Category: Spring 2006 Newswire
New Hampshire Shoulders the Country’s Tax Burden
WASHINGTON, March 16– Granite Staters may think about moving west after reading a study released Thursday by the Tax Foundation that shows New Hampshire ranks third from the bottom in federal spending received per dollar of federal taxes paid.
With only 67 cents coming back to the state for every tax dollar sent to the federal government in 2004, New Hampshire is ranked as the third-most generous state, only slightly behind New Jersey (55 cents on the dollar) and Connecticut (66 cents on the dollar). This means that for each dollar New Hampshire residents and businesses pay, the government spends only 67 cents on projects within and grants to the state.
New Hampshire is deemed a “donor state” by tax foundation president Scott Hodge. In 2004, the state paid $9.65 billion in federal taxes-which includes income and corporate taxes, Social Security and unemployment taxes, excise, estate and gift taxes, along with customs duties-but only $6.45 billion was received in federal spending.
When the money is not going back into New Hampshire projects, it is instead going to “beneficiary states,” like New Mexico, which received two dollars back in federal funds for each dollar paid to the government in 2004, the latest year for which such figures were available.
And New Hampshire has progressively seen a smaller share of its tax money come back over the past 10 years, according to the Tax Foundation, a non-partisan tax research organization in Washington, D.C., that has released its annual study for the past 20 years. Although it has gained 2 cents in funds since 2003, in 1994 the state was receiving 73 cents back on the dollar.
In the foundation’s study, 18 states are classified as donor states and 32 as beneficiary states.
This also can be considered a red state, blue state issue. In 13 of the 19 states that Sen. John Kerry won in 2004, more money was sent to Washington than was received back in federal spending. But 25 of the 31 states that President Bush won were recipient states, with some receiving almost double the money that was sent to the federal government.
“Spending patterns don’t change very much over time,” said Curtis Dubay, an economist at the Tax Foundation. “A huge portion of spending is already predetermined, it’s entitlement-driven, it’s Social Security, it’s Medicare and other mandated programs.”
Discretionary spending is the only part of federal funding that can be changed, and, according to Dubay, that is a rather small portion. “So unless you see major changes in federal expenditure, the way the federal expenditures are handled, it doesn’t seem like those ratios will change,” he said y.
Rep. Jeb Bradley, R-N.H., said New Hampshire “does not utilize social programs and services to the degree that other states do because of our strong economy and household income levels higher than those of other states.”
“New Hampshire enjoys strong economic growth,” Bradley said, “including one of the lowest unemployment rates in the country and a high per capita income-one of the main reasons why the Granite State was recently ranked the ‘Most Livable State’ for the third year in a row.”
“I will continue to advocate for federal funding for necessary and efficient programs that are reflective of our New Hampshire values of frugality and individual responsibility,” Bradley said.
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Massachusetts and Connecticut Shoulder US Tax Burden
WASHINGTON, March 16-Massachusetts and Connecticut are shouldering the tax burden of other states, according to a study released Thursday by the Tax Foundation.
Massachusetts has the seventh-highest tax burden in the country, with only 77 cents of federal spending going back to the state for every dollar Massachusetts residents and businesses paid in taxes in 2004.
Connecticut has the second-highest tax burden, with 66 cents of federal spending going back to the state for every dollar sent to Washington. Only New Jersey residents are seeing less of their money, with 55 cents for every dollar sent to Washington coming back to the state.
"By and large, states with the highest per capita federal tax burden are among the biggest donor states," said Scott Hodge, the Tax Foundation's president, in a teleconference call. "Connecticut has a per capita tax burden of over $10,000, making it the number two donor state."
In 2004, the latest year for which the figures are available, Massachusetts paid $57 billion and received $44 billion in federal funding. In Connecticut, more than $36 billion was paid in federal taxes-which includes income and corporate taxes, Social Security and unemployment taxes, excise, estate and gift taxes, along with customs duties-but only $24 billion was received back in federal spending.
