Minuteman billboards take aim at Senator John "crash" McCain, colleagues
The Minuteman Project leaders aim to make U.S. Sen. John McCain the first target in a nationwide billboard campaign about immigration reform.
The billboards are intended as personal messages for illegal immigration pandering politicians, said Minuteman Project founder Jim Gilchrist.
Chief among those politicians is McCain, R-Ariz., cosponsor of the Senate’s immigration reform bill.
The billboards depict three military helmets atop machine guns, which is a sign of fallen soldiers, and the message:
No Senator They did not die for . . . AMNESTY!The first billboard is slated to appear near Chase Field in downtown Phoenix as soon as July 2, Gilchrist said. About 10 more billboards will follow statewide, though the exact number and locations have yet to be determined.
McCain was an easy selection because he is the source of the problem, Gilchrist said.
McCain is complacent in this Trojan Horse invasion of the country and is completely unwilling to do anything about it,
he said.
The senator did not respond to requests for comment about the planned billboards.
McCain’s immigration proposal would increase border security, create a temporary worker program for foreign workers and provide a path to citizenship for millions of illegal immigrants already living in the United States.
see more at...........
http://www.eastvalleytribune.com/index.php?sty=68680&source=rss&dest=STY-68680
Friday, June 30, 2006
Tuesday, June 27, 2006
Senator John Mccain denounces Goldwater
Senator John Mccain denounces Goldwater
McCain blasts fellow Republican
Arizona Sen. John McCain has come out against the
Republican gubernatorial candidacy of Don Goldwater.
Goldwater -- nephew of late, former U.S. Sen. Barry
Goldwater -- favors a hard-line approach to illegal
immigration and border security. That includes
construction of a border wall and putting some
illegal immigrants who are arrested for crimes into
work details to help build fences and walls.
McCain issued a statement Friday denouncing
Goldwater's call for a border wall and work camps
and urged fellow Republicans to take a similar stance.
The senator called Goldwater an "inappropriate messenger"
for the GOP on the issue -- a major concern for Arizona's
business community.
McCain -- who is eyeing a 2008 White House run --
favors a more moderate immigration approach
including a business-backed guest worker program
and legal path for some illegals already in the U.S.
The Goldwater campaign said Friday it was
disappointed that McCain did not contact
them before issuing the official denouncement.
McCain could endorse conservative attorney Len
Munsil in the September Republican primary for
governor. Munsil is the former head of the Center
for Arizona Policy, a socially conservative advocacy
group and the main supporter of a proposed state
ballot question banning gay marriage.
http://www.bizjournals.com/phoenix/stories/2006/06/26/daily6.html?from_rss=1
www.mccainalert.com
McCain blasts fellow Republican
Arizona Sen. John McCain has come out against the
Republican gubernatorial candidacy of Don Goldwater.
Goldwater -- nephew of late, former U.S. Sen. Barry
Goldwater -- favors a hard-line approach to illegal
immigration and border security. That includes
construction of a border wall and putting some
illegal immigrants who are arrested for crimes into
work details to help build fences and walls.
McCain issued a statement Friday denouncing
Goldwater's call for a border wall and work camps
and urged fellow Republicans to take a similar stance.
The senator called Goldwater an "inappropriate messenger"
for the GOP on the issue -- a major concern for Arizona's
business community.
McCain -- who is eyeing a 2008 White House run --
favors a more moderate immigration approach
including a business-backed guest worker program
and legal path for some illegals already in the U.S.
The Goldwater campaign said Friday it was
disappointed that McCain did not contact
them before issuing the official denouncement.
McCain could endorse conservative attorney Len
Munsil in the September Republican primary for
governor. Munsil is the former head of the Center
for Arizona Policy, a socially conservative advocacy
group and the main supporter of a proposed state
ballot question banning gay marriage.
http://www.bizjournals.com/phoenix/stories/2006/06/26/daily6.html?from_rss=1
www.mccainalert.com
Congressman Rick Renzi.
Dear Friend:
You have been such a tremendous supporter of mine through the years. I cannot thank you enough for the financial backing and strong words of support you have offered time and time again.
Now, I am turning to you to ask that you support a great member of the Arizona delegation and my friend, Congressman Rick Renzi.
Rick Renzi has proven himself to be a dedicated, thoughtful and effective Member of Congress for our great state. Rick is a workhorse for his district, our state and our country. He represents a majority-Democrat district and must continually out work his opponents as he has done by waging tough campaigns for the last four years.
This year, he faces yet another difficult race.
Already his liberal opponents have started advertising on television against him and the Washington liberals have recruited a multi-millionaire from Ohio to challenge him in November.
Rick's opponent, Ellen Simon, is the former president of the ACLU and has pledged to spend millions of her own dollars to defeat Rick. We simply cannot let this happen!
Rick has worked too hard and has done too much for Arizona for us to simply stand by and watch. That's why I am asking you today to make a much needed contribution to Congressman Renzi's re-election campaign. You can do so now by
Whether it's the work Rick has done on the Intelligence Committee to combat terrorism; supporting tax cuts for working families; his work to develop alternative energy sources; or his efforts in securing high-tech jobs for Arizona, Rick Renzi deserves our support.
So, will you please join me in supporting Rick Renzi for Congress? Your contribution today of $2,100, $1,000, $500, $250, $100 or whatever you can afford goes a long way towards victory in November.
You can mail a check to Rick Renzi for Congress, PO Box 5066, Scottsdale, AZ 85261 or make a secure online donation right now by clicking here.
I thank you in advance for your support and we hope to hear from you soon.
Sincerely,
John McCain U.S. Senator
P.S. Please act today! The June 30th deadline is fast-approaching and Rick needs to have the largest warchest on hand as possible in order to show the Washington establishment and his opponents that Rick is serious about this race and has a wide base of support. Thanks again!
see more www.mccainalert.com
You have been such a tremendous supporter of mine through the years. I cannot thank you enough for the financial backing and strong words of support you have offered time and time again.
Now, I am turning to you to ask that you support a great member of the Arizona delegation and my friend, Congressman Rick Renzi.
Rick Renzi has proven himself to be a dedicated, thoughtful and effective Member of Congress for our great state. Rick is a workhorse for his district, our state and our country. He represents a majority-Democrat district and must continually out work his opponents as he has done by waging tough campaigns for the last four years.
This year, he faces yet another difficult race.
Already his liberal opponents have started advertising on television against him and the Washington liberals have recruited a multi-millionaire from Ohio to challenge him in November.
Rick's opponent, Ellen Simon, is the former president of the ACLU and has pledged to spend millions of her own dollars to defeat Rick. We simply cannot let this happen!
Rick has worked too hard and has done too much for Arizona for us to simply stand by and watch. That's why I am asking you today to make a much needed contribution to Congressman Renzi's re-election campaign. You can do so now by
Whether it's the work Rick has done on the Intelligence Committee to combat terrorism; supporting tax cuts for working families; his work to develop alternative energy sources; or his efforts in securing high-tech jobs for Arizona, Rick Renzi deserves our support.
So, will you please join me in supporting Rick Renzi for Congress? Your contribution today of $2,100, $1,000, $500, $250, $100 or whatever you can afford goes a long way towards victory in November.
You can mail a check to Rick Renzi for Congress, PO Box 5066, Scottsdale, AZ 85261 or make a secure online donation right now by clicking here.
I thank you in advance for your support and we hope to hear from you soon.
Sincerely,
John McCain U.S. Senator
P.S. Please act today! The June 30th deadline is fast-approaching and Rick needs to have the largest warchest on hand as possible in order to show the Washington establishment and his opponents that Rick is serious about this race and has a wide base of support. Thanks again!
see more www.mccainalert.com
Monday, June 26, 2006
Shielding our Independence By U.S. Senator Jon Kyl
Shielding our Independence By U.S. Senator Jon Kyl
As the nation observes Independence Day this year, we should be humbled by what it has taken to preserve America’s independence. We should be equally cognizant of the forces that could attack us today, and do what is required to continue protecting the American people.
The world has closely watched to see whether North Korea will conduct a long-range missile test. At this writing, reports indicate that North Korea is poised to launch an inter-continental ballistic missile (ICBM), that is capable of striking Alaska, Hawaii, and possibly the continental United States as far as Phoenix.
The North Korean regime has been implacably hostile to the United States, a point it makes frequently through its government-run media. Moreover, the insulated regime in Pyongyang has shown the propensity to act irrationally and with complete disregard for the welfare of its own subjugated people. If any country in the world is likely not to budge in the face of international pressure, North Korea is it.
This is not our first standoff with North Korea; unfortunately, it is unlikely to be our last. North Korea, like its ally, Iran, already has the capability of attacking its neighbors. That alone could require the U.S. to take action. This is especially troublesome because North Korea is believed to have a small stockpile of nuclear weapons, and may be producing as many as six additional devices every year.
North Korean success in missile development may exacerbate threats elsewhere. Iran’s missile technology is based on North Korean designs, and there is little reason to believe that further technology transfer between the two rogue nations won’t occur. Reports indicate that Iran, even without North Korean help, could test flight an ICBM capable of reaching our allies, and possibly the United States, by 2015.
These disturbing facts all highlight the need for a national missile defense system. I have been a vocal advocate of missile defense since I was elected to the House of Representatives and, in recent years, have been encouraged by the progress made by the Missile Defense Agency. Although the system is far from perfect, our ability to defend this country from a missile attack is growing every day. Without development of this technology, we wouldn’t have even a limited defense against the sort of unprovoked attack that North Korea might try to launch.
It is critical that the United States continue to proceed rapidly with the development and deployment of this layered, integrated national missile-defense system. When we face potentially volatile regimes like the one in Pyongyang, only missile defenses can ensure the protection of this nation and our citizens. Even Democratic opponents of missile defense have come to acknowledge this threat, as they have - for the first time in years - supporting amendments to increase missile-defense funding during debate over defense legislation in June.
In light of recent events, I find the words of Peter Flory, Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Policy, particularly fitting: “The U.S. government was criticized in the wake of 9/11 for not ‘connecting the dots’ on the terrorist threat and failing to act to prevent the attacks. With respect to the ballistic missile threat, the dots are out there for all to see.” We must connect the dots here in the Senate, and make sure that we dedicate the funds necessary to protect us from our lethally armed adversaries in places like North Korea and Iran. To do otherwise would be a dereliction of our duty.
Sen. Kyl serves on the Senate Finance and Judiciary committees and chairs the Senate Republican Policy Committee.
As the nation observes Independence Day this year, we should be humbled by what it has taken to preserve America’s independence. We should be equally cognizant of the forces that could attack us today, and do what is required to continue protecting the American people.
The world has closely watched to see whether North Korea will conduct a long-range missile test. At this writing, reports indicate that North Korea is poised to launch an inter-continental ballistic missile (ICBM), that is capable of striking Alaska, Hawaii, and possibly the continental United States as far as Phoenix.
The North Korean regime has been implacably hostile to the United States, a point it makes frequently through its government-run media. Moreover, the insulated regime in Pyongyang has shown the propensity to act irrationally and with complete disregard for the welfare of its own subjugated people. If any country in the world is likely not to budge in the face of international pressure, North Korea is it.
This is not our first standoff with North Korea; unfortunately, it is unlikely to be our last. North Korea, like its ally, Iran, already has the capability of attacking its neighbors. That alone could require the U.S. to take action. This is especially troublesome because North Korea is believed to have a small stockpile of nuclear weapons, and may be producing as many as six additional devices every year.
North Korean success in missile development may exacerbate threats elsewhere. Iran’s missile technology is based on North Korean designs, and there is little reason to believe that further technology transfer between the two rogue nations won’t occur. Reports indicate that Iran, even without North Korean help, could test flight an ICBM capable of reaching our allies, and possibly the United States, by 2015.
These disturbing facts all highlight the need for a national missile defense system. I have been a vocal advocate of missile defense since I was elected to the House of Representatives and, in recent years, have been encouraged by the progress made by the Missile Defense Agency. Although the system is far from perfect, our ability to defend this country from a missile attack is growing every day. Without development of this technology, we wouldn’t have even a limited defense against the sort of unprovoked attack that North Korea might try to launch.
It is critical that the United States continue to proceed rapidly with the development and deployment of this layered, integrated national missile-defense system. When we face potentially volatile regimes like the one in Pyongyang, only missile defenses can ensure the protection of this nation and our citizens. Even Democratic opponents of missile defense have come to acknowledge this threat, as they have - for the first time in years - supporting amendments to increase missile-defense funding during debate over defense legislation in June.
In light of recent events, I find the words of Peter Flory, Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Policy, particularly fitting: “The U.S. government was criticized in the wake of 9/11 for not ‘connecting the dots’ on the terrorist threat and failing to act to prevent the attacks. With respect to the ballistic missile threat, the dots are out there for all to see.” We must connect the dots here in the Senate, and make sure that we dedicate the funds necessary to protect us from our lethally armed adversaries in places like North Korea and Iran. To do otherwise would be a dereliction of our duty.
Sen. Kyl serves on the Senate Finance and Judiciary committees and chairs the Senate Republican Policy Committee.
Sunday, June 25, 2006
Sen. McCain Raises Money for Mississippi GOP
Senator John McCain Raises Money for Mississippi GOP
Arizona Senator John McCain spoke to a crowd of hundreds
Monday night in Jackson. He was the featured guest at a
private fundraising event for the Mississippi Republican
party.
John McCain was last in Mississippi with Senator Trent Lott,
as he toured the hurricane ravaged Gulf Coast after Katrina,
then fought to get federal recovery money. "He made a huge
difference when the Senate was considering legislation to
help us. He made a huge difference," said Governor
Haley Barbour.
McCain returns again with Trent Lott, this time to
raise money for the Mississippi GOP. The two Senators
will also stand together this week, as the Senate
begins debating a scheduled pullout of troops in Iraq.
"All of us want our troops out of Iraq, but we don't want
them out before the situation warrants it," said McCain.
He says more work needs to be done before US troops can
withdrawal, but points to the capture and death of
Al-Zarqawi as a major step forward. "His successor,
I'm sure, will try to do bad things to America,"
McCain said. "But the fact that this guy is gone is very
important."
McCain hasn't decided for sure if he'll make run
for president in 2008. He says he'll turn to
Trent Lott and Governor Haley Barbour for advice.
"I thought I'd consult with them sometime early
next year to make a decision on that," McCain said.
see more at........
http://www.wlbt.com/Global/story.asp?S=5052075&nav=menu119_2
more on mccain
Arizona Senator John McCain spoke to a crowd of hundreds
Monday night in Jackson. He was the featured guest at a
private fundraising event for the Mississippi Republican
party.
John McCain was last in Mississippi with Senator Trent Lott,
as he toured the hurricane ravaged Gulf Coast after Katrina,
then fought to get federal recovery money. "He made a huge
difference when the Senate was considering legislation to
help us. He made a huge difference," said Governor
Haley Barbour.
McCain returns again with Trent Lott, this time to
raise money for the Mississippi GOP. The two Senators
will also stand together this week, as the Senate
begins debating a scheduled pullout of troops in Iraq.
"All of us want our troops out of Iraq, but we don't want
them out before the situation warrants it," said McCain.
He says more work needs to be done before US troops can
withdrawal, but points to the capture and death of
Al-Zarqawi as a major step forward. "His successor,
I'm sure, will try to do bad things to America,"
McCain said. "But the fact that this guy is gone is very
important."
McCain hasn't decided for sure if he'll make run
for president in 2008. He says he'll turn to
Trent Lott and Governor Haley Barbour for advice.
"I thought I'd consult with them sometime early
next year to make a decision on that," McCain said.
see more at........
http://www.wlbt.com/Global/story.asp?S=5052075&nav=menu119_2
more on mccain
Friday, June 23, 2006
Norman Mineta to quit as Transportation Secretary
Mineta to quit as Transportation Secretary
WASHINGTON - Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta,
the only Democrat in President Bush's Cabinet and
one of its three remaining original members, will step down July 7.
