Category: Emelie Rutherford
Smith Jockeying to be Leader in Special Education Reform
WASHINGTON, Feb. 12–Senator Bob Smith (R-NH) said Tuesday that he is drafting legislation that would bring New Hampshire more federal money for special education and change the way the federally directed system identifies which students need assistance and what assistance they need.
Schools in New Hampshire, as in the rest of the states, are now mandated, under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), to provide an “appropriate” education for everyone up to the age 21, regardless of their disabilities. And the schools are forced to pay for the cost, even though the federal government is supposed to be pitching in more than it is.
“I support the full funding with IDEA with appropriate reforms,” Sen. Smith said in an interview. “I don’t believe that should be a federal mandate that is not funded.” His draft bill includes a series of reforms that he said would “ensure that costs are controlled and that the students who really do deserve-need the funding from IDEA-will receive the cost.”
IDEA is up for reauthorization this year, though probably not before the summer, according to Smith. Even though he does not sit on the committee that will handle the reauthorization, Smith said he is “going to try to be involved in the debate as much as I can so I can be one of the major players.”
When IDEA was enacted in 1975, the federal government pledged to pay 40 percent of schools’ special education costs, though it now pays for only about 18 percent. As recently as 1996, the federal share was as low as 6 percent, though several hard-fought battles in Congress brought the spending up to current levels.
In addition to the financial burden, critics say IDEA has become an intricate evaluation and appeals process for children with special needs.
Smith – a former teacher and school board chairman of the Governor Wentworth Regional School District in Wolfeboro – agrees.
“I saw first hand how the program was implemented and I am very sensitive to issues school boards face in terms of costs and interruption to the budget and to the needs of children and their parents,” he said.
“I saw many non-education related services that IDEA children are involved in such as medical care, just to give an example. I’m not saying some of these children don’t need medical care. The question is, does medical care need to fall under IDEA? I am considering this now.”
Alice Porembski, a special education policy analyst at the New Hampshire Development and Disabilities Council in Concord, said such reforms would be critical to receiving a spending increase for IDEA.
Smith is also working on legislation that he says would allow schools to transfer dollars in and out of programs such as IDEA.
“This would work well in New Hampshire,” he said, “because some schools in New Hampshire don’t have some of the larger problems that other schools would have in other parts of the country” that require additional funds.
Published in The Union Leader, in Manchester, New Hampshire
Bush’s Budget Includes Millions for New Hampshire Wilderness
WASHINGTON, Feb. 07--Sen. Judd Gregg (R-NH) yesterday "applauded" provisions in President Bush's new budget that would earmark more than $5 million to protect the International Paper Co. land in the North Country and the woodlands between the Mount Sunapee and Pillsbury State Parks from development.
Judd is a member of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on the Interior, which will have a major say in approving those funds.
The budget Bush sent to Congress on Monday would increase funds for the Agriculture Department's Forest Legacy Program - which gives grants to states for private land conservation - to $70 million, $5 million more than the current level. In all, New Hampshire is set to receive $5.5 million - $4 million to purchase conservation easements that would prevent development on the 171,000-acre swath of International Paper land in the North Country and $1.5 million for conservation easements for 6,287 acres of woodland between the two state parks in southwestern New Hampshire.
"This is a very significant step forward for the Forest Legacy Program," said Lesley Kane, the vice president for federal affairs for the Trust for Public Land, a national nonprofit that is working to spare the International Paper land from development after the company sells it in March. "New Hampshire is very lucky to have Gregg, who is in the position he is in," said Kane.
The $4 million from Forest Legacy is only part of the approximately $22 million needed to secure easements on the timberland. After the Trust for Public Land buys it from International Paper in March, the trust will hold onto the land until the easements and final plans for the property are hammered out. Lyme Timber plans to buy 146,000 acres for logging, and the remaining land will remain as wilderness.
Sen. Gregg already secured $3.6 million for easements in the current fiscal year's Forest Legacy funds. The state is working on securing a $10 million bond. The trust's Kane said she is not worried about getting the additional required funds, but she said she will be closely watching the legislative process that appropriates the $4 million in next year's Forest Legacy funds for over the next few months.
Members of New Hampshire's delegation have pledged to push to get the federal money for the IP lands.
"I will be working diligently with Sen. Gregg to see that we receive federal support," Rep. John Sununu (R-NH) said on Thursday.
"This plan sells itself," Rep. Charles Bass (R-NH) said. "I've talked to various members of Congress who support it. Most of these projects come across as federal, federal, federal, but this one has a clear interest across the board - state, federal and private."
Sen. Robert Smith (R-N.H.), for his part, is working on receiving $9 million for the International Paper easement through the Wildlife Enhancement Act, which he introduced last year, though an appropriation would still be necessary if this bill becomes law.
