Category: Anthony Bertuca
DNC Panel Recommends New Early Caucuses Be Added to Election Calendar
WASHINGTON, Dec. 10- A special Democratic National Committee panel recommended Saturday that one or two presidential caucuses be inserted into the 2008 election calendar between the Iowa caucuses and the New Hampshire primary as a way to include more racial, ethnic and geographic diversity among early voting states.
New Hampshire’s primary election law, however, may thwart the Democratic plans.
The proposal, which must be approved by the full DNC, would also add primaries in one or two other states after New Hampshire votes and before Feb. 5, the official “window” that the party establishes every four years for its presidential nominating contests.
States in the South and Southwest have been discussed, but which ones should join Iowa and New Hampshire in early voting would be left up to the DNC.
Although the panel’s proposal would leave New Hampshire as the site of the nation’s first presidential primary, Secretary of State William Gardner has said that state law requires him to schedule the primary at least a week before any “similar election” and that caucuses in any state other than Iowa would qualify as “similar.”.
“I will set the date in the spring of 2007, and I will set it so that it preserves the New Hampshire tradition,” he said. “The state law will be followed no matter what happens.”
When asked if the matter might end up in court, Gardner responded, “Anything can end up in court.”
New Hampshire Democratic Gov. John Lynch has also pledged to protect the state’s first-in-the-nation status and said he would support Gardner’s efforts.
Other state Democrats are up in arms over the DNC panel’s recommendations, including New Hampshire Democratic Party chairwoman Kathy Sullivan, who issued a statement Saturday saying the national party was “crazy” to try to strip a valuable swing state like New Hampshire of something so important to its heritage.
Raymond Buckley, vice-chairman of the New Hampshire Democratic Party, predicted that the relationship between the state and national party would suffer if the DNC approved the proposals.
“Kathy Sullivan and I and other Democrats agree that we are New Hampshire Democrats first and national Democrats second,” he said. “If this means we have to stand up to the full DNC, then so be it.”
The panel’s proposal recommends that the criteria for choosing which states should accompany Iowa and New Hampshire as early voters be based on racial, ethnic, regional, and economic diversity.
“We wanted to recommend a process that would be more inclusive,” said Alexis Herman, co-chairwoman of the panel. “We have reached a significant milestone.”
The minority population in both Iowa and New Hampshire is small, with African Americans making up only 0.8 percent, compared with 12.2 percent for the nation as a whole, and Hispanic/Latinos making up only 2.1 percent, compared with the national figure of 14.2 percent.
A leading figure in the fight to diversify the primary process has been Sen. Carl Levin of Michigan.
“We are an anti-privilege party,” he said. “We shouldn’t have a rule that says some states are more equal than others. Even this is barely a crack in the wall that Iowa and New Hampshire have surrounded themselves by.”
But James Farrell, a campaign expert and professor of communications at the University of New Hampshire, said that the logic for adding more caucuses to increase diversity was faulty.
“It is true that New Hampshire does not have a large minority population,” he said. “But the impact of that is overstated. I think that black, white, and Hispanic voters are all concerned about the same issues. Why are racial demographics the key factor over all other kinds of diversity that may or may not be present in other communities, like income or education?”
The voters in New Hampshire bring diversity to the electoral process in other ways, Farrell argued.
“There are a lot of independent voters here who are willing to tell their party from time to time, ‘You can’t take me for granted,’ ” he said. “Very few places do it as well as New Hampshire. If I had to rely on one state to pick the candidate that would run for president, I would pick New Hampshire to do it, because of the experience they have in doing it and the seriousness with which they undertake the process.”
Some Granite Staters are worried about what would happen to the state economically if the primary were to lose some of its thunder.
A study commissioned by the New Hampshire Political Library found that the Democratic and Republican primaries in 2000 generated more than $260 million in economic activity in the state, with large portions of that money going to hotels, restaurants and rental car companies.
“It would affect our business for sure,” said Darlene Johnston, owner of the Ash Street Inn, a bed and breakfast in Manchester. “For the last one we had a lot of journalists and campaign workers stay with us….I was floored that so many people would just drop everything and come up here.”
And although the panel has recommended that Iowa remain the nation’s first caucus state, Iowa Democrats are very sympathetic to New Hampshire’s cause, according to Jennifer Mullen of Gov. Thomas Vilsack’s office.