Mineta, who oversaw the huge transportation security buildup after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, had been plagued at times by back problems and spent months working from home and the hospital. But he has since recovered.
He is "moving on to pursue other challenges," his spokesman, Robert Johnson, said Friday.
White House press secretary Tony Snow announced the resignation. Asked why Mineta, 74, decided to leave, Snow said: "Because he wanted to."
"He was not being pushed out," Snow said. "As a matter of fact, the president and the vice president and others were happy with him. He put in five and half years that's enough time."
Snow credited Mineta with establishing the Transportation Security Administration, cutting regulations and red tape to liberalize the commercial aviation market, helping shape the legislation that finances the nation's highways, and injecting "sound economic principles" into the nation's passenger rail system.
Snow also paid tribute to Mineta's long history in public life: his service in the Army, his elections to local positions in California, his 20 years representing California in the U.S. House, and his tours in two Cabinet positions, the first as commerce secretary under former President Clinton.
Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta
see more at........
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060623/ap_on_go_ca_st_pe/mineta_resigns_7
Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta
www.mccainalert.com
WASHINGTON - Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta,
the only Democrat in President Bush's Cabinet and
one of its three remaining original members, will step down July 7.
Mineta, who oversaw the huge transportation security buildup after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, had been plagued at times by back problems and spent months working from home and the hospital. But he has since recovered.
He is "moving on to pursue other challenges," his spokesman, Robert Johnson, said Friday.
White House press secretary Tony Snow announced the resignation. Asked why Mineta, 74, decided to leave, Snow said: "Because he wanted to."
"He was not being pushed out," Snow said. "As a matter of fact, the president and the vice president and others were happy with him. He put in five and half years that's enough time."
Snow credited Mineta with establishing the Transportation Security Administration, cutting regulations and red tape to liberalize the commercial aviation market, helping shape the legislation that finances the nation's highways, and injecting "sound economic principles" into the nation's passenger rail system.
Snow also paid tribute to Mineta's long history in public life: his service in the Army, his elections to local positions in California, his 20 years representing California in the U.S. House, and his tours in two Cabinet positions, the first as commerce secretary under former President Clinton.
Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta
see more at........
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060623/ap_on_go_ca_st_pe/mineta_resigns_7
Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta
www.mccainalert.com
McCain: Go nuclear, 'We've got to get over it,'
McCain: Go nuclear, 'We've got to get over it,'
The United States needs to overcome its fear of nuclear power and embrace the technology as a way to wean itself from fossil fuels, Sen. John McCain told an audience in Manchester this week.
Nuclear power "is safe. The technology is here," McCain said, speaking to a crowd of about 200 at a breakfast hosted Monday by The New Hampshire Federation of Republican Women. "It's a NIMBY (not in my backyard) problem, and a waste-disposal problem. It is not a technological problem."
seee more at........
http://www.cmonitor.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060527/REPOSITORY/305270001/1217/NEWS98
www.mccainalert.com
The United States needs to overcome its fear of nuclear power and embrace the technology as a way to wean itself from fossil fuels, Sen. John McCain told an audience in Manchester this week.
Nuclear power "is safe. The technology is here," McCain said, speaking to a crowd of about 200 at a breakfast hosted Monday by The New Hampshire Federation of Republican Women. "It's a NIMBY (not in my backyard) problem, and a waste-disposal problem. It is not a technological problem."
seee more at........
http://www.cmonitor.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060527/REPOSITORY/305270001/1217/NEWS98
www.mccainalert.com
Wednesday, June 21, 2006
For November: The 62 Senators who voted FOR Senate amnesty bill (S.2611):
SENATORS WHO VOTED Y ON AMNESTY BILL
The 62 Senators who voted FOR Senate amnesty bill (S.2611):
Akaka (D-HI)
Baucus (D-MT)
Bayh (D-IN)
Bennett (R-UT)
Biden (D-DE)
Bingaman (D-NM)
Boxer (D-CA)
Brownback (R-KS)
Cantwell (D-WA)
Carper (D-DE)
Chafee (R-RI)
Clinton (D-NY)
Coleman (R-MN)
Collins (R-ME)
Conrad (D-ND)
Craig (R-ID)
Dayton (D-MN)
DeWine (R-OH)
Dodd (D-CT)
Domenici (R-NM)
Durbin (D-IL)
Feingold (D-WI)
Feinstein (D-CA)
Frist (R-TN)
Graham (R-SC)
Gregg (R-NH)
Hagel (R-NE)
Harkin (D-IA)
Inouye (D-HI)
Jeffords (I-VT)
Johnson (D-SD)
Kennedy (D-MA)
Kerry (D-MA)
Kohl (D-WI)
Landrieu (D-LA)
Lautenberg (D-NJ)
Leahy (D-VT)
Levin (D-MI)
Lieberman (D-CT)
Lincoln (D-AR)
Lugar (R-IN)
Martinez (R-FL)
McCain (R-AZ)
McConnell (R-KY)
Menendez (D-NJ)
Mikulski (D-MD)
Murkowski (R-AK)
Murray (D-WA)
Nelson (D-FL)
Obama (D-IL)
Pryor (D-AR)
Reed (D-RI)
Reid (D-NV)
Sarbanes (D-MD)
Schumer (D-NY)
Smith (R-OR)
Snowe (R-ME)
Specter (R-PA)
Stevens (R-AK)
Voinovich (R-OH)
Warner (R-VA)
Wyden (D-OR)
see more at CNN loudobbs.com
The 62 Senators who voted FOR Senate amnesty bill (S.2611):
Akaka (D-HI)
Baucus (D-MT)
Bayh (D-IN)
Bennett (R-UT)
Biden (D-DE)
Bingaman (D-NM)
Boxer (D-CA)
Brownback (R-KS)
Cantwell (D-WA)
Carper (D-DE)
Chafee (R-RI)
Clinton (D-NY)
Coleman (R-MN)
Collins (R-ME)
Conrad (D-ND)
Craig (R-ID)
Dayton (D-MN)
DeWine (R-OH)
Dodd (D-CT)
Domenici (R-NM)
Durbin (D-IL)
Feingold (D-WI)
Feinstein (D-CA)
Frist (R-TN)
Graham (R-SC)
Gregg (R-NH)
Hagel (R-NE)
Harkin (D-IA)
Inouye (D-HI)
Jeffords (I-VT)
Johnson (D-SD)
Kennedy (D-MA)
Kerry (D-MA)
Kohl (D-WI)
Landrieu (D-LA)
Lautenberg (D-NJ)
Leahy (D-VT)
Levin (D-MI)
Lieberman (D-CT)
Lincoln (D-AR)
Lugar (R-IN)
Martinez (R-FL)
McCain (R-AZ)
McConnell (R-KY)
Menendez (D-NJ)
Mikulski (D-MD)
Murkowski (R-AK)
Murray (D-WA)
Nelson (D-FL)
Obama (D-IL)
Pryor (D-AR)
Reed (D-RI)
Reid (D-NV)
Sarbanes (D-MD)
Schumer (D-NY)
Smith (R-OR)
Snowe (R-ME)
Specter (R-PA)
Stevens (R-AK)
Voinovich (R-OH)
Warner (R-VA)
Wyden (D-OR)
see more at CNN loudobbs.com
Divorces and affairs of Senator John "crash" Mccain
Divorces and affairs of Senator John "crash" Mccain
What we have to look forward to...........
Did Bill Clinton's indiscretions and the heavy media coverage of them create a new template for how we judge presidential candidates (and their wives)? Steve Benen of Washington Monthly says yes -- and predicts that Republicans, much more than Democrats, will suffer in 2008 as a result:
Lurking just over the horizon are liabilities for three Republicans who have topped several national,
independent polls for the GOP's favorite 2008 nominee: Sen. John McCain (affair, divorce), former House Speaker Newt Gingrich (affair, divorce, affair, divorce),
and former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani (divorce,
affair, nasty divorce). Together, they form the
most maritally challenged crop of presidential hopefuls in American political history.
Right now, at least 10 high-profile Republicans are
eyeing the race. If a candidate with an adulterous past
pulls ahead, the stragglers may be sorely tempted to
play the infidelity card--if not openly, then through
theirsurrogates. In 2000, George W. Bush's allies went well beyond raising McCain's affair--they spread bogus rumors
in advance of the South Carolina primary that the
senator had fathered an illegitimate black child. This strategy helped to deliver Bush a key primary victory and,
arguably, the nomination.
But if GOP operatives dangle the infidelity bait,
and the press fails to bite, its importance
see more at..........
http://weblog.signonsandiego.com/weblogs/afb/archives/003887.html
see more on crash mccain at www.mccainalert.com
more on Crash Mccain
What we have to look forward to...........
Did Bill Clinton's indiscretions and the heavy media coverage of them create a new template for how we judge presidential candidates (and their wives)? Steve Benen of Washington Monthly says yes -- and predicts that Republicans, much more than Democrats, will suffer in 2008 as a result:
Lurking just over the horizon are liabilities for three Republicans who have topped several national,
independent polls for the GOP's favorite 2008 nominee: Sen. John McCain (affair, divorce), former House Speaker Newt Gingrich (affair, divorce, affair, divorce),
and former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani (divorce,
affair, nasty divorce). Together, they form the
most maritally challenged crop of presidential hopefuls in American political history.
Right now, at least 10 high-profile Republicans are
eyeing the race. If a candidate with an adulterous past
pulls ahead, the stragglers may be sorely tempted to
play the infidelity card--if not openly, then through
theirsurrogates. In 2000, George W. Bush's allies went well beyond raising McCain's affair--they spread bogus rumors
in advance of the South Carolina primary that the
senator had fathered an illegitimate black child. This strategy helped to deliver Bush a key primary victory and,
arguably, the nomination.
But if GOP operatives dangle the infidelity bait,
and the press fails to bite, its importance
see more at..........
http://weblog.signonsandiego.com/weblogs/afb/archives/003887.html
see more on crash mccain at www.mccainalert.com
more on Crash Mccain
Democrats wavering on Hillary for president in 2008
Democrats wavering on Hillary for president in 2008
Democrats wavering on Hillary for president in 2008
WASHINGTON (AFP) - Some Democrats are having second
thoughts about Hillary Clinton as their 2008 presidential candidate, wracked by doubts about her cross-party appeal,
and disappointed by her position on US troops in Iraq.
Those reservations were given expression last week at
a forum in Washington of liberal Democrats, where the New York senator was roundly booed when she expressed her opposition to setting a date for withdrawing US troops from Iraq.
"I do not agree that that is in the best interest
of our troops or our country," she said in remarks that prompted a chorus of cat calls at the
"Take Back America" gathering of liberal Democratic activists.
"Her being booed last week had everything to do with Iraq," said political analyst Larry Sabato.
see more at...........
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20060621/pl_afp/usclintonpolitics
see more on Mccain at www.mccainalert.com
see more on Senator "crash" Mccain here
Democrats wavering on Hillary for president in 2008
WASHINGTON (AFP) - Some Democrats are having second
thoughts about Hillary Clinton as their 2008 presidential candidate, wracked by doubts about her cross-party appeal,
and disappointed by her position on US troops in Iraq.
Those reservations were given expression last week at
a forum in Washington of liberal Democrats, where the New York senator was roundly booed when she expressed her opposition to setting a date for withdrawing US troops from Iraq.
"I do not agree that that is in the best interest
of our troops or our country," she said in remarks that prompted a chorus of cat calls at the
"Take Back America" gathering of liberal Democratic activists.
"Her being booed last week had everything to do with Iraq," said political analyst Larry Sabato.
see more at...........
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20060621/pl_afp/usclintonpolitics
see more on Mccain at www.mccainalert.com
see more on Senator "crash" Mccain here
Tuesday, June 20, 2006
The following are locations and times of Senator McCain's book tour and media appearances. We will be adding more locations as they become available.
Wednesday, June 21, 2006
Event Reception Honoring Congressman Tom Davis
Time 7:30 p.m.
Location McLean, Virginia
Details For event information call Christy Snider 703-556-0120
Friday, June 23, 2006
Event Ronald Reagan Presidential Library Reagan Forum
Time 5:00 p.m.
Location Simi Valley, California
Details For ticket information, please call the Reagan Foundation at 805-522-2977.
Monday, June 26, 2006
Event Michigan State Republican Party Fundraiser Dinner
Time 6:00 p.m.
Location Meadow Brook Hall
Oakland University
Rochester, MI
Details For more info please call the MI GOP (517) 487-5413
Thursday, June 29, 2006
Event South Carolina State GOP Victory 2006
Time
Location Governor's Mansion Complex
The Lace House
800 Richland Street
Columbia, South Carolina
Details For more information please call 803-397-3734.
Wednesday, June 21, 2006
Event Reception Honoring Congressman Tom Davis
Time 7:30 p.m.
Location McLean, Virginia
Details For event information call Christy Snider 703-556-0120
Friday, June 23, 2006
Event Ronald Reagan Presidential Library Reagan Forum
Time 5:00 p.m.
Location Simi Valley, California
Details For ticket information, please call the Reagan Foundation at 805-522-2977.
Monday, June 26, 2006
Event Michigan State Republican Party Fundraiser Dinner
Time 6:00 p.m.
Location Meadow Brook Hall
Oakland University
Rochester, MI
Details For more info please call the MI GOP (517) 487-5413
Thursday, June 29, 2006
Event South Carolina State GOP Victory 2006
Time
Location Governor's Mansion Complex
The Lace House
800 Richland Street
Columbia, South Carolina
Details For more information please call 803-397-3734.
Monday, June 19, 2006
Enforcement First, The right way to reform immigration.
Enforcement First, The right way to reform immigration.
Prominent Conservatives and Civic Leaders Urge President Bush and Congress to Back Enforcement First on Immigration
Leading conservatives and civic leaders have signed an open letter on immigration declaring that border and interior enforcement must be funded, operational, implemented, and proven successful and only then can we debate the status of current illegal immigrants, or the need for new guest worker programs.
The signers include William Bennett, Robert Bork, William F Buckley, Ward Connerly, Newt Gingrich, David Horowitz, David Keene, John Leo, Herbert London, Rich Lowry, Daniel Pipes, Phyllis Schlafly, and Thomas Sowell among others.
Hudson Senior Fellow John Fonte, who organized the letter, said:
We want to commend the members of Congress who have supported enforcement first including 85% of all Congressional Republicans, 36 Democrats in the House and 4 in the Senate.
We particularly want to thank Senator Jeff Sessions (R-AL) and House chairmen Jim Sensenbrenner (R-WI) and Peter King (R-NY) for their leadership role in putting America’s national interests in border and interior enforcement first.
As a matter of organizational policy, Hudson Institute does not take stances on pending legislation.
First Things First on Immigration: An Open Letter to President Bush, Senate Majority Leader Frist, and Speaker of the House, Hastert
Recently, columnist Thomas Sowell wrote: It will take time to see how various new border control methods work out in practice and there is no reason to rush ahead to deal with people already illegally in this country before the facts are in on how well the borders have been secured.
We the undersigned agree with this statement. In 1986, Congress passed comprehensive immigration reform that included amnesty for around 3 million illegal immigrants, border enforcement, and interior enforcement (employer sanctions). Amnesty came, but enforcement was never seriously implemented either at the border or in the interior.
Let us not make this mistake again. We favor what Newt Gingrich has described as sequencing. First border and interior enforcement must be funded, operational, implemented, and proven successful and only then can we debate the status of current illegal immigrants, or the need for new guest worker programs. We are in the middle of a global war on terror. 2006 is not 1986. Today, we need proof that enforcement (both at the border and in the interior) is successful before anything else happens. As Ronald Reagan used to say trust, but verify.
The majority of Republicans in the Senate opposed the recently passed Hagel-Martinez bill. Senator Vitter (R-LA) said that because border enforcement will not be in place, this [bill] will in fact make the illegal immigration problem much bigger. The No. 3 Republican in the Senate, Senator Rick Santorum (PA) said, We need a border-security bill first. Senator Vitter, Senator Santorum, the majority of Senate Republicans, and the majority of House Republicans are right we need proven enforcement before we do anything else. Adopting cosmetic legislation to appear to be doing something about enforcement, but which actually makes the situation worse, is not statesmanship, it is demagogy.
