Category: Massachusetts
Biometric Information Used in Identifying Criminals
CRIMINAL
New Bedford Standard Times
Burcu Karakas
Boston University Washington News Service
11.12.2009
WASHINGTON – Federal agencies and local law enforcement departments have identified more than 111,000 criminal aliens in the first year of a joint program that checks the digital fingerprints of persons arrested and booked at the local level against immigration and FBI records.
The announcement was made by Janet Napolitano, secretary of Homeland Security, and John Morton, assistant secretary for immigration and customs enforcement, at a press conference Thursday.
“Technology is the heart of this new capability,” Morton said.
The program, known as Secure Communities, is operated jointly by the Homeland Security and Justice Departments and participating law enforcement partners. They automatically check the digital fingerprints of all individuals arrested at the local level against Homeland Security’s biometrics-based immigration records in addition to FBI databases. This allows Immigration and Customs Enforcement to take action to ensure that criminal aliens are not released.
“It has been a remarkable first year for Secure Communities,” Morton said.
He gave an example from Boston: a detainee identified through biometric records had been involved in a rape case in the past. Without Secure Communities, this would not have been known, Morton said.
According to the statistics, there were 1,425 matches in Massachusetts from October 27, 2008 through October 31, 2009.
Since 2008, the program has identified 11,000 aliens charged or convicted with serious crimes such as murder, rape or kidnapping, and 1,900 of those have been removed from the United States.
There are currently 95 jurisdictions across 11 states using Secure Communities. Officials announced that the Washington Metropolitan Police Department will be the next to participate.
Secure Communities will be present in every state by 2011 and be available to every law enforcement agency by 2013, the officials said.
Napolitano said the top priority is to achieve strong and effective law enforcement. According to the secretary, biometrics is a new technological, accurate, cost-effective and efficient development that requires less manpower.
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Organizations Help Portuguese Immigrants Adjust to U.S. Life
PORTUGUESE
New Hampshire Union Leader
Haley Shoemaker
Boston University Washington News Service
Nov. 12, 2009
WASHINGTON—People who emigrate to the United States face social, cultural and, often, language barriers. Unaware of their rights, the new arrivals frequently need help in getting their children incorporated into the school system and may find it difficult to become involved in the local community.
For immigrants from Portugal, national and local organizations aim to decrease the obstacles they face when newly arrived in the United States.
In Washington, PALCUS, the Portuguese American Leadership Council of the U. S., takes positions on laws that directly affect the Portuguese community and acts as a voice for people of Portuguese descent and those whose backgrounds are in Portuguese-speaking countries. Laws relating to visa waivers and deportation are often their focus.
In New Bedford, the Immigrants’ Assistance Center works directly with immigrants to help them apply for citizenship and find adequate housing, food and clothing. It also assists with their medical needs, advises them on their individual rights and generally helps them integrate into the American way of life.
Though founded almost four decades ago by members of the local Portuguese community, the center today offers assistance to all immigrant communities. Still, given the high percentage of Portuguese-Americans in the city and the region, working with that community is an important part of its activities.
The organization’s purpose is to act as the voice of the immigrant population in New Bedford, said Helena Marques, the center’s executive director. “We do a lot of one-on-one work with people.”
“We are aware of PALCUS, and PALCUS being in Washington is a good thing. We are more of a direct service, we’re right on the front lines of issues, where I think PALCUS is more like an advocacy,” Marques said.
Her non profit, multiservice agency helps serve about 5,000 immigrants per year and also reflects the immigrant population it is helping, she said. “We’re all bilingual and bicultural. There are about five languages spoken here.”
The organization holds fundraisers and speaks about the issues of the immigrant population. It also works directly with the community and offers food from the Boston Food Bank, works with local schools such as Roosevelt Middle School, holds English-language classes and provides help with citizenship.
“We also work with deportation, unfortunately,” Marques said. “We do a lot of exchanging information between the United States and Portugal.”
In the 2000 census 1.15 million people of Portuguese descent and 65,875 of Brazilian descent were counted in the U.S. Of the 203,120 people in the U.S. who emigrated from Portugal, 66,625 live in Massachusetts, according to the census. Of the 212,430 persons from Brazil living in the U.S., 36,670 are in Massachusetts, with a large proportion of them living in the New Bedford area.