“We definitely see it as kind of a partnership,” she said. “The governor has rallied just as hard for New Hampshire to remain the first primary as he did to keep Iowa as the first caucus.”
Local Democratic organizations in New Hampshire are worried about the political ramifications of losing part of the Granite’s States treasured identity.
“We serve a valuable purpose for the nation: we vet the candidates,” said state Rep. Jane Clemons of the Nashua City Democrats. “It’s a tough group to fool, and candidates don’t get away with platitudes and rhetoric. If they change the primary, I’m really concerned that we will go to a tarmac president” who puts in only token airport appearances.
Clemons said she also fears what will happen to the Democratic Party if the quarrel over New Hampshire’s primary escalates.
“We’ll have a candidate by March with no focus and no media attention because Republicans aren’t going to change what they’re doing,” she said. “It is going to hurt us as a party.”
Warren Henderson, chairman of the New Hampshire Republican State Committee, said the Democrats were making a mistake.
“Our primary is under siege on the Democratic side,” he said. “When I listen to what is likely to be proposed, I am really concerned about it. If the problem is with diversity, than why isn’t this being done with caucuses? Primaries are for regular people to vote. Caucuses are for political insiders. It just seems inconsistent.”
Several high-profile Republicans, including Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist and Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, have made statements in favor of keeping New Hampshire’s first-in-the-nation status.
Henderson says he thinks that the GOP is keeping the status quo because the party is aware of the valuable national service New Hampshire provides.
“New Hampshire measures a candidate’s viability,” he said. “Nobody can come up to the state during a primary, give speeches in the cold, go door to door, and not ultimately reveal who they really are. This is the reason people still have meetings and don’t conduct everything over the phone or internet: you get a better idea of who someone is when you see them face to face.”
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Sununu Against Telecommunications Reform
WASHINGTON, Dec. 7- Sen. John Sununu (R-N.H.), speaking at a telecommunications forum Wednesday, said he opposes the rules originally meant for the telephone companies in the 1930s being applied to Internet service providers in the 21 st century.
At issue is the federal government's commitment to provide basic communications access to all American citizens, regardless of income level or geographic location.
While Sununu said he supports reforming the $6.5 billion program, which provides universal service nationwide by subsidizing small telecommunications companies and regulating the industry's business practices, he specified that he favored federal intervention only when it came to emergency services, low-income residents, and rural areas where the cost of communications services might deter corporations from providing service or pass unreasonably high costs onto consumers.
"I'm not saying walk away from rules and regulations by any stretch. But let's ask the questions in a thoughtful way," he said. "What is it that is so compelling about it [telecommunications technology] that requires more regulation than the auto industry? What is it that is so compelling about the SCI-FI channel?"
Sununu also said the subsidy program that provides Internet access to public libraries and schools had become corrupt and mismanaged.
"There are clearly people on the receiving end of funds that you would never justify giving [them] a subsidy," he said. "It is meant to be a subsidy to those in the highest cost area -- rural -- or to those consumers with low-incomes."
The Progress and Freedom Foundation, which organized the event, is a think tank that favors government deregulation of the telecommunications industry. The foundation is supported by major telephone, computer, and television industry corporations like Comcast and Verizon Communication, two of the largest telecommunication companies serving New Hampshire.
Cath Mullholand, a telephone utility analyst for the New Hampshire Utility Commission, said that a rural state like New Hampshire may be adversely affected by total deregulation of telecommunications services.
"We may be rushing just a little bit too fast into deregulation," she said. "Competition can replace regulation, but there needs to be competition. Service is very spotty in rural areas of New Hampshire and there is one service provider. What happens when the cost to maintain the network becomes too expensive and the corporation leaves or charges a lot more for service? The government will have to come back in and regulate again and it will be more costly."
Jeff Chester, the executive director at the Center for Digital Democracy, said that he views the effort to deregulate universal service with skepticism.
"You shouldn't be denied your right to Google as a civil right," he said. "We live in a digital society and the equity gap is not going to close itself. There needs to be a federal mandate to provide basic communication services to all people."
Sununu suggested that deregulation would not break the program.
"It is really only dramatic if you were cryogenically frozen in 1934 and woke up today," he said. "Universal service has some significant weakness: It distorts the marketplace, no question about it. It undermines innovation."
He also criticized the basic thinking behind some of the program's components that required telecommunications companies and Internet providers to register with the federal government.