We thank the majority of the Senate Republicans
(33 in all) and the seven Democrats who supported the
Isakson amendment, which insists upon verifiable benchmarks
for border security before considering other issues. Moreover, we say Thank You to Jim Sensenbrenner, Peter King,
and the bi-partisan House majority including 36 Democrats,
that passed HR 4437. We may quibble with a clause here and there, but you in the House and the majority of Senate Republicans are right to emphasize that the Congress
and the President must deal with enforcement first and
other issues later. Stand fast; the American people are overwhelmingly with you.
Signed,
William B. Allen, Professor of Political Science at Michigan State University
William J. Bennett, former Secretary of Education under President Reagan, former Director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy under former President George H.W. Bush
Thomas L. Bock, National Commander of the American Legion
Robert H. Bork, Senior Fellow at the Hudson Institute, former Solicitor General, acting Attorney General, Supreme Court nominee, U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Judge
William F. Buckley, Jr., founder and Editor-at-Large of National Review
Peter Collier, founding Publisher of Encounter Books,
cofounder of Center for the Study of Popular Culture
Ward Connerly, former Regent at the University of California, founder and Chairman of the American Civil Rights Institute (ACRI), winner of the 2005 Bradley Prize for Outstanding Intellectual Achievement
T. Kenneth Cribb, former domestic policy advisor for President Ronald Reagan
Glynn Custred, Professor of Anthropology at California State University, Hayward, and coauthor of the California Civil Rights Initiative, Proposition 209
John C. Eastman, Professor of Law at Chapman University School of Law, Director of the Center for Constitutional
Jurisprudence
John Fonte, Senior Fellow and Director of the Center of American Common Culture at the Hudson Institute
David Frum, former speechwriter for George W. Bush, Resident Fellow at American Enterprise Institute
Frank J. Gaffney, Jr., founder and President of the Center for Security Policy
Newt Gingrich, former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Chairman of the Gingrich Group, Senior Fellow at American Enterprise Institute
Jonah Goldberg, Editor-at-Large of the National Review Online, national syndicated columnist
Victor Davis Hanson, Martin and Illie Anderson Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution, recipient of the 1991 American Philological Association Excellence in Teaching Award
David Horowitz, cofounder of the Center for the Study of Popular Culture, Editor of FrontPageMag.com
Fred C. Iklé, former Undersecretary of Defense under Reagan, former Director of U.S. Arms Control and Disarmament Agency
David Keene, Chairman of the American Conservative Union
Brian Kennedy, President of the Claremont Institute, Publisher of the Claremont Review of Books
Roger Kimball, Managing Editor of The New Criterion
Alan Charles Kors, Professor of History at the University of Pennsylvania
Mark Krikorian, Executive Director of the Center for Immigration Studies
Michael A. Ledeen, Resident Scholar at the American Enterprise Institute
Seth Leibsohn, Fellow at the Claremont Institute
John Leo, columnist and Contributing Editor to U.S. News and World Report
Herbert London, President of the Hudson Institute
Kathryn Jean Lopez, Editor of National Review Online
Rich Lowry, Editor of National Review
Heather Mac Donald, John M. Olin Fellow at the Manhattan Institute, winner of the 2005 Bradley Prize for Outstanding Intellectual Achievement
John O’Sullivan, Senior Fellow at the Hudson Institute, Editor-at-Large of National Review
Juliana Pilon, Research Professor at the Institute for World Politics
Daniel Pipes, founder and Director of the Middle East Forum and Campus Watch, former member of the board of the U.S. Institute of Peace
Andrew Andy Ramirez, Chairman of the Friends of Border Patrol
Phyllis Schlafly, founder and President of Eagle Forum
Thomas Sowell, Rose and Milton Friedman Senior Fellow on Public Policy at the Hoover Institution, winner of the 2003 Bradley Prize for Outstanding Intellectual Achievement
Shelby Steele, Research Fellow at the Hoover Institution, winner of the 2006 Bradley Prize for Outstanding Intellectual Achievement
Stephen Steinlight, Fellow at the Center for Immigration Studies, former National Affairs Director of the American Jewish Committee, and Vice President of the National Conference of Christians and Jews
Thomas G. West, Director and Senior Fellow of the Claremont Institute, Professor of Politics at the University of Dallas
see more at National Review ...........
http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=OWM2NGJlZmY1Y2JiMTFkODQ3NTI4ZTMzZjUzN2YwYjg=
mccainalert.com
Prominent Conservatives and Civic Leaders Urge President Bush and Congress to Back Enforcement First on Immigration
Leading conservatives and civic leaders have signed an open letter on immigration declaring that border and interior enforcement must be funded, operational, implemented, and proven successful and only then can we debate the status of current illegal immigrants, or the need for new guest worker programs.
The signers include William Bennett, Robert Bork, William F Buckley, Ward Connerly, Newt Gingrich, David Horowitz, David Keene, John Leo, Herbert London, Rich Lowry, Daniel Pipes, Phyllis Schlafly, and Thomas Sowell among others.
Hudson Senior Fellow John Fonte, who organized the letter, said:
We want to commend the members of Congress who have supported enforcement first including 85% of all Congressional Republicans, 36 Democrats in the House and 4 in the Senate.
We particularly want to thank Senator Jeff Sessions (R-AL) and House chairmen Jim Sensenbrenner (R-WI) and Peter King (R-NY) for their leadership role in putting America’s national interests in border and interior enforcement first.
As a matter of organizational policy, Hudson Institute does not take stances on pending legislation.
First Things First on Immigration: An Open Letter to President Bush, Senate Majority Leader Frist, and Speaker of the House, Hastert
Recently, columnist Thomas Sowell wrote: It will take time to see how various new border control methods work out in practice and there is no reason to rush ahead to deal with people already illegally in this country before the facts are in on how well the borders have been secured.
We the undersigned agree with this statement. In 1986, Congress passed comprehensive immigration reform that included amnesty for around 3 million illegal immigrants, border enforcement, and interior enforcement (employer sanctions). Amnesty came, but enforcement was never seriously implemented either at the border or in the interior.
Let us not make this mistake again. We favor what Newt Gingrich has described as sequencing. First border and interior enforcement must be funded, operational, implemented, and proven successful and only then can we debate the status of current illegal immigrants, or the need for new guest worker programs. We are in the middle of a global war on terror. 2006 is not 1986. Today, we need proof that enforcement (both at the border and in the interior) is successful before anything else happens. As Ronald Reagan used to say trust, but verify.
The majority of Republicans in the Senate opposed the recently passed Hagel-Martinez bill. Senator Vitter (R-LA) said that because border enforcement will not be in place, this [bill] will in fact make the illegal immigration problem much bigger. The No. 3 Republican in the Senate, Senator Rick Santorum (PA) said, We need a border-security bill first. Senator Vitter, Senator Santorum, the majority of Senate Republicans, and the majority of House Republicans are right we need proven enforcement before we do anything else. Adopting cosmetic legislation to appear to be doing something about enforcement, but which actually makes the situation worse, is not statesmanship, it is demagogy.
We thank the majority of the Senate Republicans
(33 in all) and the seven Democrats who supported the
Isakson amendment, which insists upon verifiable benchmarks
for border security before considering other issues. Moreover, we say Thank You to Jim Sensenbrenner, Peter King,
and the bi-partisan House majority including 36 Democrats,
that passed HR 4437. We may quibble with a clause here and there, but you in the House and the majority of Senate Republicans are right to emphasize that the Congress
and the President must deal with enforcement first and
other issues later. Stand fast; the American people are overwhelmingly with you.
Signed,
William B. Allen, Professor of Political Science at Michigan State University
William J. Bennett, former Secretary of Education under President Reagan, former Director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy under former President George H.W. Bush
Thomas L. Bock, National Commander of the American Legion
Robert H. Bork, Senior Fellow at the Hudson Institute, former Solicitor General, acting Attorney General, Supreme Court nominee, U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Judge
William F. Buckley, Jr., founder and Editor-at-Large of National Review
Peter Collier, founding Publisher of Encounter Books,
cofounder of Center for the Study of Popular Culture
Ward Connerly, former Regent at the University of California, founder and Chairman of the American Civil Rights Institute (ACRI), winner of the 2005 Bradley Prize for Outstanding Intellectual Achievement
T. Kenneth Cribb, former domestic policy advisor for President Ronald Reagan
Glynn Custred, Professor of Anthropology at California State University, Hayward, and coauthor of the California Civil Rights Initiative, Proposition 209
John C. Eastman, Professor of Law at Chapman University School of Law, Director of the Center for Constitutional
Jurisprudence
John Fonte, Senior Fellow and Director of the Center of American Common Culture at the Hudson Institute
David Frum, former speechwriter for George W. Bush, Resident Fellow at American Enterprise Institute
Frank J. Gaffney, Jr., founder and President of the Center for Security Policy
Newt Gingrich, former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Chairman of the Gingrich Group, Senior Fellow at American Enterprise Institute
Jonah Goldberg, Editor-at-Large of the National Review Online, national syndicated columnist
Victor Davis Hanson, Martin and Illie Anderson Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution, recipient of the 1991 American Philological Association Excellence in Teaching Award
David Horowitz, cofounder of the Center for the Study of Popular Culture, Editor of FrontPageMag.com
Fred C. Iklé, former Undersecretary of Defense under Reagan, former Director of U.S. Arms Control and Disarmament Agency
David Keene, Chairman of the American Conservative Union
Brian Kennedy, President of the Claremont Institute, Publisher of the Claremont Review of Books
Roger Kimball, Managing Editor of The New Criterion
Alan Charles Kors, Professor of History at the University of Pennsylvania
Mark Krikorian, Executive Director of the Center for Immigration Studies
Michael A. Ledeen, Resident Scholar at the American Enterprise Institute
Seth Leibsohn, Fellow at the Claremont Institute
John Leo, columnist and Contributing Editor to U.S. News and World Report
Herbert London, President of the Hudson Institute
Kathryn Jean Lopez, Editor of National Review Online
Rich Lowry, Editor of National Review
Heather Mac Donald, John M. Olin Fellow at the Manhattan Institute, winner of the 2005 Bradley Prize for Outstanding Intellectual Achievement
John O’Sullivan, Senior Fellow at the Hudson Institute, Editor-at-Large of National Review
Juliana Pilon, Research Professor at the Institute for World Politics
Daniel Pipes, founder and Director of the Middle East Forum and Campus Watch, former member of the board of the U.S. Institute of Peace
Andrew Andy Ramirez, Chairman of the Friends of Border Patrol
Phyllis Schlafly, founder and President of Eagle Forum
Thomas Sowell, Rose and Milton Friedman Senior Fellow on Public Policy at the Hoover Institution, winner of the 2003 Bradley Prize for Outstanding Intellectual Achievement
Shelby Steele, Research Fellow at the Hoover Institution, winner of the 2006 Bradley Prize for Outstanding Intellectual Achievement
Stephen Steinlight, Fellow at the Center for Immigration Studies, former National Affairs Director of the American Jewish Committee, and Vice President of the National Conference of Christians and Jews
Thomas G. West, Director and Senior Fellow of the Claremont Institute, Professor of Politics at the University of Dallas
see more at National Review ...........
http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=OWM2NGJlZmY1Y2JiMTFkODQ3NTI4ZTMzZjUzN2YwYjg=
mccainalert.com
Republican newsletter Arizona 6/19
"The taxpayers of Arizona are the winners because of this tax cut."
- Steve Voeller, president of the Arizona Free Enterprise Club commenting on passage of the fiscal year 2007 state budget and its nearly $550 million in income and property tax cuts.
President Bush to Nominate Commissioner Marc Spitzer to FERC
Congratulations to Arizona Corporation Commissioner Marc Spitzer on news that President Bush will nominate him to serve on the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.
Matt Salmon, chairman of the Arizona Republican Party, released the following statement:
"I applaud President Bush's decision to nominate Marc Spitzer to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. The president couldn't have nominated a more knowledgeable individual in the area of energy policy.
"Commissioner Spitzer has served with distinction in his tenure on the Arizona Corporation Commission. While his departure from the ACC is a loss for our state, the country is gaining someone who will prove to be an invaluable asset to U.S. energy policy.
"This appointment speaks volumes of the important work our ACC does and will give Arizona a greater voice in energy issues."
Democrats in Disarray on Iraq
A recent dust-up between Senator Hillary Clinton and Senator John Kerry over our nation's policy in Iraq illustrates the divisions in the Democratic Party over one of the most important issues we face.
Appearing at a Take Back America Conference, Clinton was booed by attendees when she said she did not think it is a "smart strategy to set a date certain" for withdrawal from Iraq. ["Liberal Activists Boo Clinton," The Washington Post, June 14, 2006.]
That position contrasts sharply with the position of Kerry, who called for "a hard and fast deadline" on withdrawing from Iraq.
You've got to hand it to Clinton and Kerry, though. At least they have a position on Iraq, which is more than you can say about liberal strip mall developer and U.S. Senate candidate Jim Pederson and District 5 U.S. House candidate Harry Mitchell, who have vigorously evaded the issue since announcing their candidacies.
Pederson has said he'll announce his plan on Iraq "on [his] timeline," [Capitol Media Services, "Former Republican legislator announces Senate bid," May 4, 2006] but that was over a month ago, thus only leaving voters to assume that Pederson's timeline is an especially long one.
Mitchell has been equally vague, saying only that "America deserves a winning strategy in Iraq." ["Mitchell Announces Candidacy," The Arizona Republic, April 13, 2006] When pressed for what that strategy should be, Mitchell goes mute.
Sen. Dean Martin Files 13,700 Signatures and Thanks Grassroots for Their Tremendous Support
State Senator Dean Martin filed 13,700 nominating signatures as the only Republican candidate for State Treasurer, more than the 260% over the 5,213 required!
"I want to personally thank all of the grassroots supporters whose hard work exceeded all projections on what we could do statewide while I am still in legislative session," Senator Martin said.
"We only entered the race 3 months ago, yet support was exceptionally strong; we were collecting more than 900 signatures a week! I owe it to the hard work of a lot of unsung heroes: grassroots volunteers who knocked on doors, set up tables at events, and scheduled meet and greet events around an unpredictable legislative schedule.
"We received signatures from every county across Arizona and exceeded our goals in most counties by over 300%! Only Sen. Jon Kyl and the Governor filed with more signatures. THANK YOU for all your help!"
Senator Dean Martin is a small business owner and entrepreneur, and is currently the Senate Finance Chairman, Judiciary Vice-Chairman, and senior member of the Appropriations committee. He was the last GOP candidate to enter a statewide race. Sen. Martin was asked to seek the nomination for Arizona Treasurer as the current Treasurer is no longer running for re-election.
Capitol Update
WHAT YOUR REPUBLICAN LEGISLATURE IS DOING - FOR THE WEEK ENDING June 16, 2006
State Budget - Historic tax relief, expansion of school choice, elimination of accounting gimmicks, a genuinely balanced budget - Late on Friday night the legislature passed a state budget that returns more than a half-billion dollars to Arizona's tax payers, accelerates statewide freeway construction, provides for substantial teacher and correctional officers pay raises and expands school choice.
The $9.9 billion balanced budget, which takes affect July 1, followed negotiations that resulted in the governor accepting the core Republican principles of broad-based tax relief, school choice and investment in infrastructure and public safety. The budget/tax relief package includes the following major provisions:
• The largest tax relief package in Arizona history that provides $310 million of permanent income tax reductions and suspension of the $215 million state property tax for at least the next three years. This fuels Arizona's vibrant economy while returning money to the Arizonans who earned it in the first place.
• A $345 million increase for highway and road construction throughout the state, an investment that is critical for a rapidly growing state.
