Category: Cristian Hernandez
As Frank’s Campaign Contributions Increase, Profile of Top Donors Changes
FEC FRANK
The New Bedford Standard-Times
By Cristian Hernandez
Boston University Washington News Service
02/19/09
WASHINGTON – Rep. Barney Frank, who has represented the 4th District since 1981, went from raising less then half a million dollars in each of the six election cycles before 2004 to raising more than $2 million in 2008, according to data compiled by the Center for Responsive Politics.
And the profile of Frank’s top donors has changed since he became the senior Democrat on the House Financial Services Committee, with the bulk of his donations coming from the financial service sector.
In 2003 Frank became the senior Democrat and became chairman when the Democrats won back the House in 2006. In 2008, according to the Center for Responsive Politics, a Washington-based group that tracks money in politics, the top industry to donate to Frank was the securities and investment sector, with $224,000; that was the most that industry donated to the congressman since he was elected. The industry that came in second was real estate, which donated $219,851.
The congressman said the influx of campaign contributions from the financial services and housing sectors did not come as a surprise and it was because “of the fact that I became the chairman of the committee, people felt it nice to curry favor with me.”
Frank said he raised more money because once he became a key Democratic leader the Democratic Party wanted him to contribute large sums of money to other Democratic House candidates.
“I was expected by the Democratic Party to contribute more,” Frank said.
Frank said he began to raise money in 2004 because he was interested in running for a seat in the Senate. The 2004 election was the first time he hired a campaign fundraiser when it looked like Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass, could become president. Frank said the Senate seat no longer appeals to him and he has zero interest in pursuing it in the future.
“Once I became chairman I dropped the idea of going to the Senate. I have a chance to influence and shape policy here,” Frank said. “It would be a big ego trip to give up my position now to go to the Senate.”
In 2004 Frank raised $1.3 million, breaking the million-dollar mark for the first time. Frank, who has had little opposition, had raised less then half a million in most races since first being elected in 1980, according to the Center for Responsive Politics’ Web site,opensecrets.org. In 2002 he raised $432,544.
Since becoming chairman of the Financial Services Committee Frank’s top donors all come from the financial sector, according to the Web site. The company whose employees donated the most in 2008 was the private bank and financial consulting firm Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. The company’s employees gave $36,200 to Frank’s campaign. In the two previous elections before he became chairman his top contributors came from labor unions.
A spokesman for Brown Brothers Harriman. said in a statement that the company does not have an organized political action committee and that the donations came from individual employees, but he said the company sponsored a fund-raiser for Frank during the campaign.
“Where the money is coming from makes sense,” said Doug Roscoe, associate professor of political science at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth. “Committees is where the work actually happens in Congress. It’s natural for companies in the financial sector to spend money. They want to have access.”
Roscoe said that because the amount a political interest group can donate to a candidate is capped by federal regulation at $10,000 per election cycle, the possibility for corruption is reduced. But large donations will get access to politicians, Roscoe said.
Frank said that campaign donations have nothing to do with how he makes decisions in the committee. “I give access to whoever has business with the committee regardless of how much they donate,” he said. “If they don’t have any business with the committee then I probably won’t get to see them.”
Craig Holman, the Capitol Hill lobbyist for the nonprofit consumer advocacy organization Public Citizen, said that it is not uncommon for committee chairmen to see an increase in donations.
“Whoever is appointed chairman of a committee rakes in campaign cash galore–the Financial Services Committee in far greater number then other committees because they have money,” Holman said. “Executives know full well the importance that money carries in influencing decisions in Congress.
Some associations in the housing and financial services sectors have always supported Frank but stepped up their donations after 2006. The National Association of Realtors Political Action Committee went from donating $1,000 to $5,000 to the maximum contribution of $10,000 in 2008.
“We have always supported him because he is a very good public servant who understands the private sector. We want to work with public officials who understand the issues,” said Scott Reiter, managing director of the Realtors’ political action committee.
