Category: Fall 2008 Newswire
Korean War Medal of Honor Winner Finally Buried in Arlington
BURIAL
New London Day
Dan Levy
Boston University Washington News Service
November 12 2008
WASHINGTON—This time it was a happy occasion. Fairy Mae Papadopoulos sat calmly in her wheelchair, swinging her legs as the buglers played a now-familiar call, and the chaplain recited the 23rd Psalm.
The uniformed men were honoring her brother, Sgt. Cornelius H. Charlton, a Korean War hero who died in battle more than 57 years ago. Charlton was finally in his rightful resting place in Arlington National Cemetery—and Papadopoulos finally found closure.
“It’s all settled now,” the 81-year-old Pawcatuck resident said after Wednesday’s ceremony, surrounded by a few of her 11 children and countless grandchildren. “I don’t have to worry about him too much anymore.”
This was Charlton’s third funeral. He was killed on June 2, 1951, at the age of 21 while serving with the Army’s all-black 24th Infantry, the legendary Buffalo Soldiers. After his commander was killed, Charlton rallied his fellow soldiers and spearheaded three successful assaults before suffering a mortal grenade wound. For his bravery he was awarded the Medal of Honor.
Charlton was interred in his family’s burial place in West Virginia. In 1990, the Congressional Medal of Honor Society had Charlton’s remains exhumed and reburied in the American Legion Cemetery in Beckley, W. Va.
But Charlton’s relatives always knew that “Uncle Connie” belonged in Arlington.
“He finally got put to rest,” Thomas Fisher, Charlton’s grand-nephew, said after the ceremony. “He’s where he belongs now.”
The event was as much family reunion as funeral. Fisher came down from the Bronx—which is where Charlton and his siblings grew up—along with two busloads of relatives. Some Connecticut and New York cousins were meeting for the first time, exchanging hugs and posing together for photos.
During the ceremony, the youngest family members sat on their fathers’ shoulders, flanked by veterans proudly wearing their “Buffalo Soldiers” jackets. Relatives held up digital camcorders and media were invited graveside, a rare event at an Arlington funeral.
Rep. Joe Courtney, D-2nd District, called Charlton a “superhero for our country” and thanked Charlton’s niece, Zenobia Penn of New London, for leading the reburial effort.
It’s not clear why Charlton wasn’t buried in Arlington in the first place. The military says it was an administrative oversight, but some members of the family have always believed it was because Charlton was black.
Sgt. Turhan Papadopoulos, Fairy Mae’s son, strongly disputed this notion.
“It was not a racism issue,” he said after the ceremony. “Millions of people have been in the military and some are going to fall through the cracks. One happened to be my uncle.”
Still, the issue of race hung over the ceremony—which took place a week after the country for the first time elected an African-American as president—though any residual anger seemed to be overpowered by a sense of pride and vindication.
“Last Tuesday, this country took a historic step forward,” said Rep. Jose E. Serrano, D-N.Y., whose office chartered the buses for the Bronx delegation. “Many would say that step was part of the reconciliation with our past as a nation. Today continues that reconciliation.”
The celebratory mourners responded with a resounding chorus of Amens.
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Kerry’s Small Business Committee Releases Guide for Small Businesses
SMALLBUSINESS
Worcester Telegram and Gazette
Rachel Kolokoff
Boston University Washington News Service
November 7, 2008
WASHINGTON – Scott Bigelow, president of Bigelow Electrical in Worcester, said it was about a year and a half ago, when many of his competitors were going out of business, that he realized he needed a loan.
“I needed to expand in areas where we didn’t have the capital,” Mr. Bigelow said, “and so I called up Benjamin Franklin Bank.”
Mr. Bigelow said electric motor supply is not a flashy business that usually catches headlines, but motors are vital to industry and for nearly a century his company has provided them to Worcester.
Through Massachusetts’ Capital Access Program, which encourages banks to give loans to small business in lower income neighborhoods that would otherwise have trouble getting financing, Mr. Bigelow applied for a loan from Benjamin Franklin Bank.
“The bank saw that we were a candidate, I signed my life away and low and behold we were able to get the capital we needed,” Mr. Bigelow said.
Administered by the Massachusetts Business Development Corporation, the program, which helps businesses with less than $5 million in revenue, has received $15 million in state funding since 1993.
Corporation president Kenneth Smith said $10 million of those funds have been used to encourage more than 100 banks to loan money to some 3,800 small businesses in Massachusetts.
