Category: Scott Brooks
Autism Growing, But Causes Are In Dispute
By Scott Brooks
WASHINGTON – Jareb and Avery Lopez are identical twins. They are six years old, with dark hair and brown eyes. They also are autistic.
Their mother, Sherry Amaral, says her sons were not born that way.
Ms. Amaral, of New Bedford, said she believes the twins were poisoned during infancy, when doctors administered their required vaccine shots.
Those shots, she says, put her children on a crippling path, where language skills that they had started to develop suddenly vanished and everyday stresses caused them to vomit and shriek.
Ms. Amaral is one of many parents across the nation who blame vaccines, particularly those containing mercury, for a startling increase in autism among children. Though there is some disagreement, most scientific studies have not found a link between vaccines and autism.
Doctors have not, however, provided Ms. Amaral with an explanation for her sons’ condition.
“I have a hard time understanding it,” she said. “How can they develop normally, then all of a sudden start to regress?”
Since doctors diagnosed her sons almost three years ago, Ms. Amaral has waited for the day when someone would compensate her family. Until now, that has been impossible.
A federal program that compensates people who have been injured by vaccines has been closed to Ms. Amaral and her sons. To be eligible for compensation, the family would have had to file a claim with the program within three years of the boys’ vaccinations. Ms. Amaral, who did not learn about allegations that vaccines might cause autism until years after her sons’ diagnoses, was six months too late.
However, after a tortuous path through Congress, a bill that is now gaining momentum aims to make drastic changes to the program. The legislation would give Ms. Amaral a chance to file for compensation, but, advocates for autistic children warn, at a price.
The bill would protect some pharmaceutical companies from hundreds of lawsuits that have been filed against them nationwide. Parents no longer would be able to sue the companies, but instead would file for compensation from the federal government.
But the government wouldn’t necessarily agree to pay the families. That would come down to whether parents such as Ms. Amaral can prove a link between vaccines and autism.
The bill’s supporters – led by Senate Majority Leader and licensed surgeon Bill Frist of Tennessee – say no such link exists. Much of the medical community agrees.
At the center of the dispute is thimerosal, a mercury-based preservative that until recently was prevalent in several mandatory childhood vaccines. Ms. Amaral said her sons were exposed to an excessive dose of thimerosal when they received hepatitis-B vaccines and other shots.
Around the time the boys were celebrating their first birthday, they were inoculated against measles, mumps and rubella. Although that shot, which combines three vaccines into one, did not contain thimerosal, some parents suspect it can produce adverse reactions in certain kids.
Ms. Amaral said she can see the changes in her family’s home videos. On tape, she said, the boys appear to be reaching all of the typical childhood milestones. They have a short list of words they can pronounce with total clarity: mama, papa, ball, cup. They can call out to their aunt in Portuguese, the language of Ms. Amaral’s family. Today, they can’t do any of those things.
Pediatricians were slow to recognize the severity of the boys’ illnesses, Ms. Amaral said. When Jareb and Avery were diagnosed around age 3, she said, she started doing research but couldn’t find a suitable explanation for what had happened.
One day, Ms. Amaral saw a magazine story on thimerosal. Suddenly, she said, it made sense.
An Autism Epidemic
In Massachusetts, the autism rate has shown a steady increase in the past two decades. In 2001, the state reported 92 cases of autism among teenagers born in 1985. That compares to 193 cases among children born in 1990 and a statewide high of 318 cases among children born just two years after that. National studies show a similar trend and, though estimates vary, most suggest that autism rates have jumped significantly in the last decade.
But scientists are unclear on just what caused the spike. Perhaps doctors have gotten better at diagnosing less severe cases, spotting them earlier and more often. Or maybe the criteria for positive diagnoses have expanded.
Fairhaven nurse Pam Ferro, whose 11-year-old son is autistic, insists vaccine poisoning is to blame.
Ms. Ferro, who directs an autism program at Hopewell Associates in Mattapoisett, said she has observed a distinct increase in autism rates in the SouthCoast. The autism treatment center, which she co-founded, recently held a conference in Fall River for families with autistic children. Without much advertising, she said, the event drew 150 parents.
Ms. Ferro said some areas of Massachusetts, such as the old industrial districts of Fall River, are especially toxic. If a child is genetically predisposed to getting sick, pollution can increase their chances of being diagnosed with autism, she said.
Fish, too — a staple of the SouthCoast economy — are known to contain mercury, and pregnant women are sometimes advised to avoid eating certain types.
“It’s some genetics that play a role, but kids are getting a huge environmental insult,” Ms. Ferro said.
But Ms. Ferro, like other parents, is still looking for research to back her claim that thimerosal is directly responsible for increased autism rates. The Institute of Medicine, a private medical research organization, looked into the matter two years ago and found only that it was “biologically plausible.” The researchers concluded there was insufficient evidence to accept or reject the theory.
Leading advocates for autistic children tend to point to a recent study, led by Dr. Mark Geier, a Maryland geneticist, which reported a link between thimerosal and autism.
Many scientists, however, say the study was unconvincing. They charge that Dr. Geier has a conflict of interest because he has testified on behalf of plaintiffs in various vaccine injury cases.
Dr. Geier is resolute in assigning guilt to vaccine companies. In a recent interview, he said the autism cases make AIDS, as well as the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, “look like a joke,” and called the issue “the greatest catastrophe in the history of the world.”
Critics note that so-called mainstream medical journals have shunned the Geier study.
“Try to find it,” challenged Dr. Karin Nelson, a neurologist at the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. Dr. Nelson is the co-author of a competing study released earlier this year that found no evidence of a link between thimerosal and autism.