Reiter said Realtors understand Frank is in a position to influence policy. He said the association supported the recently enacted economic stimulus package and the banking rescue legislation that Frank closely engineered.
“The financial services sector is throwing a lot of money at Barney in particular,” Holman said. “They seem to think that they can buy a seat at the table as these bailout policies are taking shape.
####
Ted Danson: ‘Offshore Drilling is a Bad Idea’
Drilling
The New Bedford Standard-Times
Cristian Hernandez
Boston University Washington News Service
02/11/09
WASHINGTON—Environmental advocates urged lawmakers Wednesday to reinstate the national ban on offshore drilling that Congress had lifted only last fall.
Members of the House Natural Resources Committee were told offshore drilling would cause irreparable damage to oceanic ecosystems and strike an economic blow to the country’s fishing industry.
“Offshore drilling is a bad idea, a horrible idea,” testified actor Ted Danson, a board member of Oceana, an ocean conservancy organization.
Rep. Nick Rahall, D-W.Va, the committee chairman, suggested that the drilling ban, which was lifted in the fall after 25 years, would be difficult to reinstate. “That ship may have already sailed,” he said.
The local fishing industry would face challenges if offshore oil exploration were to take place off the coast of New England. “The main issue with offshore drilling is that it puts objects in the water that get in the way of fishing gear,” said Brian Rothschild, co-director of the Massachusetts Marine Fisheries Institute.
Environmentalists told lawmakers that offshore drilling would mean “flirting with disaster” because of the potential for oil spills. They also cautioned lawmakers on the danger of changes to marine life ecosystems.
Rothschild said drilling for oil would inevitably change the ecology of the Atlantic Coast through an increase in carbon dioxide emissions that would add to the acidic content of ocean waters.
So, for example, high acid levels could impair the ability of shellfish to grow shells, Rothschild said.
“We would be destroying the bottom of the ocean while fishing the top,” Danson said.
Massachusetts lawmakers, including Rep, Barney Frank, D-4th, have voiced strong opposition to offshore drilling, and last week Rep. Ed Markey, D-7th, introduced legislation that would protect Georges Bank, the enormous Atlantic fishing ground, from oil drilling exploration.
Markey said Georges Bank was a key economic engine for Massachusetts and the region. New Bedford is the most productive fishing port in the country, bringing in a $268 million catch in 2007. The collective catch of New Bedford, Gloucester and Provincetown-Chatham is worth around $350 million annually, Markey said.
The committee hearing came a day after Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said that he was putting on hold offshore drilling plans the Bush Administration had drafted and that he wanted a review of offshore oil and natural gas development before making any decisions on what path to take.
Advocates of offshore drilling say it would create jobs and lessen America’s dependence on foreign oil. Rep. Louie Gohmert, R-Texas, a member of the committee, called for allowing offshore drilling while looking for alternative, renewable sources of energy.
Philippe Cousteau, a board member of Ocean Conservancy, which calls itself an “advocate for the oceans,” said that if new drilling was to be done it had to be guided by science but that investment in renewable resources would yield longer-term benefits.
“Oil is not the future, renewable energy is the future,” Cousteau said.
###
Stimulus Bill Would Aid Local School Budgets
Education
The New Bedford Standard-Times
Cristian Hernandez
Boston University Washington News Service
02/05/09
WASHINGTON— President Barack Obama’s stimulus package could give more then $100 billion in education aid to the country’s 15,000 school districts over the next two years, including $19.2 million for New Bedford Public Schools by the end of 2010, according to estimates made public by the House Appropriations Committee.
The massive $825 billion stimulus bill passed the House last week and is being considered in the Senate this week.
New Bedford Public Schools Superintendent Portia Bonner said the stimulus money would keep teachers on the job, help maintain small class sizes and avoid elimination of special reading, music and arts programs.
“The help will be more then welcomed,” Bonner said.
Most Massachusetts school districts have been dealing with shrinking funds triggered by the economic fallout and were hit hard after Gov. Deval Patrick slashed the state budget.