• An 11% increase - over a half-billion dollars -- for the K-12 education system. This includes an additional $100 million this year to increase teachers salaries and $160 million doled out over the next two years to fully fund all-day kindergarten should local districts choose to do so. There is also $18 million to expand school choice for lower income, disabled and foster children.
• A $157 million bump for state universities that allows Arizona State University to expand its Williams Gateway campus and helps the University of Arizona retain experienced faculty and Northern Arizona University update aging buildings.
• $140 million for investments in public safety, including money for meth interdiction, hiring 46 DPS officers, a $5,300 annual pay increase for corrections officers and prison beds.
• Nearly a half-billion dollar deposit to the "Rainy Day Fund," giving the state protection against hard times with a balance of more than $600 million.
• A quarter-billion dollar boost to healthcare, including over $10 million for cutting edge research to help combat Autism and Alzheimer's.
• More than a quarter-billion dollars to eliminate accounting tricks and gimmicks used to balance previous budgets, including the $191 million K-12 rollover and substantially eliminating the onerous practice of forcing businesses to make sales tax payments prior to when they would actually be due.
• A $60 million positive ending balance, without the aid of accounting tricks and gimmicks.
Unfortunately, Governor Janet Napolitano refused to allow $160 million to provide critical border security for Arizona. The comprehensive measure addressed the funding needs for Arizona to combat illegal immigration and its severe impact on our economy, environment and public safety, but was vetoed by the governor.
Quote of the week: "We do the things our government should do in this budget -build roads, fund education, better protect the public and put more money back into the state's economy by putting more money back into the pockets of taxpayers. The one missing piece in this budget - and it's a big one - is addressing illegal immigration. Time after time, we just could not get past the governor's vetoes on this." Senate President Ken Bennett on the budget passed by the legislature late last Friday night.
Did you know? Governor Napolitano would not agree to sign the budget unless more spending went to social welfare and entitlement programs under the Department of Economic Security.
Upcoming Events
Prescott Receptions on July 1 to Benefit Senator Kyl
Your are invited to help Senator Jon Kyl's reelection efforts at two special receptions at 11:30 a.m. on Saturday, July 1 in Prescott.
VIP Reception
Office of Las Vegas Ranch Real Estate
115 W. Goodwin St.
Prescott, Arizona
Photo opportunity and VIP seating for parade
Suggested contribution $300 per per person or $500 per family
BBQ Reception
Event tent on southeast corner of Goodwin and Montezuma
Suggested contribution of $50 per person or $100 per family
RSVP by June 30 to Christine Walton at (602) 840-0306.
Volunteers needed for Fabulous Phoenix 4th
Join the AZ GOP at the Fabulous Phoenix 4th at Steele Indian School Park on Tuesday, July 4.
Volunteers are needed to help staff our booth and pass out bumper stickers and campaign literature.
Volunteers earn a free AZ GOP t-shirt. Contact Kara Karlson via e-mail or at (602) 957-7770 to sign up to volunteer.
For a full calendar of events, please visit www.azgop.org.
- Steve Voeller, president of the Arizona Free Enterprise Club commenting on passage of the fiscal year 2007 state budget and its nearly $550 million in income and property tax cuts.
President Bush to Nominate Commissioner Marc Spitzer to FERC
Congratulations to Arizona Corporation Commissioner Marc Spitzer on news that President Bush will nominate him to serve on the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.
Matt Salmon, chairman of the Arizona Republican Party, released the following statement:
"I applaud President Bush's decision to nominate Marc Spitzer to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. The president couldn't have nominated a more knowledgeable individual in the area of energy policy.
"Commissioner Spitzer has served with distinction in his tenure on the Arizona Corporation Commission. While his departure from the ACC is a loss for our state, the country is gaining someone who will prove to be an invaluable asset to U.S. energy policy.
"This appointment speaks volumes of the important work our ACC does and will give Arizona a greater voice in energy issues."
Democrats in Disarray on Iraq
A recent dust-up between Senator Hillary Clinton and Senator John Kerry over our nation's policy in Iraq illustrates the divisions in the Democratic Party over one of the most important issues we face.
Appearing at a Take Back America Conference, Clinton was booed by attendees when she said she did not think it is a "smart strategy to set a date certain" for withdrawal from Iraq. ["Liberal Activists Boo Clinton," The Washington Post, June 14, 2006.]
That position contrasts sharply with the position of Kerry, who called for "a hard and fast deadline" on withdrawing from Iraq.
You've got to hand it to Clinton and Kerry, though. At least they have a position on Iraq, which is more than you can say about liberal strip mall developer and U.S. Senate candidate Jim Pederson and District 5 U.S. House candidate Harry Mitchell, who have vigorously evaded the issue since announcing their candidacies.
Pederson has said he'll announce his plan on Iraq "on [his] timeline," [Capitol Media Services, "Former Republican legislator announces Senate bid," May 4, 2006] but that was over a month ago, thus only leaving voters to assume that Pederson's timeline is an especially long one.
Mitchell has been equally vague, saying only that "America deserves a winning strategy in Iraq." ["Mitchell Announces Candidacy," The Arizona Republic, April 13, 2006] When pressed for what that strategy should be, Mitchell goes mute.
Sen. Dean Martin Files 13,700 Signatures and Thanks Grassroots for Their Tremendous Support
State Senator Dean Martin filed 13,700 nominating signatures as the only Republican candidate for State Treasurer, more than the 260% over the 5,213 required!
"I want to personally thank all of the grassroots supporters whose hard work exceeded all projections on what we could do statewide while I am still in legislative session," Senator Martin said.
"We only entered the race 3 months ago, yet support was exceptionally strong; we were collecting more than 900 signatures a week! I owe it to the hard work of a lot of unsung heroes: grassroots volunteers who knocked on doors, set up tables at events, and scheduled meet and greet events around an unpredictable legislative schedule.
"We received signatures from every county across Arizona and exceeded our goals in most counties by over 300%! Only Sen. Jon Kyl and the Governor filed with more signatures. THANK YOU for all your help!"
Senator Dean Martin is a small business owner and entrepreneur, and is currently the Senate Finance Chairman, Judiciary Vice-Chairman, and senior member of the Appropriations committee. He was the last GOP candidate to enter a statewide race. Sen. Martin was asked to seek the nomination for Arizona Treasurer as the current Treasurer is no longer running for re-election.
Capitol Update
WHAT YOUR REPUBLICAN LEGISLATURE IS DOING - FOR THE WEEK ENDING June 16, 2006
State Budget - Historic tax relief, expansion of school choice, elimination of accounting gimmicks, a genuinely balanced budget - Late on Friday night the legislature passed a state budget that returns more than a half-billion dollars to Arizona's tax payers, accelerates statewide freeway construction, provides for substantial teacher and correctional officers pay raises and expands school choice.
The $9.9 billion balanced budget, which takes affect July 1, followed negotiations that resulted in the governor accepting the core Republican principles of broad-based tax relief, school choice and investment in infrastructure and public safety. The budget/tax relief package includes the following major provisions:
• The largest tax relief package in Arizona history that provides $310 million of permanent income tax reductions and suspension of the $215 million state property tax for at least the next three years. This fuels Arizona's vibrant economy while returning money to the Arizonans who earned it in the first place.
• A $345 million increase for highway and road construction throughout the state, an investment that is critical for a rapidly growing state.
• An 11% increase - over a half-billion dollars -- for the K-12 education system. This includes an additional $100 million this year to increase teachers salaries and $160 million doled out over the next two years to fully fund all-day kindergarten should local districts choose to do so. There is also $18 million to expand school choice for lower income, disabled and foster children.
• A $157 million bump for state universities that allows Arizona State University to expand its Williams Gateway campus and helps the University of Arizona retain experienced faculty and Northern Arizona University update aging buildings.
• $140 million for investments in public safety, including money for meth interdiction, hiring 46 DPS officers, a $5,300 annual pay increase for corrections officers and prison beds.
• Nearly a half-billion dollar deposit to the "Rainy Day Fund," giving the state protection against hard times with a balance of more than $600 million.
• A quarter-billion dollar boost to healthcare, including over $10 million for cutting edge research to help combat Autism and Alzheimer's.
• More than a quarter-billion dollars to eliminate accounting tricks and gimmicks used to balance previous budgets, including the $191 million K-12 rollover and substantially eliminating the onerous practice of forcing businesses to make sales tax payments prior to when they would actually be due.
• A $60 million positive ending balance, without the aid of accounting tricks and gimmicks.
Unfortunately, Governor Janet Napolitano refused to allow $160 million to provide critical border security for Arizona. The comprehensive measure addressed the funding needs for Arizona to combat illegal immigration and its severe impact on our economy, environment and public safety, but was vetoed by the governor.
Quote of the week: "We do the things our government should do in this budget -build roads, fund education, better protect the public and put more money back into the state's economy by putting more money back into the pockets of taxpayers. The one missing piece in this budget - and it's a big one - is addressing illegal immigration. Time after time, we just could not get past the governor's vetoes on this." Senate President Ken Bennett on the budget passed by the legislature late last Friday night.
Did you know? Governor Napolitano would not agree to sign the budget unless more spending went to social welfare and entitlement programs under the Department of Economic Security.
Upcoming Events
Prescott Receptions on July 1 to Benefit Senator Kyl
Your are invited to help Senator Jon Kyl's reelection efforts at two special receptions at 11:30 a.m. on Saturday, July 1 in Prescott.
VIP Reception
Office of Las Vegas Ranch Real Estate
115 W. Goodwin St.
Prescott, Arizona
Photo opportunity and VIP seating for parade
Suggested contribution $300 per per person or $500 per family
BBQ Reception
Event tent on southeast corner of Goodwin and Montezuma
Suggested contribution of $50 per person or $100 per family
RSVP by June 30 to Christine Walton at (602) 840-0306.
Volunteers needed for Fabulous Phoenix 4th
Join the AZ GOP at the Fabulous Phoenix 4th at Steele Indian School Park on Tuesday, July 4.
Volunteers are needed to help staff our booth and pass out bumper stickers and campaign literature.
Volunteers earn a free AZ GOP t-shirt. Contact Kara Karlson via e-mail or at (602) 957-7770 to sign up to volunteer.
For a full calendar of events, please visit www.azgop.org.
Saturday, June 17, 2006
earmarking as a practice in the Senate
MCCAIN STATEMENT ON PASSAGE OF LOBBYING REFORM BILL
Thursday, Mar 30, 2006
U.S. Senator John McCain (R-AZ) submitted for the record the following statement on the Legislative Transparency and Accountability Act of 2006:
Mr. President, let me begin by commending the hard work of my colleagues in this effort. The Chair and ranking member of the Governmental Affairs Committee Senators Collins and Lieberman, and the Chair and ranking member of the Rules Committee Senators Lott and Dodd, have worked tirelessly and in a bipartisan manner to bring a bill to the floor. I regret, however, that I find it necessary to vote against final passage of this measure because it simply doesn’t do enough to address the critical need for comprehensive lobbying reform. We had a golden opportunity to institute real reform and prove to the American people that we are not completely oblivious to their concerns. Unfortunately, Mr. President, we dropped the ball.
While it does contain some good provisions to increase lobbyist disclosure and reporting requirements, the bill lacks imperative enforcement measures. We can pass all of the Rules changes we want in this body, but they are useless unless we back it up with a tough enforcement mechanism. I was disappointed that the Collins-Lieberman-McCain amendment to create a Senate Office of Public Integrity was defeated yesterday. That office would have had the ability to investigate complaints of ethical violations by Senators, staff, or officers of this chamber. Headed by a Director appointed by the President Pro Tem of the Senate upon the joint recommendation of the majority and minority leaders, the Office of Public Integrity would investigate complaints of rules violations filed with or initiated by the Office.
At a time when the public is questioning our integrity, the Senate needs to more aggressively enforce its own rules. We should do this not just by making more public the work that the Senate Ethics Committee currently undertakes, but by addressing the conflict that is inherent in any body that regulates itself. By rejecting the creation of a new office with the capacity to conduct and initiate investigations, and a perspective uncolored by partisan concerns or collegial relationships, we neglected to address this long-standing structural problem.
The proposed Office of Public Integrity would not only have assisted in performing existing investigative functions, but would also have been charged with approving or denying requests for travel by members and staff. Rather than prohibit official travel paid for by any entity other than the federal government, as some have proposed, our proposal would have required that all travel to be pre-cleared. The purpose of this pre-clearance was to ensure that the trips serve a legitimate governmental interest, and are not substantially recreational in nature. The Office of Public Integrity would have been an appropriate entity to conduct these reviews - but, sadly, the Senate voted to maintain the status quo.
Another critical aspect of reform that is not addressed in this bill is the ability of a Member to travel on a corporate jet and only pay the rate of a first class plane ticket. Because cloture was invoked on this bill yesterday, Senator Santorum and I were prevented from offering an amendment that would have required Senators and their employees who use corporate or charter aircraft to pay the fair market value for that travel.
Senator Santorum and I were well aware that our amendment would not be popular with some of our colleagues, but we felt that the time had come for us to fundamentally change the way we do things in this town. Much of the public views our ability to travel on corporate jets, often accompanied by lobbyists, while only reimbursing the first-class rate, as a huge loophole in the current gift rules. And they’re right - it is. I have no doubt that the average American would love to fly around the country on very comfortable corporate-owned aircraft and only be charged the cost of a first-class ticket. It’s a pretty good deal we’ve got going here. We need to face the fact that the time has come to end this Congressional perk.
There is a public perception that these lobbyist-arranged flights unduly influence Members of Congress and serve as a way for lobbyists to curry favor with legislators and their aides. We must change that perception, Mr. President. There was nothing in our amendment that would have prohibited a Member from using corporate aircraft - it simply required that they pay the fair market value of the flight. It was a fair, reasonable approach designed to prove to the American public that we are serious about reform and would do what is necessary to restore the public’s trust - but, again, the Senate chose to maintain the status quo by preventing us from offering our amendment.
Finally, Mr. President, this bill does not go far enough to reign in the practice of earmarking federal funds in the annual appropriations bills. Together with Sens. Coburn, Ensign, Feingold, Kyl, DeMint, Sununu, and Graham, I was prepared to offer an amendment that would amend the Senate Rules to allow points of order to be raised against unauthorized appropriations, earmarks, and policy riders in appropriations bills and conference reports in an effort to reign in wasteful pork barrel spending. If the point of order were successful, the objectionable provisions would be stricken and the related funding would be reduced accordingly. Once again, we were blocked from offering this amendment as well.
In my judgement, if we are really committed to addressing comprehensive lobbying reform in a meaningful and effective way, we need to include earmark reform provisions in this legislative package. The process is clearly broken when each year Congress continues to earmark billions and billions of taxpayers dollars, sometimes with little or almost no knowledge about the specifics of those earmarks by most of the members of this body. Sadly, the scandal that has come to light recently concerning the earmarking by one former member of the House is a pox not just on him, but on each of us and the process that we have allowed to occur on our watch. The American public deserves better and that is what my amendment was about.
In 1994, there were 4,126 earmarks. In 2005, there were 15,877--an increase of nearly 400 percent! But there was a little good news for 2006 solely due to the good sense that occurred unexpectedly when the Labor HHS appropriations bill was approved with almost no earmarks,
an amazing feat given that there were over 3,000 earmarks
the prior year for just that bill. Yet despite this first reduction in 12 years, it doesn’t change the fact that
the largest number of earmarks have still occurred in the last three years 2004, 2005, and 2006.
Now, let’s consider the level of funding associated with those earmarks. The amount of earmarked funding increased from
$23.2 billion in 1994 to $64 billion in FY 2006. Remarkably,
it rose by 34 percent from 2005 to 2006, even though
the number of earmarks decreased! Earmarked dollars
have doubled just since 2000, and more than tripled in
the last 10 years. This is wrong and disgraceful and we urgently need to make some changes in this process.
