Category: Justin Hill
Senate Passes Dodd-Sponsored Election Overhaul Bill
By Justin Hill
WASHINGTON, April 11–The Senate approved national voting guidelines to regulate how elections are run yesterday, voting 99-1 in favor of a bill introduced by Sen. Christopher Dodd, D-Conn.
The legislation is aimed at fixing problems with voting procedures that were highlighted when the 2000 presidential race was not decided until 36 days after Election Day. “[The bill] gives people the opportunity to vote more easily and protect the ballot from those who would want to abuse it,” Dodd said. “For 200 years, we basically have said, ‘However you want to run elections in the states, you just go ahead and do it’. I think we’re saying here that’s true, but we feel as though we’ve got a legitimate national interest having some national standards, and we’re willing to pay for it.”
The legislation would require statewide registration lists and call upon the states to check identification for those voting for the first time. It would also send $3.5 billion in federal funds for specified purposes to upgrade election equipment, improve voting procedures and make polling places more accessible for people with disabilities. Each state would be guaranteed a minimum amount and would not have to match the funds. The bill also would require translation services in areas with specific demographics and includes anti-fraud provisions.
The bill is now headed for a conference with members of the House, which passed its own version in December that features fewer restrictions on the states than the Senate bill includes. The House bill would divide $2.6 billion among the states based on voting-age population. The states would have to match 25 percent of the federal dollars. It The House bill also would impose few requirements on how the money is spent Reps. Christopher Shays, R-4th, and Jim Maloney, D-5th, voted in favor of the House measure, which passed, 362 to 63.
“We hope things will be fairly quick in conference,” said Sen. Mitch O’Connell, R-Ky. “We believe that it will be and look forward to putting this important piece of legislation on the president’s desk
Dodd said the Senate’s victory could mean federal dollars could be available for the November elections, citing indications from Rep. Steny Hoyer, D-Md., the ranking minority member of the House Administration Committee.
“Congressman Hoyer has indicated to me that now that we’ve passed this bill in the Senate and even if we’re not out of conference· there’s a strong case to be made on a supplemental appropriations bill to include some discretionary funds so that even in the 2002 election, we would like to see funds available to jurisdictions,” Dodd said.
Dodd also dismissed objections by civil liberties groups to the identifications provision in the bill, saying, “There’s some misinformation.” He added that there is a long list of forms of identification that would qualify.
“Most people today feel as though having some form of identification to establish you are who in fact you say you are is a very limited request,” he said. “I’m satisfied with the provision.”
Only Sen. Conrad Burns, R-Mont., voted against the bill, which drew comparisons to the 1965 Voting Rights Act, which enfranchised hundreds of thousands of blacks in the South who were denied voting rights through such things as literacy tests.
“This is every bit as significant as the Voting Rights Act,” said Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y. “I think we’re making voting better and better.”
Published in The Hour, in Norwalk, Conn.
Shays says He Scored Big in Bush Trip
By Justin Hill
WASHINGTON, April 10--Despite not benefiting from President Bush's $1 million fundraising trip to Connecticut Tuesday, Rep. Christopher Shays, R-4th, said yesterday he got his "wish" when the president visited Shays' hometown of Bridgeport to talk about national service.
The president came to the Constitution State for two fundraising events in Greenwich, one of the nation's wealthiest communities. One event was for the Connecticut GOP and the other for Reps. Nancy Johnson, R-6th, and Rob Simmons, R-2nd, who are facing very tough reelection battles.
Shays received no money from the events although they were held in his district, but said it didn't bother him.
"Believe it or not, I'm a really good Republican. I am. I'm a very good Republican, and I'm out there raising money," said Shays, acknowledging that he was not in a "targeted race" and realized that some of his colleagues needed more cash for their campaigns. "I'm out there trying to help."
Shays was the principal sponsor of the campaign finance reform bill passed by Congress last month over the strong objections of many Republicans including the House and Senate GOP leadership. But Shays said he wasn't disappointed that the presidential visit didn't enrich his campaign warchest.
"What did I get out of this? I got the president of the United States coming to talk about national serviceá. This is my legislation," Shays said. "I got my wish in getting him all the way to Bridgeport" in addition to the Greenwich events.
"I was asked if I felt I should be a part of [the fundraiser]. And I said, you give me the policy stuff, and I'll raise the money," he added.