“We believe that the stimulus package can have a significant dent in the impact of the recession and be well used to fill the gap in stalled construction projects,” said Glenn Koocher, executive director of the Massachusetts Association of School Committees.
Although optimism surrounding the much-needed federal aid is high, some school officials are wary.
“When you look in the dictionary under the word uncertainty what you are going to see is this proposal,” said Dartmouth Public Schools Superintendent Stephen Russell. “We appreciate the effort, but it’s much too early to pin our hopes on it.”
Under the estimated district–by-district allocations, Dartmouth schools could potentially receive $2.2 million in federal funds over two years. Like most schools in the commonwealth, Dartmouth schools are operating at the minimum required spending level as mandated by the state. Russell said that funding was extremely limited and that Dartmouth schools have already started to cut staff and charge students fees for sports, music programs and clubs.
Other public school communities that would benefit from the stimulus cash include Fall River, with an estimated two-year boost of $16.4 million; Wareham, with $2.2 million; and Freetown-Lakeview, with $839,200.
The rough estimates on individual district allocations come from the Congressional Research Service and are based on enrollment numbers and existing federal education grant standards, according to a spokeswoman for the House Education and Labor Committee.
Wareham Public Schools Superintendent Barry Rabinovitch said his district has been slashing costs for the last five years.
“Budget cuts have affected instructional materials the most. As well as not being able to hire new staff, that’s where I will be looking at using the money,” Rabinovitch said.
The aid would come in three categories and be distributed to school districts over two years. There would be an increase for Title I grants, which go to school districts to assist low-achieving students in high-poverty schools. There would be money for construction projects and modernization of infrastructure. And there would be increased funds under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, which provides federal aid to programs for children with special needs.
Students in higher education also would receive a boost; the legislation would increase the maximum Pell grant by at least $400 a year as well as increase the limits on federally subsidized loans.
“I know in these tough economic times the priorities in which we place our money are very important,” Bonner said. She said she hopes the money will come because investing in strong schools should be a priority.
School officials said they are hopeful but have to look at the future while concentrating on what’s directly ahead. Rabinovitch said that if they do get the money it is guaranteed for only two years. “You have to look at using it so that it saves you money down the road,” he said.
Russell said that he is treating the proposals as preliminary and well intentioned but that his first priority is with challenges directly ahead. “If I have to worry about the lights turning off I’m not worried about redesigning the lighting systems,” he said.
###
Stimulus Bill Includes Money to Help Computerize Health Records
Healthrecords
The New Bedford Standard-Times
Cristian Hernandez
Boston University Washington New Service
01/29/09
WASHINGTON – Nestled inside Barack Obama’s $819 billion economic recovery package are provisions that challenge the country’s hospitals and doctors to adopt electronic medical records. The stimulus package, which the House passed on Wednesday, provides $20 billion to spur the complete digitization of health records by 2014.
Christopher Baldwin, Southcoast Health System’s vice president of information services, applauds the president’s efforts. Southcoast hospitals are already on their way to being paperless with a $20 million health information technology investment approved in 2005, Baldwin said.
“We expect the conversion to take an additional five years, and the support of the Obama administration will assist us in moving this process along faster,” he said.
Baldwin said Southcoast is facing shrinking funds because of changes in the national economy and prospective cutbacks in reimbursements from MassHealth. “The support of the Obama administration will assist us in moving further and faster through this transitional process,” he said.
Lawmakers are unsure about how to go about implementing a national electronic records initiative. At a hearing Tuesday of the Senate Judiciary Committee, the members talked about creation of a federal body that would create regulations and standards to guide the process. The $20 billion would be distributed to doctors and hospitals in the form of grants and tax breaks.
Jane Horowitz, the chief operating officer for the National Alliance for Health Information Technology, said that hospitals all over the country are grappling with the nation’s financial crisis and are delaying information technology projects.
Supporters of the health technology provisions say the national system of electronic records will allow for better health care and be more cost-effective. Research points in that direction; according to a study last November by the Archives of Internal Medicine, Massachusetts doctors who have electronic records systems pay fewer malpractice claims then those who don’t.