Without much else to go on, many autism groups chide the federal government for being reluctant to fund new investigations. Some go so far as to say that the government, along with drug companies, is fearful of what researchers might find. If, in fact, a link is discovered, the costs to both could be extraordinary.
Cambridge businessman and autism activist Mark Blaxill, the father of an autistic 7-year-old, said he believes respectable scientists have been discouraged from pursuing the matter.
“If this is true, this is a massive blunder, and it calls into question the entire governance process of the childhood immunization program,” he said. “It would mean hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of children have been harmed by government policy. This is not a comfortable theory.”
Dr. Nelson, however, said it isn’t like that. She said the government is interested in other areas of research, where federal dollars and personnel can be put to better use.
“It’s a matter of priority,” she said. “There’s a lot of important research to do. I think this hasn’t been thought sufficiently plausible to pursue.”
Washington Weighs In
Talk in Washington about the controversy has centered on one question: How, if at all, are families to be compensated?
Claims against vaccine makers typically go through the federal Vaccine Injury Compensation Program, which Congress created in 1986 to absorb legal costs that might otherwise have sunk the industry.
But Congress failed to account for a loophole in the law, which allowed lawyers to file lawsuits against companies that manufacture the components of the vaccines but not the vaccines themselves. Thimerosal is one such component.
Lawsuits are also being filed against companies that make neither the vaccines nor the vaccine components. In the last few years, hundreds of lawsuits have been brought against Eli Lilly, a pharmaceutical company that, spokesman Ed Sagebiel said, has been out of the vaccine business for more than 25 years. The company was the first to use thimerosal in its vaccines, beginning in the 1930s.
Congressional Republicans – who received three-quarters of all pharmaceutical companies’ campaign contributions over the past two years — say the lawsuits are a serious threat to the manufacture of vaccines. If pharmaceutical companies are held liable for multimillion-dollar jury awards, they will stop making vaccines altogether, the Congress members contend.
At the end of the legislative session last fall, Republicans slipped vaccine industry protections into the high-profile Homeland Security bill.
By the time advocates for autistic children discovered the provision, it had passed Congress. President Bush signed the bill. But earlier this year, opponents succeeded in getting the measure removed, a quick turnaround that rarely happens on Capitol Hill.
The new legislation, sponsored by Sen. Frist, would steer families of autistic children away from the courts and into the federal compensation program. The government would decide whether and how to award parents for their children’s injuries.
Unlike last year’s measure, however, this one would open the program to Ms. Amaral and other parents who missed the deadline for bringing a case. The change could be crucial for Ms. Amaral, who worries that the cost of caring for her sons is more than her family will be able to handle.
There are the family’s grocery bills, for one. Because her children’s stomachs are particularly weak, everything Ms. Amaral buys has to be organic. She makes most of her meals from scratch.
There also are specially ordered supplements, as well as therapeutic devices, including a trampoline.
And, of course, there are medical bills. The boys have seen several allergists, and the family has gotten used to the constant need for new tests. Ms. Amaral said regular testing rarely proves accurate, so she takes the boys in regularly for specialized tests, which her health insurance does not cover.
There seems to be no end to the costs, she said. Ms. Amaral, who lives with her sons and boyfriend, works part time for the Nemasket Group, a Fairhaven nonprofit providing support to mentally challenged adults.
“Even if, let’s say, a miracle happens — they start talking, or however you define a miracle — I envision they will need help for the rest of their lives,” she said.
Ms. Amaral is not confident she will ever see compensation. Under the Frist bill, how much money, if any, parents receive would be up to the U.S. Court of Federal Claims. Without more research to back their claims, many parents are not holding their breath.
“We know we’re going to get denied,” said Laura Bono, a North Carolina autism activist and mother of an autistic teenager. “What are the chances of my child getting any sort of compensation? It’s just very slim.”
Vaccinations Continue
In 1999, government health officials recommended that thimerosal be reduced or eliminated in childhood vaccines. No recalls were ordered, but according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the industry agreed to federal recommendations. Today, the CDC reports, all recommended pediatric vaccines being manufactured for use in the United States contain no thimerosal or only trace amounts.
Ms. Bono said the industry should have pulled thimerosal from the market entirely, but she thinks she knows why that didn’t happen. If makers stopped selling it, the autism rate would bottom out, a sure sign that thimerosal causes autism, she said.
“I can’t prove it,” she said. “It’s just my belief.”
Dr. Geier said thimerosal is still in half of all childhood vaccines on the market. He recommended that parents check the package insert for a vaccine’s contents before allowing their children to be immunized. Ms. Ferro offered the same recommendation.
Proponents of the new vaccine bill, however, expressed concern that these warnings, and the autism groups’ efforts to publicize their concerns about thimerosal, are creating a panic.
“I am deeply concerned that these unsubstantiated allegations are frightening parents and that some might not get their children immunized on time, which puts children at a much greater risk,” said Dr. Louis Cooper, former president of the American Academy of Pediatrics. “That’s what scares me.
“I know that today’s kids are so much safer because of these vaccines, but they’re only safer if they’re used.”
Autism groups, such as Ms. Ferro’s Hopewell Associates, maintain that they are not anti-vaccine. But, Ms. Ferro said it should be the drug companies, not parents, who are responsible for ensuring that vaccines are safe.
“There’s enough sick children out there to know that what we’re doing right now is not the proper way to vaccinate kids,” she said. “I agree if we don’t fix the situation, we’re probably going to see measles again. We’re going to run into a bigger problem with lots of children not being vaccinated. However, until they agree to fix the problem and change the protocol, that’s what we’re facing.”
Published in The New Bedford Standard Times, in Massachusetts.