The foundation considers both states to be "donor states," which means that some of the money residents and businesses in these states pay in federal taxes is going to other, so-called "beneficiary states," like New Mexico, which receives two dollars back in federal funds for each dollar paid to the government.
According to Curtis Dubay, an economist at the Tax Foundation, a non-partisan tax research organization in Washington, D.C., in states with a high concentration of high-income individuals, there is going to be a greater tax burden.
"No matter how the spending breaks down, those states will never receive enough money to make up for the taxes they're actually sending to Washington, especially Connecticut and Massachusetts; those are high-income areas," Dubay said. "They're never going to be able to make up the difference with expenditures."
In the foundation's study, 18 states are classified as donor states and 32 as recipient states.
This also can be considered a red state, blue state issue. In 13 of the 19 states that Sen. John Kerry won in 2004, more money was sent to Washington than was received back in federal spending. But 25 of the 31 states that President Bush won were recipient states, with some receiving almost double the money that was sent to the federal government.
"Spending patterns don't change very much over time," Dubay said. "A huge portion of spending is already predetermined, it's entitlement driven, it's Social Security, it's Medicare and other mandated programs."
Discretionary spending is the only part of federal funding that can be changed, and according to Dubay, is a rather small portion of the total. "So unless you see major changes in federal expenditure, the way the federal expenditures are handled, it doesn't seem like those ratios will change," he said.
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Conservation Bill Moves to the Senate Floor
WASHINGTON, March 16-A measure that would use federal funds to purchase and protect some of New Hampshire's coastline from development is one step closer to enactment after the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee unanimously approved it Thursday.
The Coastal and Estuarine Land Protection Program, known as CELP, introduced in June by Sen. Judd Gregg, R-N.H., would award grants to states with approved coastal management programs or protected coastal areas called national estuarine research reserves,. The money would come from the Department of Commerce.
The Senate will take up the bill after next week's recess.
"I am pleased that the Senate Commerce Committee has again approved this legislation, as they did in the past Congress, and look forward to working with my colleagues to move it along this year," Gregg said in a statement.
This is the third Congress that has considered the bill, but, unlike the previous two measures, the new one would ensure that the lands are protected for at least four years, instead of having to be renewed every year. If the measure passes, the program will receive $60 million annually for the next four years.
The bill, co-sponsored by Barbara Mikulski, D-Md., was supported Thursday by Sen. John Sununu, R-N.H., who said in a statement that it would help provide future resources for New Hampshire's Great Bay estuary.
"[It] is one of the most diverse ecosystems of fish, wildlife and plants in the nation - a result, in large part, to our state's tradition of strong environmental stewardship," said Sununu, who is a member of the committee. "Unwavering dedication to conservation at the local and state level and the availability of federal Coastal and Estuarine Land Protection (CELP) program funds have helped protect this sensitive coastal region from the pressures of commercial and residential development."
Gregg, in his statement, said, "We have been successful in helping several New Hampshire projects through federal dollars secured through the CELP program, including Massacre Marsh in Rye, Hurd Farm in Hampton and over 2,100 acres at Moose Mountain." The program also has helped fund the conservation of Sagamore Creek in Portsmouth and Piscassic Greenway in Newfields and has protected nearly 3,000 acres of land in New Hampshire.
"Recognizing the important and irreplaceable attributes of New Hampshire's diverse environment and ecosystems, we started the CELP program back in 2001 and believe that Congress must pass this legislation to further build upon the program's success," Gregg said. According to Gregg, the program aims to protect coastal areas that are being threatened by development and has already invested more than $177 million toward 119 conservation projects in 25 coastal states.
The New Hampshire Coastal Program is one of nearly a dozen institutions that supports this measure. Ted Diers, the coastal programs director for the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services, said in a statement that over the past five years the state's coastal towns have spent more than $48 million on land conservation. He said the coastal program also has identified 6,000 more acres that could be conserved with additional funds.
"CELP is one of the few funding sources that are available to protect such lands which, given their proximity to tidal waters, are rapidly rising in price beyond what local communities can afford," Diers said. Without Gregg's program, he added, many acres of New Hampshire's coastline that are currently protected would have already seen development.