But public doubts about privacy and safety threaten to hinder the move to digitized records. During the Judiciary Committee hearing, lawmakers were told that without the public’s trust the initiative would fail.
“The ability to easily access this information electronically can be very useful in providing more cost-effective health care,” Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., chairman of the committee, said during the hearing. “But the use of advancing technologies to access and share health information can also lead to a loss of personal privacy.”.
The public is fearful that personal health records will be easily accessible to employers, sold or made available to health insurers, according to privacy advocates.
Ashley Katz, executive director of Patient Privacy Rights, a non-profit working to secure patient privacy, said in a telephone interview that provisions in the House and Senate bills that ban the sale of personal information are a good first step toward ensuring security.
“Privacy is the key to getting health IT going,” Katz said. “If you don’t do it right we are never going to get there.”
Baldwin said Southcoast will double its efforts to ensure privacy within its system, calling it a high-priority issue as the hospital system moves to a 100 percent paperless system.
The provisions have received broad support from members of Congress, including Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., who has been a longtime supporter of electronic medical records. In a written statement, Kennedy said that tens of thousands of Americans die every year because of preventable medical errors. Electronic records allow patients to carry their health records from doctor to doctor, giving new doctors a complete picture of the patients’ medical history.
“Information technology can reduce errors significantly, yet the gap is widening each year in implementing it,” Kennedy said. “It now costs a physician’s office $40,000 to install a new IT system. Increasingly, our public hospitals and community health centers remain in the dark ages.”
####
Former New Bedford School Principals Await Inauguration
Photo by Caroline Bridges
RIVET
The New Bedford Standard-Times
Cristian Hernandez
Boston University Washington New Service
01/16/09
WASHINGTON – Roberta Rivet spent 15 years serving as the E.C. Brooks Elementary School principal. Her husband, Leonard Rivet was principal of Roosevelt Middle School. They spent their careers telling students of all backgrounds that they could be and do anything they wanted when they grew up and now they see that dream becoming a reality with the presidential inauguration of Barack Obama.
After retiring the Rivets moved from New Bedford to the Washington area in 2001. Mr. Rivet, who retired in 2005 from the Navy Reserve after 38 years, now works for the Defense Intelligence Agency.
“Every now and then we look at each other and think who would have thought we would end up here,” said Mrs. Rivet. They still own a home in Dartmouth and are registered Massachusetts voters. Mrs. Rivet flies back every month to visit her mother and the couple returns to the area for summer vacations.
The couple shies away from politics and said that the inauguration of Barack Obama transcends politics. They said they have never been loyal to any political party nor do they always agree. In November Mr. Rivet said he voted for Barack Obama and Mrs. Rivet said she voted for John McCain.
Nonetheless, Mrs. Rivet is looking forward to the new administration, “We wish him the very best,” she said. “He’s there for all of us – those who voted for him and those who didn’t.”
She considers the events on Tuesday historical and emotional. “When you work with kids you don’t see black and white. They are just kids,” said Mrs. Rivet.
Choking back tears, she recalled her experiences as a college student during the civil rights movement. A moment in history she said she will never forget was when civil rights leader Medgar Evers was shot in the back of the head in the driveway of his home in Mississippi in 1963.
“I often think to myself, look how far we’ve come,” said Mrs. Rivet.
In his work, Mr. Rivet said he trains hundreds of civilian employees who are coming to work for the Department of Defense.
He said that the new federal workforce he is training is young and understands the politics of Barack Obama.
“Things have really changed. There’s a difference in the way people relate to each other in the federal government,” Mr. Rivet said. “Politics have nothing to do with the way things have changed but the fact that the country has chosen an African American president has changed things already. People are more willing to work with other groups.”
Even though the Rivets are excited about Obama’s inauguration, they plan to watch the ceremony on television in the comfort of their apartment in Arlington, Va., which has a view of the Capitol.
####