Kerry Campaign Finds Support In SouthCoast
By Scott Brooks
WASHINGTON - SouthCoast business and political leaders have weighed in early in the presidential campaign cash war, donating almost entirely to home-state hopeful John Kerry.
The Kerry campaign raked in more than $20,000 from SouthCoast residents on its way to a second-place finish in the Democratic field's first-quarter fundraising race. His donors were mostly attorneys and local business executives and included several members of the board overseeing the city's Oceanarium project.
Sixteen residents of New Bedford and surrounding towns and cities gave to Sen. Kerry during the first three months of this year. Among the senator's eight Democratic opponents, only Howard Dean, the former governor of Vermont, received any contributions from the SouthCoast, according to reports filed with the Federal Election Commission.
"Clearly, Kerry is the favorite-son candidate in Massachusetts," said former New Bedford city solicitor George Leontire, who donated $1,000 to the Kerry campaign. "He's the Massachusetts candidate. I'd find it surprising to see it any other way."
Mr. Leontire, who sits on the New Bedford Oceanarium's board of governors, said he gave to the senator before attending a Kerry fundraiser in Boston last month. He attended the fundraiser with New Bedford developer and Oceanarium board chairman William N. Whelan, whose real estate firm, Whelan Associates, hired Mr. Leontire last year.
Mr. Leontire said he supports the Kerry campaign because the senator has been "extremely attentive" to the area and particularly supportive of projects in New Bedford. He pointed to Sen. Kerry's efforts to obtain federal dollars for the reconstruction of Route 18, as well as his support of the fishing industry and schools.
The Oceanarium, he said, had no bearing on his donation. Directors of the Oceanarium are trying to secure $10 million in federal money for the project, which is estimated to cost $135 million. Plans to move ahead with the project hit a snag last month when the Bush administration rejected the board's application for $40 million worth of tax credits.
Mr. Leontire had harsh words for President Bush, who is pressuring Congress to pass a series of tax cuts, as well as for Gov. Mitt Romney, another anti-tax Republican.
"I'm really just upset with the direction of the country," Leontire said. "I'm so fed up between watching the president give away all the money on the federal level and Romney dismantling the economy on the state level. It's just a very sorry time."
University of Massachusetts Dartmouth Chancellor Jean MacCormack, who gave $250 to Sen. Kerry, said the senator has long been an advocate for southeastern Massachusetts' interests. Sen. Kerry spends a good deal of time in the area, she said, and he's often willing to speak on campus.
"I think it's not surprising that people would look to him for some leadership and support," she said.
SouthCoast contributions were just a small part of the $1.8 million Sen. Kerry raised in the Bay State. Massachusetts contributed roughly one-quarter of the campaign's $7-million in receipts last quarter.
Outside of the home-state candidate, Mr. Dean drew the most financial support from Massachusetts, taking in nearly $250,000 in the first quarter. Mr. Dean, another New Englander, was head-and-shoulders above the remaining candidates, including Sen. Joe Lieberman, from neighboring Connecticut. Sen. Lieberman, the Democrats' vice presidential nominee in 2000, raised just $44,000 in Massachusetts.
Though none of the money came from the South Coast, Massachusetts residents contributed about $80,000 to Rep. Dick Gephardt of Missouri. Sen. John Edwards of North Carolina, who led all Democratic candidates in fundraising during the first quarter, collected $40,000 in Massachusetts. Sen. Bob Graham of Florida took in $22,000.
Rep. Dennis Kucinich of Ohio received $6,000 from just six Massachusetts donors. Former Sen. Carol Moseley Braun of Illinois did not receive any contributions from the state. The Rev. Al Sharpton had not released fundraising totals Thursday.
Mr. Dean's SouthCoast support came from one couple: state Rep. Bill Straus, D-Fairhaven, and his wife, Kerry Shortle. The two contributed a total of $1,900 to Mr. Dean, whose brother lives in Massachusetts and is one of the couple's old friends.
"My decision to support Howard Dean is no knock on Kerry," Rep. Straus said. "It's just that I think I've got a better candidate to support. I do it as a positive statement."
In February, Rep. Straus toured the Statehouse with Mr. Dean and discussed his campaign with reporters and lawmakers in a building where Sen. Kerry, the former lieutenant governor, once worked.
Mr. Dean has held several events in Massachusetts since kicking off his campaign, and he has more fundraisers planned, Rep. Straus said.
The candidate has the strong backing of Steve Grossman, a Newton activist who ran unsuccessfully for governor in 2002 and headed the Democratic National Committee. Dean spokeswoman Dorie Clark said Mr. Grossman was key to Mr. Dean's fundraising success in Massachusetts.
Rep. Strauss said he does not expect any of the other Democratic candidates to steal Massachusetts from Sen. Kerry. Still, he said, there is room for Mr. Dean to build a base in the state between now and Massachusetts's March 2 presidential primary.
"You'd have to assume that John Kerry is the heavy favorite to win, but don't be surprised if Howard Dean is there picking up delegates, because people are responding to him," Rep. Straus said.
Clyde Barrow, director of the Center for Policy Analysis at UMass Dartmouth, said he expects Sen. Kerry to continue raising money across the Bay State. He said support for the senator should be particularly strong in the SouthCoast, which he said was predominately Democratic but less liberal than Mr. Dean.
"All things remaining the same, one would anticipate that Kerry would continue to carry the day in this part of the state, and probably in Massachusetts as a whole," Mr. Barrow said.
Published in The New Bedford Standard Times, in Massachusetts.
Congress Weighing Local Highway Requests
By Scott Brooks
WASHINGTON - Congress may distribute several million dollars this year to key South Coast highway projects, including long-discussed plans to relocate the New Bedford-Fairhaven Bridge.