"This in my thinking is out of the 1930s," he said. "I don't even know if it's fair to compare it to the 1930s as it is to the Stalin era. Find an 8 th grader. Ask them if they can understand or see a reason for Internet providers to register with the government. They will tell you in their capacity as an 8 th grader: Get rid of the regulations"
Dr. Mark Cooper, research director at the Consumer Federation of America, agreed with Mullholand.
"In rural state like New Hampshire, there isn't likely to be very much competition because it is expensive," he said. "If a competing network doesn't exist in a rural area, there will either be a monopoly, or a no-opoly: No service at all. Do we care about making sure everyone in society has access to the basic means of communication?"
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Air Traffic Controllers Quarrel with FAA
WASHINGTON, Dec. 1 - Contract negotiation disputes between the Federal Aviation Administration and the air traffic controllers union have damaged morale and may lead to fewer persons entering the high-stress field, according to a union representative in New Hampshire.
"Morale is pretty low right now," said Mike Blake, the northeastern representative for the National Air Traffic Controllers Association. "There are concerns over staffing and retirement. The FAA is not pulling people in fast enough to handle that."
Blake works at the Boston Air Traffic Control Center in Nashua, the 16 th busiest of its kind in the country. He represents all of the approximately 420 controllers working in New Hampshire.
The union has been in contract negotiations with the FAA since July 13. The old contract expired Sept. 30, and on Monday FAA administrator Marion Blakey called for a federal mediator to assist in the negotiations, saying the union's demands for an increase in the basic salaries were unacceptable.
"The whole thing was a publicity stunt," said Doug Church, spokesman for the controllers union. "They want to take the contract to Congress, declare an impasse and bypass the entire collective bargaining process."
Because of restrictions regulating contract negotiations with federal employees like air traffic controllers, the matter would be brought before Congress should either side declare an impasse. If Congress does not rule in favor of one side after 60 days, the union would be forced under federal statutes to accept the FAA's last best offer.
"The administrator [Blakey] was very clear," said Laura Brown, spokeswoman for the FAA. "She wants a voluntary agreement. But we're still very far apart on issues like pay and compensation."
Air traffic controllers, according to Brown, earn an average of $166,000 annually, including benefits, a figure the union disputes.
"It is a way of cooking the books so they can say we're overpaid," Church said. "Our best guess according to our pay tables is that we make about 100 to 150 [thousand]."
The Bureau of Labor Statistics shows that New Hampshire controllers are the highest paid in the nation, with the average controller in the state earning $118,000 annually. But that does not include benefits.
Labor costs account for 80 percent of the FAA's $8.2 billion budget, according to agency statistics. The agency proposed freezing controllers' salaries, with merit-based pay raises replacing cost-of-living increases. The union. According to the FAA, has asked for a 5.6 percent pay increase each year over the next five years, although the union has publicly disputed such figures, saying it asked for the increases only over the next two years
The union's Blake said he thinks the contentious negotiations have contributed to a bogged-down hiring process, leading to a shortage of controllers.
"I think you need to attract the best people possible, and we're pushing right now," he said. "The mandatory retirement age is 56, and we've got a lot pf people in the twilight of their careers. It is really a young person's game."
The United States has the busiest airspace in the world, and there are now more flights in the air than at any previous period in the history of aviation, but with fewer controllers guiding more airplanes, Blake said.
A Government Accountability Office report in June 2002, states that "the FAA has not done enough to plan for the impending staffing crisis and needs to do so as soon as possible."
"You can't help but think the delay in hiring is because of the new low pay scale," Blake said. "If they were to bring in people today, they'd be covered by the old pay scale. But once the new pay scale is negotiated, they [the FAA] could bring in new people for lower wages."
Blake said he also fears that should the negotiations get ugly, many controllers will find their jobs outsourced to private contractors.
Hiring is going along as usual, according to Brown, who said the FAA plans to make 1,249 new hires in 2006 to replace 654 retirees.
"The hiring process is going completely as planned," she said. "We plan to bring in 12,500 over a 10-year period."
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Sununu Calls for Patriot Act Reform
WASHINGTON, Nov. 18 - Sen. John Sununu (R-N.H.) is embroiled in a dispute over the renewal of the U.S. Patriot Act and has joined a bipartisan team of lawmakers who say they plan to block reauthorization of the law on the grounds that it infringes on too many civil liberties.
