Category: Bill Yelenak
Fuel Cells Begin to Play Major Role in State, Country
By Bill Yelenak
WASHINGTON – As the war in Iraq continues to highlight the United States’ dependence on foreign oil, many scientists are turning their attention to something discovered 164 years ago: fuel cells powered by hydrogen.
The potent cells already power a New York City police station and a skyscraper. They have been placed in buses. They have gone to the moon.
The cells, said U.S. Rep. John Larson (D-1), “hold the greatest potential and the greatest opportunity for us both to embrace the most abundant element in the universe in hydrogen and also to wean ourselves off of our near-addiction to petroleum.”
Fuel cells produce electricity by creating a chemical reaction between hydrogen and oxygen. Cars powered by fuel cells would emit only water vapor.
United Technologies Corporation Fuel Cells, of South Windsor, the leading fuel cell manufacturer in the United States, makes the PC25 fuel cell power plant, which converts natural gas and other fuels into hydrogen before they enter the fuel cell, according to UTC spokesman Peter Dalpe.
Larson, who has proposed legislation that would step up research on fuel cells and hydrogen gas, said the United States produces far less oil than it uses. The U.S. Department of Energy reported that in 2001, the United States consumed 26 percent of the world’s oil and produced only 9 percent.
President George W. Bush’s proposal to drill for oil on protected land in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska wouldn’t change that equation, said Larson, who opposes the Alaskan drilling.
Despite his support for drilling in ANWR, Bush also is pushing to increase research into fuel cells. Bush has proposed spending $720 million in new money over the next five years to conduct research on hydrogen fuel cells.
Although fuel cells were invented in 1839, they did not have a practical application until the Apollo space missions of the 1960s. It wasn’t until the mid-1990s – after the Gulf War — that the automotive industry really began looking into the technology.
TO THE MOON AND BACK
UTC, a power company, began working with fuel cells in the 1960s, when it figured out how to send them into space on the Apollo missions, according to Dalpe. He credited fuel cells with making possible the first moon landing in 1969, explaining that they helped power the Apollo XI spacecraft as it exited and re-entered the Earth’s atmosphere.
“We started with the space missions, and the reason the space missions needed a fuel cell was they needed to provide electrical power on-board the spacecraft,” Dalpe said. “You need to do that as you’re going through the atmosphere and as you’re coming back.”
Dalpe said it would have been impossible to reach the moon at the time using batteries, the existing technology, because they are too large and heavy.
“We wouldn’t have made it up to the moon without fuel cells,” Dalpe said. “And of course, you’re sending up hydrogen and oxygen with this thing, so hey – what better to run it off of?”
The Apollo missions, Dalpe said, were “where the fuel cell industry started.”
DOWN TO EARTH
Despite the fuel cell’s success in space, it wasn’t until the 1990s that major advances were made.
Companies such as UTC and the Canadian-based Ballard Power Systems had researched the fuel cells and were ready to put them on fleet-based vehicles, such as buses, to eliminate those vehicles’ reliance on gasoline.
SunLine Transit Agency, a California-based bus company, originally considered putting fuel cells on buses in 1992. But it discovered that with the immense size of the fuel cells, placing them in a stack on a vehicle would take up “36 seats of a 40-seat bus,” according to Bill Clapper, the executive director of the SunLine Services Group, which operates the bus company.
However, in August 1992, the company turned instead to compressed natural gas, which, it concluded, was cost-effective and environmentally sound.
SunLine has continued to test the newer fuel-cell technology, Clapper said. For 13 months beginning in 2000, the company tested one fuel-cell powered bus for a private shuttle service. SunLine was able to use it on buses after fuel cell companies discovered advancements allowing fuel cell stacks to be as small as 1 foot wide and 3 feet long.
Each fuel cell is about the size of a license plate and with the current design for cars and buses, there are about 250 of them in a stack. That entire stack, Dalpe said, can fit under the back seat.
More recently, SunLine tested a hybrid bus, running off of a battery and a UTC fuel cell stack, on one of its regular routes. The six-month demonstration was halted when the bus needed routine maintenance. But, clearly, it was popular with riders.
“We started getting calls into our customer service line wanting to know when the fuel-cell bus was going to be back online because they liked its quietness,” Clapper said.
Clapper said he thought the fuel cell stacks would become prevalent in buses, which operate in fleets, before they would in cars. People who drive cars would have more difficulty finding hydrogen stations to refuel, he explained.
While the bus was a short-term success, Clapper said the technology needed to be improved before it could be used all the time. One problem is each cell’s duration, he said.
Clapper said SunLine runs each of its buses about 6,900 hours a year. Since the current life of a fuel cell is just 4,000 hours, each stack would have to be replaced nearly twice a year, he said.
“The reliability and the durability are the issues in the transportation mode,” Clapper said. “It’s much easier in a stationary mode for fuel cells, because you don’t have the shake, rattle and roll environment that affects all the vehicles out there.”