Officials requested $1.5 million in federal money to move the century-old swing bridge, which some blame for persistent traffic jams and increased air pollution in the area.
The federal government also is weighing a request to assist New Bedford's plans to redevelop the pathway around St. Luke's Hospital. Washington would contribute $600,000 toward installing new technology in traffic signals around the hospital, a step advocates hope will aid paramedics coming to and from the facility.
The requests, submitted by Rep. Barney Frank, D-MA, and other Massachusetts lawmakers, are part of legislation being drafted to reauthorize a 1998 law that provides money for transportation projects nationwide. The Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century, as it is known, expires in September.
Relocating the New Bedford-Fairhaven Bridge has been discussed for several decades. The $1.5 million federal allocation would pay for an environmental impact study to analyze the benefits and consequences of moving the structure.
Relocation advocates say the bridge is responsible for heavy commuter traffic delays each time it opens for passing ships. Ships, too, clog the harbor during stretches when the bridge remains closed.
The bridge opens more than 4,000 times a year, according to Rep. Frank, each time stopping traffic for 15 to 20 minutes. Rep. Frank also said the bridge's swing mechanism is prone to breakdowns.
A New Bedford-Fairhaven master plan, approved by the state last fall, would move the bridge further north, where proponents say it would not have to open as often.
Alternative plans, according to New Bedford Solicitor Matthew Thomas, include eliminating the bridge entirely or replacing it with a new, less cumbersome drawbridge.
Mr. Thomas said the $600,000 to coordinate traffic lights outside St. Luke's Hospital is part of a larger plan to make access to the hospital easier. The city also plans to resurface the roads to reduce bumps, a problem for ambulances carrying trauma patients.
Sometimes, Mr. Thomas said, ambulances have to approach the hospital at speeds as low as 10 mph.
"As you drive down the road, you definitely have to be careful," he said. "We want to make sure it's as safe as possible."
The requests before Congress also include $15 million to pay for part of the design and construction of the Route 24-Route 140 interchange in Taunton, which is frequently congested. New Bedford commuters use the interchange heavily on their way to Boston.
Mr. Thomas said traffic along the ramp is a hazard for drivers. During the holidays, he said, traffic on the interchange can back up across the entire ramp, sometimes for almost a quarter of a mile.
Roland Hebert, transportation planning manager for the Southeastern Regional Planning and Economic Development District, said the project is the most important in the region right now.
"This interchange is critical to the city of New Bedford," he said. "It's a very busy interchange, and it ties up once a week. It's a very critical problem right now."
Designs for the project have yet to start, but Mr. Hebert said they should be completed in six months.
Peter Kovar, Rep. Frank's chief of staff, said the congressman's requests represent just half of all needed funds for the projects.
"For most of these, we're not asking for the full cost," Mr. Kovar said. "The expectation is that money would come through the state and other sources, too."
Rep. Frank submitted seven requests in all, including $13 million for a project to relocate Route 79 in Fall River. That project, considered a key part of the city's plans to revitalize the waterfront, would convert the eight-lane highway into a four-lane, tree-lined boulevard.
Published in The New Bedford Standard Times, in Massachusetts.
War Abroad, Congress Moves Forward On Domestic Agenda
By Scott Brooks
WASHINGTON - Though on the sidelines as the nation pursues its war against Iraq, Congress has positioned itself on the front lines of the government's domestic policy effort since war began two weeks ago.
While White House and Pentagon officials concentrate on shaping the U.S. military operation in Iraq, the House and Senate have acted recently on a slew of major issues, only some of which involve the war.
"Congress realistically does not have that much day-to-day engagement in the prosecution of the war, so they are doing what seems to be natural, which is to shift their focus to appropriations and domestic issue matters," said Jerome F. Climer, president of the Congressional Institute, which keeps track of Congress's work flow.
With the public and the president looking elsewhere, the pressure has been on Congress to hold down the fort on domestic policy, said Norman Ornstein, a resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research. This week, both chambers are working to churn out next year's budget resolution, as well as a proposed $74.7 billion wartime budget.
"They're trying to conduct business as usual, but it's very hard," Mr. Ornstein said. "Everybody has been distracted by this."
On Monday, a day that members rarely spend in Washington, the House put one of President Bush's key domestic priorities to a vote. House members ultimately killed a bill that would have provided medical workers or their families with federal benefits if they were injured, disabled or killed after receiving smallpox vaccinations.
Republican leaders had hoped to push the bill through the House without debate but were embarrassed when the bill, which needed the support of two-thirds of the House to pass, failed to get a simple majority.
That defeat was the latest in a series of bumps in the road for the Bush administration's domestic agenda. Last week, the Republican-controlled Senate voted to slice the president's proposed $726 billion tax cut in half.
And, on the day the president announced the start of the war, the Senate rejected a measure that would have included revenue from prospective Alaska oil drilling in next year's budget. Several key Republicans sided with Democrats to defeat the Bush-supported measure.
"The war produces a rally effect for the president in public opinion, but it seldom does anything to advance his domestic policy agenda," said Thomas Mann, a political expert at the Brookings Institution. In this case, with the president holding fast to his domestic goals despite his focus on the war, the administration is coming across some uneasiness within the congressional ranks, he said.
"This president has chosen to stick with an agenda that's basically a conservative Republican one," Mr. Mann said. "He's going to find the going a little tough with moderate Republicans and virtually unanimous dissent from Democrats."
Still some bills recently on Congress' menu have been considerably less divisive. Last week, the House overwhelmingly supported a bill designed to curb child abduction and exploitation. That measure rushed through Congress on the heels of the discovery of kidnapped Utah teenager Elizabeth Smart, who was missing for more than nine months.