Banks are more comfortable making these somewhat riskier loans because the loans are backed by a reserve account, comprised of fees paid by the borrowers and state funds.
Mr. Smith said the banks determine the credit criteria for loans and while the maximum loan is $500,000, the average is around $70,000.
“It’s extremely flexible because borrowers can use it for working capital, real estate, equipment, pretty much anything they want,” Mr. Smith said.
Because the program has helped so many small businesses, Sen. John F. Kerry, D-Mass., included it in a reference guide that describes state programs from across the country that help small businesses.
Sen. Kerry, chairman of the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, and Sen. Olympia J. Snowe, R-Maine, who is the senior Republican on the committee, began more than a year ago asking governors and economic development agencies for feedback on successful small business programs.
The guide, which also includes programs from Maine, Connecticut, New Hampshire and Rhode Island, features two programs from Massachusetts.
“These ideas have been put into action and are actually working today for small businesses,” Mr. Kerry said in an October press release.
Blain Marchand, vice president of commercial lending at Benjamin Franklin Bank, said his bank has been part of the capital access program for almost four years.
“It really allows us to write loans that we might otherwise have to pass on,” Mr. Marchand said.
Maria Heskes-Allard, vice president of Clinton Savings Bank, said her bank has participated in the program for more than two years. Since then, she said, the bank has given out 7 loans totaling some $600,000 to clients that might have had a hard time getting financed.
One of those clients is Roger McCarthy, owner of McCarthy’s Landscaping and Irrigation in West Boylston, which has done landscaping design and construction for almost 14 years.
Mr. McCarthy used the loan to acquire a building where his 18-employee business could develop. In the 13 years before then, he had been working out of a garage area with only a small office for client meetings.
“It’s helped us close more jobs because clients can come into a professional atmosphere,” Mr. McCarthy said.
The other Massachusetts program in the guide is the Small Business Technical Assistance Grant Program, which awards state funds to community development corporations whose mission is helping small businesses.
“The services applicants offer small businesses can be as simple as helping them put together an accounting system, helping with various software programs, or getting on more solid ground when it comes to bookkeeping,” said Andre Porter, executive director of the Massachusetts Office of Small Business and Entrepreneurship.
Mr. Porter said the state office, which has received some $1 million in state funds for the program each year since it began in 2004, awarded grants to 29 applicants in fiscal 2008.
One of those grant recipients was the Martin Luther King Jr. Business Empowerment Center in Worcester, which offers resources, business training and low cost office space to small businesses. The center received $115,000 in 2007, some 18 percent of its total budget.
“What this grant enables us to do is provide low cost technical assistance to small business who are looking to start up their ventures or to grow them,” said Felicia Riffelmacher, vice president of the center.
InnerCity Entrepreneurs, a company that offers management training to existing small businesses in Massachusetts, also received a program grant.
Jean Horstman, chief executive officer of InnerCity, said the company has received grants for the last two years and used the most recent grant of some $40,000 to create a branch in Worcester.
In two years, the company has helped 19 small businesses access $4.1 million in new loans to expand business and generate 58 new jobs.
The reference guide of programs for small businesses is available in its entirety on the Web site for the Senate Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee, http://sbc.senate.gov/.
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Maine Senators Seen as Major Players in the New Senate
MAINEGOP
Bangor Daily News
Maite Jullian
Boston University Washington News Service
11/07/08
WASHINGTON – As moderate Republicans, Maine Sens. Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins will play a major role in the new Senate as both political parties will hunt for their votes to pass, or block, major legislation.
“They are going to be very critical players in the Senate,” said former Rep. Charlie Bass, head of the centrist Republican Main Street Partnership. “They will be in a position to police legislation.”
In the 111th Congress, President Barack Obama’s legislative agenda will not face as much resistance in the Democratic-dominated House as it will in the Senate. Although the Democrats will have at least 56 seats in the Senate, they won’t have the 60 votes required to end a filibuster, a tool used by the minority to delay or block votes on legislation.
If Democrats can’t find common ground with the minority leadership on a bill, they would have to reach out to Republicans. And the most likely to support them are the moderates.
“They are going to be so influential,” Douglas Kriner, assistant professor of political science at Boston University, said. “Since the Democrats won’t have 60 seats and because there are differences within the Democratic caucus, they’ll have to reach across the aisle.”