The clash ensued after the House and Senate met in conference last week to compromise on certain provisions of the Patriot Act set to expire at the end of the year. After the conference committee issued a report outlining the new compromises, Sununu and his colleagues in the Senate sent a letter to the House and Senate leadership expressing their concerns.
"If further changes are not made, we will work to stop this bill from becoming law," wrote the senators.
Some Democrats in the Senate have threatened to filibuster the new act when it comes to the floor. The original Patriot Act, passed in the wake of September 11, expanded the government's surveillance and prosecutorial powers.
Sununu and his colleagues are critical of certain provisions in the law that they say erode civil liberties, like the government's unfettered access to sensitive business files and library records and the "sneak and peek warrants" that allow law enforcement agencies to conduct secret searches of people's homes or businesses and inform them later.
Senators, along with Sununu, who are threatening to oppose the reauthorization of the law are Larry Craig (R-Idaho); Richard Durbin (D-Ill.); Russ Feingold (D-Wisc.); Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), and Ken Salazar (D-Col.), a bi-partisan and ideologically diverse group.
They were joined Friday in a press conference by House members Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y); Dana Rohrabacher (R-Calif.); John Conyers (D-Mich.) and Connie Mack (R-Fla.). The group outlined their concerns and emphasized their desire to protect the nation from terrorism without encroaching upon the fundamental rights of Americans.
"Time and time again we have said we are focused on a few areas of a very large piece of legislation," Sununu said at the press conference. "We think we can work out bipartisan compromise, reasonable compromise in each of these areas that doesn't in any way undermine the ability of law enforcement to deal with a terrorist."
Sununu also criticized the Justice Department for championing the Patriot Act and failing to properly advise President Bush.
"I have spoken with senior members of the Justice Department not weeks ago, not months ago, but as much as a year ago, raising some very specifically-crafted concerns," said Sununu. "And there has been opportunity after opportunity to deal with these well in advance, and they have failed to do so. I don't think a number of key advisors have served the president well, because this is important to protect civil liberties and still fight the war on terrorism."
Sununu's stance on the Patriot Act puts him at odds with his Senate colleague Judd Gregg (R-N.H.), who is chairman of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Homeland Security and supports renewal of the law.
"The Patriot Act is one of those tools that is crucial to the war against terrorism while also containing a variety of safeguards to help protect individual rights," Gregg said in a statement to the Union Leader. "We must be able to use the Patriot Act for what it is designed: collecting intelligence on terrorists."
But Gregg said he is hopeful that a compromise can be reached.
"While I recognize that concerns have been raised regarding some of the provisions in the bill, I am hopeful that agreement can be reached on a number of the issues of concern before the bill comes before Congress for a final vote," Gregg said. "Furthermore, mechanisms have been included in this conference report to ensure that further review and alteration of the bill can be considered within a set time frame."
Although Sununu voted for the Patriot Act when it was first introduced in 2001, he said he now believes that certain provisions of the law have served their purpose and should be allowed to expire at the end of the year.
"It was necessary legislation given the importance of the time," Sununu said in an interview. "That is why it was crafted carefully with sunsets."
"Sunsets" are dates built into the Patriot Act which schedule certain provisions of the law to expire unless they are renewed by Congress.
Given the standards he and his colleagues wish to set, Sununu said, "I really don't believe anyone can clearly describe a situation that would prevent law enforcement from doing its job effectively."
The future of the debate remains uncertain as some of the Democrats in the Senate have threatened to filibuster the bill and Congress is facing not only the expiration of the law at the end of the year, but its imminent Thanksgiving recess.
"And yet here we are, effectively the day before everyone hopes to be heading home for the holiday," said Sununu at Friday's press conference. "This just shouldn't be."
Moderates Find Breathing Room as Rift in GOP Grows More Visible
WASHINGTON, Nov. 17- New Hampshire's Republican Rep. Charles Bass is at the center of a battle now raging over what direction Republicans in Washington should take, how much influence moderates within the party should have and just who should lead the House GOP as it heads into congressional elections next year.
Last week, Bass led two dozen moderate Republicans, including Jeb Bradley (R-N.H.), in an effort to prevent the exploration and drilling for oil and natural gas in Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR). The measure was included in a deficit reduction bill that was stalled in the House.
But even after the drilling measure was removed, a vote on the bill was postponed for nearly a week because some moderates still opposed reductions in funding for other items like Medicaid and food stamps.