PALCUS unites the Portuguese community throughout the nation by inviting its members and prominent people of Portuguese heritage to its annual gala event, said Fernando G. Rosa, the organization’s vice chairman.
“Our next gala will be in Massachusetts,” he said. “There is a committee planning the event; it might be in Fall River, New Bedford or even Cambridge. We’re not sure.”
PALCUS focuses on policies and legislation relating to the Portuguese community. “We’re not trying to solve any problems for any individual on an individual basis; that is not what we do,” Rosa said. It may sometimes refer a case to another organization, he explained, but “we do not have a staff that solves individual problems.”
PALCUS works with members of Congress to hear about what their Portuguese constituents want and to discuss the issues the group is advocating. “We have allegiance with Congress, we have people who will call us back, or we will make contact with Congress members,” he said.
One of the biggest issues PALCUS deals with is deportation and its affect on families. “Some of the conversations we’ve had have changed some laws” Rosa said.
PALCUS meets with community leaders from California to New England, who advise them on issues they should support in Washington. “We deal with issues more on a national level, issues that could affect all of the community, all at once,” he said.
Becoming an active member of PALCUS, or even helping at a local immigration center, allows one to become “involved in an organization,” Rosa said. “It not so much is a benefit for you, but for the community. Individuals continue coming together and bring different issues to the table and to the conversation.”
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Worcester Jewish Delegates Applaud Rahm Emanuel Speech in Washington
JEWISH CONFERENCE
Worcester Telegram & Gazette
Jessica Leving
Boston University Washington News Service
Nov. 10, 2009
WASHINGTON—One day after President Barack Obama’s private Washington meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, Worcester delegates at a conference of the Jewish Federations of North America applauded a speech by White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel that stressed the United States’ continued support for Israel as a “beacon of democracy” in the Middle East.
Mr. Emanuel was standing in for Mr. Obama, who canceled his scheduled remarks to attend a memorial service at Fort Hood, Texas.
“The speech reflected [President Obama’s] commitment to peace in the Middle East while also ensuring that Israel remains a Jewish state with established borders and security, along with the opportunity for a Palestinian state,” said Howard Fixler, president of the Worcester-based Jewish Federation of Central Massachusetts.
In a speech that was deeply personal and made many references to his own Jewish upbringing and close connection to Israel, Mr. Emanuel defended the Obama administration’s policies in the Middle East against accusations of diminished support for the Jewish state.
“That is not the case, and never will be,” he said, to resounding applause.
Malka Phillips, 23, a Worcester native who attended the conference as a representative of the Grinspoon-Steinhardt Awards for Excellence in Jewish Education, said though she did not vote for Mr. Obama, “I think that the goals of our administration [in the Middle East] are excellent. The exact details of negotiations, well, you’re obviously going to have various viewpoints.”
Mr. Emanuel emphasized the administration’s continued support for Israel and called the United States that country’s “one true friend,” adding that the President’s outreach to the Arab world should not be seen as antagonism toward Israel.
“It is only through dialogue that we can achieve lasting peace,” he said.
Howard Borer, the central Massachusetts Jewish Federation’s executive director, said he supports Mr. Obama’s efforts in the Middle East.
“One has to reach out to the Arab countries in order to create that environment of mutual respect,” he said.
“If we can be friends with everyone, that’s great,” Ms. Phillips added. “If we can’t, keep your friends close and your enemies closer.”
Mr. Emanuel did not express an opinion about the right of Jewish settlements to exist in Palestinian territories, which has been a key point of conflict in recent Israeli-Palestinian negotiations. But, he said, “no one should allow the issue of settlements to distract from the goal of a lasting peace between Israel, the Palestinians and the Arab world.”
Mr. Borer said he thinks Mr. Obama understands the settlements situation “much more clearly” now that he has focused on the issue for several months. “I think he now realizes that Israel has done probably more than it’s ever done to curtail the settlements and minimize their internal growth,” he said.
Though Mr. Borer said he was disappointed not to see Mr. Obama in person, as planned, he said, “There is 100 percent unanimity that we support that he is where he is supposed to be.”
Outside the hotel where the four-day conference took place, three or four protesters each day carried signs proclaiming “God hates Israel” and “God hates Obama.”