STAYING STILL, BUT MOVING FORWARD
Looming 48 stories over Times Square, the Conde Nast building boasts a stationary fuel cell. Fuel cells also are used to power several of New York City’s wastewater treatment plants and a police station in Central Park.
Dalpe, the UTC spokesman, said it would have cost the city $1.3 million to rip up part of the park to install electrical equipment to power the police station. Instead, the police department bought one of UTC’s PC25s – at the going rate of $900,000 – and now the entire station runs free of the city’s power grid.
“If the lights go off in the city, they don’t go off in this police station,” Dalpe said. “Here you are, right in the middle of our largest city, this real application of a fuel cell.”
At the Conde Nast building, two of UTC’s units – which are the size of a small truck – add to the power flowing into the building from the city’s electrical grid. They also produce a significant amount of heat.
The Connecticut Juvenile Training School, a correctional school for teens, has the largest fuel cell installation in the world.
If the entire town of Middletown goes dark during a power outage, the lights, video surveillance cameras and security stations of the training school will keep on working. Six 200-kilowatt fuel cells, which work along with the electric grid and other generators, provide the facility with 1.2-megawatts of power.
However, it will be trumped next year by a 1.4-megawatt system being placed in Long Island for telephone company Verizon. The seven 200-kilowatt fuel cells will work with each other to give power to a call-routing center that gives local phone service to approximately 40,000 customers. Verizon will use generators, batteries and the electrical grid to back up the fuel cells.
PC25s have also been used in high schools, including South Windsor High School. The school added a fuel cell to its existing power system, according to Al Mothersele, chairman of the applied technology department.
Mothersele said the device made sense because “it would provide power in the event of an emergency, like a blizzard or something like that.”
He added that the school now uses about half of the electric power that it used before, significantly reducing its draw off the power grid.
The fuel-cell system has not been fully tested, since the school has not had a power outage since it was installed last October, Mothersele said. But it could provide an important safety net because the high school serves as a regional emergency shelter, he said.
“It’s really a seamless technology,” Mothersele said. “It’s just out there doing its thing, and we reap the benefits.”
DRIVING AROUND TOWN
The big new test for fuel cells will take place in cars.
The first fuel cell vehicle to be certified as a zero emissions vehicle (ZEV) by both the Environmental Protection Agency and the California Air Resources Board is the Honda FCX, powered by fuel cells produced by Ballard, based in British Columbia.
There is only one on the road. And behind the wheel is Brian Williams, Los Angeles’ deputy mayor for transportation. Williams said the FCX is very much like a regular gasoline-powered car.
“Other than the fact that it is probably the most environmentally sound vehicle anyone is driving, there isn’t a whole lot of difference,” Williams said.
Other car companies are rushing to compete with Honda. Dalpe said UTC is working with BMW, Hyundai and Nissan to provide various forms of fuel-cell technology for their cars. He said BMW wants to install a hydrogen combustion engine to power its car and use a fuel cell to power the electrical instruments.
“They put a 5-kilowatt fuel cell in the trunk,” Dalpe said. “All the gizmos of modern BMW Series 7 vehicles run off the fuel cell. You can have the engine off with everything on.”
Nissan has developed the X-TRAIL, which uses both a fuel cell stack and a battery, and is licensing UTC’s patent on the fuel cell technology.
WHAT THE FUTURE HOLDS
Rep. Larson is optimistic that fuel cells soon will help the United States reduce its reliance on oil.
“I think that this is doable within a ten-year period,” he said. “It will take Americans stepping up, but imagine the amount of money that will flow into Wall Street if all of a sudden municipalities and states are requesting of General Motors and others that they want vehicles that are powered by fuel cells.”
Dalpe agreed, saying the technology could make cars powered by fuel cells available to buyers in seven to 12 years.
Andy Boyd, a spokesman for Honda, said the FCX is still in testing, and its ultimate price is uncertain.
“It’s all new technology, it’s all mass produced. Any time you’re in that stage of technological development, cost has to be very high,” Boyd said. “We’re optimistic that, over time, those costs can come down.”
While Dalpe and Larson were hopeful the fuel cell cars could be on the market in the next few years, others, such as Clapper of the SunLine bus company, said placing the cells into vehicles might not be a viable method of power for some time. He said there needed to be more improvements to make fuel cells a good economic choice for large fleets.
Christopher Phelps, an advocate for the Connecticut Public Interest Research Group (ConnPIRG), said there were other roadblocks. He said he is concerned about how hydrogen is refined. If it is obtained from fossil fuels, it would create pollution, Phelps said.
However, he said there were plenty of other ways to refine the world’s most abundant gas than getting it from fossil fuels. Using solar or wind power to generate hydrogen, he said, would make fuel cells the most environmentally friendly way of powering cars or buildings.
Fuel cells will undergo years of testing before they become commonplace. But Los Angeles’ Williams said he’s eagerly awaiting the day the technology o reaches its full potential and believed hydrogen-powered cars would create a new way of life.
“There’s been a huge investment by both private and governmental entities toward this new technology,” Williams said. “I really do think this car is at the cusp of the revolution in our automotive industry and in our power industry right now.”