But a spokesman for the president pointed out that Bush has continually spoken for and supported national service legislation, and this week in more than one event he focused on volunteerism. The president, who announced plans for the USA Freedom Corps in his State of the Union speech earlier this year, staged two events this week touting national service-in Knoxville, Ky., and Bridgeport.
"He talks about it frequently," said spokesman Ken Lisaius.
In a meeting last year, Shays and Reps. Peter Hoekstra, R-Mich., and Tim Roemer, D-Ind., told the board of directors of the Corporation for National and Community Service that they would work to reappropriate funds for the organization, which administers AmeriCorps and the Senior Corps. Shays introduced a bill in June 2000 to reauthorize the programs, which was killed in committee. He also unsuccessfully introduced a bill in 1993 making it mandatory for citizens to complete a term of community service.
Simmons and Johnson are in extremely tight races. Simmons, a freshman, is in a race that the nonpartisan Cook Political Report lists as a "tossup." Because of congressional redistricting, Johnson is vying for a seat in the newly formed 5th District against Democratic Rep. Jim Maloney, who holds the seat in the current 5th District. The Cook Political Report describes that contest as "one of the most hotly fought congressional races in the country this fall."
The fundraisers in Greenwich will help fill the coffers of the Republicans, who hold huge financial advantages over their opponents, according to documents filed with the Federal Election Commission. As of Dec. 31, Johnson had $1 million more in her campaign account than Maloney. She had $1.3 million on hand at year's end, while the Danbury Democrat had only $295,613, according to filings with the FEC.
Simmons also holds a substantial edge over his potential Democratic challengers. He had $720,274 on hand on Dec. 31, compared with potential Democratic challengers Joseph Courtney's $121,785, Jeff Benedict's $24,196 and Steven Spellman's $5,230 had on hand.
Shays also enjoys a comfortable fundraising advantage over his Democratic challenger Stephanie Sanchez, whom he defeated in the 2000 election by 58-41 percent. According to the FEC filings, he had $109,763 on hand at the end of last year, compared with Sanchez who reported raising $2100 but after her campaign operating expenditures had a deficit of $651.
Shays may not have had the president raise money for him, but he did get the perk of traveling with Bush aboard Air Force One for the trip to Connecticut . "I love it," Shays said. "I'd even be willing to be a flight attendant" on the president's plane.
Published in The Hour, in Norwalk, Conn.
Bush Signs Campaign Finance Reform Without Usual Fanfare
By Justin Hill
WASHINGTON, March 27--Without the usual ceremony surrounding the signing of major legislation, President Bush signed the campaign finance reform bill sponsored by Rep. Christopher Shays, R-4th, into law yesterday.
Bush signed the measure in the Oval Office before jetting to South Carolina and Georgia where he hoped to raise $3 million for Republican candidates.
"This legislation, although far from perfect, will improve the current financing system for federal campaigns," Bush said in a written statement, in which he said that "the bill does have faults."
Shays, who like other Congressmen is observing the Easter recess away from Washington, heard about the signing in a telephone call at about 8:30-9 a.m. by White House aides.
"He was thrilled by the news," said Katie Levinson, Shays's press secretary. "He understands why the president signed it the way he signed it."
In a statement, Shays said he was "grateful" the president signed his bill. "It is truly a great day for reformers and our nation," he said.
Bush, speaking in Greenville, S.C., dismissed the notion that the low-key signing ceremony reflected any mixed feelings towards the legislation.
"I wouldn't have signed it if I was really unhappy with it. I think it improves the system," Bush said.
During a press conference last week celebrating the Senate's vote to prevent a filibuster of the bill, Shays said he hoped the president would invite members of several interest groups to the signing ceremony. Instead, only Vice President Dick Cheney and national security adviser Condoleezza Rice were on hand.
Hours later, groups opposed to the legislation's restrictions on so-called issue ads filed suits in Washington federal court challenging the measure's constitutionality.
The bill "eviscerates the core protections of the First Amendment by prohibiting, on pain on criminal punishment, political speech," a complaint by the National Rifle Association said.
Later, a group headed by Sen. Mitch O'Connell, R-Ky., also filed a complaint.
"Today I filed suit to defend the First Amendment right of all Americans to be able to fully participate in the political process," said McConnell, whose legal team includes former independent counsel Kenneth Starr, who investigated then-President Clinton's relationship with Monica Lewinsky.
In the complaint, McConnell charged that the law "flagrantly contravenes more than a quarter-century of unbroken Supreme Court and lower court precedents."