The group of moderate Republicans went from six to four senators after the election, Bass said. The two others are Sens. Norm Coleman of Minnesota and Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania.
In 2007, Snowe and Democratic Sen. Mary Landrieu of Louisiana created the Common Ground Coalition, a bipartisan group whose goal is to bring members from both parties together to work on major issues.
And Collins was part of the Gang of 20, a bipartisan group that worked in September on an energy bill.
The Maine senators also sit on influential committees. Snowe is a member of the Senate Finance Committee and Collins is on the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee and the Armed Services Committee.
With these bipartisan records and important positions, their votes will be coveted by the Democrats.
According to Christian Potholm, professor of government at Bowdoin College, this configuration will also be beneficial to Maine.
“Democrats are going to have to turn to them,” he said. “This is a great thing for Maine. We have two senators at the very center of power and activity.”
Snowe and Collins each said the new political configuration is not much of a change regarding their work in the Senate, as they will keep promoting a bipartisan approach.
“This is the way I have always worked,” Collins said. “The difference is the margin. Democrats clearly will be reaching out to moderate Republicans so it should strengthen the role that I play.”
“When it comes to major issues, we have to develop solutions that embrace a bipartisan approach,” Snowe said. “No party has a lock on good ideas. I want to work to fuse those differences and be a catalyst to embrace change to solve issues.”
Bass said that although they always worked according to what they believed in rather than sticking to the party lines, a change is coming.
“I don’t think their philosophy will change but their influence definitely will,” he said.
Snowe and Collins said that cooperation across party lines is more important than ever to address the issues that the country is facing.
“Too many issues have been seen as partisan or an opportunity to score political points,” Collins said. “The American people want us to work together.”
Snowe said that unlike the past two years, the new Congress has to put aside differences to address the country’s pressing problems.
“There is a greater pressure on both sides to answer the overwhelming message sent in the election,” she said. “We have to show that we’ve got it. Too many wanted to play the partisan game and as a result there was a repudiation of the status quo of the last Congress.”
On whether the two parties will actually cooperate, Collins and Snowe are confident, but cautious.
“I am seeing it but we have to get beyond the talking point,” Snowe said. “It didn’t happen the last two years. If we haven’t heard this message then something is really wrong.”
“I am concerned whether Sen. Harry Reid (D-Nevada) and Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-California) will be willing to take a less partisan approach,” Collins said. “My hope is that Obama will set a tone that encourages bipartisanship on both sides.”
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Dodd to Keep Chairmanship of Banking Committee
DODD
Norwalk Hour
Jordan Zappala
Boston University Washington News Service
11/6/08
WASHINGTON – Sen. Christopher Dodd, D-Conn., announced Thursday that he would retain his position as chairman of the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs in the 111th Congress because “our economic crisis is the center of gravity to which all our problems are being pulled.”
The senator’s statement put an end to speculation that, as the second-ranking Democrat, he would assume the chairmanship of the Committee on Foreign Relations when the current chairman, Vice President-elect Joseph Biden, leaves the Senate.
“We have been left with a terrible mess,” Dodd said at a Capitol press conference. “Unemployment is rising. Incomes are stagnating – while at the same time the cost of health care, housing, education and energy is skyrocketing.”
“Every day for the past several weeks, an average of 44 families in my state enter foreclosure – some 16,000 in all,” he continued. “Thirty-five of its workers lose their jobs. Countless men and women – in Connecticut and across the country – sit around their kitchen tables at night, worrying about what might happen next.”
Dodd highlighted several issues he would focus on as committee chairman in the next congressional session, which begins in January: oversight of bailout bill implementation, modernizing the financial structure, strengthening consumer protection and renewing the focus on national security challenges.
As many Americans have done this week, Dodd also took the time to reflect on the historic nature of the country’s presidential choice.
“Just over 40 years ago, well within our lifetimes, African-Americans as a people were excluded…from participating in our nation’s political life,” the senator said. “On Tuesday, they joined with others from across the racial, ethnic, regional, economic and ideological spectrum to elect a man who personifies the freedom, equality and opportunity that is the birthright and the hope of every American.”
The senator said he will continue to serve as a senior member of both the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee and the Foreign Relations Committee.
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Dodd to Remain Banking Committee Chairman; Lieberman ‘Considering Options’
DODD
New London Day
Dan Levy
Boston University Washington News Service
November 6, 2008
WASHINGTON – Sen. Christopher J. Dodd (D-Conn.) said Thursday he will stay at the helm of the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee in order to serve his constituents and tackle “the defining issue of our day”—the economy.