The paper company's lands are "truly a national treasure, supporting abundant recreation opportunities for hunters, anglers, hikers, paddlers, skiers, and snowmobilers," Sen. Gregg said in a statement Thursday. "I applaud President Bush for recognizing the tremendous value of this property."
More than a hundred miles southwest of the IP lands, the timberland between the Mount Sunapee and Pillsbury State Parks, which has no roads and no development, is a rarity.
"This is the largest unfragmented block of forest land south of White Mountains," said Charlie Niebling, the policy director of the Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests in Concord. "These areas are becoming scarcer and scarcer and scarcer."
The Sunapee-Pillsbury easement is "a project important to the environmental and economic health of western New Hampshire," Sen. Gregg said. The timberlands would remain available for forestry, wildlife and recreation.
Published in The Union Leader, in Manchester, New Hampshire
Local Delegation Reviews Bush’s Budget with New Hampshire Concerns in Mind
WASHINGTON, Feb. 05--Members of New Hampshire's congressional delegation have pledged to introduce Granite State priorities - including a new access road to the Manchester Airport, the purchase of International Paper Co.'s lands for conservation and increased funds for low-income heating assistance - into President George W. Bush's $2.13 trillion budget proposal, which calls for substantial defense spending increases and another round of tax cuts.
"The president's budget reflects the extraordinary times the country is facing," John Sununu (R-NH), the vice chairman of the House Budget Committee, said. "He set his priorities in the State of the Union - homeland defense and security, getting the economy moving once again, and I think these will continue."
Now it's the members' turn to advance New Hampshire's concerns as they review the budget for the fiscal year that begins on Oct. 1.
"The [Manchester Airport] access road is one of the state's highest priorities," said Sununu, who expressed confidence the state will receive the necessary transportation funds.
Rep. Charles Bass (R-NH), also a member of the Budget Committee, pledged to keep the access road in mind when preparing the House's version of the budget.
"As a former member of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, I worked to secure $12.2 million to enhance the state's access to its largest airport," Bass said in a statement. "This project will be important to the state's economy."
Sen. Judd Gregg (R-NH), a member of the Senate Budget Committee, pledged to get more money for the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP). He and other members of the state delegation are upset that this year's money for the program has not yet been made available, and Gregg is disturbed by the amount that Bush has included in his budget for next year.
"They have put a number in of $1.7 billion for LIHEAP [heating assistance], which was the number about three years ago, down from $2 billion, so I'll be working within the Budget Committee to see if we can't adjust that number upwards." Gregg said.
"This is a program that's important · in the Northeast," Gregg said, "especially for retired people who live on low income and have a real problem when their heating bills go up."
Bass said he would work to secure additional federal money from the Land and Water Conservation Fund to purchase an easement on International Paper Co.'s land in the North Country and dedicate part of the land to wilderness uses. Sununu joined Bass in pledging to work closely with Sen. Gregg to bring the land deal to fruition.
Bush's proposed budget would reduce Environmental Protection Agency spending by approximately $500 million. A spokesperson for the Environment and Public Works Committee, on which Sen. Bob Smith (R-NH) is the senior Republican, said the proposed cutbacks could potentially affect some environmental projects near and dear to the Granite State.
Smith, the only member of the New Hampshire delegation who does not sit on a budget committee, said he hopes the Senate will approve legislation he has introduced that would return to New Hampshire citizens "even more of their hard-earned money." His proposals include a ban on state commuter taxes, an end to collection of the federal income tax on tips and full deductibility of state and local property taxes from the federal income tax, he said in a statement.
Bass, in a statement, said that he is "concerned about the impact of the President's proposed budget on the federal deficit."
The Sept. 11 terrorist attacks erased $177 billion of revenues previously expected for 2002, the budget says, and spending to respond to the attacks cost an additional $31 billion. Changed economic and technical factors reduced the surplus by $1.345 trillion, according to the budget.
"If we are going to win this war, we must be prepared to invest in it," Smith said in his statement. "As a fiscal conservative, I continue to monitor the annual rate of growth for our federal budget."
Published in The Union Leader, in Manchester, New Hampshire
Bass Signs Shays-Meehan, Hits Andersen
WASHINGTON, Jan. 24--After addressing a congressional subcommittee on its investigation of the Enron accounting scandal yesterday, Rep. Charles Bass (R-NH) agreed, after months of hesitation, to sign a petition that will force House vote on the Shays-Meehan campaign finance bill.
At the start of the jammed-packed Enron hearing by the Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigation, Bass joined other subcommittee members in decrying the shredding of Enron-related documents by accounting firm Arthur Andersen. Enron is no stranger to financing campaigns, having contributed $6 million to politicians since the 1990 election cycle, according to The Wall Street Journal.