“Personally, I intend to buy one once I can get one that’s a little bigger for me and my family,” he said. “I’d absolutely be in the front of the line, ready to purchase one.”
Bill Yelenak, a Boston University student, works at the Boston University Washington News Service in Washington, D.C. His telephone number is 202-756-2860 ext: 114 and his email is byelenak@newbritainherald.com.
Published in The New Britain Herald, in Connecticut.
Connecticut Dems, Other House Members Endorse Lieberman’s Candidacy
By Bill Yelenak
WASHINGTON – Eleven House Democrats, including the two from Connecticut, on Thursday endorsed Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman's run for president.
In addition to Reps. John Larson (D-1) and Rosa DeLauro (D-3), the House Democrats endorsing Lieberman were Dennis Cardoza of California, Brad Carson of Oklahoma, Ed Case of Hawaii, Cal Dooley of California, Eliot Engel of New York, William Lipinski of Illinois, Steven Rothman of New Jersey, Ellen Tauscher of California and Robert Wexler of Florida.
"This is in the long march along the road to the White House. This is a very big day to me," Lieberman (D-Conn.) told the House members. "You have joined me in that march and I'd say you have given my stride a little bit of a kick, a little wind behind the back."
The two Connecticut House members told the group assembled in a Washington hotel meeting room that Lieberman was the right person to defeat President Bush in November 2004.
Larson said that while several Congress members and administration officials addressed a defense conference in Munich earlier this year, the "longest and most sustained applause came from the statesmanlike delivery of the need for hands-on foreign policy delivered by Sen. Lieberman."
Lieberman is "known here as the conscience of the Senate" and "known across the country as a man of conviction," Larson said. He praised Lieberman's performance as Connecticut's former attorney general.
"He took that office … and used it in such a manner that he reached out and touched consumers and assisted them to make sure that they got appropriate services," Larson said.
"And he also is not a bad singer, I might add," Larson joked.
DeLauro called Lieberman a "trusted friend" and said she was "so very proud to stand alongside him.
"He is a man of faith who has been a special leader in the state of Connecticut and is one of the most powerful and one of the most trusted voices in the United States Senate," DeLauro said. "He understands that public policy must be backed by values and virtue of America's families."
She added that Lieberman "understands the critical role that the United States plays in this world today. He is strong for defense and he understands the importance of diplomacy in the conduct of our foreign affairs."
The other House members praised Lieberman's character and dedication. "In America, it still matters if you're the best at what you do," Rothman said. "Joe is the best, and that's why we're endorsing him."
Cardoza, who is in his first term, said Lieberman "is going to make a great president because he's a man of integrity and strong moral values." Cardoza said that during his closely contested House race last fall, he invited all the prospective Democratic presidential contenders to come to his district and campaign with him. Lieberman was the only one who went.
"He took the time to actually come and spend the day campaigning with me," Cardoza said. "My constituents … fell in love with him."
Lieberman promised the House members he would try his hardest to win the party's nomination and thanked them for their assistance.
"I pledge to you that I will do all I can in the next two years to vindicate the confidence that you have expressed in me today and to live up to the very kind words you have spoken about my record and my hopes for America," Lieberman said.
Lieberman, who was the Democrats' vice presidential nominee in 2000, also stressed the importance of getting voters to the polls. Former Vice President Gore, who topped the ticket, won the popular voted nationwide but lost the presidency following a vote-counting controversy in Florida. The loss of that state - the U.S. Supreme Court stopped a lengthy recount battle -- cost Gore the majority in the Electoral College, which ultimately determines the victor.
"Being an alumnus of the national campaign of 2000, I can tell you every vote counts -- if every vote is counted," Lieberman said. Then, turning to his Florida colleague, he added, "Wexler has assured me … that every vote in Florida will be counted" in 2004.
Bill Yelenak, a Boston University student, works at the Boston University Washington News Service in Washington, D.C. His telephone number is 202-756-2860 ext: 114 and his email is byelenak@newbritainherald.com.
Published in The New Britain Herald, in Connecticut.
Dem Candidates Participate in Forum on Children’s Issues, War in Iraq
By Bill Yelenak
WASHINGTON – U.S. Sen. Joseph Lieberman (D-Conn.) has raised more than $3 million for his presidential campaign during the first quarter of 2003, placing him far behind two other Democratic presidential hopefuls.
Lieberman trails U.S. Sens. John Kerry (D-Mass.) and John Edwards (D-N.C.) in contributions collected during the early months of campaigning. Edwards leads all candidates with $7.4 million and Kerry comes in a close second with about $7 million.
Former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean is just behind Lieberman, with more than $2.6 million.
Many of the candidates who have said they intend to run for the Democratic nomination for president, including former Sen. Carol Moseley-Braun (D-Ill.), Rep. Richard Gephardt (D-Mo.), Sen. Bob Graham (D-FL), Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-Ohio) and the Rev. Al Sharpton, had not released their first-quarter earnings as of Thursday afternoon. Candidates have until April 15 to file their quarterly reports with the Federal Election Commission.