At issue are the provisions in the bill that restrict issue ads in the days before an election. Opponents call this a violation of free speech.
The bill's sponsors-Shays and Rep. Martin Meehan, D-Mass., and Sens. Russell Feingold, D-Wis., and John McCain, R-Ariz.-are expected to defend the bill in court. Clinton's solicitor general, Seth Waxman, and law professor Burt Neuborne heads their legal team.
Under the bill, lawsuits must be filed in U.S. District Court in Washington and any appeals will go directly to the Supreme Court.
Published in The Hour, in Norwalk, Conn.
Campaign Finance Reform is Victorious
By Justin Hill
WASHINGTON, March 20--The crusade by Rep. Christopher Shays, R-4th District, to pass campaign finance reform legislation ended in triumph yesterday when the Senate handily adopted the first major campaign reform legislation since the Watergate era.
The Senate voted 60-40 in favor of the campaign reform, introduced by Shays, which will now be sent to President Bush who is expected to sign the legislation. Ten years ago his father, President George H.W. Bush vetoed campaign finance legislation that would have provided partial public financing for political candidates.
Earlier in the day, the Senate voted 68-32-eight more than the required 60-to prevent a filibuster by Republican opponents of the measure.
"We need the president's signature and we have itá, and this bill is going to become law," Shays said at a news conference where he was loudly cheered by supporters of campaign reform. "After years of total excitement, compromise, bipartisan coalition buildingáwe are almost at the finish line," Shays said.
"I'm thrilled," said Shays, who introduced the bill in the House last January along with Massachusetts Democrat Martin Meehan. The House passed it, 240-189, on Feb. 14.
Shays was joined at the news conference by Meehan and by the Senate co-sponsors of campaign reform - Sens. John McCain, R-Ariz., and Russell Feingold, D-Wis., as well as Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle, D-N.D., and House Minority Leader Richard A. Gephardt, D-Mo.
The Shays-Meehan bill would ban unregulated "soft money," which corporations, labor unions and individuals may now contribute to national political parties. But it would permit limited soft-money contributions to state and local parties. The measure would also ban the use of soft money to finance so-called issue ads by interest groups during the 60 days before a general election and the 30 days before a primary. The bill would increase individual contributions to candidates from $1,000 to $2,000 per election, or $4,000 per election cycle.
"The public does care. It does matter to the public that they have an honest government," said Shays, who first co-sponsored a campaign finance reform bill in 1989 and then in 1995 sponsored the legislation similar to the bill that the Senate approved yesterday. "In the United States of America, you shouldn't have to feel you have to make a large contribution to have your legislation have a hearing."
The bill faces a court challenge. Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., who argued that the measure's restrictions on issue ads violate free speech, said he would be a plaintiff in a federal suit battling the bill's constitutionality. The new law would go into effect on Nov. 6, the day after this year's elections.
"I'm eager to become the lead plaintiff in the case" and appeal the legislation to the Supreme Court, McConnell said after the vote. "We've allowed a few powerful editorial pages to prod us" to do something that is not constitutional by passing this legislation.
"Today is a sad day for our Constitution, for our democracy and for our political parties," he said.
Shays, however, said he was confident that the bill would survive a court fight over its constitutionality.
"We've crafted this bill to be consistent with their court precedents, and we think that the Court will ultimately rule that our bill is constitutional," he said, but he warned that he is "expecting some very close decisions."
Shays said the Federal Election Commission presents another hurdle for campaign finance reform, calling the commission "a very big problem" because of its Republican appointees who oppose such reforms.
"I'm part of a group that's looking to see if we should be reforming the FEC because they're the ones who kind of got us in some of this mess with their willingness to have soft money," Shays said.
Soft-money donations soared from $100,000 in the 1988 presidential election to $86 million in 1992 and to about $500 million in 2000.
"The result [of soft money] has been a system that often leaves the average personádisempowered, disinterested and disengaged from our political process," Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman, D-Conn., said on the Senate floor, before voting in favor of the reform legislation. "It causes them to continually question why their leaders are taking the actions they take. And it causes those of us in public life to work too often under a cloud of suspicion-with our constituents wondering whose interest we are serving. The demise of the Enron Corp. is but the most recent example of this phenomenon."
Three New England Republicans: Sen. Lincoln Chafee of Rhode Island and Sens. Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins of Maine joined eight other Republicans and Independent James Jeffords of Vermont in voting for the measure.
Published in The Hour, in Norwalk, Conn.