“Our economy is the center of gravity to which all our problems are being pulled,” Dodd said at a press conference on Capitol Hill. “As the United States senator from Connecticut, there is no more important way right now that I can serve the people of Connecticut and our country than as Banking Committee chairman.”
Dodd said Connecticut’s role as the “home of the insurance industry” and its proximity to Wall Street make it particularly vulnerable to financial turmoil. He also cited Connecticut’s soaring unemployment and foreclosure rates.
With Vice President-elect Joseph Biden leaving the Senate, Dodd could have replaced Biden as chairman of the prestigious Foreign Relations Committee. Dodd said he will continue to sit on that committee, but not as chairman.
Meanwhile, the future role of Connecticut’s other senator, Joseph Lieberman, remains in limbo. Lieberman, who was reelected in the 2006 general election as an independent after losing in the Democratic primary, caucuses with the Democrats. But he angered Democrats by aggressively campaigning for Republican presidential candidate Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.).
Many expect the Democratic leadership to strip Lieberman of his Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee chairmanship, which could drive him over to the Republican Party.
But after meeting with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) Thursday morning, Lieberman said he is still “considering the options I have before me.”
Dodd said he would work closely with President-elect Barack Obama in putting together his economic team. He said he believed President Bush should consider nominating Obama’s choice for Treasury secretary before the end of Bush’s term on Jan. 20.
“Given the magnitude of these problems, we cannot wait until inauguration day in my view,” he said.
Dodd also was cautious in celebrating the gains made by Senate Democrats in Tuesday’s election. He said both parties need to work together to fix what he called “a terrible mess.”
“If you neglect to deal with the other party,” he said, “you will not achieve much.”
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Central Massachusetts Members Look Forward to 111th Congress
NEWPRES
Worcester Telegram and Gazette
Rachel Kolokoff
Boston University Washington News Service
November 5, 2008
WASHINGTON - With a new, Democratic president and an increased Democratic congressional majority, the newly reelected House members from Central Massachusetts are optimistic about the legislative playing field.
U.S. Rep. James P. McGovern, D-Worcester, said he expects President Barack Obama to practice bipartisanship, even with an overwhelmingly Democratic Congress.
“I think his speech reflected that he understands he’s not just president of the Democrats, but of everyone in this country,” Mr. McGovern said. “I think there will be a bipartisan cabinet and that he will work in a bipartisan way.”
Mr. McGovern said he has every reason to believe the new Congress will work well with Mr. Obama and does not expect much contention within the Democratic Party.
“Maybe that’s wishful thinking, but I just don’t,” Mr. McGovern said.
U.S. Rep. John W. Olver, D-Amherst, said in a statement that he is also very excited about Capitol Hill’s new dynamic.
With Mr. Obama as president, he said, Congress has a chance to take the country in a new direction by restoring market regulations, passing another economic stimulus package and bringing an end to the Iraq war.
“The time has come for us to put in place and execute a plan to safely disengage our troops from Iraq and bring our soldiers home,” Mr. Olver said. “That policy shift is long overdue.”
Mr. Olver said Congress must also mandate emissions reductions for greenhouse gases and enact health care reform.
“Looking forward, the 111th Congress must also get serious about finally providing health care coverage to the 46 million Americans who have no health insurance,” he said.
Health care reform is also a big concern for U.S. Rep. Niki Tsongas, D-Lowell, she said in a statement on Tuesday.
“I will work to give all Americans, especially our children, access to quality, affordable health care because we can do so much better than the system we have today,” Ms. Tsongas said.
Ms. Tsongas said in an interview that while the Democrats are a diverse lot, they embrace the same fundamental values on economic and energy policies.
“Where you have some differences of opinion are when you get down into the details, and those are things we can work out through the legislative process,” Ms. Tsongas said.
Ms. Tsongas also said it will be interesting to see if Mr. Obama appoints a bipartisan cabinet.
“I think clearly President-elect Obama brings a very measured approach, is clearly focused on creating an atmosphere that brings people together, and if that includes reaching out to and appointing some cabinet members from across the aisle, that is a good thing,” Ms. Tsongas said.