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Simmons, Dodd Ask for More Submarines in 2009
By Sara Hatch
WASHINGTON, March 16-Sen. Christopher Dodd and Rep. Robert Simmons Thursday joined submarine industry representatives in calling for doubling the production of submarines by 2009. Currently the Navy wants to increase the number of subs built each year from one to two by 2012.
John Holmander, vice president of programs at Electric Boat, said that getting two ships a year will help to create "stability in the market." Electric Boat and Northrop Grumman, at its Newport News, Va., facility, together produce one ship a year,
The "sooner we get two ships a year, the lower the cost will be," Holmander said.
The goal is to bring down the cost of building a sub from $2.4 billion to $2 billion.
Holmander was one of more than 50 executives attending the Submarine Industrial Base Council's annual congressional breakfast meeting on Capitol Hill.
At the current time, Electric Boat, a subsidiary of General Dynamics, trades off building two-thirds of a ship each year with Northrop Grumman. The sub is then sent to the other company to finish the final third. The new plan, which the companies want to move up to 2009, would call for two subs to be built a year, one at each base.
One of the positives that has come out of the cooperation between the two companies is that it has streamlined the practices used to build the ships, said Matthew Mulherin, senior vice president of programs at Northrop Grumman. He said the two shipbuilders been able to combine the "best practices" of both companies to create a better way of making submarines.
One of the goals of Electric Boat is to "engage the vendors in the same process" to bring the costs down, Holmander said, adding that "our vendors are part of our team."
Terry O'Brien, the northeast regional director for Ocean Design Inc., who is based in Pawcatuck, Conn., said that the main reason to move up production is jobs. Ocean Design, which deals in electrical and fiber optics, does electrical work for the subs built by Electric Boat.
O'Brien said the main problem was that at the current rate of producing ships Ocean Design can't "keep the lines running" and thus employs one-third fewer employees than it did four years ago.
Simmons, who spoke about the need to revitalize the submarine industry because of competition from China, which is building up its own sub fleet, said in an interview that the goal of building two ships a year by 2009 is an "attainable goal."
"Who are we going to go to? China?" Simmons told the council, saying that the submarine industry needs to start working toward the future now or it will face the same problems Great Britain faced when it let its submarine industry decline.
Dodd spoke to the council about improving the research and development capacity of the submarine industry in coming years. He was somewhat skeptical of getting advance procurement money in the fiscal year 2007 budget, which he described as "tight," but it may be possible to get $120 million for research and development, he said in an interview.
In his remarks to the council, Dodd said the submarine industry needs to increase its "intellectual capacity" to produce "a new generation" of submarines. He added that the industry has the capacity to build boats for less money if the Navy authorizes it to build more boats.
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Connecticut Delegation Meets with Local Officials
By Sara Hatch
WASHINGTON, March 15 - The Connecticut congressional delegation promised representatives of Connecticut municipalities Wednesday to bring federal money to state municipalities through all possible means.
During a meeting Wednesday morning at the Capitol with representatives of the Connecticut Conference of Municipalities, Rep. Robert Simmons, R-Conn., acknowledged that "yeah, the president submitted a lousy budge."
"They always submit a lousy budget," Simmons said. "The President submits his budget, we decide what it's going to be. It's up to the Congress to decide what it's going to be."
He added that the way to address the problem is by earmarking funds specifically for Connecticut. He said Connecticut paid more in taxes to the federal government per capita than any other state but is 48 th in the percentage returned.
"The way we make up the difference is through earmarks," Simmons said, adding that he plans to work to reform earmark spending.
The delegation promised to work to preserve Community Development Block Grants, which the budget has targeted for steep cuts. According to the nonpartisan Center for Budget and Policy Priorities, Connecticut could lose up to $9.3 million in such grants under President Bush's proposed budget for fiscal year 2007.
"There has really been a tremendous amount of good that has come out" of the grants, said Paul Duarte, the deputy mayor of the City of Groton.