According to a Wednesday press release, Lieberman's fundraising has come on strong of late, with $2.1 million of the senator's total raised in March. The campaign raised $300,000 in January and $600,000 in February.
Lieberman spokesman Jano Cabrera attributed the large increase to the hiring of Sherry Yost as campaign finance director.
"I think it's pretty clear that once we had our finance operation clearly in place, and with the hiring of our finance director at the end of late February, we really hit our stride," Cabrera said Thursday. "Already in the first week of April, we've raised more than we did in the entire month of January."
Others on the Lieberman campaign staff similarly expressed pleasure that contributions were coming in at a much quicker rate.
"I'm tremendously proud of our growing strength," Lieberman campaign manager Craig Smith said Wednesday in a press release. "Combined with the strong political endorsements we gained in key states like New Hampshire, New York, Arizona and Oklahoma, we have built a solid foundation for our future success."
Cabrera shrugged off the large fundraising gap between Lieberman and the two contribution leaders.
"We're just focused on reaching out to our own supporters, talking to them about the message that Sen. Joe Lieberman wants to spread," Cabrera said. "We'll leave the punditry to the pundits."
Bill Yelenak, a Boston University student, works at the Boston University Washington News Service in Washington, D.C. His telephone number is 202-756-2860 ext: 114 and his email is byelenak@newbritainherald.com.
Published in The New Britain Herald, in Connecticut.
Lieberman Lagging Behind in Campaign Contributions
By Bill Yelenak
WASHINGTON – U.S. Sen. Joseph Lieberman (D-Conn.) has raised more than $3 million for his presidential campaign during the first quarter of 2003, placing him far behind two other Democratic presidential hopefuls.
Lieberman trails U.S. Sens. John Kerry (D-Mass.) and John Edwards (D-N.C.) in contributions collected during the early months of campaigning. Edwards leads all candidates with $7.4 million and Kerry comes in a close second with about $7 million.
Former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean is just behind Lieberman, with more than $2.6 million.
Many of the candidates who have said they intend to run for the Democratic nomination for president, including former Sen. Carol Moseley-Braun (D-Ill.), Rep. Richard Gephardt (D-Mo.), Sen. Bob Graham (D-FL), Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-Ohio) and the Rev. Al Sharpton, had not released their first-quarter earnings as of Thursday afternoon. Candidates have until April 15 to file their quarterly reports with the Federal Election Commission.
According to a Wednesday press release, Lieberman's fundraising has come on strong of late, with $2.1 million of the senator's total raised in March. The campaign raised $300,000 in January and $600,000 in February.
Lieberman spokesman Jano Cabrera attributed the large increase to the hiring of Sherry Yost as campaign finance director.
"I think it's pretty clear that once we had our finance operation clearly in place, and with the hiring of our finance director at the end of late February, we really hit our stride," Cabrera said Thursday. "Already in the first week of April, we've raised more than we did in the entire month of January."
Others on the Lieberman campaign staff similarly expressed pleasure that contributions were coming in at a much quicker rate.
"I'm tremendously proud of our growing strength," Lieberman campaign manager Craig Smith said Wednesday in a press release. "Combined with the strong political endorsements we gained in key states like New Hampshire, New York, Arizona and Oklahoma, we have built a solid foundation for our future success."
Cabrera shrugged off the large fundraising gap between Lieberman and the two contribution leaders.
"We're just focused on reaching out to our own supporters, talking to them about the message that Sen. Joe Lieberman wants to spread," Cabrera said. "We'll leave the punditry to the pundits."
Bill Yelenak, a Boston University student, works at the Boston University Washington News Service in Washington, D.C. His telephone number is 202-756-2860 ext: 114 and his email is byelenak@newbritainherald.com.
Published in The New Britain Herald, in Connecticut.
Department of Veterans Affairs Prepared to Deal With New Vets
By Bill Yelenak
WASHINGTON – The Veterans Affairs Department is "definitely better prepared than ever" to give aid to soldiers who complete their military duties after the war in Iraq, according to department spokesman Jim Benson.
Some in Connecticut, however, are not ready to share Benson's confidence. They said they were uncertain that the state's VA facilities would be able to handle an increased caseload.
There is no need to worry, Benson said, about the department being overwhelmed when new veterans come home from Iraq. Under a 1998 program, the VA will provide free medical care to veterans who are "returning from a combat zone" for up to two years, even without a medical issue connected to combat. Soldiers with medical issues stemming from military action can then request further assistance from the VA.
"We've allowed care to be given right away," Benson said. "One of the criticisms before was not getting care to them as quickly as possible."
However, Pamela Redmond, a spokeswoman for the VA Connecticut Healthcare System, said it was too soon to tell whether the war would cause a backlog in the state, saying it is "so early in the conflict to predict that at this point."
Questions on availability of VA aid arose after the department said veterans whose incomes exceed specified thresholds could no longer be eligible for VA programs after Jan. 17, 2003. According to Benson, this mandate will last until Sept. 30, the end of the current fiscal year, at which point it could be ruled on again.