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Rep. Frank Lists Goals for Financial Services Committee
FRANK REACTION
The New Bedford Standard-Times
Courtney Hime
Boston University Washington News Service
November 5, 2008
WASHINGTON – Rep. Barney Frank said the 19 seats the Democrats picked up in the House will make it easier in the next session of Congress for the Financial Services Committee, which he chairs, to accomplish four goals.
First, he said the committee wants to make sure that the Affordable Housing Trust Fund for building rental properties is well-funded.
Secondly, he said, the committee wants to pass laws to ensure that existing affordable housing built with private-public partnerships is preserved as affordable housing.
Rep. Frank said a third goal for the committee was to ban “irresponsible” subprime lending. He said the committee attempted this, the House agreed but the Senate did not approve the legislation.
“We tried to do that, the Senate didn’t go along,” he said. “It’s the biggest mistake that the Republicans made when they were in power that we tried to fix – banning irresponsible subprime lending.”
Finally, Rep. Frank, said the most comprehensive goal of the committee was to adopt a set of regulatory laws “to prevent the kind of abuses in the financial system … that were so much a part of the current problem”
Rep. Frank said the Democratic Senate gains, as well as Sen. Barack Obama’s win, would help the committee next year.
“I am optimistic that with this House and Senate majorities both being increased, and a president, that we’ll be able to do much of the [committee’s] agenda,” he said.
Of Sen. Obama’s decisive victory, Rep. Frank said he was excited “because it means we are off the defensive and can now do some useful things.”
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No More Funds for Wireless Carriers in Maine?
FCCMAINE
Bangor Daily News
Maite Jullian
Boston University Washington News Service
10/30/08
WASHINGTON – While Americans will be electing their next president on Tuesday, the Federal Communications Commission is set to vote on a proposal that critics worry would cut funds to wireless companies providing cell phone towers in rural and underserved areas of Maine and other states.
If approved, Maine wireless carriers would lose $13 million in federal money from the Universal Service Fund’s high-cost program, according to Connecting Rural America, a coalition of advocacy groups, community leaders and elected officials opposing the cuts.
The federal funds, the coalition says, would be used by wireless carriers to construct cell phone towers in rural communities in Maine.
Robert Kenny, a spokesman for the FCC, said that discussions on reforming the program to reduce and redirect costs have been around for years and that the time has come for implementing the changes.
“There is more and more demand for high-speed and broadband services,” he said. “We need to reform to address those demands. Without any reform, these programs couldn’t be sustained and could be eliminated.”
Kenny said specifics about the proposals won’t be made public until the vote next week. But he said the FCC, besides redirecting funds, wants to change the formula allocating funds to wireless carriers.
To receive subsidies, the companies would have to reveal their costs – they are not required to now – and make a five-year commitment to build broadband infrastructures.
Earlier this year, the commission started the reform by capping payments to wireless carriers to 2008 amounts until the program is evaluated.
Besides restricting phone coverage for consumers in underserved areas, critics say, these cuts would be damaging for Maine businesses and first responders such as firefighters and police officers.
“In rural areas, if there is no signal, people are unable to get help,” Penobscot County Sheriff Glenn Ross said. He is a member of the Maine Sheriffs’ Association, which is part of the coalition opposing the FCC proposal.
Ross said that local law enforcement officials are confronted all the time with weak phone coverage, phone conversations breaking up and areas without signal.
Deputies, who all have cell phones, need to be able to have access wherever they are. And coverage problems may result in not being able to locate people in need of help or protection as the officers use triangulation, he said.
“People are moving towards cell phones, and we need to put the money there,” Ross said. “Great advances have been made thanks to the money from the [Universal Service Fund] invested in Maine, but it is not the time to stop.”
In 2007, Maine received more than $36.5 million through the fund’s high-cost program. More than $13.3 million went to wireless carriers, according to data from the FCC Web site.
US Cellular is supposed to build 18 towers in several Maine rural areas this year, and 16 next year with the projected $9.7 million from the fund. Without the federal money, it won’t be possible, Jack Rooney, president and CEO of US Cellular, said in an interview.
“The intent of the FCC is to eliminate payments to wireless carriers,” he said. “It will have a negative impact in Maine. Some of the rural areas where we build towers can’t afford them, so we use [the federal] funds to build them.”
Earlier this year, the federal payments to wireless carriers were capped to allow the FCC to evaluate the program and launch a “path for comprehensive reform,” according to a May FCC press release.
The FCC said the cap on payments to wireless carriers was necessary to “stem the explosive growth” of the Universal Service Fund, financed by consumers who pay more than 11 percent on their phone bills.