Ms. Phillips said the presence of such protesters brings the need for peace in the Middle East to the forefront.
“Anything that would foster more of a positive feeling between the Arab and Jewish communities is a good step,” she said, “especially with the news of terror planning in Massachusetts against American malls…. It’s very frightening to realize that people that live in your neighborhood want to kill you. Nowhere in America can you say, ‘This is only happening in Israel.’ It’s very close to home.”
The Jewish Federation of Central Massachusetts is a non-profit, non-denominational umbrella organization that works to enhance the quality and size of the Jewish community in the area, Mr. Fixler said. The Jewish Federations of North America, formerly known as the United Jewish Communities, represents 157 local federations nationwide, according to its Web site.
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Tea Party Protesters Return to Washington to Protest Health-Care Bill
PROTEST
Worcester Telegram & Gazette
Jessica Leving
Boston University Washington News Service
Nov. 5, 2009
WASHINGTON—The Tea Party isn’t over.
Several thousand protestors marched on the Capitol Thursday in opposition to the Democratic health-care bill that the House of Representatives hopes to vote on by the end of the week. Less than two months ago tens of thousands of so-called Tea Party protesters marched on the capital to oppose “out-of-control” government spending and the Democratic health reform plan.
Richard Schofield, 46, a tractor-trailer driver from Uxbridge, was among the group at the Capitol Thursday.
“I’m against the health-care bill because the government has not run any program efficiently—Medicare, Medicaid, the Post Office, Amtrak,” said Mr. Schofield, who did not attend the September protest because of conflicting engagements. “The government has lied to us. They said illegal aliens wouldn’t be covered in this bill but they are. They said they would not spend money on abortion but they are. We’ve got to do something before this goes any further.”
“I’m here for my grandson, and his generation,” he continued. “My family has always stood up when this country is in need. Being here today is something I can do for my country.”
Mr. Schofield said he came down with over 100 protesters from Rhode Island, on two buses that left from Warwick at midnight on Wednesday.
A group of about 10 people from the Northborough area also drove down for the rally with the recently established Northborough Tea Party chapter, according to Ken Mandile, a leader of the Worcester Tea Party, who did not attend Thursday’s Washington event.
The spirited group of protesters from around the country carried signs declaring, “Vote No to Government Run Health Care”, “My Congressman is a Nut,” “Bankrupt America? Yes We Can,” and “I Already Have a Mommy, Thanks, I Don’t Need a Mommy State.”
Between loud renditions of the national anthem and the pledge of allegiance, they chanted “Kill the bill” and “Throw Nancy out” in reference to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
The rally, which some called the “Hands Off Our Health Care” protest, came directly in response to a call earlier this week by U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-Minn., who welcomed protesters Thursday.
“You came!” she shouted to the cheering crowd. “You came to your house for an emergency house call! And are they going to listen? Oh, yeah, they’re going to listen.”
House Minority Leader Rep. John A. Boehner, R-Ohio, also spoke and called the health-care bill “the greatest threat to freedom that I have seen.”
A vote on the health care reform legislation has been scheduled for Saturday. On Thursday both the American Medical Association and the senior lobbying group the AARP promised to support and promote the health care overhaul.
President Obama planned to visit Capitol Hill Friday to meet with House Democrats in an effort to convince moderates to vote for the legislation and shore up the 218 votes needed for passage.
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Veterans Benefit Backlog Creates Financial Problems for Students
GIBILL
New Bedford Standard-Times
Ayesha Aleem
Boston University Washington News Service
Nov. 5, 2009
WASHINGTON – After five years of Army service, including tours in Iraq, Richard Messier thought he would not have to worry about paying for college under the Post 9/11 GI Bill. But the heavy backlog of claims with the Department of Veterans Affairs has created financial problems for this 23-year-old unemployed, full-time undergrad at Bristol Community College.
The new law, which came into effect on Aug. 1 of this year, provides financial support toward education to individuals with at least 90 days of active service on or after Sept. 11, 2001. The benefits include stipends for tuition, housing, books and supplies to undergraduate and graduate students enrolled in an institution of higher learning.
Messier said he filed an application in September but has not received any payment from Veterans Affairs.