"The idea was partly to help give us a chance to work down the backlog of the people waiting for appointments," he said. "That's been a real frustrating issue for veterans, as well as for VA."
Redmond said Thursday that the number of state veterans who have been turned away since Jan. 17 was unavailable.
However, the absence of the "Priority Group 8" veterans, who can no longer apply under the ruling, has made it possible for the program to be ready for veterans who come back from Iraq, Benson said.
He said VA Secretary Anthony J. Principi believes that the current limitation on medical care "helps protect the access to that care for those combat veterans because we're relieving some of that pressure. Those folks will come in and we would be able to handle them."
Benson added that the VA has been preparing for any combat illnesses soldiers may face after being in Iraq, including the addition of two research centers that would be "devoted strictly to war-related illnesses and treatment."
"We've worked with the Department of Defense, and our physicians have developed standardized clinical practice guidelines because before, many physicians had not come in contact with those kinds of injuries or illnesses," Benson said. "We've been blessed by not having to deal with a lot of combat-related things from challenging environments."
Mike Kirk, spokesman for U.S. Rep. John Larson (D-1), said the VA was a major concern of veterans in the congressman's district, and said there had been a "lot of complaints that they aren't getting the level of service they would like."
Kirk said one of the veterans' biggest worries in previous years was that specialty care services might be moved from the Newington facility to the one in West Haven, leaving local veterans with a much longer commute to get treatment. The Newington facility remains.
Larson introduced legislation earlier this year designed to afford veterans easier access to care. Under the proposal, if the VA facilities could not handle all requests for care, veterans could go to a non-VA medical facility for treatment that would normally be covered by the agency and then bill the VA for it.
The bill would also include provisions to create electronic processing of claims and to improve the department's assessment of waiting times for services.
"Basically, it's a bill to ensure that if the VA can't live up to its own standards, veterans will continue to get what they deserve," Kirk said.
Brian Schubert, press secretary to U.S. Rep. Nancy Johnson (R-5), said the congresswoman was also planning to introduce legislation to aid veterans by speeding up the filling of their prescriptions.
Currently, certain groups of veterans must see a VA doctor, even if they have a prescription from their own doctor, to get their prescription filled at a VA facility, according to Schubert. He said the legislation would help to eliminate the backlog at many VA locations.
Bill Yelenak, a Boston University student, works at the Boston University Washington News Service in Washington, D.C. His telephone number is 202-756-2860 ext: 114 and his email is byelenak@newbritainherald.com.
Published in The New Britain Herald, in Connecticut.
Connecticut Congressional Delegation in Favor of Supplemental
By Bill Yelenak
WASHINGTON – Members of Connecticut's congressional delegation said Tuesday they will support President George W. Bush's supplemental budget proposal to fund the war effort, although they disagree with some of the key details and question how much the rebuilding effort for Iraq will ultimately cost.
Bush is asking for $74.7 billion to finance the war, with $62.6 billion of that targeted for the military and the war on terror. The remaining amount would be split between providing humanitarian relief to the Iraqi people and increasing U.S. homeland security.
Bush said some of the supplemental request was to help reduce the costs of the war for "coalition members and friends in the Middle East" and to further fight terrorism throughout the world.
"The funding request to Congress will help reduce the economic burdens these countries have experienced in supporting our efforts," Bush said. "Also included are funds essential to waging and helping our partners wage the broader war on terror, which continues in Afghanistan, in the Philippines and elsewhere."
U.S. Rep. Nancy Johnson (R-5) said she supported the President's proposal and felt it was important that the armed forces abroad are well equipped for the duration of the war. She said it was also vital for humanitarian aid to directly follow the military action.
"It's extremely important that we be able to fulfill the words we have spoken, which is this is not a war against the Iraqi people, but a war against this Iraqi leadership," Johnson said in a phone interview yesterday. "Therefore, we will bring behind our armed forces humanitarian relief."
Johnson said that Iraq was short of medicine, food and water in some areas and that the United States needs "to demonstrate that we care about the situation for the people."
U.S. Rep. John Larson (D-1) said he would also vote for the supplemental proposal but said more money will need to be allocated in the future, specifically with the future of the Iraqi people in mind.
"I think many regard it as the first of several supplementals that may come down the pike because nobody can predict how long" the war will last, Larson said. "Then that doesn't even address the long-term humanitarian aspects, and the administration still hasn't come forward with what they believe those costs to be."
Larson also said he opposes the Bush Administration's proposed $726 billion tax cut because it is not be the right time for a tax cut.
"This is a time of national sacrifice, and we really ought to focus on making sure that we're providing for training and equipping and the well-being and care of our troops, and also that we're focusing on homeland security and getting money out to our first responders," Larson said.
Larson also said he was not sure if the administration's proposed $4.25 billion for homeland security was enough, citing several concerns within Connecticut alone.