The payments to wireless carriers have grown from about $1.5 million in 2000 to more than $1 billion last year, according to the press release. “Left unchecked, this staggering growth forces consumers to pay excessive and ever-increasing contributions to the fund,” the FCC said.
Even if the FCC eliminated payments to wireless carriers, consumers would save only 30 cents a month on their phone bills, Rooney said.
Republican Sens. Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins sent a joint letter earlier this month to FCC Chairman Kevin Martin asking the commission to reconsider the proposal.
“By limiting the program that supports carriers in rural areas, we risk causing a major setback in the endeavor for universal service for the people that need it most,” they said in a joint press release. “First responders depend on efficient and reliable cell phone service to do their jobs and save lives.”
The FCC created the Universal Service Fund in 1997 to provide telecommunications services of quality to rural and underserved areas.
Through four different programs, the USF subsidizes high-cost rural phone companies –wireless and landline carriers – Internet and telecom connections for schools and libraries, phone service for low-income customers and telecom costs of health care providers that use telemedicine.
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Frank Contributes More to Democratic Candidates in 2008 than 2006
FRANK MONEY
The New Bedford Standard-Times
Courtney Hime
Boston University Washington News Service
October 30, 2008
WASHINGTON – Rep. Barney Frank’s campaign committee is giving money to nearly twice as many U.S. House candidates in 2008 than it did in 2006.
Rep. Frank has donated to 80 Democratic candidates for the House since January 2007, up from the 41 he supported in the 2006 election cycle, according to his filings with the Federal Election Commission. Additionally, his campaign has almost tripled the amount of money it is giving, donating $230,000 to candidates this year compared to the $83,000 it contributed last cycle.
According to the contribution limits set by the FEC, Rep. Frank’s campaign committee is allowed to donate up to $10,000 per election cycle – $5,000 for the primary and $5,000 for the general election – to another candidate’s campaign committee.
Rep. Frank attributed his increase in donations to his more prominent role in the House. As chairman of the Financial Services Committee, Rep. Frank said he is expected to donate more money to House campaigns.
“It’s one thing to be the senior [member] in the minority, but in the majority, you’re expected to,” he said.
Being the chairman, he said, better equips him to raise money – a total of $1,880,978 during this election cycle.
“I get to raise more money, frankly, because I’m chairman,” Rep. Frank said. “I’m more prominent.”
He said that he has increased the number of candidates he is supporting in order to pick up more Democratic seats in the House.
“We have more chances, we think, to win,” Rep. Frank said. “I think that it’s my obligation.”
Rep. Frank’s challenger for his own reelection, Republican Earl Sholley, has raised $17,756. He was unavailable for comment.
In addition to the contributions made to House candidates, Rep. Frank is also expected to donate money to the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. This cycle, his campaign donated $650,000 to the committee. It also contributed $30,000 to the Massachusetts Democratic State Committee – Federal Fund.
During this election cycle, Rep. Frank is supporting House candidates from 37 different states. Of the 80 candidates receiving funds from Rep. Frank this year, 29 of them received money in the 2006 election cycle. Of the 41 candidates he supported in 2006, 21 of them went on to win.
RealClearPolitics.com, an independent political Web site that tracks the federal elections, offers polls and statistics about the 2008 House races. According to its list of the 50 seats most likely to switch political party, seven of the candidates Rep. Frank is supporting are sitting incumbents in tight races.
Reps. Nancy Boyda (D-Kan.), Steven Kagen (D -Wiss), Nicholas Lampson (D-Texas), Tim Mahoney (D-Fla.), Jim Marshall (D-Ga.), Carol Shea-Porter (D-N.H.) and John Yarmuth (D-Ky.) all face tightening races in the days leading up to the election.
During this election cycle, 27 of the candidates Rep Frank is supporting are challenging incumbents. RealClearPolitics.com placed 19 of those races on its list of House seats likely to switch party after the election.
In 2006, all but one of Rep. Frank’s donations came in the last two months before the election. This year, his donations have been spread throughout the election cycle, with 63 individual donations in 2008 and 50 donations in 2007.
Rep. Frank donated an average of $2,923 to the candidates he supported. In 2006, his average was slightly less, $2,024, indicating that the increase in money spent comes from supporting more candidates rather than spending more on one particular candidate.