Stamford Firefighters Push For Federal Funds for Equipment, Personnel
By Justin Hill
WASHINGTON, March 19--Two Stamford firefighters met with Connecticut's congressional delegation yesterday on Capitol Hill to push for federal funds for more equipment and personnel they say they must have to do their jobs.
"[People are] talking about homeland security. Well, we're talking about hometown security. We want to make our town safe," said Brendan Keatley, vice president of Stamford Firefighters Local 786 of the International Association of Firefighters. "We just want to have the tools and the equipment and the number of personnel needed to do the jobáwhether it be extinguishing a house fire or cutting somebody out of a car or responding to a hazardous material incident."
Keatley and Charles Cackowski, Local 786's treasurer, and about two dozen other firefighters from Connecticut met with Sen. Christopher Dodd outside the Democrat's office. The firefighters were in Washington to attend the International Association of Firefighters' annual legislative conference.
Sen. Dodd, in an interview after the meeting in which he fielded questions from the firefighters, said: "Sept. 11 made America much more aware of how important these departments are, the vital services they playá. These are great people, do a tremendous job."
The firefighters also met with Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman, D-Conn., and later with aides to Rep. Christopher Shays, R-4th, who was out of town.
"In the post-9/11 world, we must do more to make first responders a first priority," Lieberman said in a statement, "and at the federal level that means driving more of the emergency response and anti-terrorism dollars down to the local level where they are most needed and are most effective. I intend to do whatever I can during the debate on the homeland security budget to ensure that we put our money where are hearts are this year."
The firefighters are pushing for passage of the Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response Act of 2001, which Dodd introduced in November. The bill would authorize the Labor Department to provide money for as much as 75 percent of the cost of hiring firefighters. It would allow the hiring of 75,000 firefighters over the next seven years.
"[Stamford's fire department] is definitely understaffed," Keatley said. "Equipment's only good if you have somebody to use it. So that's something we're really trying to push here."
Last weekend, 1,400 to 1,500 people took the firefighter entrance exam at Stamford High School to land one of 14 spots with Stamford Fire and Rescue.
The firefighters also want Congress to fully finance the Firefighters Investment and Response Enhancement Act-at a cost of $900 million-for fiscal year 2003, which begins on Oct. 1. The law, which Dodd authored, provides grants to fire departments that can be used for training, protective gear and staffing. The firefighters complained, however, that President Bush included no money in his budget for 2003
"The federal funding," said Matthew Palmer, president of Local 786, "would make a significant impact. [It would give] us the funding we so desperately need."
Stamford's budget for the next fiscal year, proposed on March 8, calls for $263,540 for emergency equipment, uniforms, protective clothing and equipment.
"We understand the city of Stamford's position," Keatley said. "There's only so much money to go around. If the federal government was to assist them and direct money to go through a fire department, I think we'd do a little better."
Palmer is skeptical of the outpouring of support for firefighters by Congressmen in the wake of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
"I hope this vigilance after Sept. 11 is never forgotten," Palmer said. "It's time we see action."
Published in The Hour, in Norwalk, Conn.
Shays Takes Aim at Bush’s Proposed Missile Defense System
By Justin Hill
WASHINGTON, March 12--Rep. Christopher Shays, R-4th, took aim at fellow Republican President George W. Bush's proposed missile defense system yesterday during a hearing on combating terrorism and protecting the United States from attack.
"Why would someone send a missile when they can just put it in a suitcase?" Shays-chairman of the House Government Reform Subcommittee on National Security, Veterans Affairs and International Relations-asked a panel of terrorism experts. "It's inexcusable for this administration not to recognize that possibility and act on it."
Shays said that an attack by a weapon of mass destruction is more likely to be launched from a suitcase or a boat than from the air, and the administration needs to take that into account when drafting a homeland defense policy.
Other lawmakers joined in criticizing Bush's proposed missile defense system, but some experts defended the administration's proposal.
Former Attorney General Edwin Meese III, who now is co-chairman of the Homeland Security Task Force at the Heritage Foundation, a Washington think tank, called missile defense a top priority. He cited a 1998 study led by Donald H. Rumsfeld before he became Defense Secretary showing that many countries have ballistic missiles and weapons of mass destruction.
However, Joseph Cirincione, director of the Nonproliferation Project at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, said that only China and Russia have the ability today to attack the United States with intercontinental ballistic missiles. Cirincione also said such an attack was highly unlikely.