Mr. President, we, as Members, owe it to the American
people to conduct ourselves in a way that reinforces, rather than diminishes, the public’s faith and confidence in Congress. An informed citizenry is essential to a thriving democracy. And, a democratic government operates best in the disinfecting light of the public eye. This bill could go so much further to balance the right of the public to know with its right to petition government; the ability of lobbyists to advocate their clients’ causes with the need for truthful public discourse; and, the ability of Members to legislate with the imperative that our government must be free from corrupting influences, both real and perceived. We must act now to ensure that the erosion we see today in the public’s confidence in Congress does not become a collapse of confidence. We can, and we must, do better than this bill.
see more at www.senate.gov
Thursday, Mar 30, 2006
U.S. Senator John McCain (R-AZ) submitted for the record the following statement on the Legislative Transparency and Accountability Act of 2006:
Mr. President, let me begin by commending the hard work of my colleagues in this effort. The Chair and ranking member of the Governmental Affairs Committee Senators Collins and Lieberman, and the Chair and ranking member of the Rules Committee Senators Lott and Dodd, have worked tirelessly and in a bipartisan manner to bring a bill to the floor. I regret, however, that I find it necessary to vote against final passage of this measure because it simply doesn’t do enough to address the critical need for comprehensive lobbying reform. We had a golden opportunity to institute real reform and prove to the American people that we are not completely oblivious to their concerns. Unfortunately, Mr. President, we dropped the ball.
While it does contain some good provisions to increase lobbyist disclosure and reporting requirements, the bill lacks imperative enforcement measures. We can pass all of the Rules changes we want in this body, but they are useless unless we back it up with a tough enforcement mechanism. I was disappointed that the Collins-Lieberman-McCain amendment to create a Senate Office of Public Integrity was defeated yesterday. That office would have had the ability to investigate complaints of ethical violations by Senators, staff, or officers of this chamber. Headed by a Director appointed by the President Pro Tem of the Senate upon the joint recommendation of the majority and minority leaders, the Office of Public Integrity would investigate complaints of rules violations filed with or initiated by the Office.
At a time when the public is questioning our integrity, the Senate needs to more aggressively enforce its own rules. We should do this not just by making more public the work that the Senate Ethics Committee currently undertakes, but by addressing the conflict that is inherent in any body that regulates itself. By rejecting the creation of a new office with the capacity to conduct and initiate investigations, and a perspective uncolored by partisan concerns or collegial relationships, we neglected to address this long-standing structural problem.
The proposed Office of Public Integrity would not only have assisted in performing existing investigative functions, but would also have been charged with approving or denying requests for travel by members and staff. Rather than prohibit official travel paid for by any entity other than the federal government, as some have proposed, our proposal would have required that all travel to be pre-cleared. The purpose of this pre-clearance was to ensure that the trips serve a legitimate governmental interest, and are not substantially recreational in nature. The Office of Public Integrity would have been an appropriate entity to conduct these reviews - but, sadly, the Senate voted to maintain the status quo.
Another critical aspect of reform that is not addressed in this bill is the ability of a Member to travel on a corporate jet and only pay the rate of a first class plane ticket. Because cloture was invoked on this bill yesterday, Senator Santorum and I were prevented from offering an amendment that would have required Senators and their employees who use corporate or charter aircraft to pay the fair market value for that travel.
Senator Santorum and I were well aware that our amendment would not be popular with some of our colleagues, but we felt that the time had come for us to fundamentally change the way we do things in this town. Much of the public views our ability to travel on corporate jets, often accompanied by lobbyists, while only reimbursing the first-class rate, as a huge loophole in the current gift rules. And they’re right - it is. I have no doubt that the average American would love to fly around the country on very comfortable corporate-owned aircraft and only be charged the cost of a first-class ticket. It’s a pretty good deal we’ve got going here. We need to face the fact that the time has come to end this Congressional perk.
There is a public perception that these lobbyist-arranged flights unduly influence Members of Congress and serve as a way for lobbyists to curry favor with legislators and their aides. We must change that perception, Mr. President. There was nothing in our amendment that would have prohibited a Member from using corporate aircraft - it simply required that they pay the fair market value of the flight. It was a fair, reasonable approach designed to prove to the American public that we are serious about reform and would do what is necessary to restore the public’s trust - but, again, the Senate chose to maintain the status quo by preventing us from offering our amendment.
Finally, Mr. President, this bill does not go far enough to reign in the practice of earmarking federal funds in the annual appropriations bills. Together with Sens. Coburn, Ensign, Feingold, Kyl, DeMint, Sununu, and Graham, I was prepared to offer an amendment that would amend the Senate Rules to allow points of order to be raised against unauthorized appropriations, earmarks, and policy riders in appropriations bills and conference reports in an effort to reign in wasteful pork barrel spending. If the point of order were successful, the objectionable provisions would be stricken and the related funding would be reduced accordingly. Once again, we were blocked from offering this amendment as well.
In my judgement, if we are really committed to addressing comprehensive lobbying reform in a meaningful and effective way, we need to include earmark reform provisions in this legislative package. The process is clearly broken when each year Congress continues to earmark billions and billions of taxpayers dollars, sometimes with little or almost no knowledge about the specifics of those earmarks by most of the members of this body. Sadly, the scandal that has come to light recently concerning the earmarking by one former member of the House is a pox not just on him, but on each of us and the process that we have allowed to occur on our watch. The American public deserves better and that is what my amendment was about.
In 1994, there were 4,126 earmarks. In 2005, there were 15,877--an increase of nearly 400 percent! But there was a little good news for 2006 solely due to the good sense that occurred unexpectedly when the Labor HHS appropriations bill was approved with almost no earmarks,
an amazing feat given that there were over 3,000 earmarks
the prior year for just that bill. Yet despite this first reduction in 12 years, it doesn’t change the fact that
the largest number of earmarks have still occurred in the last three years 2004, 2005, and 2006.
Now, let’s consider the level of funding associated with those earmarks. The amount of earmarked funding increased from
$23.2 billion in 1994 to $64 billion in FY 2006. Remarkably,
it rose by 34 percent from 2005 to 2006, even though
the number of earmarks decreased! Earmarked dollars
have doubled just since 2000, and more than tripled in
the last 10 years. This is wrong and disgraceful and we urgently need to make some changes in this process.
Mr. President, we, as Members, owe it to the American
people to conduct ourselves in a way that reinforces, rather than diminishes, the public’s faith and confidence in Congress. An informed citizenry is essential to a thriving democracy. And, a democratic government operates best in the disinfecting light of the public eye. This bill could go so much further to balance the right of the public to know with its right to petition government; the ability of lobbyists to advocate their clients’ causes with the need for truthful public discourse; and, the ability of Members to legislate with the imperative that our government must be free from corrupting influences, both real and perceived. We must act now to ensure that the erosion we see today in the public’s confidence in Congress does not become a collapse of confidence. We can, and we must, do better than this bill.
see more at www.senate.gov
Thursday, June 15, 2006
Overhaul must break the culture that encourages illegal work force.
Overhaul must break the culture that encourages illegal work force.
The first in a four-part series on illegal labor reform
All day long, Border Patrol agents head south from their station on West Ajo Way toward the nation's busiest corridor for illegal crossings.
They pass one sprouting subdivision after another, where construction workers oblivious to passing la migra trucks lay foundation, staple insulation and pound roof shingles. Many of them at least one third in Arizona are here illegally.
Workers here illegally have learned like millions before them make it past the increasingly militarized U.S. border and you'll find safe haven and steady work in industries such as home building, which employs more than 27,000 people in Tucson.
Within weeks, the U.S. House and Senate will begin wrangling over their widely varied proposals to revamp immigration laws, spurred in large part by growing public discontent over the unending flow of illegal immigrants into this country.
But the plans fall short of the multipronged approach needed for real reform, according to an Arizona Daily Star investigation based on interviews with dozens of academics, analysts and employers. Tangible change demands a fraud-proof system to verify legal workers and a wholesale overhaul that would bust more employers of illegal workers and force the sharing of critical information among federal agencies.
That would take years and cost billions and demand the destruction of a culture that for decades has tolerated illegal immigration in exchange for its many silent benefits.
In Tucson, illegal workers such as Jorge Quintanilla benefit from steady paychecks and from educational and cultural opportunities scarce or unavailable in their native countries.
Home builders and subcontractors such as excavator George Simon, who knowingly or unknowingly hire illegal workers, benefit from labor that keeps Tucson's $2 billion-a-year home-building industry growing.
And homeowners such as Robert and Alva Armenta benefit from new-house prices that might have been beyond their reach without illegal labor, which economists say holds down wages and home prices.
Eliminating the illegal work force would mean higher pay for legal workers, at least in the short term, economists say. But some builders fear it also would push up home prices now 30 percent higher than in April 2005 and drive down profit margins already so thin some say they're tempted to put away their hammers for good.
Massive reform also could upset big-business campaign contributors who favor lax work-site enforcement, says Demetrios Papademetriou, president of the Migration Policy Institute, a nonpartisan think tank in Washington, D.C.
"The easiest thing to do is throw money at the border. Nobody objects to that," Papademetriou says. "When you start shutting businesses down, people get pissed off."
No matter the cost, society no longer can ignore the "illegal" in illegal immigration, says Rick Oltman, Western field director for the Federation for American Immigration Reform.
"First of all, it's against the law, and the second thing is that it has the impact of inflating our population, driving down wages, putting burdens on social services, schools, education, law enforcement," says Oltman, whose group favors less legal immigration and a stop to illegal immigration. "And it sends the entirely wrong message around the world as to what our immigration policies are."
Tough talk
With estimates of illegal residents in this country reaching as high as 12 million, immigration reform has become a popular refrain.
In the Arizona Legislature, a bill sought to have illegal immigrants arrested as trespassers and let employers go unpunished if they fired workers upon learning they were illegal. Democratic Gov. Janet Napolitano vetoed the measure on Tuesday.
Nationally, the Senate and House proposals focus primarily on border security, but they also include provisions to quash the illegal work force:
Higher penalties and fines.
A mandatory electronic system to verify work eligibility.
Fraud-proof identification cards.
Sharing of information between the Social Security Administration and the Department of Homeland Security.
The Senate bill, which includes a guest-worker program with a path to permanent legal status, would provide more agents to investigate employers. The House bill would not. It deals mostly with border enforcement and makes illegal entry a felony.
President Bush favors a temporary guest-worker program and tamper-proof Social Security cards. He also wants harsher penalties for those who hire illegal immigrants, comparing current fines to parking tickets.
Such changes would worry illegal workers such as Quintanilla, but so far he's willing to live with the risks.
"Why did I come to the United States to hide?" he asked. "No, I came to the United States to give my family a better life and give my best for a country I'm helping build."
Implementing an immigration plan would take years, even if Congress could reach a compromise, says Daniel Griswold, director of the Center for Trade Policy Studies at the Cato Institute, a Washington, D.C.-based libertarian public-policy research foundation.
"There are just a lot of challenges between where we are at now and legislation that could pass Congress and be signed by the president," says Griswold, who has studied immigration for nine years.
Getting there means overpowering a business lobby that has fought hard to preserve the status quo, Oltman says.
"That has been the game all these years to ask those in power not to enforce the law, drag their feet and make excuses," Oltman says.
Staying there means withstanding shifting political winds, Papademetriou says.
"This is serious money we are talking about, and this is a country that is having serious budget problems," he says. "My guess is that as soon as the country moves on from the issue of immigration, among the first things that will fall by the wayside will be funding for a robust effort at employer sanctions."
Big show
As lawmakers debated reform in recent weeks, Homeland Security unveiled its plan to crack down on employers. Like a Hollywood producer premiering a film, the department put on a big show meant to leave an impression.
Officials stood tall and talked tough on April 20 in Washington, D.C., one day after agents arrested more than
1,100 illegal workers and seven current and former executives of pallet maker Ifco Systems at 45 sites nationwide,
including Phoenix.
"Our nation's communities cannot be a wild frontier where illegal aliens and unscrupulous employees subvert our nation's laws," Julie Myers, assistant secretary for Immigration and Customs Enforcement, said that day.
The plan Phase 2 of the Secure Border Initiative, which first concentrated on border control promises to levy criminal charges, not just fines, to punish employers who repeatedly hire illegal immigrants. It also aims to eliminate workers'
use of fake Social Security numbers by giving Homeland
Security access to Social Security data.
Already under way is the shift toward criminal indictments
and away from fines, which range from $275 to $11,000 per violation and which many employers see as a cost of doing business, says Russell Ahr, an Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokesman.
Since Oct. 1, agents have arrested more than 2,000 people, including four managers and 76 workers at a Kentucky construction company, as well as the owner of an Indiana
stucco firm. The agency is going after big employers rather than mom-and-pop operations, Ahr says.
New work-site enforcement units have been set up in Tucson
and Phoenix this year. And for the first time since the
Immigration and Naturalization Service merged into Homeland Security in 2003, work-site agents can focus on employers outside the realm of likely terrorists targets such as
airports and nuclear plants, Ahr says.
Construction companies' new status as immigration bad guys doesn't sit well with home builders such as Les Wolf,
who says he won't hire illegal workers but has trouble
finding enough legal ones. Tucson needs 5,000 more
construction workers to keep up with growth,
the Southern Arizona Home Builders Association says.
"The available work force, as we sit here right now, is home watching ESPN and MTV, and playing their Game Boys and their Xboxes, and sitting there becoming obese Americans with their poor work ethic and terrible sense of values with no loyalty
or commitment base," Wolf says. "That's a problem, and now we're going to get upset because someone that doesn't have any of those problems crosses a border and wants a job."
Politically, the arrests and the shift to criminal indictments put employers on notice of a new era.
But it all provides little bang for the buck, the Cato Institute's Griswold says. Even with the agents Homeland Security wants to add, the department still won't have enough to police the nation's businesses. And each bust takes time; the Ifco pallet firm arrests came after a yearlong investigation.
The biggest crackdown so far nabbed 350 illegal-immigrant janitors and resulted in an $11 million settlement with Wal-Mart Stores Inc., whose sales in the last fiscal year were a record $312 billion.
"We busted 300 janitors 300 down, 7 million workers to go," Griswold says.
Real change across the nation and across industries
would take billions more dollars, hundreds more agents and several years, says Papademetriou, of the Migration Policy Institute. Homeland Security is requesting an additional
$41.7 million and 206 new agents and support staff
members next year.
Toothless laws
The vague wording and loopholes in immigration laws, coupled with empty threats by those trying to enforce them, deliver a clear message to employers: Clean up or else, wink, wink.
"The system was created with the intent of protecting employers," Papademetriou says.
The current climate emerged along with the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986, which made it illegal to hire unauthorized workers. The government gave amnesty to an estimated 3 million illegal immigrants in the country before 1982 but never enforced the law against employers.
The law's wording was key: Immigration authorities must prove an employer "knowingly" hired illegal workers. That lets employers accept reasonably legitimate-looking documents to comply with the law, Papademetriou says.
That along with widespread use of fraudulent Social Security cards and green cards, and the absence of a reliable verification system gives employers an excuse for being unable to determine who's legal and who's not, he says.
Both immigration proposals would devote more resources to stemming fraud.
The House bill doesn't change the law's wording. The Senate bill tweaks it to include "reckless disregard," a modification that would make the law a little harsher on employers, Tucson immigration attorney Patricia Mejia says.
Slow death
For two decades after the 1986 reform act, U.S. immigration agencies fattened up on generous allocations from lawmakers intent on plugging the nation's leaky borders.
By 2002, the nation's immigration-enforcement budget had ballooned to $4.9 billion, compared with $1 billion provided by the 1985 budget. But work-site enforcement was eroding, hamstrung by a dwindling number of agents and by laws that shielded employers.
The United States spent 58 percent of its immigration budget on border control in 2002, the most recent year for which analysis is possible because of the Immigration and Naturalization Service's merger with Homeland Security. It spent 33 percent on detention, removal and intelligence, and 9 percent on interior investigation a tiny fraction of that for employer investigations, a 2005 study by the Migration Policy Institute found.
The United States now has about 11,350 Border Patrol agents, compared with about 325 customs enforcement agents assigned to investigate employers.