"I've heard from all of my municipalities, and we face some very serious health concerns as they relate to our ability to deal with terror in the state of Connecticut, as well as the appropriate training, equipping, commonality of communication," Larson said. "All are uppermost in the minds of our chief elected officials and they haven't received the monies that they need for that.
"It's too early to say is four billion enough," he said. "My guess is it's not."
But Johnson said the $4 billion included in the supplemental budget to improve homeland security over the next six months is "a lot of money."
"I think one could ask 'Can it be spent wisely in that period of time?' " Johnson said. "I think there will be some questions about what could be done with $4 billion in six months, and those questions are merited."
Johnson said she felt the money would be directed more toward the bigger cities, something last year's homeland security money may have missed out on.
"I would suspect this four billion would be quite aggressively targeted at New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Miami, Houston - the cities that are most likely to be the targets," Johnson said, adding that it may also be aimed at specific facilities that could be targets.
"I think right at the moment we certainly want to make sure areas that are densely populated and have systems that are vulnerable are protected as best we can," she said.
Sen. Chris Dodd (D-Conn.) released a statement saying he was also in support of the troops. "They deserve everything they need to end this war as soon as possible." However, Dodd said, he found it "disturbing" that the President made the request for nearly $75 billion just as he was trying to push through "a massive tax cut to benefit the most affluent."
"That's simply wrong considering our nation is at war and our servicemen and women are being asked to give the ultimate sacrifice halfway around the world," Dodd said.
Dodd and a majority of his Senate colleagues voted 51-48 for an amendment to the 2004 fiscal year budget that would slash the President's tax cut in half, from $726 billion to $350 billion through 2013.
Adam Kovacevich, a spokesman for Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman (D-Conn.) said Lieberman would vote for the President's supplemental request, adding that "winning the war has to be one of our top national priorities, and it can't be shortchanged."
However, Kovacevich said, the senator was "disappointed that the request does not provide sufficient resources for postwar Iraq." Kovacevich said Lieberman, like Dodd, also felt it was the wrong time for a tax cut, saying it "may threaten our ability to both pay for the war and bolster homeland security."
Bill Yelenak, a Boston University student, works at the Boston University Washington News Service in Washington, D.C. His telephone number is 202-756-2860 ext: 114 and his email is byelenak@newbritainherald.com.
Published in The New Britain Herald, in Connecticut.
CT Delegation Discusses Funding, Staffing Issues with State Firefighters
By Bill Yelenak
WASHINGTON – Members of the Connecticut congressional delegation met with about 40 state firefighters Wednesday to discuss the firefighters' staffing and spending concerns, homeland security matters and war with Iraq.
Sens. Christopher Dodd (D-Conn.) and Joseph I. Lieberman (D-Conn.) and Reps. Robert Simmons (R-2), Rosa DeLauro (D-3) and Christopher Shays (R-4) talked to state firefighters about the problems they are facing in receiving funds from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) as well as the support that should be given to the American soldiers abroad.
The International Association of Fire Fighters, to which the Uniformed Professional Fire Fighters Association of Connecticut belongs, listed the Firefighter Investment and Response Enhancement (FIRE) Act and homeland security as two of the main topics in their 2003 legislative issues book. The FIRE act became law last year and is designed to allow FEMA to give money to local fire departments for training and equipment.
Dodd told the firefighters that he and other members of the state delegation would keep fighting to try to make sure Congress allocates the full $900 million authorized by the act. Dodd pegged the current budgeted amount at $750 million.
Tom DiScipio, the president of the Hartford Firefighters Association, praised both senators for their knowledge of the needs of fire departments but said other members of Congress may not be as well versed.
Our senators "understand the differences between what police, public health and fire provide," DiScipio said. "Unfortunately, that has not echoed in the halls of Congress, and I believe through Sen. Lieberman and Sen. Dodd we'll get those problems across."
DiScipio said the biggest problem for Hartford firefighters is adequate funding. "Money drives everything," he said. "The only way to keep the manpower the way it is is if the federal government and the state come through and give us the monies we need to do our job."
Dodd and Lieberman also discussed the conflict in Iraq with the firefighters. Dodd said that members of Congress are hoping for the best results but that there is no way to know for sure what will happen.
"It is something we hope will go very, very well, but no one can honestly say very certainly how these things will turn out," Dodd said.
Dodd said even Americans who were previously against the war should be supporting their soldiers and should "keep them in mind in the coming days."
"The young men and women in uniform now have got their lives in jeopardy, and every single American, regardless of their political persuasion, should rally around these people," Dodd said.
Lieberman told the firefighters he had a perfect solution for all of their concerns.
"I have a simple answer, maybe too simple, to the kind of problems that you shouldn't be facing that you are facing right now," Lieberman said with a smile. "We need to elect a new President of the United States in November 2004."
Lieberman also said he doesn't understand what the Bush administration is trying to do by cutting taxes and going to war at the same time.
"We're about to go to war," Lieberman said. "There has never been a President who has attempted to push through an enormous tax cut beyond what we could afford when we're going to war."
Lieberman told the firefighters the foremost responsibility of the government is "to protect the security of the American people."