“I don’t receive a dime from unemployment. I don’t receive a dime from VA,” he said. “I’ve had to be frugal with whatever money I have. If it weren’t for the greatness of my family, I’d be on the streets right now.”
In September Eric Shinseki, secretary of Veterans Affairs, announced that “emergency checks” of $3,000 would be issued to address the problem created by the backlog. These payments became available to eligible students through VA regional offices on Oct. 2.
Messier said he had received the emergency payment from the VA office in Providence, R.I. “But that’s running out, too,” he said. The college has allowed him to buy books on credit, for which he owes approximately $250 when his regular payment comes through, Messier said.
Of 110 veterans enrolled at Bristol Community College, 28 students are eligible for VA benefits, said enrollment counselor Beth Vezina. She said six students had problems because of the backlog but there could be more.
The college sent out target e-mails informing students of the backlog and placed holds on classes so that students who have not paid their bills don’t get dropped from classes, Vezina said. An emergency bookstore fund has also been set up, she said, that allows students to buy books and to pay for them when they receive their VA payment.
The University of Massachusetts Dartmouth has 35 students eligible for VA benefits, said Kristina Leonardo, staff associate for veterans affairs. “We are not penalizing the students for late payments,” said Bruce Palmer, director of financial aid.
Brendon Puntin, 26, a graduate student in the computer engineering program at UMass Dartmouth, is among the students affected by the backlog. Puntin, who served four years on active duty in the Marine Corps and one year in the Reserves, has not received any benefits since filing his application in July, he said.
At the time of this interview, Puntin said he was on his way to Providence to pick up the emergency check. “I’ve had to change a closing date on a house I was planning to purchase,” he said about the delay in receiving payment.
And although Puntin’s cash flow was down, his cost of living was manageable, he said. The university has been crediting the amount for his tuition although it has not received payment from the VA, he said.
20-year-old Benny Smith of North Carolina, majoring in finance at UMass Dartmouth, receives Veterans Affairs benefits as a dependent whose father was in the service for 25 years, he said. The backlog has made it difficult to pay bills, rent and a car payment, Smith said.
“I’m having to work more hours during the week,” said Smith, who works part-time as a pharmacy technician at CVS. “It’s been stressful to pick up extra shifts.”
As a dependent, Smith is not eligible for the emergency checks, he said. “I’m down to the basic necessities. I think they [the VA] are a little unprepared for the amount of requests for aid they receive. But it’s a great program that will benefit many people.”
The average time to process an application is 30 days, said Phil Budahn, spokesman for the Department of Veterans Affairs. “This is very new legislation. It’s very complex,” he said about the new bill. “The previous bill was rather straightforward. The payment went directly to the veteran. With the new bill, there are multiple computations. Payments go to schools, stipends go to veterans for housing” and other expenses.
“That being said, this is unacceptable,” he said about the delay. “This is not how we want to provide educational benefits.” Since Aug 1, approximately $165 million in benefits have been released to 56,000 veterans, Budahn said.
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Following Frank’s Money
FRANK FEC
New Bedford Standard-Times
Ayesha Aleem and Haley Shoemaker
Boston University Washington News Service
Nov. 5, 2009
WASHINGTON – Health care and climate change may be among the major issues before Congress. But with his approaching reelection bid, the financial sector is a high priority for Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass.
As chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, Frank plays a key role in legislation that regulates the financial services and banking industry. As of Sept. 30, Frank’s 2010 reelection campaign had received more than $200,000 from individuals and political action committees associated with the financial industry—insurance, securities and investment companies—according to OpenSecrets.org, the Web site of the Center for Responsive Politics, a nonpartisan organization that tracks money and politics.
In the first nine months of this year, Frank had already raised approximately $1.1 million, the highest amount among House members in the Massachusetts delegation, according to his campaign’s third-quarter filing with the Federal Election Commission.
FMR Corp., which owns Fidelity Investments, is one the largest contributors to the congressman’s campaign committee, contributing $22,650 from individual employees and $2,500 from the Fidelity political action committee, according to OpenSecrets. Companies cannot contribute to political candidates, and so they set up political action committees to which their employees may contribute.
Contributions associated with Boston-based Liberty Mutual Insurance Co. make up the third-largest group. Individual employees donated $7,500 and the Liberty Mutual political action committee gave $10,000.