"The official policy of the U.S. government is to put this huge wall of enforcement at the border, but if you get through that, we won't bother you," says Princeton University sociologist Douglas Massey, who has studied Mexican migration for nearly three decades.
Under the current law, investigators must give employers three days' notice that they plan to show up and review personnel records. An information sheet posted on May 8 on the National Association of Home Builders' Web site reminds its clients that "in the past, it has been possible to negotiate with Immigration and Customs Enforcement for longer periods," up to 10 to 12 business days.
A new Homeland Security program lets employers store employment forms electronically. But the advance-notice provision stands.
Accomplices
Business owners say they can't tell real documents from fake ones but they're not lining up for help in figuring it out.
Both Citizenship and Immigration Services a federal Homeland Security bureau and Social Security have programs to help employers check work status. Fewer than one half of one percent of American businesses take advantage of the programs, the Government Accountability Office found.
About 6,000 employers use a Social Security program that lets them send a diskette with workers' names and Social Security numbers for verification within 30 days. The agency also has a toll-free number for employers to check up to five names and numbers at once. In 2003, it got about 1.1 million calls, but the agency doesn't track how many employers that represents.
As of January, about 5,800 businesses had signed up for Citizenship and Immigration Services' Basic Pilot Program, a Web-based service that lets employers verify workers' eligibility. About 2,300 actively use it. That includes 26 in Tucson covering 229 work sites, says Marie Sebrechts, a Citizenship and Immigration Services spokeswoman. Three of the sites belong to construction companies.
The House bill proposes a mandatory telephone version of the Basic Pilot Program, which would cost the government, employers and workers about $11.7 billion per year, with employers paying the most, according to a GAO estimate. The Senate bill doesn't specify an employee-verification program.
Neither bill addresses problems with the systems in use now. The Basic Pilot Program, offered since 2004, has been plagued by delays in updating immigration records, errors determining work status and difficult-to-use software, and it cannot detect identity fraud, the GAO says. And even if more employers wanted to use it, Citizenship and Immigration Services has says it couldn't handle the load.
Fraud-proof documents
Creating fraud-proof documents and devising a verification system are critical first before targeting businesses, the Migration Policy Institute's Papademetriou says.
"You can't go after employers until you give them all the tools to play by the rules," he says. "And getting to that point from where we are will take time, and it will take money."
Federal lawmakers aim to do that by making Social Security cards fraud-proof. The GAO analyzed three options:
? Make the card machine-readable, which would take the burden of determining a card's validity off employers. However, the card would remain vulnerable to counterfeiting.
? Add biometric features, such as fingerprints or digital pictures, which would let employers verify identity but would require workers to update their cards periodically. Both the Senate and House bills, as well as Bush, support this kind of change.
? Eliminate the card and require more secure documents to prove work eligibility.
The mass issuance of new cards would cost billions and take years, says Barbara Bov-bjerg, the GAO's director of education, work force and income security issues. The immigration bills do not yet provide for the costs of specific programs.
One solution may be cards created to comply with the Real ID Act, which calls for uniform state driver's licenses,
Bovbjerg says. They could become the fraud-proof national identification cards some people are clamoring for
if such a program is implemented. Two years after passage, Homeland Security is still setting state guidelines for the program, she says.
Sharing information
Both the House and Senate bills would force Social Security and Homeland Security to share information.
So far, a lack of coordination between them has prevented enforcement against violators, the GAO says.
The Earning Suspense File, created for cases in which Social Security numbers don't match the name of the person using them, was credited with about $60 billion in reported earnings in 2004 a number that increased 144 percent from the 1980s to the 1990s and is on pace to increase by about 200 percent this decade.
The file includes data on illegal workers as well as employer errors, name changes and variances in legal status. Construction is one of the top two industries along with eating and drinking establishments that contribute to the file.
Immigration-law overhaul could give Homeland Security access to the file. But if the two agencies' past dealings are an indication, working together could pose a challenge.
In December 2004, Congress instructed Social Security and Homeland Security to form a task force to fight Social Security fraud. Social Security didn't contact Homeland Security until November 2005, and the task force didn't meet until last January six months before it was to present its findings to Congress, the GAO says.
The Internal Revenue Service also doesn't share information with Homeland Security and doesn't exercise its enforcement power. The IRS issues thousands of individual taxpayer identification numbers each year to foreigners investors, for example who don't have Social Security numbers but who must pay taxes. "Hundreds of thousands" of the 7 million tax numbers belong to illegal immigrants, the GAO says.
An estimated 353,000 illegal workers filed returns with such tax numbers in 2000, says the Office of the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration. That information is not passed between agencies due to restrictions on sharing tax information and limited Homeland Security resources, the GAO says.
The IRS is studying ways to share information with Homeland Security. But immigration-change proposals don't mention stopping the fraudulent use of taxpayer ID numbers.
Shifting commitments
Changing a culture that tolerates and benefits from illegal labor means backing the commitment with money and manpower, says Oltman, of the Federation for American Immigration Reform.
"We need the political will to do it," Oltman says.
For now, the border remains Bush's top priority. In his nationally televised immigration-reform address on May 15,
Bush pledged to send 6,000 National Guard troops to the
border immediately and to hire 6,000 new Border Patrol agents by 2008.
He talked about border security for nearly six minutes of his 17-minute speech. The president pledged to create a fraud-proof ID card to make employers more accountable, but he didn't mention additional staffing to make it possible.
He spent one minute on the topic.
By Brady McCombs and Thomas Stauffer Arizona Daily Star
see more at............
http://www.azstarnet.com/dailystar/news/133033
The first in a four-part series on illegal labor reform
All day long, Border Patrol agents head south from their station on West Ajo Way toward the nation's busiest corridor for illegal crossings.
They pass one sprouting subdivision after another, where construction workers oblivious to passing la migra trucks lay foundation, staple insulation and pound roof shingles. Many of them at least one third in Arizona are here illegally.
Workers here illegally have learned like millions before them make it past the increasingly militarized U.S. border and you'll find safe haven and steady work in industries such as home building, which employs more than 27,000 people in Tucson.
Within weeks, the U.S. House and Senate will begin wrangling over their widely varied proposals to revamp immigration laws, spurred in large part by growing public discontent over the unending flow of illegal immigrants into this country.
But the plans fall short of the multipronged approach needed for real reform, according to an Arizona Daily Star investigation based on interviews with dozens of academics, analysts and employers. Tangible change demands a fraud-proof system to verify legal workers and a wholesale overhaul that would bust more employers of illegal workers and force the sharing of critical information among federal agencies.
That would take years and cost billions and demand the destruction of a culture that for decades has tolerated illegal immigration in exchange for its many silent benefits.
In Tucson, illegal workers such as Jorge Quintanilla benefit from steady paychecks and from educational and cultural opportunities scarce or unavailable in their native countries.
Home builders and subcontractors such as excavator George Simon, who knowingly or unknowingly hire illegal workers, benefit from labor that keeps Tucson's $2 billion-a-year home-building industry growing.
And homeowners such as Robert and Alva Armenta benefit from new-house prices that might have been beyond their reach without illegal labor, which economists say holds down wages and home prices.
Eliminating the illegal work force would mean higher pay for legal workers, at least in the short term, economists say. But some builders fear it also would push up home prices now 30 percent higher than in April 2005 and drive down profit margins already so thin some say they're tempted to put away their hammers for good.
Massive reform also could upset big-business campaign contributors who favor lax work-site enforcement, says Demetrios Papademetriou, president of the Migration Policy Institute, a nonpartisan think tank in Washington, D.C.
"The easiest thing to do is throw money at the border. Nobody objects to that," Papademetriou says. "When you start shutting businesses down, people get pissed off."
No matter the cost, society no longer can ignore the "illegal" in illegal immigration, says Rick Oltman, Western field director for the Federation for American Immigration Reform.
"First of all, it's against the law, and the second thing is that it has the impact of inflating our population, driving down wages, putting burdens on social services, schools, education, law enforcement," says Oltman, whose group favors less legal immigration and a stop to illegal immigration. "And it sends the entirely wrong message around the world as to what our immigration policies are."
Tough talk
With estimates of illegal residents in this country reaching as high as 12 million, immigration reform has become a popular refrain.
In the Arizona Legislature, a bill sought to have illegal immigrants arrested as trespassers and let employers go unpunished if they fired workers upon learning they were illegal. Democratic Gov. Janet Napolitano vetoed the measure on Tuesday.
Nationally, the Senate and House proposals focus primarily on border security, but they also include provisions to quash the illegal work force:
Higher penalties and fines.
A mandatory electronic system to verify work eligibility.
Fraud-proof identification cards.
Sharing of information between the Social Security Administration and the Department of Homeland Security.
The Senate bill, which includes a guest-worker program with a path to permanent legal status, would provide more agents to investigate employers. The House bill would not. It deals mostly with border enforcement and makes illegal entry a felony.
President Bush favors a temporary guest-worker program and tamper-proof Social Security cards. He also wants harsher penalties for those who hire illegal immigrants, comparing current fines to parking tickets.
Such changes would worry illegal workers such as Quintanilla, but so far he's willing to live with the risks.
"Why did I come to the United States to hide?" he asked. "No, I came to the United States to give my family a better life and give my best for a country I'm helping build."
Implementing an immigration plan would take years, even if Congress could reach a compromise, says Daniel Griswold, director of the Center for Trade Policy Studies at the Cato Institute, a Washington, D.C.-based libertarian public-policy research foundation.
"There are just a lot of challenges between where we are at now and legislation that could pass Congress and be signed by the president," says Griswold, who has studied immigration for nine years.
Getting there means overpowering a business lobby that has fought hard to preserve the status quo, Oltman says.
"That has been the game all these years to ask those in power not to enforce the law, drag their feet and make excuses," Oltman says.
Staying there means withstanding shifting political winds, Papademetriou says.
"This is serious money we are talking about, and this is a country that is having serious budget problems," he says. "My guess is that as soon as the country moves on from the issue of immigration, among the first things that will fall by the wayside will be funding for a robust effort at employer sanctions."
Big show
As lawmakers debated reform in recent weeks, Homeland Security unveiled its plan to crack down on employers. Like a Hollywood producer premiering a film, the department put on a big show meant to leave an impression.
Officials stood tall and talked tough on April 20 in Washington, D.C., one day after agents arrested more than
1,100 illegal workers and seven current and former executives of pallet maker Ifco Systems at 45 sites nationwide,
including Phoenix.
"Our nation's communities cannot be a wild frontier where illegal aliens and unscrupulous employees subvert our nation's laws," Julie Myers, assistant secretary for Immigration and Customs Enforcement, said that day.
The plan Phase 2 of the Secure Border Initiative, which first concentrated on border control promises to levy criminal charges, not just fines, to punish employers who repeatedly hire illegal immigrants. It also aims to eliminate workers'
use of fake Social Security numbers by giving Homeland
Security access to Social Security data.
Already under way is the shift toward criminal indictments
and away from fines, which range from $275 to $11,000 per violation and which many employers see as a cost of doing business, says Russell Ahr, an Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokesman.
Since Oct. 1, agents have arrested more than 2,000 people, including four managers and 76 workers at a Kentucky construction company, as well as the owner of an Indiana
stucco firm. The agency is going after big employers rather than mom-and-pop operations, Ahr says.
New work-site enforcement units have been set up in Tucson
and Phoenix this year. And for the first time since the
Immigration and Naturalization Service merged into Homeland Security in 2003, work-site agents can focus on employers outside the realm of likely terrorists targets such as
airports and nuclear plants, Ahr says.
Construction companies' new status as immigration bad guys doesn't sit well with home builders such as Les Wolf,
who says he won't hire illegal workers but has trouble
finding enough legal ones. Tucson needs 5,000 more
construction workers to keep up with growth,
the Southern Arizona Home Builders Association says.
"The available work force, as we sit here right now, is home watching ESPN and MTV, and playing their Game Boys and their Xboxes, and sitting there becoming obese Americans with their poor work ethic and terrible sense of values with no loyalty
or commitment base," Wolf says. "That's a problem, and now we're going to get upset because someone that doesn't have any of those problems crosses a border and wants a job."
Politically, the arrests and the shift to criminal indictments put employers on notice of a new era.
But it all provides little bang for the buck, the Cato Institute's Griswold says. Even with the agents Homeland Security wants to add, the department still won't have enough to police the nation's businesses. And each bust takes time; the Ifco pallet firm arrests came after a yearlong investigation.
The biggest crackdown so far nabbed 350 illegal-immigrant janitors and resulted in an $11 million settlement with Wal-Mart Stores Inc., whose sales in the last fiscal year were a record $312 billion.
"We busted 300 janitors 300 down, 7 million workers to go," Griswold says.
Real change across the nation and across industries
would take billions more dollars, hundreds more agents and several years, says Papademetriou, of the Migration Policy Institute. Homeland Security is requesting an additional
$41.7 million and 206 new agents and support staff
members next year.
Toothless laws
The vague wording and loopholes in immigration laws, coupled with empty threats by those trying to enforce them, deliver a clear message to employers: Clean up or else, wink, wink.
"The system was created with the intent of protecting employers," Papademetriou says.
The current climate emerged along with the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986, which made it illegal to hire unauthorized workers. The government gave amnesty to an estimated 3 million illegal immigrants in the country before 1982 but never enforced the law against employers.
The law's wording was key: Immigration authorities must prove an employer "knowingly" hired illegal workers. That lets employers accept reasonably legitimate-looking documents to comply with the law, Papademetriou says.
That along with widespread use of fraudulent Social Security cards and green cards, and the absence of a reliable verification system gives employers an excuse for being unable to determine who's legal and who's not, he says.
Both immigration proposals would devote more resources to stemming fraud.
The House bill doesn't change the law's wording. The Senate bill tweaks it to include "reckless disregard," a modification that would make the law a little harsher on employers, Tucson immigration attorney Patricia Mejia says.
Slow death
For two decades after the 1986 reform act, U.S. immigration agencies fattened up on generous allocations from lawmakers intent on plugging the nation's leaky borders.
By 2002, the nation's immigration-enforcement budget had ballooned to $4.9 billion, compared with $1 billion provided by the 1985 budget. But work-site enforcement was eroding, hamstrung by a dwindling number of agents and by laws that shielded employers.
The United States spent 58 percent of its immigration budget on border control in 2002, the most recent year for which analysis is possible because of the Immigration and Naturalization Service's merger with Homeland Security. It spent 33 percent on detention, removal and intelligence, and 9 percent on interior investigation a tiny fraction of that for employer investigations, a 2005 study by the Migration Policy Institute found.
The United States now has about 11,350 Border Patrol agents, compared with about 325 customs enforcement agents assigned to investigate employers.
"The official policy of the U.S. government is to put this huge wall of enforcement at the border, but if you get through that, we won't bother you," says Princeton University sociologist Douglas Massey, who has studied Mexican migration for nearly three decades.
Under the current law, investigators must give employers three days' notice that they plan to show up and review personnel records. An information sheet posted on May 8 on the National Association of Home Builders' Web site reminds its clients that "in the past, it has been possible to negotiate with Immigration and Customs Enforcement for longer periods," up to 10 to 12 business days.
A new Homeland Security program lets employers store employment forms electronically. But the advance-notice provision stands.
Accomplices
Business owners say they can't tell real documents from fake ones but they're not lining up for help in figuring it out.
Both Citizenship and Immigration Services a federal Homeland Security bureau and Social Security have programs to help employers check work status. Fewer than one half of one percent of American businesses take advantage of the programs, the Government Accountability Office found.
About 6,000 employers use a Social Security program that lets them send a diskette with workers' names and Social Security numbers for verification within 30 days. The agency also has a toll-free number for employers to check up to five names and numbers at once. In 2003, it got about 1.1 million calls, but the agency doesn't track how many employers that represents.
As of January, about 5,800 businesses had signed up for Citizenship and Immigration Services' Basic Pilot Program, a Web-based service that lets employers verify workers' eligibility. About 2,300 actively use it. That includes 26 in Tucson covering 229 work sites, says Marie Sebrechts, a Citizenship and Immigration Services spokeswoman. Three of the sites belong to construction companies.