"This is going to be a very sad process we go through here for the thousand or so people whose lives have been shredded by the actions of a few," Bass said. Hours later Bass added his name to the discharge petition that will force a vote on the campaign finance bill. The petition had 214 names before today, but three others joined Bass to bring the total to the necessary 218. Bass was one of only 20 Republicans to sign the petition.
Bass had been meeting with House Speaker Dennis Hastert for several months in an attempt to persuade the Speaker to allow a vote on the bill. "Unfortunately, we were unable to reach agreement, Bass said in a statement. "Today I helped provide the necessary signatures to force a vote." He added that Hastert "has indicated that he will honor the discharge petition and bring the Shays-Meehan bill to the floor in February."
Supporters of the bill praised the bipartisan effort that brought it to fruition. "This effort has not only been bipartisan but bicameral," said Rep. Marty Meehan (D-MA), one of the principal sponsors.
The Shays-Meehan bill would ban unregulated soft-money: contributions to federal elections. Over the past decade, $3.9 million in soft money contributions have been given to the Republican and Democratic National Committees.
After the House adjourned last month with only 214 signatures on the discharge petition, newspapers and grass-root organizations began to campaign for the needed four signers. Some residents of Bass's second district received phone calls from Campaign for America, according to National Journal's CongressDaily, in an attempt to sway Bass to sign it.
"I think it would have been difficult for Congressman Bass not to sign the discharge petition, having been a star supporter of campaign finance reform in the past," said Mike Dennehy, a Republican National Committee member from New Hampshire. "The second district in New Hampshire is a more moderate district, and I think he reflects those views."
Published in The Union Leader, in Manchester, New Hampshire
Granite State Pols React to State of the Union
WASHINGTON, Jan. 29--New Hampshire members of Congress and state political leaders lauded President George W. Bush, a war-time president with sky-high approval ratings, for drumming up support on the war and homeland security in his State of the Union address last night, although several thought he skimmed over key domestic issues.
"He was rightly focused on a core of key priorities for the country· the war on terrorism, homeland security, the economy," said Rep. John Sununu (R-NH). "We have a great opportunity because legislation that will boost economic growth has already been passed by the House·an economic recovery bill has been passed by the House," said Sununu adding that these key pieces of legislation "will lay the groundwork for this years' economic recovery and for future growth."
But, Sununu warned, important economic legislation awaits action in the Senate. "To delay action on these bills as a political tactic is simply wrong," he said.
Senator Judd Gregg (R-NH), was singled out by Bush in his speech for his contribution toward education reform. And in a statement Gregg said "I obviously also appreciate his kind acknowledgement of my efforts that developed bipartisan proposals such as the education bill."
Though Bush did not directly address special education, a key issue for New Hamphshire voters, Congressman Bass (R-NH), says it is on Bush's mind. "He did refer to education when he recognized Ted Kennedy and George Miller," said Bass. "I think special education will be addressed in his budget, and I think we're going to see not only a significant increase in special education funding but through a reauthorization of special education which will make it work better."
Senator Bob Smith (R-NH) said he was pleased to hear Bush talk about prescription drug benefits for seniors because he has a bill to provide prescription drugs at no additional premium with up to $5,000 in coverage. "Some people need prescription drugs to maintain their health and in some cases stay alive," he said. "I'm hoping I can get some part of that plan put into law because I made it a priority."
New Hampshire political insiders listened keenly to Bush's words.
John Dowd, the New Hampshire state chairman of the Republican National Committee, applauded Bush's emphasis on jobs. "Education, energy, taxes - everything he said all came back to jobs," he said, "and I think he's dead right on that."
But Rep. Raymond Buckley, the New Hampshire House Democratic Whip, thinks Bush skimmed over some key issues.
"When you look beyond the words tonight, there wasn't much of an economic plan for the millions of people who have become employed," he said, "We heard a lot on homefront security, but economic security got the short shrift. I hope he's not reading from the same script his Dad did, because at that time New Hampshire's situation suffered greatly."
"In the coming weeks we hope we hear specifics on how we'll turn nation around and how economic security is paid attention to," said Buckley. "He didn't deal too much with education - a lot of people see education as very much a part of future security of nation."
Smith disagrees. "The bottom line is what happened since 9/11 is dominate in the minds of Americans all over the country and all over the world," said Senator Smith. "When lives are on the line, national security is first and foremost, and domestic security has to follow. We can't have social security and job protection if we're at war."
Last night's speech was Bush's first State of the Union and only third speech to joint sessions of Congress. The first was on February 27 and the second followed the September 11 attacks.
As expected, Bush did not mention the Enron accounting scandal.