There was time last week, too, to speed through the House a resolution "recognizing the public need for fasting and prayer" during the war in Iraq.
Mr. Mann said Congress simply is following its natural rhythms and routines. Since the initial bombings of Iraqi government buildings two weeks ago, members of Congress have introduced more than 300 bills and resolutions on scores of subjects.
"There are dozens and dozens of pieces of legislation that will be moving to the floor," Mr. Mann said. "Just because we're in a military engagement in Iraq, there's no reason not to proceed with any of those."
Rep. Barney Frank, D-MA, said that, in fact, there has not been enough debate of domestic issues in the House. He blamed Republican leaders for stifling discussion on matters that may give them trouble, such as the president's tax cut and Social Security reform proposals.
"They don't let a lot of issues come to the floor," he said. "Debate is muffled."
Published in The New Bedford Standard Times, in Massachusetts.
Kerry Raises $7 Million In First Quarter
By Scott Brooks
WASHINGTON - Sen. John Kerry's presidential campaign raised about $7 million in the first three months of this year, a figure likely to position him near the top of the Democratic fundraising heap.
Massachusetts was the leading contributor to his campaign, contributing $2.1 million.
Sen. Kerry's $7 million puts him just behind Sen. John Edwards of North Carolina, who announced on Tuesday that his campaign raised $7.4 million during the first three months of this year. None of the other seven Democratic candidates has yet released figures.
Sen. Kerry's total is added to roughly $3 million already in the Massachusetts Democrat's presidential campaign chest, the majority of which had been transferred from his Senate account. After spending nearly $2 million so far this year, the campaign can boast an on-hand cash total of slightly more than $8 million.
Some analysts who had viewed Sen. Kerry as the frontrunner for the Democratic nod were surprised that the senator failed to exceed Sen. Edwards last quarter.
"That's got to be of some level of concern," said Steven Weiss, communications director for the Center for Responsive Politics, which monitors campaign finances. "No frontrunner likes to be beat out in fundraising."
A Kerry campaign aide said the senator and his staff were impressed with Sen. Edwards' figures but stressed that Sen. Kerry is pleased with his own tally.
"We've raised more money, acquired more donors, put more in the bank and built a stronger political foundation than I thought would be possible 90 days ago," Jim Jordan, Sen. Kerry's campaign manager, said in a statement.
On his way to winning the 2000 Democratic presidential nod, Vice President Al Gore raised a record $8.9 million during the first quarter of 1999. George W. Bush led Republican candidates with $7.6 million, with roughly one-third of that total coming in on the last day of filing.
This year's candidates are working under new campaign finance rules, instituted last November, that double the amount of so-called "hard" dollars that individuals can donate to a federal candidate, to $2,000.
The new laws also bar campaigns from accepting "soft money" donations, or unlimited contributions from individuals, corporations and labor unions.
The Supreme Court was expected to review the new law in the coming months, though a delay in a federal appeals court ruling on the matter has raised concern that the nation's highest court will be unable to hear the case this term.
On March 19, Kerry qualified for the federal matching fund system, which rewards candidates with federal dollars if they raise at least $5,000 in each of 20 states in amounts no greater than $250 per donor.
Sen. Kerry has not said yet whether he will apply for matching funds, which might bring in less money than he could raise without those dollars.
During his 2002 re-election campaign, Sen. Kerry raised $14.7 million, the 10th-highest total collected during that six-year period, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. The senator's closest opponent in that race, a Libertarian, raised less than $200,000.
Other Democratic campaigns were expected to release their fundraising figures in the coming days. Conventional wisdom is that none of the others will report totals as high as Kerry and Edwards, Mr. Weiss said.
Candidates must file their first-quarter financial reports with the Federal Election Commission by April 15.
Published in The New Bedford Standard Times, in Massachusetts.
Senate Run Could Be Costly Affair For Rep. Frank
By Scott Brooks
WASHINGTON - There are few surer bets in politics than an uncontested election.
Rep. Barney Frank, D-MA, knows all about this. In the last five general elections, he has run unopposed three times.
The Newtonville Democrat, a 22-year institution in the U.S. House of Representatives, says he has not run an active campaign since 1992, having coasted to easy victories throughout the last decade. That would change, however, if he follows through on recent comments that he might seek Sen. John Kerry's Senate seat if the Democratic senator succeeds in his bid for the presidency next year.
That seat, securely held by Sen. Kerry for nearly 20 years now, would be expected to attract some serious political heavyweights and could be one of the most hotly contested races to hit Massachusetts in years.
If Sen. Kerry leaves the Senate, the field to succeed him would be crowded, speculated Jennifer Duffy, a political analyst for the Cook Political Report. Ms. Duffy named some of the state's recent Republican governors as possible contenders, including William Weld, Paul Cellucci and possibly even Mitt Romney, whose term ends in 2006, when the seat would be up for grabs.
Such names, she said, could pose a formidable challenge to Rep. Frank, who recently became the first politician to express an interest in the seat.
"Open Senate seats don't come around that often," Ms. Duffy said. "He would get challenged. I just can't see him getting a free ride to a nomination."
Experts say an open seat in 2006 could be costly, and it has been years since Rep. Frank has been sufficiently threatened to require a heavy fundraising effort. In the last 10 years, he has raised a total of $1.7 million, a figure only slightly higher than the $1.5 million he put together in 1981-82 alone to win a second term in the House.
Among Massachusetts incumbents in the House last year, six of whom were uncontested, Rep. Frank raised the least, collecting less than $450,000.
With or without competition, Rep. Frank said, he has not organized a full-bore campaign since 1992, when his district was reshaped. That year, the last in which he ran TV and radio advertisements, he defeated his closest opponent by more than 40 percentage points
"I don't run a campaign," he said. "I just go to my district and meet with people."