Bass was in the news again this week when he called for a clarification of the status of the House leadership. He said he considers the current arrangement to be "awkward." and thinks new elections for House leaders should be held in January. Rep. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) is serving as acting majority leader in the stead of Tom DeLay (R-Texas) who has at least temporarily stepped down because he is under investigation in Texas for money laundering but remains active in setting the party agenda.
"It is time to speak about these issues honestly and publicly," Bass said in an interview with the Union Leader. "Not to criticize Roy Blunt; he has worked as hard as anybody. Tom DeLay has his issues with the Texas judiciary system. His problems should not be the main agenda item for the Republican Conference. It should be the agenda we want to pursue."
Bass' stance on Arctic drilling puts him in opposition not only to the GOP leadership and the White House, but also to his Senate counterparts Judd Gregg (R-N.H.) and John Sununu (R-N.H.). Political analysts observe Bass' newfound boldness to be evidence of a crack in the normally well-kept GOP façade. (See sidebar.)
Other New England Republicans like Sens. Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe of Maine) and Rep. Chris Shays of Connecticut also have been vocal about more moderate positions on the budget and proposed tax cuts.
"The Republican apparatus in Washington has been highly disciplined," said Sarah Sewall, a political scientist at Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government. "The combination of the leadership scandal with Tom DeLay and the larger political climate changing gives moderates a chance to be themselves without getting their heads chopped off."
But New Hampshire Democrats see Bass' latest efforts and those of other moderate Republicans as a ploy designed to distance themselves from GOP conservatives in time for next year's midterm elections, according to state party chairwoman Kathy Sullivan.
Even though Bass is in his sixth term and won his last election with 58 percent of the vote, he still represents a vulnerable district that was carried in the past two presidential elections by Democrats Al Gore and John Kerry.
"This is about the fact that Congressman Bass is scared of plummeting Republican poll numbers, plain and simple," Sullivan said in press release. "Sorry, Charlie. You dance with the one that brung ya, and you've been in Washington too long if you think New Hampshire voters are going to fall for this."
Sewall acknowledged that President Bush's growing unpopularity also may be a factor.
"We are seeing the kind of backpedaling and political distancing that accompanies an unpopular president when congressmen are going into an election cycle," she said. "This creates the political space for moderates to regain a toehold in Congress."
DeLay's preoccupation with his own legal problems, which forced him to step down from the House leadership, also may have given moderates in the House more breathing room, according to Peter Roff of the conservative Free Enterprise Fund, since DeLay was known for maintaining tight control over House Republicans and their votes.
"Tom DeLay's current status leaves something of a vacuum, and nature abhors a vacuum," he said. "There are some fissures and issues that need to be worked out."
Meanwhile, powerful conservative political action committees like the Club for Growth have been railing against moderates they have labeled R.I.N.O.s -Republicans in Name Only-and threatening to run conservative candidates against them in the primary elections.
"If these moderates get their way, they're going to do enormous damage," said Pat Toomey, chairman of the Club for Growth. "I think that Republicans will pay a price at the polls."
Bass says he remains unmoved by threats from interest groups.
"I'm not here to worry about special-interest groups and their influence," he said. "I'm here to make policy. I think this is good policy."
But Toomey said that for the 2006 primaries, the Club for Growth may be shopping around for more conservative Republican candidates to challenge some moderates.
He did not say if Bass would be targeted, but he implied that group was unhappy with the congressman's recent efforts and would have to examine the his record further.
"We have to look race by race for someone who is willing to run against some of these incumbents," he said. "Right now, it appears that Charlie Bass is one of the problems."
Earlier this week the organization decided to endorse Tim Walberg in the Michigan Republican primary over Rep. Joe Schwarz, who, along with Bass, is a member of the moderate Main Street Partnership and also worked to strip Arctic drilling from the budget bill.
Schwarz has never been endorsed by the Club for Growth, although Toomey said more challenges are sure to come for other moderates.
"This is the first," he said, "But it wouldn't be wise to say that it was the last."
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Bass Leads Moderate Republicans in Effort to Stop Oil Drilling in Alaska
WASHINGTON, Nov. 10 -- Breaking with the party leadership, the White House and his colleagues in the Senate, Rep. Charles Bass (R-N.H.) led the effort to rally moderate House Republicans to oppose the authorization for oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, prompting GOP leaders to agree to strip the provision from the budget reconciliation bill.