Rep. Dennis Kucinich, D-Ohio, the subcommittee's ranking Democrat, said: "We can't afford to waste billions of dollars [on a missile defense]á. No threat assessment exists to justify the spending."
According to intelligence agencies, it is far likelier that a bomb would be delivered by a truck or a boat than by a ballistic missile.
Meanwhile at the Capitol, a delegation from the Connecticut Conference of Municipalities met with Connecticut's Democratic Senators Christopher J. Dodd and Joseph I. Lieberman to discuss homeland security issues.
The director of the Connecticut Office of Emergency Management, John Wiltse, said the Constitution State is ready for an attack.
"Connecticut is as prepared, if not more prepared, than any other state," Wiltse said. "The state of Connecticut is working very hard and very diligently."
The state, he added, is "very engaged in the process" of getting its share of the $40 billion additional appropriation for homeland defense approved for fiscal year 2002.
Also yesterday, the head of the Office of Homeland Security Tom Ridge said the United States faces "significant risk" of danger, according to a new five-level system to evaluate threats.
Under the new system, the lowest warning status is green, followed by:
- Blue, which signals a general risk, with agencies asked to update procedures for emergency response.
- Yellow, which means there is a significant risk of attack. Surveillance of critical places should be stepped up and some emergency response plans should be implemented.
- Orange, which signifies that the risk of attack is high. The government should coordinate necessary security efforts with armed forces and law enforcement and take more precautions at public events.
- Red, which signals severe risk of an attack. Trained teams may need to be the pre-positioned, and government and public facilities may have to be closed.
The nation, Ridge said, is currently under a yellow alert.
Published in The Hour, in Norwalk, Conn.
Final Rule of Victim Compensation Fund Means “Substantial” Increase in Awards
By Justin Hill
WASHINGTON, March 07--Family members of the victims of the September 11 terrorist attacks will receive a "substantial" increase in the financial awards they can receive from a federally administered fund as a result of a final rule announced yesterday for the administration of the Victim Compensation Fund.
"The net check coming from the United States Treasury to each of these individuals, each claimant, we believe, will be substantially more," special master Kenneth Feinberg said. "I personally urge every eligible claimant to file under this program. The programáis vastly preferable to any litigation."
The average award will be about $1.85 million, nearly $200,000 more than what was allotted under the temporary guidelines announced in December, according to Feinberg.
But the new rules drew mixed reaction from Connecticut lawmakers.
"The rule, in my opinion, does not reflect the intent of the Congress" when it passed the bill establishing the Victim Compensation Fund, said Rep. Jim Maloney (D-5th).
But Rep. Christopher Shays (R-4th) said the new rule is "probably the best that could be expected under the law. The average award is going to go upá, and people will get the full amount of lost income," he said.
Under the new rule, announced four days before the six-month anniversary of the terrorist attacks, the pain and suffering award would be doubled to $100,000 per dependent in addition to the base $250,000 each family would receive. "Speculative" income sources such as Social Security benefits for surviving family members and workers' compensation would not be used to reduce the government awards based on victims' income. Moreover, income sources funded by the victim-such as 401(k) plans, pension plans and life insurance-would not be deducted from so-called economic awards.
However, Feinberg said, "we will offset life insurance. We will offset other death benefits. Why? Because the statute requires it."
Maloney, expressing dissatisfaction with the final rules, said, "It appears that the final rule does not remove the [$250,000] capá. The Congress did not have a cap."
Feinberg defended the $250,000 cap on the base reward for pain and suffering, saying that it is the same sum awarded in other federal death benefit programs.
The new rules would also extend eligibility to injured civilians who sought medical treatment within 72 hours instead of the original 24 hours and would remove the time limit for rescue workers who responded to the Sept. 11 emergency.
The new rules for the fund also allow people interested in the fund to consult with Feinberg's office to decide if they want to enter the program without making a binding agreement to join.
"We will let them come in and sit down with one of our people and get a good ballpark estimate of how the collateral offsets will be treated," Feinberg said. "We are trying to help them make an educated choice on whether to come into the program or not."
Donald Vadas of Westport, whose 37-year-old son, Bradley H. Vadas, was killed in the attack on the World Trade Center in New York, said he is going to speak to someone associated with the fund to see how much he would receive before deciding if he is going to sign on.
"This is a no-brainerá. You can talk to them without making a commitment," Vedas said. "That's something they needed to doá. [Under the old rule] it's like getting married to someone I don't know."