Duarte said his city's Community Development Department has used the grant money to revitalize one of the city's neighborhoods. He estimated that more than $10 million has been funneled through the Town of Groton, which comprises all of the area between the Thames River and the Mystic River. The city is a political subdivision of the town.
Duarte added that a lot of the money had been used to provide low-interest loans that have been used to renovate homes and have by extension promoted home ownership.
"All I know is that the Community Development Block Grant is very important to Southeastern Connecticut," Duarte said.
Simmons' district director, Jane Dauphinais, said New London and New London County rely on Community Development Block Grant funding and get "a tremendous value for it." She added that preserving Community Development Block Grants and the Community Services Block Grants are one of Simmons' priorities this year, as well as increasing education grants.
Town of Groton Mayor Harry Watson said that he has felt that Simmons "is on our side in Southeastern Connecticut." He praised Simmons' work in saving the Navy's submarine base there and said that town officials have always been able to get access to Simmons' office.
Sen. Joseph Lieberman, D-Conn., said that he hopes to continue funding for all the Community Development Block Grant programs.
"These are great programs," he said. "We're going to try to restore the cuts."
Sen. Christopher Dodd, D-Conn., said even now the state is not getting all the money it needs to fund the No Child Left Behind Act.
"Funding is an issue; we're $12 billion short" nationally, Dodd said.
Dodd also stressed that because Connecticut is such a small state-smaller, he said, than San Diego County, Calif.-the entire delegation needs to work well together and local officials need to feel comfortable approaching anyone in the delegation.
"We need to start thinking more cohesively and together," Dodd said.
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City of Bangor Lobbies Feds
WASHINGTON, March 15 - Two Bangor officials came to the capital this week to lobby the Maine congressional delegation and take part in the National League of Cities' Congressional City Conference. Councilwoman Anne Allen and Rodney McKay, the director of Bangor's Department of Community and Economic Development, were here to push Bangor's interests in the fields of education, transportation, telecommunications and community development.
As members of the Maine Municipal Association, the two officials also belong to the National League of Cities, and Bangor and other cities and towns throughout the state regularly participate in this annual conference. Representatives of Augusta, Brewer, Lewiston and Portland attended as well.
Allen and McKay agreed that the biggest issue facing Bangor and the rest of Maine is the proposed 25 percent cut in Community Development Block Grants, which are disbursed to states and specific communities to spend on things like housing and job creation as they see fit. The Senate on Wednesday approved an amendment that Sen. Olympia Snowe offered to wipe out this proposed cut, but the spending reduction could still go through before the final budget is passed.
When the grants were started in 1974, Bangor received $1.2 million. Despite rising inflation, that number remained static for more than 30 years. The 1974 dollars translate into about $4.8 million 2006 dollars. In fiscal year 2007, the President's budget proposal would send less than $1 million in grant money to Bangor.
With the number of city projects that would be hampered by the federal cut, Allen said with a chuckle, "It's gonna kill us."
McKay said that Bangor has used Community Development Block Grants to improve older residential neighborhoods by giving grants to lower-income house owners for home improvements. The city also bought up unused military housing in the Capeheart area and turned it into transitional housing for the city's homeless. Some of the money also went to job training programs for those residents.
The city also uses the money to help low-income families buy a house, and it gives money to landlords who rent to low-income people, McKay said. The federal money has been used to improve 12 buildings in the downtown area and to bring buildings up to code and make sure they are handicapped-accessible.
When L.L. Bean wanted to open a new call center near the airport, grant money was used to expand the parking lot at 690 Maine Ave., a prerequisite for the giant retailer's moving there, McKay said. The call center created hundreds of jobs for Bangor and the surrounding areas.