At issue is a 1.5-million-acre section of the 19-million-acre refuge. President Bush has made drilling in the refuge a cornerstone of his energy policy, and oil companies have been lobbying for years to secure the legislation, arguing that modern technology allows them to drill without despoiling the environment there. Conservationists argue that the area should be left pristine.
Bass wrote a letter to Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.), interim Majority Leader Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) and Rules Committee Chairman David Dreier (R-Calif.) on Nov. 8, asking that the drilling provisions be removed. He persuaded 25 other Republicans to sign it, including Rep. Jeb Bradley (R-N.H.) who also opposes drilling in the refuge.
With all 202 Democrats in the House having pledged to vote against the budget bill, Republican leaders knew that they could not afford to lose that many members of their own party if they were to get the 218 votes needed for passage.
"They knew what was in the letter when I handed it to them," Bass said. "They didn't tear it open like a Valentine."
The language that was dropped from the bill may be re-inserted when House negotiators meet with their Senate counterparts to work out the differences with that chamber's bill, but Bass said he and his colleagues intend to vote against any bill that authorizes drilling in the Alaska refuge.
"We will not waver in our position," Bass said. "No matter how much arm twisting occurs, no matter who calls on the telephone."
"This is the dawning of a new day," said Rep. Wayne Gilchrest (R-Md.), who joined Bass at a press conference Thursday for the Main Street Partnership, a group of moderate Republicans. "We will hold the line on this."
The Senate on Thursday passed its version of the budget bill, which would authorize drilling in the refuge, which is also known by its acronym, ANWR; the bill was supported by Sen. John Sununu (R-N.H.) and sponsored by New Hampshire Sen. Judd Gregg (R), chairman of the Senate Budget Committee.
"There will be substantial differences between the two versions of the bill, including the ANWR provision," Gregg said in a press release. "Those of us on the joint House/Senate Conference will have a very serious and challenging job ahead of us in reconciling the two bills, but I am optimistic that there is enough support for reducing the deficit that we can bring a final product before Congress before the end of the year."
Drilling advocates expressed frustration with the decision to remove the provision from the House bill.
"Environmentalists have to learn that they just can't keep saying no," said Bob Moran, a spokesman for the American Petroleum Institute. "There is an environmentally sound way to drill in Alaska, and it is being done right now. We hope that the leadership in the Senate and House approve ANWR in their final version of the bill."
The Republican leadership indicated on Thursday evening that they would postpone the vote on the bill until next week, according to Bradley.
"I'm glad ANWR was removed," he said. "I think the bill needs to go forward; we need it to reduce out nation's budget deficit."
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Kennedy and Gregg Differ on Powell for Katrina Relief Coordinator
WASHINGTON, Nov. 2 - After joining forces several weeks ago to propose the appointment of a federal coordinator for the Gulf Coast reconstruction, Senators Judd Gregg (R-N.H.) and Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.) have split over the man President Bush has tapped for the job: Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. Chairman Donald Powell.
Kennedy said he was unhappy with the choice and described Powell's lack of disaster management experience as a liability.
"This appointment is business as usual and shows that the Gulf recovery is not a top priority for the president," Kennedy said in a press release. "Mr. Powell may be an accomplished banker and political fundraiser, but according to the Administration, he has no disaster-recovery experience. I find this terribly troubling -- especially given the tragic missteps of Michael Brown." In the face of criticism for his handling of the Hurricane Katrina recovery effort, Brown resigned as chief of the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
Gregg, however, said that although he has never worked with Powell, he expected him to be successful in his efforts to manage the hurricane recovery and enforce fiscal discipline on disaster spending.
"I don't think disaster experience is key," Gregg said. "I think management experience is key. It is appropriate that the President has moved fairly quickly to put in place someone with an accounting and auditing record."
Powell said he plans to resign from his post as chairman of the FDIC to focus on his new role in the Gulf Coast.
"In my role as FDIC chairman, I had the opportunity to tour the area and see firsthand what the communities in the Gulf region face," Powell said in press release. "I look forward to this new challenge and appreciate the trust that the President has in me."
Powell traveled to the Gulf Coast in September and helped coordinate the effort to restore banking operations. His extensive financial management experience will enable him to coordinate the activities of the federal, state and local agencies that will converge in the rebuilding of the region, according to FDIC spokesman David Barr.
"He will be able to navigate the bureaucratic roadblocks," Barr said. "He created two banks from scratch; he knows how to organize things."