"There's no liberty without security," Lieberman said. "That's what you are all about."
Bill Yelenak, a Boston University student, works at the Boston University Washington News Service in Washington, D.C. His telephone number is 202-756-2860 ext: 114 and his email is byelenak@newbritainherald.com.
Published in The New Britain Herald, in Connecticut.
Nation’s Capitol Increases Security Measures
By Bill Yelenak
WASHINGTON – Security around the Capitol and the District of Columbia has intensified since the national terror alert was raised to high and the United States began military action in Iraq.
According to Capitol Police spokeswoman Jessica Gissubel, Capitol Police officers increased their visibility this week, with some who were previously stationed in vehicles now "more visible to the public eye."
At the same time, Gissubel said, Capitol Police officers continue to carry Heckler and Koch G-36 and MP-5 assault rifles in addition to the standard-issue Glock-22 handguns.
She was unable to say how many police officers normally work during a given week or how many were working this week. But, she said, shift hours remain the same.
Brian Schubert, press secretary to U.S. Rep. Nancy Johnson (R-5), said that there was a "stepped-up Capitol Police presence" but that he did not find the addition of more Capitol police with new weapons intimidating, but instead found it comforting.
"They are absolutely a reassuring presence for members of Congress, staff and visitors, Schubert said. "They're doing a great job, and we certainly appreciate the sacrifices they're making and the long hours they're putting in to keeping us safe."
Schubert said it was "unusual" to see Capitol Police with such large weapons but said it was calming to know "the Capitol Police are covering all their bases and making sure that visitors and those of us who work down here are as safe as possible."
Gissubel also said the police force had begun to do "random deployments" of its Containment Emergency Response Team (CERT) and its K-9 team, which uses dogs to search for bombs and for search and rescue missions. She said the Capitol Police were randomly changing their safety measures and movement patterns in an effort to keep terrorists unsure of locations.
"We do realize that terrorists look for soft targets, and we want to change that," Gissubel said. "We also know that if they were to plan an attack, they go, they plan it and then, before they actually carry it out, they come back and see that everything stayed the same."
Schubert said the members of Johnson's office have been planning the actions they would take if the Capitol and its office buildings needed to be evacuated. He added that the office has received safety "hoods" that would be used in the event of a chemical attack.
"Our office, as I'm assuming every office on the Hill, has constantly been reviewing our emergency procedures in the event we are asked to evacuate or there is an emergency," Schubert said. "Staff, interns and visitors will be taken care of and shuttled away from the Capitol area as fast as possible. We've been pretty meticulous about it - this is too important a situation not to have covered our bases fully."
New Britain native Susan Emeagwali, the online news editor for the Association for Career and Technical Education based in Alexandria, Va., said she was on Capitol Hill on Wednesday and did not think there had been many recent changes in security.
"When I was up there yesterday, there weren't really any visible changes, per se," Emeagwali said. "I think the security measures are a bit more subtle."
In addition to the intensified security procedures on Capitol Hill, other District locations have been increasing their security measures as well. The Secret Service announced on Tuesday that the security perimeter at the White House has been extended so that pedestrians must stay further away from the presidential residence. The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, which operates to subway and bus system in Washington, posted on its Website that customers "should not be alarmed to see Metro officers with additional weaponry or accompanied by a K-9."
And while security may be increasing, Victoria Isley, the vice president of marketing and communications for the Washington Convention and Tourism Corporation, said tourism is not suffering because of the war abroad.
"Our barometer for performance is hotel occupancy, and last week our hotel occupancy was 76 percent," Isley said, outpacing the national average. "We've had just as many calls from people just wanting to know exactly what the condition is here in Washington, DC, what is open, and what, if any, restrictions there are on travel."
Isley added that major events will take place in the nation's capitol beginning this weekend with the National Cherry Blossom Festival and continuing next week with the 2003 World Figure Skating Championships.
However, the Washington Marathon, scheduled for Saturday, has been postponed "due to security issues," according to the event's Website. The participants' entry fees are not going to be refunded but they will automatically be entered into next year's race, scheduled for March 21, 2004.
Schubert said he wouldn't tell constituents whether they should come to the nation's capitol, saying, "That's a decision individuals would have to make for themselves."
"I would say it's as safe down here now as it ever is," he said. "I feel safe down here and I know many of my colleagues do."
Bill Yelenak, a Boston University student, works at the Boston University Washington News Service in Washington, D.C. His telephone number is 202-756-2860 ext: 114 and his email is byelenak@newbritainherald.com.
Published in The New Britain Herald, in Connecticut.
Dodd Meets to Make Law for Children’s Dosages
By Bill Yelenak
WASHINGTON – Sen. Christopher Dodd (D-Conn.) joined a bipartisan group of senators Tuesday to introduce legislation that would require drug companies to evaluate the effectiveness of their drugs and medicines on children.
The legislation would revive a 1998 Food and Drug Administration rule that a federal district court judge struck down in October, holding that the rule was outside the FDA's jurisdiction.