McKay and Allen were also pushing for a 100,000-pound vehicle weight limit on I-95 north of Augusta's new bridge. Currently the limit is 80,000 pounds, and trucks that weigh more have to get off the highway at that point and use state and city roads. Not only do they wear out the roads faster, but they also cause many accidents that could be avoided if they stayed on the highway, according to the congressional delegation
The limit used to be 80,000 pounds at the point where the Maine Turnpike ended, forcing northbound trucks to drive down Western Ave. and through the perilous traffic circles in Augusta. After the 100,000-pound weight limit was moved up to the third bridge on Oct, 15, 2004, accidents on Memorial Circle involving heavy trucks dropped from seven in 2004 to two in 2005, and on Bangor Street from four to two. All traffic accidents also declined from 2004 to 2005.
The Maine congressional delegation is trying to get the weight limit extended further north. A bill by Snowe, co-sponsored by Sen. Susan Collins, is in committee, and a House version sponsored by Maine's congressmen is at the same stage.
McKay and Allen also were concerned with recent efforts by telecommunications companies to end city control over when city streets can be dug up for installation of cables. Currently the companies need city approval and have to pay a nominal fee. The telecommunications industry wants such controls shifted to the federal government.
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Bradley Stresses the Importance of Oral Health Care
WASHINGTON, March 14-Rep. Jeb Bradley, R-N.H., in introducing a resolution praising the Academy of General Dentistry, said Tuesday the importance of oral health care is often overlooked.
"When we talk about access to health care, people generally tend to think of hospitals, doctors' offices, heart disease or cancer, or any number of other maladies," Bradley said at a press conference in the Capitol. "But when we do that, we often overlook the importance of oral health."
Bradley said that he was proud to go to the dentist twice a year to get his teeth cleaned, recognizing how important preventive care can be.
Bradley joined Rep. Tom Allen, D-Maine, to announce a resolution they co-wrote regarding the importance of oral health. "Congressman Allen and I thought it was appropriate to introduce this resolution to cite the academy's work and state how important dental health is," Bradley said after the press conference. He also said that it was great to find bipartisan opportunities to work with representatives from neighboring districts.
The Academy of General Dentistry's advocacy for an effective oral health system is "critically important," Bradley said. He also said that "poor dental health can lead to a number of other health care issues that become more and more difficult to treat" and add to the overall cost of the health care system.
Simple at-home treatments can prevent costly problems later on, according to Bradley, who said, "I remember my mother telling me, floss every night, brush twice a day." He said that oral health diseases are widespread and can afflict millions of people if left untreated.
"I'm pleased to have with me, the original copy of the resolution," Bradley said at the press conference. "It recognizes not only the academy's role in promoting oral health in our country, but goes on to state that good oral health is an integral part of our national health care needs."
The Academy of General Dentistry is focused on continuing education and requires that members put in at least 75 hours of dental education a year. "Just because you graduate from dental school doesn't mean your education's over with; it's a lifelong process," said William Mark Donald, the academy's legislative and governmental affairs chairman.
The academy is an association of 35,000 general dentists across the United States and Canada. Most of the dentists who are members are running small businesses. "One thing that [Bradley] serves on is the Small Business Committee," Donald said, "and a lot of people don't realize it, but a dental office is a small business.. A general practitioner may employ five to seven people in his office."
According to Donald, the profession of dentistry employs 758,000 people across the country, with an economic impact of $200 billion a year He said that in Bradley's district, health care providers account for 3,486 workers and $167.3 million in annual wages.
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Kennedy Amendment Counters Bush’s Proposed Education Cuts
WASHINGTON, March 14- The Senate Tuesday by the narrowest of margins rejected legislation introduced by two senators from New England that sought to increase education spending in the next fiscal year.
Sens. Edward M. Kennedy, D-Mass., and Susan M. Collins, R-Maine, offered an amendment to President Bush's proposed budget that they said would increase federal education aid by $6.3 billion, including money for vocational, workforce and higher education programs.
The vote was 50-50, one short of the required majority.
The President has proposed cutting education spending by 3.8 percent, according to Tom Kiley, an aide to Rep. George Miller of California, the senior Democrat on the Education and the Workforce Committee.
Sen. Kennedy, in a statement after the vote, said "the Republican Senate turned its back on countless struggling students in communities around the country.. Locking the door to the American dream can only make America a lesser nation in the years ahead."