“Chairman Frank is a local congressman and someone we are proud to support,” Liberty Mutual spokeswoman Adrianne Kaufmann said in a statement.
However, the top donor to the congressman’s campaign committee was ActBlue, an independent organization based in Massachusetts that raises funds for Democratic candidates. Contributions totaling $26,450 were made to Frank through ActBlue, according to OpenSecrets. ActBlue provides individuals with online fundraising tools to contribute to Democratic candidates, Adrian Arroyo, the organization’s deputy communications director, said.
Insurance companies are the single biggest source within the financial industry of donations to Frank’s war chest. The insurance sector contributed approximately $120,000 from individuals and company political action committees, according to OpenSecrets.
For example, the political action committees of Georgia-based Aflac and the Independent Insurance Agents and Brokers of America donated $5,000 each to Frank.
“We believe that it is important to be a part of the government process and to make them aware of who we are and how we are different from major medical insurance,” said Laura Kane, vice president of external relations at Aflac, the largest provider of supplemental insurance in the United States.
Supplemental insurance, as the name suggests, is additional insurance that provides coverage in excess of a person’s primary insurance policy.
Since being elected to office in 1980, Frank has enjoyed relatively easy reelections and that is not likely to change in 2010. Frank’s challengers, as listed on the Federal Election Commission Web site, are Republicans Earl Henry Sholley and Keith Messina. Through Sept. 30, Sholley raised almost $17,000 and Messina raised $600, according to their filings with the Federal Election Commission. Tarah Donoghue, communications director of the Massachusetts Republican Party, said that the party is unsure whether a primary will be held.
“The conservatives from Rush Limbaugh through all the right-wing Republicans have spent a lot of time attacking me, and I have had to spend some money to refute these inaccurate acts,” Frank said. “So for example, recently with my campaign money, I sent out a mailing to my district responding to these acts. Because even if the candidate himself doesn’t have money who is opposing me, if I don’t refute these lies, then they stick.”
One of the main reasons for raising large sums of money is to counter efforts from independent organizations like so-called 527 groups that can threaten an incumbent’s position, said Harry Gural, press secretary for Frank. These are tax-exempt organizations created primarily to influence nominations, elections and appointments or to defeat candidates for public office.
Frank has already spent more than $900,000, mostly for operating expenses such as staff salaries, candidate travel and fundraising expenses, as indicated on the Federal Election Commission Web site.
He has also contributed $300,000, through five separate payments, to the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, according to the most recent commission filing.
“As chairman of a major committee, I am expected by the Democrats in the House to give $500,000 to the Democratic Congressional Committee,” Frank said. “When I solicit my funds, I tell people much of the money you give me I will be giving to other people.”
As a chairman, Frank said, he is able to raise more money than some other Democrats.
“I want there to be a Democratic majority. It makes a tremendous difference,” Frank said. “For four years, Republicans were in control of the committee that I serve on, and I was very frustrated.”
In the past three years, with Democrats in control, “we’ve got much more done,” he said.
Frank said he does not accept funds from the top 10 companies that receive federal aid under the Troubled Asset Relief Program. Citigroup, Bank of America and American International Group (AIG) are the top three companies in this group.
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New Dates Set for Credit Card Regulations
CREDIT CARD
New Bedford Standard-Times
Ayesha Aleem
Boston University Washington News Service
Nov. 4, 2009
WASHINGTON—The House voted Wednesday to advance the starting date for new credit card regulations by as many as eight months. The bill, like the one introduced by Rep. Carolyn Maloney, D-N.Y., and co-sponsored by Rep. Barney Frank and signed in May by President Obama, would limit the rate changes that credit card companies may impose on cardholders. The vote was 331-92.
Under the new terms, the regulation would come into effect on Dec. 1 instead of next Feb. 22 for some provisions and next August for others. Specifically, card companies would need to notify customers 45 days before any interest rate change, would not be able to raise rates based only on the customer’s history with other card companies and would have to apply minimum payments to balances with the highest interest rates.
It would also end “double-cycle” billing, by which the companies can charge interest on unpaid balances for debts incurred the previous month.
Supporters of the bill say that the card companies have not used the time constructively until the new law becomes effective and continue to charge exorbitant rates of interest and high fees.