The Victim Compensation Fund was created by Congress and is part of the Air Transportation Safety System Stabilization Act, which President George W. Bush signed on Sept. 22.
A number of relatives of victims are concerned that by taking part in the government compensation program they must waive their right to sue. But Feinberg said "the litigation option isn't real in this case." He cited as reasons the length of any litigation against the airlines, the fact that suits must be filed in federal court in New York City and the congressional decision to cap the airlines' total liability at $6 billion, equal to the amount he estimates the federal program will ultimately award the victims.
Victims' families must file claims before the end of 2003. Awards will be distributed 120 days after the claim has been deemed complete.
The announcement of the final rule comes after months of comments by both victims' families and elected officials.
Feinberg said, "The suggestions have not fallen on deaf ears."
According to the Justice Department, about 350 people have filed for an award from the fund so far. The new rules will apply to them.
Published in The Hour, in Norwalk, Conn.
Stamford Mayor Asks Senators For Transportation, Mill River Project
By Justin Hill
WASHINGTON, March 05--Stamford Mayor Dannel P. Malloy asked Connecticut's Senators yesterday for more federal money to secure land for the Mill River Corridor Project and to build the Urban Transitway Dock Street Connector and other transportation projects.
The mayor met first with Democratic Sen. Christopher Dodd in a 45-minute discussion of Stamford's needs.
"We talked about funding for land acquisition of the Mill River Corridor," Malloy said in an interview after the meeting. "We talked about transportation dollars that might become available [and] housing dollars that might become available. We're down here working on our budget, our federal budget priorities for Stamford, where the federal government might be helpful to us."
The mayor met with Democratic Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman about an hour later.
Malloy also asked Dodd for $32.25 million in federal funds for Phases I and II of the Dock Street Connector and $4.6 million for construction of a high-speed ferry landing at Atlantic Street and Washington Boulevard.
"We had a good discussion on Stamford's needs," Dodd said in a statement, "and while obviously there are budget restraints and these are never easy fights, I intend to do everything I can to help him and the community on these requests."
Malloy said Dodd, whom he credited with putting the Dock Street Connector and Mill River project in the budget three years ago, was "very supportive" and "responsive" during the meeting.
The mayor also talked to Dodd about President George W. Bush's proposal to ax half of a community's funds from the Housing and Urban Development Department's budget if the town's median income is double the national median income. Stamford is not on a list of towns affected by this proposal, which is based on income data from the 1990 census, according to Robert Duncan, deputy director of HUD's office of block grants. But it could lose those funds when the proposal takes into account income data from the 2000 census.
"We have to be concerned about that as a threat," the mayor said. "We're going to keep a close eye on thatá. We would have a great concern about that."
Stamford could lose more than $1.5 million in funds. In fiscal year 2002, the city received $1.2 million in HUD's community development block grants and $506,000 in HUD funds for affordable housing. Income data from the 2000 census are due out next year, Duncan said.
Malloy also requested $124 million in federal money for reconstruction of railroad underpasses in the I-95/Rail Center area-Atlantic Street, Elm Street and Post Road/Rte. 1-and a section of East Main Street as well as $500,000 for a feasibility study for the new Post Road Train Station on the New Canaan Line at the intersection of Rte. 1 and I-95. He also asked for legislative authorization of the new station.
Published in The Hour, in Norwalk, Conn.
Johnson, Maloney Split on Bush’s Tougher Welfare Plan
By Justin Hill
WASHINGTON, Jan. 27--Rep. Nancy Johnson (R-6th) said at a press conference yesterday she strongly supports President George W. Bush's new welfare proposal and will push for passage of the measure that would increase the hours a week welfare recipients must work.
Johnson (R-6th), who helped manage passage of the 1996 welfare reform bill which Congress must renew this year said, "We are going to build on the success of welfare reform, what we learned about helping people become self-sufficient through the first welfare reform billá that fundamentally changed welfare in America."
Currently, half of welfare recipients in each state must work at least 30 hours a week; Bush's proposal would raise that requirement to 40 hours and increase the percentage of recipients who must work from 50 percent to 70 percent by 2007.
Bush's recommendations would also make it more difficult for states to meet the percentage requirement simply by reducing the number of people on the welfare rolls.
But Rep. Jim Maloney (D-5th), who is running against Johnson for the House seat in the newly redrawn 5th District, opposes much of Bush's approach. Maloney said he plans to co-sponsor a bill that "avoids three of the problems" with the president's bill.