In most of the congressman's recent elections, in fact, he has given away nearly as much as he has spent for himself. More than one-third of Rep. Frank's expenditures last year went to other candidates in elections all across the country.
Without an opponent, Rep. Frank dedicated just 3 percent of his total expenditures last cycle to campaign fundraisers. He spent no money on campaign signs, stickers and other paraphernalia, and won more than 166,000 votes without hiring a campaign manager.
For some politicians, such a history of campaign inactivity could be trouble during the long, crazy months of an open Senate race, according to Stuart Rothenberg, editor and publisher of The Rothenberg Political Report.
"Fundraising ability does atrophy if you don't do fundraising," Mr. Rothenberg said. "People move, people die. If he was going run statewide, he'd have to put some energy into expanding his list, updating his databases. He'd have to invest some time and energy into it."
Senate races are considerably more expensive than House races. The average Senate candidate last year spent $5 million, more than five times the average amount spent by candidates running for the House, according to data from the Center for Responsive Politics.
In his own race last year, which did not feature a Republican opponent, Sen. Kerry raised $8.6 million, according to Political Money Line, a campaign finance research website. That figure is roughly five times what Rep. Frank raised over the last decade.
Ms. Duffy said a race to replace Sen. Kerry could resemble the senator's intense 1996 race against then-Massachusetts Gov. William Weld. That race cost the two candidates a total of about $19 million.
However, Ms. Duffy, said Rep. Frank should not have much of a problem tapping into new revenue sources. In particular, she said, he could draw heavily from the gay community, which gives overwhelmingly to Democratic candidates. That could be a deep well for Rep. Frank, given the scarcity of other openly gay candidates for the community to support, she said.
Also, she said, Rep. Frank's voting record might prove attractive to environmental groups and organized labor, both strong Democratic revenue sources.
"Lots of people might have a problem," Ms. Duffy said. "I think, however, that Frank has some national constituencies that will help him a great deal."
Rep. Frank said he would not speculate on a future Senate campaign.
"It is in the future. It's non-existent right now," he said. "If and when it happens, it will happen. It plays zero part in my life right now."
Published in The New Bedford Standard Times, in Massachusetts.
Kerry Campaign Keeps Eye On Tone Of War
By Scott Brooks
WASHINGTON – Sen. John Kerry, D-MA, who is running for the Democratic presidential nomination, will be keeping a close eye on what he says about U.S. policy on Iraq now that the United States has launched a military assault on that country.
With U.S. forces in the early stages of combat, the Bay State senator's presidential campaign will continue on a "day-to-day" basis, campaign spokeswoman Kelley Benander said Wednesday. But, the campaign will be mindful of what activities and discussion may be seen as inappropriate during wartime.
"Like every campaign, we'll be adjusting our campaign schedule on an as-appropriate basis," Ms. Benander said. "We're certainly not suspending all of our activities, but we will, of course, be sensitive to tone, to taste, to the national mood, and making scheduling decisions accordingly."
While Sen. Kerry continued this week to lash out against the Bush administration's diplomatic efforts in the months leading to war, the campaign is paying heed to the tone of its statements, she said. Sen. Kerry has said he has thrown his full support behind the U.S. troops now that the conflict is underway.
In a statement Thursday, Sen. Kerry rallied behind the war effort, saying that Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein missed his chance to avoid war by refusing to give in to President Bush's 48-hour ultimatum and go into exile.
"It appears that with the deadline for exile come and gone, Saddam Hussein has chosen to make military force the ultimate weapons inspections enforcement mechanism," Sen. Kerry said. "If so, the only exit strategy is victory. This is our common mission and the world's cause. We're in this together."
Sen. Kerry said he hoped there will be a minimum of U.S. and civilian casualties during the conflict and called for the administration to engage "the community of nations to rebuild Iraq."
Sen. Kerry's attacks on the Bush administration escalated earlier this week, particularly in a biting statement in response to President's Bush's national address Monday night. After the president called for Mr. Hussein to leave Iraq within 48 hours, Sen. Kerry maintained that the administration's handling of the run-up to war "could not possibly have been more inept or self-defeating."
"When it comes to decisions about national security and sending troops into harm's way, you speak from your heart, your gut and your head -- and in my case, from the perspective of one who has seen and experienced war," Sen. Kerry said. "When it comes to [keeping] Americans safe, you have to focus on what's important, not what's popular."
Over the last week, Sen. Kerry's travels have taken him across the country, from last weekend's Democratic state convention in California to Sunday's St. Patrick's Day roast in South Boston. Reports indicated that the senator would be traveling across Florida Wednesday and Thursday, but those plans were scrapped as the Senate debated next year's budget all day Wednesday. Plans to continue campaigning in New Hampshire this weekend currently remain as scheduled, Ms. Benander said.
Nationwide polls of Democratic voters routinely place Sen. Kerry in the top three among the nine Democrats running for president, along with Sen. Joe Lieberman of Connecticut and Rep. Dick Gephardt of Missouri.
While all of the Democratic candidates may be in a tricky position rhetorically now that the war has begun, Sen. Kerry's may be trickier than most, according to Norman Ornstein, a resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research. Sen. Kerry has taken a highly nuanced position on the Iraqi conflict, blasting the administration while supporting the use of military force, he said.
With the nation at war, Mr. Ornstein said, Sen. Kerry's criticisms of the administration may be over for the time being.
"That was before the bombs started. It's different now," he said. "You're subjecting yourself to a potential firestorm if you criticize once our troops are actually facing hostile fire."
Published in The New Bedford Standard Times, in Massachusetts.