There are, however, several candidates getting more than the average. Rep. Frank. donated the most money to Kay Barnes, running for the 6th District seat in Missouri, and Donald Cazayoux, running for the 6th District seat in Louisiana; each received $6,000. Both candidates are running tight races against Republican incumbents.
In addition to the House races he’s supporting, Rep. Frank also donated money to Reps. Thomas Allen (D-Maine) and Tom Udall (D-N.M.), who are both running for the Senate.
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U.S Lawmakers Richer in 2007
WEALTH
Bangor Daily News
Maite Jullian
Boston University Washington News Service
10/29/08
WASHINGTON – The American economy may be gloomy this year, but for members of Congress, the previous two years weren’t at all bad. In fact, the lawmakers’ collective wealth increased by 13 percent from 2006 to last year, according to an analysis by the Center for Responsive Politics.
Among them, Republican Sen. Olympia Snowe was ranked the 20th richest member of Congress and the 8th wealthiest senator, with an average net worth of $33,308,537, an increase of 76 percent over her 2006 average net worth of $18,963,031.
“The change in the value of the 2007 holdings was chiefly due to the increase in value of her husband’s stock in the company he works for,” said John Gentzel, spokesman for Snowe.
Snowe’s husband, John McKernan, is the executive chairman and chairman of the board of directors of Education Management Corp., a Pennsylvania-based provider of private post-secondary education.
McKernan also served as the corporation’s chief executive officer until February 2007. He represented Maine in the U.S. House before becoming a two-term governor of the state.
According to Gentzel, “the information relating to assets and transactions includes her husband’s enterprises.”
Sen. Susan Collins, on the other hand, was one of the “poorest” senators, ranked 89th out of 100 with an average net worth of $247,502, the lowest among the Maine delegation members.
Democratic Rep. Mike Michaud ranked 276th among the 435 House members, with $375,009. Democratic Rep. Tom Allen ranked 225th, with $626,006.
“It is not surprising that his ranking is 276th,” Monica Castellanos, Michaud’s spokeswoman, said. “When he first ran for Congress in 2002, he did so because there were so many millionaires in Congress. He believed that it was important that working families had someone to represent them who shared their experiences.”
Snowe is the only member of the delegation whose wealth increased from 2006 to 2007. Michaud’s wealth decreased, from $505,011 in 2006 to $375,009 in 2007. Collins’ and Allen’s reported average net worth was the same for both years.
“As reported on her financial disclosure form that is available to the public, Sen. Collins is not among the wealthy members of Congress,” Jen Burita, Collins’ spokeswoman, said.
The Center for Responsive Politics’ analysis is based on the Congress members’ personal financial reports, which they are required to file every year. The 2007 numbers are the most recent available. The analysis is available on the Center’s Web site, opensecrets.org,
The financial statements are reported within a fairly wide range, so that only an approximation of a member’s net worth is available. Thus Snowe’s net worth in 2007 could have been as low as $15,018,074 or as high as $51,599,001, for an average net worth of $33,308,537.
“Worries about the economy that most members of Congress are feeling right now are likely coming from their constituents,” Sheila Krumholz, the center’s executive director, said in a news release. “Most members have a comfortable financial cushion to ride out any recession.”
According to the analysis, senators were the wealthiest Congress members, with a median net worth of approximately $1.7 million in 2007.
Massachusetts Democratic Sens. John Kerry and Edward Kennedy claimed two of the top three spots. Kerry was the richest senator, with $336 million. Kennedy ranked third, with $104 million, behind Sen. Herb Kohl (D-Wis.) with $241.5 million.
In the House, though the median net worth was about $684,000, 39 percent of the members had net worth last year estimated to be at least $1 million.
Center analysts point out that the numbers actually may be higher than members’ financial statements disclose.
Dan Auble, who manages the center’s database of lawmakers’ financial information, said that some valuable information is not required to be disclosed, such as the value of any residences, unless they produce an income.
“Members of Congress don’t make it easy for the public to keep tabs on their personal holdings and any conflicts of interest those holdings present,” Auble said in a press release.
Because the statements were only for 2007, the report does not include any possible losses related to the current financial crisis and cannot be used to determine the current value of lawmakers’ holdings.
“Unless they divested before the recent market downturn, their portfolios are almost certainly worth less now,” according to the center’s news release.
“I am not privy to the details of the senator’s personal finances, but I know the senator has been negatively affected by the financial crisis just like anyone else who is invested in the stock market,” Gentzel, the Snowe spokesman, said.
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