The House bill proposes a mandatory telephone version of the Basic Pilot Program, which would cost the government, employers and workers about $11.7 billion per year, with employers paying the most, according to a GAO estimate. The Senate bill doesn't specify an employee-verification program.
Neither bill addresses problems with the systems in use now. The Basic Pilot Program, offered since 2004, has been plagued by delays in updating immigration records, errors determining work status and difficult-to-use software, and it cannot detect identity fraud, the GAO says. And even if more employers wanted to use it, Citizenship and Immigration Services has says it couldn't handle the load.
Fraud-proof documents
Creating fraud-proof documents and devising a verification system are critical first before targeting businesses, the Migration Policy Institute's Papademetriou says.
"You can't go after employers until you give them all the tools to play by the rules," he says. "And getting to that point from where we are will take time, and it will take money."
Federal lawmakers aim to do that by making Social Security cards fraud-proof. The GAO analyzed three options:
? Make the card machine-readable, which would take the burden of determining a card's validity off employers. However, the card would remain vulnerable to counterfeiting.
? Add biometric features, such as fingerprints or digital pictures, which would let employers verify identity but would require workers to update their cards periodically. Both the Senate and House bills, as well as Bush, support this kind of change.
? Eliminate the card and require more secure documents to prove work eligibility.
The mass issuance of new cards would cost billions and take years, says Barbara Bov-bjerg, the GAO's director of education, work force and income security issues. The immigration bills do not yet provide for the costs of specific programs.
One solution may be cards created to comply with the Real ID Act, which calls for uniform state driver's licenses,
Bovbjerg says. They could become the fraud-proof national identification cards some people are clamoring for
if such a program is implemented. Two years after passage, Homeland Security is still setting state guidelines for the program, she says.
Sharing information
Both the House and Senate bills would force Social Security and Homeland Security to share information.
So far, a lack of coordination between them has prevented enforcement against violators, the GAO says.
The Earning Suspense File, created for cases in which Social Security numbers don't match the name of the person using them, was credited with about $60 billion in reported earnings in 2004 a number that increased 144 percent from the 1980s to the 1990s and is on pace to increase by about 200 percent this decade.
The file includes data on illegal workers as well as employer errors, name changes and variances in legal status. Construction is one of the top two industries along with eating and drinking establishments that contribute to the file.
Immigration-law overhaul could give Homeland Security access to the file. But if the two agencies' past dealings are an indication, working together could pose a challenge.
In December 2004, Congress instructed Social Security and Homeland Security to form a task force to fight Social Security fraud. Social Security didn't contact Homeland Security until November 2005, and the task force didn't meet until last January six months before it was to present its findings to Congress, the GAO says.
The Internal Revenue Service also doesn't share information with Homeland Security and doesn't exercise its enforcement power. The IRS issues thousands of individual taxpayer identification numbers each year to foreigners investors, for example who don't have Social Security numbers but who must pay taxes. "Hundreds of thousands" of the 7 million tax numbers belong to illegal immigrants, the GAO says.
An estimated 353,000 illegal workers filed returns with such tax numbers in 2000, says the Office of the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration. That information is not passed between agencies due to restrictions on sharing tax information and limited Homeland Security resources, the GAO says.
The IRS is studying ways to share information with Homeland Security. But immigration-change proposals don't mention stopping the fraudulent use of taxpayer ID numbers.
Shifting commitments
Changing a culture that tolerates and benefits from illegal labor means backing the commitment with money and manpower, says Oltman, of the Federation for American Immigration Reform.
"We need the political will to do it," Oltman says.
For now, the border remains Bush's top priority. In his nationally televised immigration-reform address on May 15,
Bush pledged to send 6,000 National Guard troops to the
border immediately and to hire 6,000 new Border Patrol agents by 2008.
He talked about border security for nearly six minutes of his 17-minute speech. The president pledged to create a fraud-proof ID card to make employers more accountable, but he didn't mention additional staffing to make it possible.
He spent one minute on the topic.
By Brady McCombs and Thomas Stauffer Arizona Daily Star
see more at............
http://www.azstarnet.com/dailystar/news/133033
Wednesday, June 14, 2006
ICE Arrests 55 Illegal Immigrants at Dulles Airport
ICE Arrests 55 Illegal Immigrants at Dulles Airport
what about the Phoenix, Tucson, Luke AFB and DM airports.
ICE Arrests 55 Illegal Immigrants at Dulles Airport.
Illegal Immigrants Arrested at Dulles airport
Dulles, Va. (AP) - Immigration officers have arrested 55 illegal immigrants who worked at a Dulles Airport
construction site.
Agents with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement
conducted the raid early this morning as the
immigrants were being bused to work.
As the buses attempted to enter an airport security
checkpoint, they were intercepted by ICE agents
who examined the workers' immigration documents.
ICE says the workers were from Mexico, Honduras,
El Salvador, Guatemala and Bolivia. They were
employed by two construction firms involved in
work at Dulles.
Authorities say one of the illegal workers had
an airport security badge that allows access to
the airport tarmac without an escort, posing a
threat to homeland security.
see more at
http://www.wjla.com/news/stories/0606/336176.html
what about the Phoenix, Tucson, Luke AFB and DM airports.
ICE Arrests 55 Illegal Immigrants at Dulles Airport.
Illegal Immigrants Arrested at Dulles airport
Dulles, Va. (AP) - Immigration officers have arrested 55 illegal immigrants who worked at a Dulles Airport
construction site.
Agents with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement
conducted the raid early this morning as the
immigrants were being bused to work.
As the buses attempted to enter an airport security
checkpoint, they were intercepted by ICE agents
who examined the workers' immigration documents.
ICE says the workers were from Mexico, Honduras,
El Salvador, Guatemala and Bolivia. They were
employed by two construction firms involved in
work at Dulles.
Authorities say one of the illegal workers had
an airport security badge that allows access to
the airport tarmac without an escort, posing a
threat to homeland security.
see more at
http://www.wjla.com/news/stories/0606/336176.html
Senator John Mccain schedule for June 2006, note no Arizona appearances again
Senator John Mccain schedule for June 2006, note no Arizona appearances again
what state does he work for ?
The following are locations and times of Senator McCain's book tour and media appearances.
We will be adding more locations as they become available.
Friday, June 16, 2006
Event Reception for Michael Steele for Senate
Time 6:00 p.m.
Location Baltimore, Maryland
Details For event information please
contact Amy Shuster (443) 481-0196 or email her
at amy.shuster@verizon.net
Saturday, June 17, 2006
Event Senator Lincoln Chafee Family Picnic
Time 12:00 p.m.
Location Exeter, Rhode Island
Details For more information please contact
Abby Meyer 401-921-1920 or email her
at ameyer@chafeeforsenate.com
Monday, June 19, 2006
Event Mississippi State Republican Party Fundraiser Dinner
Time 6:00 p.m.
Location Downtown Marriott Hotel
200 East Amite Street
Jackson, MS
Details For more info please call
the MS GOP 601/-948-5191
Wednesday, June 21, 2006
Event Reception Honoring Congressman Tom Davis
Time 7:30 p.m.
Location McLean, Virginia
Details For event information call
Christy Snider 703-556-0120
Friday, June 23, 2006
Event Ronald Reagan Presidential Library Reagan Forum
Time 5:00 p.m.
Location Simi Valley, California
Details For ticket information, please call
the Reagan Foundation at 805-522-2977.
Monday, June 26, 2006
Event Michigan State Republican Party Fundraiser Dinner
Time 6:00 p.m.
Location Meadow Brook Hall
Oakland University
Rochester, MI
Details For more info please call the MI GOP
(517) 487-5413
Mccain alert
what state does he work for ?
The following are locations and times of Senator McCain's book tour and media appearances.
We will be adding more locations as they become available.
Friday, June 16, 2006
Event Reception for Michael Steele for Senate
Time 6:00 p.m.
Location Baltimore, Maryland
Details For event information please
contact Amy Shuster (443) 481-0196 or email her
at amy.shuster@verizon.net
Saturday, June 17, 2006
Event Senator Lincoln Chafee Family Picnic
Time 12:00 p.m.
Location Exeter, Rhode Island
Details For more information please contact
Abby Meyer 401-921-1920 or email her
at ameyer@chafeeforsenate.com
Monday, June 19, 2006
Event Mississippi State Republican Party Fundraiser Dinner
Time 6:00 p.m.
Location Downtown Marriott Hotel
200 East Amite Street
Jackson, MS
Details For more info please call
the MS GOP 601/-948-5191
Wednesday, June 21, 2006
Event Reception Honoring Congressman Tom Davis
Time 7:30 p.m.
Location McLean, Virginia
Details For event information call
Christy Snider 703-556-0120
Friday, June 23, 2006
Event Ronald Reagan Presidential Library Reagan Forum
Time 5:00 p.m.
Location Simi Valley, California
Details For ticket information, please call
the Reagan Foundation at 805-522-2977.
Monday, June 26, 2006
Event Michigan State Republican Party Fundraiser Dinner
Time 6:00 p.m.
Location Meadow Brook Hall
Oakland University
Rochester, MI
Details For more info please call the MI GOP
(517) 487-5413
Mccain alert
Monday, June 12, 2006
Progress in Iraq By U.S. Senator Jon Kyl
Weekly Column June 12, 2006
Progress in Iraq By U.S. Senator Jon Kyl
It is all too rare the media reports good news from Iraq; but the world recently witnessed a series of events that were too positive for even the most cynical reporters to spin or ignore. In the most celebrated instance, coalition forces, in close coordination with Iraqi and Jordanian intelligence, were able to locate and kill the Iraqi leader of al Qaeda, Abu Musab Al-Zarqawi. And on the very same day, the new Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Al-Maliki named the final two members of his cabinet, putting his nation on the road to democratic stability.
Zarqawi was among the vilest terrorists the world has ever known and was dedicated to fanning the flames of sectarian violence in Iraq, preventing the emergence of a unified, democratic nation there, and killing as many American troops as possible along the way. As coined by Osama Bin Laden, Zarqawi was “the prince of al Qaeda in Iraq,” and his death strikes at the very heart of the terrorist network. It is a positive step toward victory in the war on terror, a defeat for insurgents, and brings Iraq one step closer to accomplishing its goal of being a free and democratic nation, unfettered by the threat of terrorism. With Zarqawi’s leadership now absent, I am hopeful that the insurgency in Iraq will be less effective, and pose less of a danger to American troops and innocent Iraqis.
But hunting down and killing terrorists will not be enough to build a free Iraqi nation; the Iraqis must also create a functioning government that represents the will of all Iraqi people.
A major step in the right direction was taken when Prime Minister Maliki nominated, and the parliament confirmed, officials for the key posts of Ministers of Defense and Interior. This progress should be heartening to all those who wish to see a stable, secure, democratic Iraq.
Our work in Iraq is far from over and we must now capitalize on this momentum by recommitting ourselves to victory there. Our military men and women, and the Iraqi people, need to know that we will not give up on them after the sacrifices they’ve made. A Marine stationed in Fallujah recently wrote a letter to his hometown paper in Ridgefield, Connecticut, expressing what must be the view of many of his comrades in arms:
“In Fallujah, the people watch Al Jazeerah. However, they also watch CNN. A lot of them fear that the United States will soon cut and run. …Furthermore, they know that the insurgents will not end their efforts early…Therefore, if they help us, their lives and the lives of their loved ones will be in great jeopardy the minute we leave - if we don’t finish the job. Much that they see on American television leads them to believe that we intend to abandon our efforts before the new Iraqi government is capable of defending itself and its citizens.”
We have the finest military in the world, and each and every American should be proud of the job our fighting men and women are doing under grueling circumstances in Iraq. The death of Zarqawi, and the completion of the Iraqi cabinet, are both testaments to the progress being made in that country. Our troops need and deserve their country to stand united behind them, now more than ever.
Sen. Kyl serves on the Senate Finance and Judiciary committees and chairs the Senate Republican Policy Committee.
Progress in Iraq By U.S. Senator Jon Kyl
It is all too rare the media reports good news from Iraq; but the world recently witnessed a series of events that were too positive for even the most cynical reporters to spin or ignore. In the most celebrated instance, coalition forces, in close coordination with Iraqi and Jordanian intelligence, were able to locate and kill the Iraqi leader of al Qaeda, Abu Musab Al-Zarqawi. And on the very same day, the new Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Al-Maliki named the final two members of his cabinet, putting his nation on the road to democratic stability.
Zarqawi was among the vilest terrorists the world has ever known and was dedicated to fanning the flames of sectarian violence in Iraq, preventing the emergence of a unified, democratic nation there, and killing as many American troops as possible along the way. As coined by Osama Bin Laden, Zarqawi was “the prince of al Qaeda in Iraq,” and his death strikes at the very heart of the terrorist network. It is a positive step toward victory in the war on terror, a defeat for insurgents, and brings Iraq one step closer to accomplishing its goal of being a free and democratic nation, unfettered by the threat of terrorism. With Zarqawi’s leadership now absent, I am hopeful that the insurgency in Iraq will be less effective, and pose less of a danger to American troops and innocent Iraqis.
But hunting down and killing terrorists will not be enough to build a free Iraqi nation; the Iraqis must also create a functioning government that represents the will of all Iraqi people.
A major step in the right direction was taken when Prime Minister Maliki nominated, and the parliament confirmed, officials for the key posts of Ministers of Defense and Interior. This progress should be heartening to all those who wish to see a stable, secure, democratic Iraq.
Our work in Iraq is far from over and we must now capitalize on this momentum by recommitting ourselves to victory there. Our military men and women, and the Iraqi people, need to know that we will not give up on them after the sacrifices they’ve made. A Marine stationed in Fallujah recently wrote a letter to his hometown paper in Ridgefield, Connecticut, expressing what must be the view of many of his comrades in arms:
“In Fallujah, the people watch Al Jazeerah. However, they also watch CNN. A lot of them fear that the United States will soon cut and run. …Furthermore, they know that the insurgents will not end their efforts early…Therefore, if they help us, their lives and the lives of their loved ones will be in great jeopardy the minute we leave - if we don’t finish the job. Much that they see on American television leads them to believe that we intend to abandon our efforts before the new Iraqi government is capable of defending itself and its citizens.”
We have the finest military in the world, and each and every American should be proud of the job our fighting men and women are doing under grueling circumstances in Iraq. The death of Zarqawi, and the completion of the Iraqi cabinet, are both testaments to the progress being made in that country. Our troops need and deserve their country to stand united behind them, now more than ever.
Sen. Kyl serves on the Senate Finance and Judiciary committees and chairs the Senate Republican Policy Committee.
Arizona Republican Party Roundup - June 12, 2006
Arizona Republican Party Roundup - June 12, 2006
Join Senator Jon Kyl as He Welcomes First Lady Laura Bush to Town
U.S. Senator Jon and Caryll Kyl Cordially Invite
You to a Luncheon With Mrs. Laura Bush
Friday, June 16, 2006
Hilton Scottsdale Resort and Villas
6333 North Scottsdale Road
Scottsdale, Arizona
$500 per person $5,000 for table of 10
Doors Open at 11:00 a.m.
Doors Close at Approximately 12:00 p.m.
Luncheon with Mrs. Laura Bush at 12:30 p.m.
Special Photo Opportunity for Table Hosts
R.S.V.P. By Monday, June 12, 2006
Call (602) 840-0306 or email sborst@jonkyl.com
Capitol Update
WHAT YOUR REPUBLICAN LEGISLATURE IS DOING -
FOR THE WEEK ENDING June 9, 2006
Once again, governor fails to act on illegal immigration:
When Governor Janet Napolitano vetoed the border security
bill last week it made us all a bit less safe -
economically and physically. She nixed $50 million for
a radar system that could spot illegal aliens crossing the desert, she said no to $55 million for local law enforcement
to pay for the costs of helping with border enforcement,
she said no to employer sanctions that would have forced businesses to follow federal immigration law or face a
loss of their business license and she failed to force
people to prove legal residency for numerous taxpayer
programs. So, now we'll continue to have no hope of
immediate relief from the economic, environmental
and public safety turmoil of illegal immigration. It'll be another hot summer filled with deaths in the desert
and a surging flow of illegal border crossers.