Powell will be reporting to the president through Secretary of Homeland Security Michael Chertoff; an arrangement Kennedy has a problem with.
"I am also concerned that the person responsible for directing federal efforts will not be reporting directly to the president at a Cabinet-level position," Kennedy said. "As I have called for, the redevelopment efforts should be led by a nonpartisan leader, at the Cabinet level, who can cut through the red tape to ensure that federal funds are deployed swiftly, efficiently and effectively."
Gregg said that he thought Powell's financial management experience would be a boon in coordinating the work of the agencies working to rebuild the region.
"It is not so much that he needs to cut through the bureaucracy," Gregg said. "He needs to make it work for him."
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Congress to Consider Cutting Medicaid Funds by $11 Billion
WASHINGTON, Nov. 4 -- Congress may vote as early as next week on a bill that would cut Medicaid by approximately $11 billion over the next five years and allow states to increase co-payments and charge monthly premiums for individuals and families just above the poverty line.
Passage of the bill, which was approved by the House Energy and Commerce Committee last week by a vote of 28-22, appears likely because it is has been proposed as a budget reconciliation measure and cannot be filibustered.
Most Republicans on the committee, like Charles Bass (R-N.H.), who are in favor of the measure, say that Medicaid reform would keep the expensive program from bankrupting the states.
"We need to ensure that the Medicaid program is available for future generations, and in its current form it is simply unsustainable," said Bass. "Over 37 states have been forced to choose between cutting beneficiaries and cutting services-no state government should have to make that choice."
Committee Democrats, who are united against the bill, say that Medicaid reform should not be done by cutting benefits to the poor in order to offset tax cuts to the wealthy. Rep. Edward Markey (D-Mass.) is a one of the Democrats resisting the measure.
"Last March, the Republicans passed a Budget Resolution that required $35 billion in cuts from the programs which protect the most vulnerable, including $10 billion from Medicaid, while shoveling $106 Billion out the door to the wealthiest Americans in the form of massive tax cuts," said Markey. "If the Republicans were interested in reforming Medicaid, they would reinvest the money back into the Medicaid program to make it a stronger, more accessible, more sustainable program."
In 2004, the Center for Budget & Policy Priorities reported that New Hampshire had approximately 96,000 persons on Medicaid. Persons 65 and older make up 10 percent of the total and persons under the age of 18 account for 60 percent, according to the center, which is a non-partisan think tank based in Concord, N.H.
Most people currently covered by Medicaid pay nothing for prescription drugs and doctor's visits, and those who do, usually pay $3 or less. The bill would increase the $3 copay and would start charging some recipients monthly premiums.
An individual must have almost no assets in order to qualify for Medicaid. The proposal to reform the program gained momentum shortly after reports of wealthy and middle-class Americans exploiting the program by turning their assets over to family members while the state paid for their nursing fees.
"We must address the fraud and abuse in this program," said Bass. "In order to make certain that Medicaid resources benefit our poorest and neediest citizens - not wealthy Americans seeking to exploit a system in need of reform."
But those like Markey, who are critical of the bill, say that "Milli onaires on Medicaid" is myth unsupported by research and cite studies by the Kaiser Commission and Georgetown University which demonstrate that most middle-class seniors do not have the resources to make large gifts in anticipation of their long-term care needs.
"I support doing real Medicaid reform," said Markey. "But this bill is not really about reforming Medicaid or thinking about the best ways to provide health care to our country's most vulnerable populations. This bill is about trying to decide who among the least fortunate in our country-the poor, the disabled, the seniors in nursing homes-should pay for more tax cuts."
The National Governors Association asked the House Energy and Commerce Committee for Medicaid reform because the program costs the same as K-12 education in some states, according to the association's Web site.
But New Hampshire's Democratic Governor John Lynch said that he opposes cuts to Medicaid.
"Governor Lynch is concerned that the federal government's proposed cuts will hurt critical health care and other services to our most vulnerable citizens, particularly seniors and children," said Pamela Walsh, spokeswomen for Lynch. "This is bad for New Hampshire and the wrong d irection for our country."
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Bass Legislation to Protect Consumers Passes House
WASHINGTON, Oct. 26--In response to reports of charity fraud and gas gouging in the wake of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, the House has passed legislation sponsored by Rep. Charles Bass (R-N.H.) meant to protect consumers during times of national emergency.