Frank, the chairman of the House Financial Services Committee and an active champion of financial reform, said, “Banks took advantage of what we offered them.”
Maloney said, “The credit card companies have earned this [new] legislation because they have not used the time to modify their [computer] systems” to allow them to offer lower interest rates.
To critics who say the new legislation would increase consumer costs, Frank responded: “That is simply untrue. Banks will raise consumer costs as much as they can anyway. Some consumer costs should be raised. But nobody’s rates should be raised retroactively. Plus, you should be given notice.”
An amendment proposed by Rep. Jeb Hensarling, R-Texas, that would allow banks to offer lower interest rates without the 45-day notification period was adopted. Both Frank and Maloney supported this change.
The House also adopted an amendment by Rep. Betty Sutton, D-Ohio, to prohibit imposing a fee on people who pay down their balances every month. “The notion that people should be penalized for being prudent is crazy,” Sutton said.
In 2008, credit card companies imposed approximately $19 billion in penalty fees, with the amount expected to be more than $20.5 billion this year, according to a statement earlier in the year from Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s office.
“Consumers will receive important benefits,” Frank said of the date changes. When customers fully comply with credit card terms, companies should not be allowed to raise their interest rates, he said. “It is the single most unfair economic act I can think of that does not involve a pistol. This is not risk management, this is hostage-taking.”
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Former Senator Edward Brooke Awarded Congressional Gold Medal
BROOKE
New Bedford Standard-Times
Ayesha Aleem
Boston University Washington News Service
Oct. 29, 2009
WASHINGTON – Edward Brooke is familiar with being in the minority. He has now joined another exclusive group when he was awarded the Congressional Gold Medal, the highest honor Congress may bestow.
The former U.S. senator from Massachusetts, who served from 1967 to1979, received the award at the Capitol Wednesday.
Ninety-year old Brooke, a Republican, was the first African-American to be elected by popular vote to the Senate. President Barack Obama, who presented Brooke with the medal, became only the third when he was elected to the Senate from Illinois in 2004.
As a senator, Brooke championed the causes of low-income housing and a woman’s right to an abortion.
Brooke served as Massachusetts attorney general before being elected to the Senate.
After serving two terms in the Senate, Brooke was defeated by Paul Tsongas, whose widow, Rep. Niki Tsongas, currently represents the 5th Congressional District. There has been no Republican senator from Massachusetts since Brooke left office.
In 2008, Rep. Barney Frank pushed to award the Gold Medal to Brooke. “As I work in the housing area, I find myself frequently trying to preserve some of the pioneering efforts on behalf of affordable housing that Ed Brooke created,” Frank said in a statement at the time. “Sen. Brooke was a leader in a number of areas.”
The Gold Medal is one of two of the highest civilian awards in the United States, along with the Presidential Medal of Freedom. American citizenship is not a requirement. The award has only been bestowed 150 times since 1776. George Washington was its first recipient. Other winners include Thomas A. Edison, Walt Disney and Winston Churchill.
Kirk’s Financial Report Shows Publicly Traded Assets Worth as much as $5.9 Million
KIRK
Worcester Telegram & Gazette
Jessica Leving
Boston University Washington News Service
10/28/09
WASHINGTON—Sen. Paul G. Kirk Jr., D-Mass., is a rich man.
According to his financial disclosure report, filed Oct. 23 with the Senate Office of Public Records, Mr. Kirk has publicly traded assets worth between $2.74 million and $5.98 million—and that’s not even including his house, car or annual income: From Jan. 1, 2008, to Oct. 22, 2009, Mr. Kirk reported earned income totaling $349,187.50.
Mr. Kirk, who was sworn in as interim senator on Sept. 25 to replace the late Edward M. Kennedy, was required to file his report within 30 days of assuming office. Assets listed on the report are valued within a range. For example, Mr. Kirk listed four publicly traded assets valued at between $15,001 and $50,000 each. Most of the publicly traded assets are stocks and mutual funds.
Before becoming senator, Mr. Kirk resigned his position as chairman of the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation and severed his relationship with the law firm Sullivan and Worcester, where he was a retired partner, and with Kirk and Associates, a business and consulting firm of which he was chairman. Mr. Kirk reported no income from these positions on his financial disclosure form.