The Danbury Democrat said his bill, which will be filed in the "next couple of weeks," will address those three issues - deadbeat dads, more money for child care and health care and additional funds for job training. Maloney said Bush would cut job training funds by 12 percent in his budget.
Bush's plan also offers initiatives to help ease welfare recipients' transition from assistance to jobs. The president called for $300 million in funds for programs that encourage poor couples with children to marry. The proposal would also allow states to place welfare recipients in education, training and other programs for up to 16 hours a week or put people into rehabilitation for substance abuse or job training for three months once every two years.
"We need to talk about moving up the career ladder, we need to talk about moving up the income ladder so that self-sufficiency for families is real and rewarding and secure in their lives," said Johnson. "We have too many people making it off the welfare roll and then being confronted with housing issues that make them homeless."
Matthew Barrett, spokesman for the Connecticut Department of Social Services, said that Bush's plan would be compatible with Connecticut's welfare system.
"[Bush's plan is] very consistent with the approach taken in Connecticut," he said. "The increased work requirements, the increased flexibilityáis sort of tailored to our program."
Speaking at a church in a poor section of Washington, Bush said Tuesday: "Welfare reform in 1996 was good and sound and compassionate public policy. We are encouraged by the initial results of welfare reform, but we're not content."
Last year 2.1 million families were on welfare compared with 5.1 million in 1994, the year that the number of welfare recipients peaked.
Johnson, flanked by Reps. Deborah Pryce (R-Ohio), Jennifer Dunn (R-Wash.), Kay Granger (R-Texas), Marge Roukema (R-N.J.) and Joe Wilson (R-S.C.), touted the successes of the 1996 welfare reform bill that cut welfare rolls in half, including "a dramatic increase in the number of women working and supporting themselves."
Published in The Hour, in Norwalk, Conn.
Connecticut Homeland Defense Officials Ask State’s Congressional Delegation for More Funds
By Justin Hill
WASHINGTON, Jan. 26--Two top officials handling Connecticut's homeland security told several members of the Connecticut congressional delegation yesterday at a closed-door meeting that there is a defense plan in place for the state but more funds are needed for military construction.
The hour-long meeting held in the Capitol was the second time since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks that Connecticut officials have briefed the state's members of Congress on homeland defense. Vincent DeRosa, deputy commissioner of the Connecticut Department of Public Safety and Connecticut National Guard Maj. Gen. William Cugno discussed potential spending for a new armory in New Haven and a Regional Training Institute that would be used to train National Guard members and Justice Department employees to fight terrorism.
Rep. Christopher Shays (R-4th), who attended the meeting along with Reps. Rosa DeLauro (D-3rd), Nancy Johnson (R-6th) and Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman, said "the state of Connecticut is ahead of others in terms of preparing for acts of terrorism."
"The state is well organized, and people are taking the terrorist threats very seriously," Lieberman (D-Conn.) said. "We just heard about the committees [the officials have] set up á and we talked about what they hoped to get."
However, Kevin Maloney, a spokesman for the Connecticut Conference of Municipalities, who was not at the meeting, said in a telephone interview that Connecticut's homeland security system is inadequate.
"At our conference in December, one of the officials asked the 250-plus municipal leaders in the audience if they were ready and prepared and had everything they needed to raise their hand, Maloney said. "Not one person raised their hand."
The Connecticut Conference of Municipalities is an association representing the largest of the state's cities and towns and encompassing more than 93 percent of the state's population. The group plans to meet with the state's congressional delegation early next month to continue asking for funds for homeland defense to pay for training and overtime costs for police, fire and emergency personnel.
Bush's budget for the fiscal year 2003 calls for $37.7 billion in homeland security-an increase of $18.2 billion from this year. Connecticut delegation members said they would try to secure more funds in appropriations bills, and Lieberman, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said he would help to get more money for construction of military facilities.
"Property taxpayers, who are quite overburdened in Connecticut, simply don't have the capability to come up with increased assistance that's needed in order to help towns do the best job possible with domestic preparedness," Maloney said.
He added that money is also needed to help regions coordinate with other parts of the state "in terms of domestic preparedness, planning, training and equipment purchases."
Shays said it is important for different municipalities to work together. "Not every community is going to get everything it would want, but every area needs to get what they need," he said. "Then they need to pool their resources and help each other."
Published in The Hour, in Norwalk, Conn.
