Joseph Lieberman of Connecticut.
“What is happening with 527s is basically illegal, but the FEC has given them
cover to do what they’re doing,” Shays said at a news conference. “We’re forced to take this action in two ways—our court action and this law—but we shouldn’t have had to do either.”
The proposed law would require all 527s that raise and spend more than $25,000
in connection with federal candidates to register with the election commission. Under the law, ads run by the groups that promote or attack federal candidates would have to be paid for only with “hard money,” raised from individuals in compliance with contribution limits.
The bill would also mandate that if a group has both a federal and non-federal account, other campaign activities, such as get-out-the-vote drives that mention a political party or federal candidate must use at least 50 percent hard money.
“Soft-money” contributions – from funds raised without federal limits -- would
be capped at $25,000 per individual per year. The bill would prohibit corporations and unions, already unable to donate directly to federal candidates, from contributing to non-federal accounts. Under current law, individuals can contribute up to $5,000 per year to the federal accounts of political committees.
Shays pointed out that the groups would still be allowed to produce negative ads, but they would have to use hard money.
Diane Farrell, Shays’ opponent for the 4th district congressional seat, said in a statement, “I find it ironic that Christopher Shays chose today to seek reform of 527 groups when three months ago he signed a joint statement issued with [other House Republicans], urging members of his own party to donate to these groups in support of the President’s re-election campaign.”
Farrell referred to an Associated Press report following the FEC decision to allow Democratic 527s to continue funding television ads that attacked President Bush.
Shays responded that he was acting in response to the FEC decision and did not expect Republicans to “just hold up their hands and not respond.”
He added, “I would oppose any effort of any 527 to assist me in my campaign.”
McCain elaborated at the news conference that the intent of the bill is not to protect politicians from attacks but to prevent anonymous assaults that violate contribution limits.
“We never wanted to try to prevent people from speaking out,” he said. “We just
didn’t want corporate money or unions …with unlimited funds to drown out the voices of individual Americans.”
The new bill’s sponsors insisted that while the 527 loophole is in violation of the McCain-Feingold law, the law has been effective for other aspects of campaign finance.
Small donations from individuals have seen tremendous growth, while corporate contributions have dropped significantly, they said. That was the intent of the
2002 law, Meehan said.
Lieberman Unveils Intelligence Reform Plan
September 15, 2004
By Dori Berman
WASHINGTON—Sen. Joe Lieberman (D-Conn.) and Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) Wednesday unveiled legislation to reorganize the nation’s intelligence gathering operations, give budgetary power to a newly created national intelligence director and establish a National Counterterrorism Center.
The legislation, slated to be introduced next week to the Senate Governmental Affairs Committee, chaired by Collins, is the result of an examination by Lieberman and Collins of the recommendations described in the 9/11 commission report.
“In its report, the 9/11 Commission indicted the status quo in America’s intelligence community and insisted on fundamental, revolutionary changes,” Lieberman said at a press conference Wednesday. “Our bill adopts the two Commission proposals which its leaders have said are the most urgent and important.”
The proposed national intelligence director would have the authority that former CIA chief George Tenet lacked, Collins said. She referred to a passage in the 9/11 commission’s report that quoted a December 1998 memo from Tenet stressing the urgency of the terror threat.
“The commission concluded that [the memo] had virtually no effect on mobilizing the CIA or the intelligence community,” she said.
President Bush endorsed giving a national intelligence director expanded budgetary authority last week.
Collins told reporters that without that expanded power, the new position would just become another level of bureaucracy. The president’s endorsement, she said, would help the momentum of the bill.
Explaining the need for the director, Lieberman compared the current state of the nation’s intelligence community to a football team with many great players, but no quarterback.
In addition to the new director position and the counterterrorism center, the commission recommended the reorganization of congressional oversight of the intelligence community. A bipartisan task force to examine the issue has been appointed by Senate leadership.
Another commission recommendation proposed in the legislation is the establishment of a Civil Liberties Board that would oversee the implementation of national security policies to ensure that the rights of citizens are protected.
One commission recommendation left out of the Senate legislation was the appointment of deputies to the national intelligence director. As laid out in the commission’s report, the deputies would run intelligence agencies within departments including the Department of Defense and the Department of Homeland Security.
“A reasonable question to ask is where would the loyalty of those deputies be?”
Lieberman asked. “Would it be to the department they spend most of their time in, or to the national intelligence director?”
Lieberman said the intention of the legislation is to establish a strong national intelligence director position, and testimony from hearings showed that appointing deputies would blur the lines of authority, one of the problems that is present in the current intelligence system.
The legislation would put most intelligence agencies under the control of the director, but would allow the Defense Department to keep control of the Defense Intelligence Agency.
The House is also working on intelligence overhaul legislation and leaders said yesterday they hope to act on it before the November election.