The bulk of his reported earned income came from his former position as corporate director at three companies: Hartford Financial Services Group, an insurance and investment company; Rayonier Inc., a forest products company, and Cedar Shopping Centers in Port Washington, N.Y., a real estate investment trust.
On his publicly traded assets, Mr. Kirk reported unearned income between $143,227 and $385,108.
Personal property not held for investment or production of income does not need to be disclosed, so figures on the value of Mr. Kirk’s home, car and other assets are not reported.
OpenSecrets.org, the Web site of the Center for Responsive Politics, a nonpartisan organization that analyzes money and politics, has not yet crunched the data for Mr. Kirk, nor has it posted an analysis of the most recent data for his colleague, Sen. John F. Kerry, D-Mass.
But for the 2007 calendar year, OpenSecrets ranked Mr. Kerry the richest man in the Senate, with a net worth of $284 million to $388 million.
Mr. Kirk will serve as senator until a Jan. 19 special election.
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Coakley Beats Other Democrats on Fundraising
COAKLEY
New Bedford Standard Times
Burcu Karakas
Boston University Washington News Service
October 28, 2009
WASHINGTON – Martha Coakley raised almost $2.2 million in one month in her race to replace the late Edward M. Kennedy in the U.S. Senate, much more than did the two other candidates in the Dec. 8 Democratic primary, according to each candidate’s campaign finance filing.with the Federal Election Commission.
Rep. Michael E. Capuano raised $343,000 last month and transferred $1.2 million from his U.S. House reelection account to his Senate campaign. Contributions to Capuano from individuals totaled $306,536 .96 and political action committees and party committees gave $32,500. He ended September with $1,167,906 in his campaign fund.
Alan Khazei raised $1.1 million in September without receiving any funds from political action committees, according to his report filed with the Federal Election Commission. The Khazei campaign finished the period that ended Sept, 30 with $1,040,297 in his campaign treasury.
Coakley’s campaign raised $2,181,231—with only $41,450 coming from political action committees—and ended September with $1,953,512 in her campaign fund, according to her filing with the commission. Campaign spokesman Mathew Helman said Coakley had a wide range of individual contributors, including 3,707 who gave $100 or less.
“I am humbled by this display of support shown by our contributors and volunteers throughout Massachusetts and across the country,” Coakley said in a press release. “We more than doubled our fundraising goals for the month of September.”
Doug Roscoe, associate professor of political science at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, said, “Realistically, the latest numbers show the Coakley, Capuano and Khazei campaigns all about equally armed for battle.”
He noted that none of the candidates came close to the numbers raised by candidates for statewide office in 2006, when Deval Patrick spent $8 million and Kerry Healey spent over $13 million in their campaigns for governor.
Since time is limited for the special election, which will be Jan. 19, it is not likely that the candidates will raise comparable amounts, according to Roscoe. “It means they are all about equally distant from having the resources to run a true statewide campaign,” he said.
Roscoe emphasized that Capuano as a House candidate had the opportunity to transfer money from his House campaign account. “These transfers represent 78 percent of his total receipts,” he said.
Coakley, however, was not legally allowed to transfer campaign funds she raised in her successful race for state attorney general to her U.S. Senate race account.
Roscoe does not consider it surprising that while Capuano was financially in a more advantaged position at the beginning, Coakley has been more successful in raising money for her campaign. She has “greater name recognition and a broader network of prior donors,” he said.
“If both candidates maintain their current pace of fundraising, Coakley’s financial edge will only grow and may become a significant advantage for her in the Dec. 8 primary,” Roscoe said.
Jennifer Duffy, senior editor at the Cook Political Report, also agreed that the Coakley campaign did really well during this short period of fundraising. Although Coakley lacked experience in raising money nationally, the funds she raised and the wise way she spent are “stunning,” Duffy said.
Duffy said that the amount Khazei raised is “pretty impressive” and that he is likely to continue raising more funds than Capuano because of his broader base of donors all around the country.
Duffy said that with only six weeks to the primary, there has not been enough interaction between candidates. “Perhaps it’s a sign of how much work they need to do to build name recognition and define themselves,” she said.
With statewide name recognition and a well-funded campaign, “Coakley is the candidate to beat,” Duffy said.
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