Rep. Frank Says He Would Consider Senate Run
By Scott Brooks
WASHINGTON – Rep. Barney Frank, D-MA, said Thursday he would think "very seriously" about running for Sen. John Kerry's U.S. Senate seat if the Massachusetts Democrat wins the presidency next year.
"If Kerry were to become president, I would think about it," Rep. Frank said.
Rep. Frank, who has already endorsed Sen. Kerry's bid for the White House, is the first Democrat in the state to express an interest in the seat. He disclosed his interest during an interview last week with Bay Windows, a Boston gay and lesbian newspaper.
Rep. Frank stressed that he was only answering the paper's question "honestly" and that he is not making any concrete plans for a run. Even if Kerry won a presidential bid, the seat would probably not be available until 2006.
"It was nothing that I initiated. People asked me," Rep. Frank said. "I'm not planning on it; I'm not working toward it. I'm not doing anything to get the story out."
The congressman said this is the first time he has ever considered running for the Senate. The last opportunity, he noted, was in 1984, when then-Lt. Gov. Kerry ran successfully for the seat held by retiring Sen. Paul Tsongas.
"I had no interest in it at that time," Rep. Frank said. "I had just been through two very exhausting House races. I never gave it another thought. We had two very excellent senators."
However, Philip Johnston, chairman of the state Democratic Party, said he believes, based on private conversations with the congressman, that Rep. Frank has been interested in the Senate for "a period of time."
"But I think it's becoming more real now because of John Kerry's presidential candidacy," Mr. Johnston said. "In Massachusetts, we expect that John will be the nominee."
In the event of a Kerry presidency, Rep. Frank said his decision may ultimately depend on the Democrats' success in the 2004 elections. Since January, he has been the senior Democrat on the House Financial Services Committee. If the Democrats were to win back control of the House, which they have not held since 1994, Rep. Frank would become chairman of the committee.
"Being a newly selected chairman -- that would be hard to give up," he said. If, on the other hand, the Democrats are still in minority, he said, it "would make a lot of sense" for him to seek a Senate seat.
Rep. Frank has represented the New Bedford area in the U.S. House since 1980.
If Sen. Kerry were elected president, Gov. Mitt Romney, a Republican, would be in a position to appoint his successor, who would serve until November 2006. Kerry spokesman Tony Wyche said there has been no talk yet as to whether Sen. Kerry would give up his seat before the general election in November 2004.
In a statement, Sen. Kerry complimented Rep. Frank's service in the House.
"He's a remarkable public servant, and he's done so much for Massachusetts and the nation," Sen. Kerry said. "He's smart as hell, he's tenacious, he's witty and he's a fighter.
"Barney speaks his mind and argues his case better than just about anyone. Just ask Dick Armey," he said, referring to the former House majority leader. Mr. Armey once caused a stir by referring to Rep. Frank, who is openly gay, as "Barney Fag."
Mr. Johnston, who considers Rep. Frank an old friend, said the contest to succeed Sen. Kerry would probably be intense. However, he said, Rep. Frank would do well in any likely race. The congressman would bring with him a strong base of support, particularly among progressive Democrats and organized labor, he said.
"If he were to run, Barney being Barney, I think it would be a race that would attract national attention," Mr. Johnston said.
Sen. Mark Montigny, who represents much of Rep. Frank's district in the State House, said he was "not shocked" by Rep. Frank's interest in the Senate and also predicted his chances of success would be high.
"I think he's a formidable congressman, probably as strong as any sitting congressman down there," he said. "It doesn't surprise me that after a significant number of very successful terms in Congress that he would look at the U.S. Senate."
Published in The New Bedford Standard Times, in Massachusetts.
Frank Moves Away From Anti-War Talk
By Scott Brooks
WASHINGTON – For Rep. Barney Frank, D-MA, who has been a vocal opponent of the upcoming war on Iraq, the time to speak out against the war has passed.
The New Bedford congressman said Tuesday that his anti-war rhetoric will cease now that President Bush has brought the nation to the eve of a war. Rep. Frank, who for months has criticized the administration for rushing to war, said he and fellow Democrats will shift their focus to other issues once the war begins.
"Once it starts, it's too late," he said. "I still think it's a mistake. It clearly can do no good. [But] saying we shouldn't go to war becomes irrelevant once we go to war."
Other lawmakers agreed that Congress would do best now to rally behind U.S. troops, who could launch an assault on Iraq as early as Wednesday night. In the Senate, legislators who have spent hours publicizing their opposition to the war, including Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-MA, moved on to other subjects on which to attack the president.
Less than 14 hours after President Bush issued his ultimatum, Sen. Kennedy took to the Senate floor to denounce the administration's budget proposal for next year, which does not include specific funds for a war with Iraq. The White House has been mum on the war's expected costs, though analysts have come up with estimates of the military effort alone that range from $40 billion-$90 billion.
While the Senate may be debating other matters, Kennedy spokesman Mike Spahn said Sen. Kennedy does not intend to change his message that a war against Iraq at this time is irresponsible. In recent months, Sen. Kennedy emerged as one of the most unequivocal opponents of President Bush's war policies. Earlier this year, the senator proposed a resolution that would have brought President Bush back to Congress for a second war vote.
"Sen. Kennedy has consistently spoken out about his desire to avoid war and his desire to see inspections work," Mr. Spahn said. "He's going to continue to speak out about the issues as they come up."
Speaking on the Senate floor Tuesday, Sen. Kennedy said the war effort, and the rebuilding process that will follow, will cost the United States "hundreds of billions of dollars." That Congress is to review a budget without these figures, he said, is "inconceivable."
"This Republican budget is asking us to pretend that war is not on the horizon," he said. "The Senate of the United States cannot accept such a sham."