The Pediatric Research Equity Act, which would attempt to replace the 1998 rule, would do many of the same things as its predecessor. It would try to assure that new drugs for illnesses and conditions that occur in children are labeled for pediatric use and are available in forms familiar to children, such as liquids or chewable tablets. Companies would have six months to put the rule into effect.
Dodd, along with Sens. Judd Gregg (R-N.H.), Mike DeWine (R-Ohio) and Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.), said that support from both parties gave the bill a good chance of moving through the Senate.
"It's very important here that we have the bipartisan cooperation on this," Dodd said. "We wouldn't have had it without Judd Gregg, the chairman of the [Health, Education, Labor and Pensions] committee."
Dodd said the old practice of halving medications or making them smaller for smaller individuals no longer need apply and companies should have to test the medications for their effects on children.
"We watched our parents take medicines and try and cut them into quarters or halves on the assumption that we were just smaller versions of adults and that we would just take a smaller dosage and it would work," Dodd said. "We've learned, as a result of our efforts over the last few years, that's not always the case."
Citing arthritis as a affliction that was more prevalent in adults but could also affect children, Dodd said it was important to find a way for youngsters to go through their lives without constant pain.
"Just being able to manage pain for children who have to go through some terrible medical crises means so much to parents and, obviously, to children," Dodd said.
Dodd and the other Senators also introduced Bill and Susan Belfiore, along with their 5 children, four of whom are HIV-positive and were adopted by the Belfiores in Romania.
The children got AIDS through tainted blood transfusions in Romania, and Bill Belfiore told the story of dealing with medications for the children and how it was important to know the proper dosages. He said he later found out that one of their daughters had been taking a medication for two years that was entirely useless. He spoke about how children sometimes need only half the prescribed medication and sometimes need twice as much.
"I guess when one is involved in cooking, guessing is alright," Dodd said. "But when we start talking about dosages in medicines for children, guessing is a recipe for disaster."
Bill Yelenak, a Boston University student, works at the Boston University Washington News Service in Washington, D.C. His telephone number is 202-756-2860 ext: 114 and his email is byelenak@newbritainherald.com.
Published in The New Britain Herald, in Connecticut.
Johnson, Larson Express Sentiments Over War n Iraq
By Bill Yelenak
WASHINGTON – Reps. John Larson (D-1) and Nancy Johnson (R-5) disagreed Tuesday about President George W. Bush's abandonment of diplomatic efforts to disarm Iraq, but agreed that American troops in the Middle East deserve the nation's continued support.
In an address to the nation Monday night, Bush said that if Saddam Hussein and his sons do not leave Iraq by Wednesday night, their "refusal to do so will result in military conflict commenced at a time of our choosing."
Larson said he was disappointed that the diplomatic efforts had been abandoned.
"I was saddened last night that diplomacy has failed and there's enough blame to go around all over the globe but now the decision has been made, I think it's incumbent upon all of us to support our troops," Larson said.
However, he said, he hoped that those with family members in the war or those in the war themselves receive the backing of the American people.
"I said goodbye to so many of our reservists in Connecticut and understand and appreciate the anxiety that their loved ones back home feel," Larson said. "It's so important that we reach out to those people here at home and also to our troops abroad."
Although Larson expressed regret that Bush has declared the time for diplomacy is at an end, he said soldiers should go in and do the job for which they have been prepared and America should support them.
"They're not part of diplomatic relations. They're not part of developing policy," Larson said. "They salute and follow orders - it's up to us to fund them and make sure they're the best equipped, best prepared, and hopefully we get them out of there in as expedited fashion as we can."
In a statement, Johnson said she would support the troops and thanked them "for the dangers they will face and the courage they will show," but unlike Larson, Johnson agreed with the President's decision to issue Hussein and his sons the ultimatum.
"Tragically, if Hussein were gone, as the President has requested, many Iraqis would come forward and provide the information essential to reveal his development of chemical, biological and nuclear weapons," Johnson said. "Unfortunately, as long as he's there, no Iraqi can come forward. And we would only be able to deal with the relatively minor discoveries of the inspectors."
Johnson said the Iraqis have not listed "more than 100 missiles that were clearly non-compliant with their treaty obligations," and she questioned why inspectors were sent to find missiles Hussein had hidden from inspectors for so long in mobile or underground laboratories "that we know exist from detailed descriptions provided by Iraqi defectors."
"Hussein threatens not only the life of any informer but assures the torture and death of family members," Johnson said. "In such an environment, inspections cannot find the truth."
Although the President's national address was accompanied by a rise in the nation's threat level from yellow to orange, Larson said residents of the state should remain calm and allow "common sense to prevail."
"It's precautionary because obviously we anticipate and our intelligence sources anticipate there'll be retaliation for this attack," Larson said.
Bill Yelenak, a Boston University student, works at the Boston University Washington News Service in Washington, D.C. His telephone number is 202-756-2860 ext: 114 and his email is byelenak@newbritainherald.com.
Published in The New Britain Herald, in Connecticut.