Before the Senate voted, the Senator told his colleagues, "The amendment is offered in response to the challenge we are facing internationally."
China and India are increasingly graduating greater numbers of engineers and more foreign students are getting their degrees from American universities than in past years, Mr. Kennedy said. In recent years, the United States has fallen behind in producing scientific literature, he said, and jobs at companies such as Intel and IBM have increasingly been outsourced.
"We have to equip every young person with the skills to deal with the ongoing challenges of globalization," Mr. Kennedy said.
Federally funded vocational education programs in Massachusetts would lose $20.2 million under the President's proposal, where programs are 95 percent effective, the senator said. Currently 78,376 students are enrolled in vocational programs in Massachusetts, and 74,457 passed the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System, a test required for graduation, Sen. Kennedy said.
Pell grants, which provide money to students pursuing higher education, would increase from a maximum $4,050 a year to $4,500 under the Kennedy-Collins proposal.
"When I graduated in 1975, the maximum Pell grant covered approximately 80 percent of the costs of attending a public, four-year institution," Ms. Collins said. "Today it covers less than 40 percent of these costs, forcing students to make up the difference by taking on a larger amount of debt."
However, not every New England senator was in favor of the proposed amendment. Republican Sens. Judd Gregg and John E. Sununu of New Hampshire strongly opposed the amendment, calling it "not fiscally responsible."
Mr. Gregg, who is the chairman of the Budget Committee, said Republicans have provided more for Title I aid funds for low-income families in grades K-12 in the past five years than the Democrats did during the eight years of the Clinton Administration.
"I take a backseat to no one when it comes to education funding," Sen. Gregg said.
Mr. Sununu criticized the Kennedy-Collins amendment, saying it "ignores fiscal restraint and responsibility."
"The amendment comes as a suggestion that no program should ever be cut or redirected from education," Mr. Sununu said, even when other programs may require more resources.
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Money Might Not Be the Only Factor in the 2nd District
WASHINGTON, March 2 -Election Day is still eight months away, but the candidates in New Hampshire's 2 nd Congressional District are already gearing up and gathering funds.
Even though Republican Rep. Charles Bass raised twice as much money as Democratic hopeful Paul Hodes last year, the November election may be determined by more than money.
According to filings submitted by the candidates to the Federal Election Commission, Hodes raised $113,930 and Bass raised $251,450 through Dec. 31.
However, with President Bush's approval rating still hovering in the low forties, the Republican Party may be facing an uncomfortable election season.
"In an election year like this, where voters want change, where voters are concerned about ethics and incumbency suddenly evokes images of lobbyists and Tom DeLay, the incumbent's financial advantage may not be worth what it is in a normal election cycle," political analyst Stuart Rothenberg said.
Rothenberg, editor and publisher of the Rothenberg Political Report, a non-partisan analysis of politics and elections, said it was apparent that Hodes would not be able to match Bass's funds dollar for dollar, but as long as he generated enough money to make himself visible, he may have a chance.
Hodes will "try to ride a partisan Democratic wave that may well sweep across the country," Rothenberg said. "It's about having enough money, being at the right place at the right time, to take advantage of that time for a change."
Interestingly, Hodes drew most of his funds from individual contributors (only $1,300 came from political action committees), but Bass received only 36 percent of his contributions from individual donations.
In New Hampshire's 1 st Congressional District, Rep. Jeb Bradley, like Bass, is far ahead of his probable Democratic challenger, Gary Dodds. Bradley last year raised $313,724 to Dodd's $89,745. Bradley's seat is considered safer than Bass', though neither is at the top of most lists of endangered incumbents.
If the partisan wave Rothenberg talks about does end up sweeping the country, it is not Bass or Bradley who should be the first to worry, he said. He cited Connecticut's Robert Simmons, Nancy Johnson and Christopher Shays, and Pennsylvania's Jim Gerlach as the most vulnerable Republican incumbents.