Sen. Kennedy also took aim at the Bush administration's proposed tax cuts, which he dismissed as nonsensical during wartime. That issue was also foremost on the mind of Rep. Frank, who said the tax cuts could have "terrible consequences."
Rep. Frank said the tax cuts could hurt Bristol County, where schools cannot afford the spending mandated under President Bush's No Child Left Behind Act. The congressman also said that the New Bedford Housing Authority is lacking sufficient resources to meet its budget needs.
While the president's opponents in Congress refocus on domestic matters, critics of Congress have noted the national legislature's inactivity on the war issue. Last fall, the House and Senate voted overwhelmingly to allow President Bush to use military force in Iraq. Since then, the House has scarcely addressed the issue, and the Senate has been stalled by debate over judicial nominee Miguel Estrada.
"Congress wasn't sidelined. Congress sidelined itself," Rep. Frank declared. "Nobody did this to Congress. The Republican leadership decided they didn't want to have any discussion, except for that silliness about French fries. It was a conscious decision."
Anti-war activist Marlene Pollack, a history professor at Bristol Community College, said legislators should not be silenced by the start of war. She said she would like to see Rep. Frank continue to give voice to the concerns of his anti-war constituents.
"You're putting our soldiers in harm's way," she said. "It would seem to me that that doesn't change anything once the war begins. It's even worse."
Published in The New Bedford Standard Times, in Massachusetts.
Immigrants Opting Not To Renew Their Green Cards
By Scott Brooks
WASHINGTON - When the time comes for many of New Bedford's 25,000 immigrants to renew their green cards, the local Immigrants' Assistance Center is telling them not to.
Because of heightened security measures aimed at foreign-born residents, checking in with the government can be a high-risk activity for some immigrants, the privately operated center warns. Government background checks can produce criminal records that may date back decades, with positive checks resulting in deportation.
The situation is giving immigrants reason to think twice before renewing their cards.
"These people are afraid of becoming citizens because of something in their past," said Helena Marques, executive director of the Immigrants' Assistance Center. "It's like a catch-22. Some people still have old green cards, and they're afraid to renew it."
Every individual who renews a green card is subject to a criminal records check by the Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services, part of the new Department of Homeland Security. Screeners look for convictions carrying a sentence of one year or more, regardless of time served. Anyone whose record raises a red flag is issued a notice to appear in court and will face deportation.
Fred Watt, a New Bedford attorney specializing in immigration law, said that lately, green card renewal is one of the top reasons that people come to see him. In the last year, he said, he has seen the number of criminal background cases start to rise.
As a general rule, Mr. Watt said, most of the crimes on immigrant records are "not hideous ones." Mostly, he said, background checks will turn up records of drug or alcohol convictions. There are also frequent instances of domestic crimes -- for example, violating a restraining order.
Some immigrants do not know that their old convictions can jeopardize their status, Mr. Watt said. Since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, he has been warning his clients that their past may start to catch up with them.
"Many of them know they're sitting on a ticking time bomb, but there's nothing they can really do about it," he said.
Mr. Watt said some immigrants can successfully lobby the courts to expunge, or at least revise, their record. Judges are frequently sympathetic to their claims, he said. Another option may be to move for a new trial.
At the Immigrants' Assistance Center, concerned immigrants can send away for background checks with the state government's Criminal History Systems Board in Chelsea. The checks take between one and two weeks.
Immigrants who opt not to renew their cards are often ineligible for government aid. Without an updated green card, which provides proof that they are in the country legally and eligible to work, immigrants cannot receive unemployment benefits.
Employersare required to demand green cards from foreign-born applicants, and they may refuse to hire immigrants whose cards have expired. Mr. Watt said this was never as much of a concern before the laws began to change in the mid-'90s, when Congress passed the Illegal Immigrant Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act.
That act lowered the minimum sentence required for deportation from five years to just one. The law was retroactive, which meant that immigrants convicted of crimes that were once overlooked were now at risk of having to leave the country.
The changes signal a national concern about allowing criminals to make their home in the United States, said Bill Straussberger, a spokesman for the U.S. Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, part of the Department of Homeland Security.
"Even if they're a permanent resident, they need to maintain at least a standard of behavior," he said. "The feeling is if an individual in the United States violates the laws of the country, they forfeit their right to remain here."
Last June, the Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition issued a warning to immigrant service organizations across the state that their clients may face deportation when trying to access immigration benefits. The coalition reported learning of "a couple of people [who] have recently been detained while attempting to upgrade their status at INS."
"The law requires aliens to renew their green card. I certainly can't advise somebody not to renew it," Mr. Watt said. "Having said that, I'm not aware of any punishment for failing to renew, and if there is one I haven't seen it enforced."
Mr. Straussberger said he suspects people could get away with not renewing their card, but he expected they would run into trouble when traveling or seeking government services.
"Those who find themselves in proceedings do so as result of their own personal behavior in violation of the law," he said. "The best way to avoid the problem is not to commit the crime in the first place."
Green cards expire every 10 years. Residents can remove themselves from the 10-year cycle by applying for citizenship, although Mr. Watt said many immigrants in the New Bedford area have not bothered to do so.
For years, he noted, green card-holders shared most of the rights afforded to American citizens, save for the right to vote. New Bedford's Portuguese immigrants, who did not have the right to vote in their homeland, never saw a need to gain full-fledged citizenship, he said.
More than 300,000 immigrants entered the state during the 1990s, according to the immigrant coalition. Ms. Marques of the Immigrants' Assistance Center said nearly 500 legal immigrants in Bristol County were deported over the last six years.
Published in The New Bedford Standard Times, in Massachusetts.