RNC chairman Dowd believes Bush's popularity in the polls will help him convince congressional Democrats to accept the economic stimulus package and tax cuts. "The numbers are just overwhelming. I think Senator Daschle will look at that and say it's time to work with him on this and break the logjam."
Smith corroborated, saying he is "confident that if Congress acts in a bi-partisan fashion to support the President, we will win the war on terrorism and address America's needs here at home."
Published in The Union Leader, in Manchester, New Hampshire
New Durham CEO Testifies Before Senate About Pollutant-Controlling Legislation
WASHINGTON, Jan. 29--New Durham-based Powerspan's CEO Frank Alix touted his firm's pollution-control technology Tuesday at a hearing by a Senate Environment and Public Works subcommittee. Sitting across from Senator Bob Smith (R-NH), the committee's senior Republican, Alix testified that federal legislation is needed to spur technology like that of his company's that reduces harmful emissions from coal-fired electric generating plants.
"Environmental technology is driven entirely by environmental regulations," said Alix, one of more than 30 New Hampshire constituents Smith has invited to testify before the committee during the past two years. "If you don't have the regulation, you'll never have the technology."
Alix explained how Powerspan's electro-catalytic oxidation technology, a multi-pollutant control process that replaces commonly used single-pollutant systems, reduces emissions of sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, mercury and fine-particulate matter.
"By implementing a multi-pollutant approach, Congress can provide certainty to both the electric generating industry and the environmental technology community to ensure the deployment of the most advanced, cost-effective pollution control technologies," Alix said in a statement.
The Clean Air, Wetlands and Climate Change Subcommittee received testimony from Alix and executives from seven other energy-related organizations, including the U.S. Energy Department. They discussed new technologies that help power plants comply with emissions standards proposed in the Clean Power Act of 2001, which are more stringent than those in the existing Clean Air Act.
The new bill, sponsored by Sens. Jim Jeffords (I-VT) and Joseph Lieberman (D-CT), would cut power plant emissions and end "grandfathered" exemptions older plants enjoy under the Clean Air Act.
Smith, for his part, opposes the Clean Power Act, calling the proposed regulations ineffective. He has also long complained that the current law's power plant regulations have created an inefficient regulatory maze.
An advocate of free markets, Smith favors a "cap and trade" system that allows power generators to exceed the mandatory emissions cap through "trades" with other companies that are under the cap.
"I know there's some critics on the left and the right, but we have the system, we have the Clean Air Act, and nobody's going to repeal it anytime soon; so we need to be working within that act," Smith said.
Smith contends that the cap and trade system would reduce emissions sooner because of its market incentives.
"I'm hopeful that we'll be able to work together to give tax incentives for innovation to reduce these pollutants," he said.
Powerspan's Alix, however, thinks the Jeffords-Lieberman bill's regulatory scheme could work if a more lenient deadline for lowering power-plant emissions is allowed.
"We'd like to see a little more time and a little more of a stage for reduction," he said. "It looks like there's a critical mass forming around the issue which is quite likely to result in legislation this year, which would help us."
Published in The Union Leader, in Manchester, New Hampshire
AGs Fear EPA’s Whitman Won’t Aid Clean Air Fight
WASHINGTON, Jan. 23--State attorneys general from several northern states, including New Hampshire, emerged from a meeting with Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) administrator Christie Whitman today discouraged that she would not help them fight the Bush administration's intentions to weaken emission controls on coal-burning power plants.
Speaking outside the EPA building in downtown Washington, the attorneys general said they believe Whitman is sympathetic to their concerns but will probably not have the last word in the administration on this issue.
"Christie Whitman's heart is clearly in the right place, but others are clearly calling the shots," said Richard Blumenthal, Connecticut's attorney general. "She may be the face and voice for the policy, but we don't know that she's writing the script, and that is deeply troubling."
Blumenthal said the ambiguities that remain after today's meeting make him determined to watch the process closely.
The attorneys general reacted to published reports that indicate the Bush administration plans to relax enforcement of the Clean Air Act, specifically the New Source Review (NSR) amendment, which mandates that coal-burning power plants maintain pollutant-thwarting control systems. Easing enforcement would give plants more leeway to expand production.
"If the Clean Air Act is gutted, there will be a lawsuit from Connecticut and other states," Blumenthal said. "The public will be outraged. There will be a hue and cry from the environmental community and from the public in general because this kind of environmental protection goes to the core of protecting our quality of life."
G. Steven Rowe, the attorney general of Maine, said he and his fellow attorneys general were pleased to hear that Whitman will include the public in the process. "That was very, very important for us to hear," he said.
Joseph J. Martyak, a spokesman for the EPA, said the agency is working on a report that suggests improvements to the New Source Review aspect of the Clean Air Act. It will be completed in the next several weeks.
Published in The Union Leader, in Manchester, New Hampshire