Nevertheless, he said, if a really big wave hits New Hampshire, Democrats would hope to be able to knock off Bass. "It would take a considerable wave for that to happen, but it's possible," he said.
Rothenberg pointed out that it is standard for the incumbent to raise considerably more money than the challenger and said that this is one of the reasons incumbents rarely lose.
"They begin with a financial advantage; sometimes their opponents don't get enough money to even become credible," Rothenberg said. "When their opponents do start raising money to become credible the incumbent with the big financial advantage just lowers the boom, runs lots of TV ads, radio spots, and crushes the opponent. So it's a significant factor."
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Simmons Once Again in a Race for His Party
By Sara Hatch
WASHINGTON, March 2-Republican Rep. Robert Simmons will once again face a tough race in the second congressional district, going up against Democratic candidate Joe Courtney, a former state representative. For both candidates 2005 was a good year for raising money. Courtney raised $531,714 and Simmons received contributions of $1.1 million, according to filings with the Federal Election Commission.
But even with twice as much money raised, it will not be an easy race for Simmons. Both Stuart Rothenberg, the editor and publisher of the nonpartisan Rothenberg Political Report, and Charlie Cook, who publishes the Cook Political Report, have classified the second district as a competitive race.
Rothenberg said in an interview Tuesday that the race will be about money and "localizing the contest." He added that "the great risk to [Simmons] is that a sizeable partisan Democratic wave is developing across the country and that it will simply hit the beaches of Connecticut too and he'll be swept out."
Rothenberg said that Simmons is a "good campaigner" and is getting money from other Republicans who know that Simmons is "vulnerable, so members are writing checks to him."
"They know.if there are 10 or 12 Republican incumbents who are most vulnerable, he's one of them," Rothenberg said. "So it's not surprising if he's getting checks from John Boehner and Roy Blunt and Eric Cantor or whomever. He's going to be one of the guys where senior Republicans, House Republicans who want to hold control of the body and want to hold their chairmanships.he's one of the first places they're going to look."
As of Dec. 31, 2005, Simmons received $179,436 from so-called leadership political action committees, including $46,000 from current and former House leaders, according to PoliticalMoneyLine, a nonpartisan organization that analyzes federal election campaign data. He is a recipient of money from Retain Our Majority Program, which was started by Tom DeLay to help funnel money to candidates in extremely competitive districts. National Republican Congressional Committee spokesman Ed Patru said that Simmons has been a recipient of money from the program in all of his races.
Patru said that Simmons' campaign is one that will be closely watched by the Republicans but that Simmons is strong enough in the district to win.
"Rob Simmons biannually runs in a very, very competitive district," Patru said, commenting on why Simmons has continually received Republican funds. "This is on paper a Democrat district.. He runs very strong campaigns and part of running a strong campaign means being well-funded, having the resources to be able to respond to your opponent's attacks."
Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee spokesperson Jen Psaki said Simmons' image in the district will pose the largest problem.
"You have Washington, D.C., Rob Simmons versus Connecticut Rob Simmons, and they're two different guys," Psaki said, and his inconsistencies and what she described as his "flip-flops" will hurt him in the fall.
Pskai added that Joe Courtney has run a good campaign and that "he had a very strong fundraising quarter and year last year."
According to data obtained from PoliticalMoneyLine, Simmons received 16 percent of his campaign funds last year from political leadership PACs, an increase from his 12 percent share in the 2004 election cycle.
Courtney already has received support from Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee chairman Rahm Emanuel, D-Ill., who donated $5,000. Sen. Christopher Dodd, D-Conn., also donated $5,000, and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., donated $2,000 from her leadership PAC.
Simmons received 51 percent of his money last year from PACs. By contrast, Courtney received 75 percent of his donations from individual contributors. Courtney received only $36,000 from organized labor to Simmons' $74,000, but Rothenberg said that this is probably just early money and that these figures will balance later in the election cycle.
Simmons finished the year with $803,370 cash on hand and Courtney had $450,893 cash on hand, according to the filings with the Federal Election Commission.
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