The American Spirit Fraud Prevention Act, which Bass introduced for the third time since 2001, would double the penalties for anyone committing fraud during a time of national crisis.
"The primary purpose of this bill will be to deter fake charities," Bass said in an interview. Earlier, in a news release, he said: "Americans have always opened their hearts and their wallets over and over again. This bill takes steps to ensure that this generosity is not taken advantage of by petty crooks."
The bill, which Bass originally introduced after reports of suspicious charity solicitations in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, previously passed twice in the House by overwhelming margins but was shelved in the Senate. Bass hopes that this time the Senate will approve the measure.
"My understanding is that this time, there is a consensus for the bill," he said.
This year, Bass has enlisted the aid of Sen. John Sununu (R-N.H.), who says he will help shepherd the bill through the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, on which he sits.
"Congress must do what it can to offer protection, and Congressman Bass's legislation makes sense, particularly at this time," Sununu said in a statement to the Union leader. "Now that his legislation has passed the House, I look forward to bringing this to the attention of my Senate colleagues and pushing for action this year."
The bill would empower the Federal Trade Commission to double civil penalties for committing fraud or price manipulation such as gas gouging, during a declared national emergency period. Each violation would carry a penalty of up to $22,000.
Robert Schomphe of the New Hampshire Better Business Bureau said that Granite Staters have been reporting several "advance fee loan" schemes that have also been linked to the victimization of hurricane victims.
"They find people on the Internet and offer them loans, regardless of credit," he said in an interview. "But they want an advance fee for the loan or a certain amount of money as insurance against the loan. It looks very slick, but the kicker is that the money must be sent by Western Union to Canada."
Schomphe said that Bass' bill made sense and hoped it would be successful, but cautioned that many charity and Internet scammers will simply relocate and start over.
"If you shut them down in Canada, they just move somewhere else," he said.
Bass said he realized the limitations of any effort to completely prevent fraud during a time of national distress but said the bill provides for far stiffer penalties than the current system and that $22,000 per offense will enough to bankrupt some fraud perpetrators.
"It is a pretty big deterrent," he said. "Will this bill solve the problem of all people who prey on Americans' charity? No. But it is certainly a better deterrent than we have now."
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New Hampshire Native Son Going to China as Foreign Service Officer
WASHINGTON, Oct. 21 - Because his father was in the Foreign Service, David V. Muehlke of Woodstock, N.H., was born in Thailand and lived abroad for most of his young life. He has always seen himself as someone who has moved back and forth between two different worlds.
When the 23-year-old Harvard graduate was sworn in to the Foreign Service himself at the State Department on Friday, he said that the experience of being raised overseas, combined with his New Hampshire roots, would aid him in his mission to represent America while living and working in the international community.
"My family is deeply rooted in new Hampshire," said the Phillips Exeter alumnus. "We have a unique tradition there in general when it comes to politics. I've also spent time overseas, so I hope to bring a unique and creative perspective in representing the United States."
Muehlke, who said he speaks functional Mandarin Chinese, will soon be moving to Guangzhou, China, where he hopes to learn the ropes as a Foreign Service Officer by assisting with the adoption of Chinese children by American families.
Muehlke is one of 96 members of the 126 th Foreign Service Officer Class from the State Department's Foreign Service Institute, the primary institution for training American diplomats.
Upon completion of a seven-week Foreign Service course, Muehlke and his classmates were sworn in at their graduation ceremony on Friday by Robert Zoellick, the deputy secretary of State, who welcomed them as the next generation of American diplomats.
"It is easy to recognize the challenges you will face," Zoellick said in his speech to the class. "But you have been given an extraordinary gift and opportunity to represent the United States."
With classmates from all walks of life and professional backgrounds, ranging in age from 23 to 50, Muehlke said he was impressed by the expertise his peers brought with them. An expertise which he said was crystallized by one event: the collapse of a platform during their training.
"We were all standing on it and the foundation collapsed," he said. "Some people were injured. But we knew how to respond in the crisis. Some of the class had medical training and military training; we all handled the situation very well."
In his final remarks, Zoellick stressed to the class that they not ignore the domestic structure of American politics or forget about the issues and people back home. It was a challenge Muehlke said he was prepared to meet.
"The challenge in Foreign Service is to live in the world internationally but never forget who we are as Americans," said Muehlke. "I've been doing that my whole life."