Lawyers, guns and money: It's been a real hit parade
for the governor's veto stamp this session.
In addition to the aforementioned wipeout of comprehensive illegal immigration reform and border enforcement,
earlier in the session she followed the recommendation of the trial lawyers and said no to a bill that would have
made it harder to bring frivolous suits against a vanishing breed: emergency room doctors. She refused a bill that would limit the governor's own ability to take your gun from you during a time of emergency, as was done during Hurricane Katrina; she wants to increase state spending by 22%,
but has threatened vetoes of major property and income tax relief being proposed by Republican lawmakers; AND this past week, right after vetoing the immigration package,
the governor put the kibosh on a major private
property rights protection bill that would have protected citizens from losing their property to over-reaching
and greedy municipalities. HB 2675 was a shot in the
arm for property owners, while Napolitano's veto was
a shot in the arm for mayors and bureaucrats.
Quote of the week: "Again, the governor has thwarted the will of the people. Governor Napolitano is continuing to allow the unabated flow of illegal aliens into Arizona."
-- House Speaker Jim Weiers expressing the disappointment
felt by so many upon Napolitano's veto of the comprehensive illegal immigration bill.
Did you know? Governor Napolitano broke the state's veto record by reaching 115 vetoes in less than half the
time it took former Democrat Governor Bruce Babbitt to amass 114 back in the 1980's. She became the new obstruction
champ in grand style by smashing the record with a veto of the nation's most comprehensive state legislation on illegal immigration. Minutes later she broke her own new mark
by vetoing the Private Property Rights Protection act,
designed to make it much more difficult for cities to
take your private property through eminent domain.
Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney Speaks at Trunk & Tusk Dinner
Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney addressed a crowd of over 150 Arizona Republicans on Saturday at the kick off
to the 2006 Trunk & Tusk dinner series.
Joined by his wife, Ann, Governor Romney spoke of the challenges facing our nation, such as education and energy,
and of some of the exciting initiatives he's undertaken as governor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
We are grateful that the governor could take the
time to visit with us, and we look forward to more
fine guests this year.
For a full calendar of events, please visit www.azgop.org.
Arizona Republican Party (602) 957-7770
www.mccainalert.com
Join Senator Jon Kyl as He Welcomes First Lady Laura Bush to Town
U.S. Senator Jon and Caryll Kyl Cordially Invite
You to a Luncheon With Mrs. Laura Bush
Friday, June 16, 2006
Hilton Scottsdale Resort and Villas
6333 North Scottsdale Road
Scottsdale, Arizona
$500 per person $5,000 for table of 10
Doors Open at 11:00 a.m.
Doors Close at Approximately 12:00 p.m.
Luncheon with Mrs. Laura Bush at 12:30 p.m.
Special Photo Opportunity for Table Hosts
R.S.V.P. By Monday, June 12, 2006
Call (602) 840-0306 or email sborst@jonkyl.com
Capitol Update
WHAT YOUR REPUBLICAN LEGISLATURE IS DOING -
FOR THE WEEK ENDING June 9, 2006
Once again, governor fails to act on illegal immigration:
When Governor Janet Napolitano vetoed the border security
bill last week it made us all a bit less safe -
economically and physically. She nixed $50 million for
a radar system that could spot illegal aliens crossing the desert, she said no to $55 million for local law enforcement
to pay for the costs of helping with border enforcement,
she said no to employer sanctions that would have forced businesses to follow federal immigration law or face a
loss of their business license and she failed to force
people to prove legal residency for numerous taxpayer
programs. So, now we'll continue to have no hope of
immediate relief from the economic, environmental
and public safety turmoil of illegal immigration. It'll be another hot summer filled with deaths in the desert
and a surging flow of illegal border crossers.
Lawyers, guns and money: It's been a real hit parade
for the governor's veto stamp this session.
In addition to the aforementioned wipeout of comprehensive illegal immigration reform and border enforcement,
earlier in the session she followed the recommendation of the trial lawyers and said no to a bill that would have
made it harder to bring frivolous suits against a vanishing breed: emergency room doctors. She refused a bill that would limit the governor's own ability to take your gun from you during a time of emergency, as was done during Hurricane Katrina; she wants to increase state spending by 22%,
but has threatened vetoes of major property and income tax relief being proposed by Republican lawmakers; AND this past week, right after vetoing the immigration package,
the governor put the kibosh on a major private
property rights protection bill that would have protected citizens from losing their property to over-reaching
and greedy municipalities. HB 2675 was a shot in the
arm for property owners, while Napolitano's veto was
a shot in the arm for mayors and bureaucrats.
Quote of the week: "Again, the governor has thwarted the will of the people. Governor Napolitano is continuing to allow the unabated flow of illegal aliens into Arizona."
-- House Speaker Jim Weiers expressing the disappointment
felt by so many upon Napolitano's veto of the comprehensive illegal immigration bill.
Did you know? Governor Napolitano broke the state's veto record by reaching 115 vetoes in less than half the
time it took former Democrat Governor Bruce Babbitt to amass 114 back in the 1980's. She became the new obstruction
champ in grand style by smashing the record with a veto of the nation's most comprehensive state legislation on illegal immigration. Minutes later she broke her own new mark
by vetoing the Private Property Rights Protection act,
designed to make it much more difficult for cities to
take your private property through eminent domain.
Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney Speaks at Trunk & Tusk Dinner
Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney addressed a crowd of over 150 Arizona Republicans on Saturday at the kick off
to the 2006 Trunk & Tusk dinner series.
Joined by his wife, Ann, Governor Romney spoke of the challenges facing our nation, such as education and energy,
and of some of the exciting initiatives he's undertaken as governor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
We are grateful that the governor could take the
time to visit with us, and we look forward to more
fine guests this year.
For a full calendar of events, please visit www.azgop.org.
Arizona Republican Party (602) 957-7770
www.mccainalert.com
can Newt kick Mccain butt in 2008 ? Gingrich considers presidential run in 2008
can Newt kick Mccain butt in 2008 ? Gingrich considers presidential run in 2008
Gingrich considers presidential run in 2008
Former House speaker Newt Gingrich, R-Ga., expects to run for president in 2008 if the contest for the Republican nomination still seems wide open late next year, he said Friday.
In remarks that were critical of both parties' recent performance, Gingrich told a luncheon group of scholars and reporters at the Brookings Institution that he will make a decision in the fall of 2007 about running.
"If at that point there's still a vacuum ... then we'll probably do something," Gingrich said, adding that his policy pronouncements have more weight if he is seen as a potential presidential candidate. "If you're interested in defining the idea context and the political context for the next generation of Americans, which I am, the most effective way to do that is to be seen as potentially available."
Gingrich's entry would shake up a Republican presidential field that now includes Sens. George Allen, Va.; Bill Frist, Tenn.; and John McCain, Ariz.. Many Republicans still revere Gingrich for engineering the GOP's takeover of Congress in 1994, though members of his own party pushed him to resign in 1998 after his drive to impeach President Bill Clinton cost them seats in that year's election.
Though he came to power as a fiery conservative, Gingrich has softened some of his partisanship since leaving office. He has criticized the current House leadership for cracking down on dissent, he appeared last year with Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y., to back changes in how medical data are shared, and he supports federal funding for alternative energy sources.
When Americans look at the current roster of Republican and Democratic leaders, Gingrich said, they face a dilemma.
Former House speaker waiting to see if GOP front-runner emerges
"We have a choice between those who are failing to deliver and those who are unthinkable," he said, adding that he would put "even money" on the Democrats taking back the House this fall. "Neither party currently is where the country is."
Gingrich also took a parting shot at Rep. Tom DeLay, R-Texas, who retired from Congress this week after two of his top aides and a close associate, former lobbyist Jack Abramoff, pleaded guilty to corruption charges. Although DeLay embraced the nickname "The Hammer" while serving as both majority whip and majority leader, Gingrich said he favors a more tolerant form of leadership
WASHINGTON POST
By Juliet Eilperin
see more at........
http://www.contracostatimes.com/mld/cctimes/news/nation/14787819.htm?source=rss&channel=cctimes_nation
see more at www.mccainalert.com
Mccain alert
Gingrich considers presidential run in 2008
Former House speaker Newt Gingrich, R-Ga., expects to run for president in 2008 if the contest for the Republican nomination still seems wide open late next year, he said Friday.
In remarks that were critical of both parties' recent performance, Gingrich told a luncheon group of scholars and reporters at the Brookings Institution that he will make a decision in the fall of 2007 about running.
"If at that point there's still a vacuum ... then we'll probably do something," Gingrich said, adding that his policy pronouncements have more weight if he is seen as a potential presidential candidate. "If you're interested in defining the idea context and the political context for the next generation of Americans, which I am, the most effective way to do that is to be seen as potentially available."
Gingrich's entry would shake up a Republican presidential field that now includes Sens. George Allen, Va.; Bill Frist, Tenn.; and John McCain, Ariz.. Many Republicans still revere Gingrich for engineering the GOP's takeover of Congress in 1994, though members of his own party pushed him to resign in 1998 after his drive to impeach President Bill Clinton cost them seats in that year's election.
Though he came to power as a fiery conservative, Gingrich has softened some of his partisanship since leaving office. He has criticized the current House leadership for cracking down on dissent, he appeared last year with Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y., to back changes in how medical data are shared, and he supports federal funding for alternative energy sources.
When Americans look at the current roster of Republican and Democratic leaders, Gingrich said, they face a dilemma.
Former House speaker waiting to see if GOP front-runner emerges
"We have a choice between those who are failing to deliver and those who are unthinkable," he said, adding that he would put "even money" on the Democrats taking back the House this fall. "Neither party currently is where the country is."
Gingrich also took a parting shot at Rep. Tom DeLay, R-Texas, who retired from Congress this week after two of his top aides and a close associate, former lobbyist Jack Abramoff, pleaded guilty to corruption charges. Although DeLay embraced the nickname "The Hammer" while serving as both majority whip and majority leader, Gingrich said he favors a more tolerant form of leadership
WASHINGTON POST
By Juliet Eilperin
see more at........
http://www.contracostatimes.com/mld/cctimes/news/nation/14787819.htm?source=rss&channel=cctimes_nation
see more at www.mccainalert.com
Mccain alert
Arizona Coalition for New Energy Technologies
Arizona Coalition for New Energy Technologies
Principals of the Arizona Coalition for New Energy Technologies have a successful history of working at the federal and state levels to advance renewable energy and energy efficiency technologies.
The Arizona Coalition for New Energy Technologies promotes its members and their innovative technologies through outreach programs and various other activities. One of our primary outreach activities is to work with state and federal policymakers and other key opinion leaders.
Executive Director Craig Cox helped former Congressman Dan Schaefer (R-Colorado) launch the U.S. House Renewables and Energy Efficiency Caucus in 1996. Starting with just seven Members of Congress, this group continues to thrive, and has grown to comprise 204 Members today, with Representatives Mark Udall (D-Colorado) and Zach Wamp (R-Tennessee) currently serving as the group’s co-chairs. In 1998, Cox helped Senator Wayne Allard (R-Colorado) launch the U.S. Senate Renewables and Energy Efficiency Caucus, which has grown from five Senators to 33 today.
The Arizona Coalition for New Energy Technologies was launched early in 2002 by 16 companies from around the state. It supports the activities of the Arizona Legislature’s bipartisan Renewables and Energy Efficiency Caucus (modeled on the federal caucuses described above), which was also launched early in 2002 by Arizona State Representatives and Senators. On 28 February 2002, the Arizona Coalition for New Energy Technologies provided its first briefing to the Legislature’s Renewables and Energy Efficiency Caucus.
http://www.newenergytechnologies.org/arizona/about/default.htm
see more at wwww.mccainalert.com
Principals of the Arizona Coalition for New Energy Technologies have a successful history of working at the federal and state levels to advance renewable energy and energy efficiency technologies.
The Arizona Coalition for New Energy Technologies promotes its members and their innovative technologies through outreach programs and various other activities. One of our primary outreach activities is to work with state and federal policymakers and other key opinion leaders.
Executive Director Craig Cox helped former Congressman Dan Schaefer (R-Colorado) launch the U.S. House Renewables and Energy Efficiency Caucus in 1996. Starting with just seven Members of Congress, this group continues to thrive, and has grown to comprise 204 Members today, with Representatives Mark Udall (D-Colorado) and Zach Wamp (R-Tennessee) currently serving as the group’s co-chairs. In 1998, Cox helped Senator Wayne Allard (R-Colorado) launch the U.S. Senate Renewables and Energy Efficiency Caucus, which has grown from five Senators to 33 today.
The Arizona Coalition for New Energy Technologies was launched early in 2002 by 16 companies from around the state. It supports the activities of the Arizona Legislature’s bipartisan Renewables and Energy Efficiency Caucus (modeled on the federal caucuses described above), which was also launched early in 2002 by Arizona State Representatives and Senators. On 28 February 2002, the Arizona Coalition for New Energy Technologies provided its first briefing to the Legislature’s Renewables and Energy Efficiency Caucus.
http://www.newenergytechnologies.org/arizona/about/default.htm
see more at wwww.mccainalert.com
Sunday, June 11, 2006
Minutemen PRESS RELEASE (June 10, 2006)
PRESS RELEASE (June 10, 2006)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
BILLBOARD BY BILLBOARD THE MINUTEMEN WILL TAKE OUR COUNTRY BACK
Help Stop McCain
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Arizona citizens that passed legislation last election blocking taxpayer services to illegal aliens was long over due. Many applaud their efforts and endless work. The voters of Arizona sent the perfect message: Foreigners who break into the US illegally don't receive freebies from Arizona citizens. They will be reported and deported. The loud and clear message sent by Arizona taxpayers means the money in their wallets will no longer subsidize border jumpers. EVERY STATE in the country needs to implement their own initiative and send out a clear warning that their "Bank of Entitlements" will no longer fund illegal aliens. Simply put, American taxpayers are tired of footing the bill for illegal aliens breaking into the United States. That is why Minuteman Founder Jim Gilchrist and his Minutemen have started the "Minuteman Billboard Project". Our first target is Senator John McCain of Arizona.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Minuteman Billboard Project is going national and state-by-state we will send a loud and clear message not only to the President, but to the 62 senators who are pushing SB 2611 AMNESTY for illegal alien invaders. Senator John McCain will be the first targeted recipient as he is one of the sponsors on the McCain/Kennedy Amnesty Bill and by far the most vocal and rude elected official voting and sponsoring legislation to give up America's sovereignty.
Currently, Senators Kennedy and McCain joined forces to "work" the illegal alien problem. We must expose government mismanagement and corruption. Unfortunately, career politicians prolong this national crisis. Greedy elected officials need to be reckoned with as they have been hijacked by lobbyists. We must get to the bottom of the cesspool since our federal government offers little, if any help. We must start at the local government level and manage "OUR" money.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
It's time our elected officials represent us, "We the People." They swore on the Bible to uphold the Constitution and serve American citizens. Nowhere did it say they serve illegal aliens from other countries over American citizens. It's time they follow through on their sacred trust as a majority of Americans are "mad as hell and are not going to take it anymore."
Recently, MMP Founder Jim Gilchrist attended "Billboard Colorado's" unveiling of their first billboard and supported Congressman Tom Tancredo in Denver at this patriotic event. The citizens of Colorado donated their hard-earned money to have three billboards placed in strategic areas where citizens are able to view them. Go to BillboardColorado.com. Peter Boyles of 630 AM KHOW Radio was instrumental in starting this project.
Won't you please help, support and donate to the Minutemen Billboard Project? The opposition and open borders advocates receive funding from foundations such as The Ford Foundation, First Data/Western Union, Home Depot, etc. Jim Gilchrist and his soldiers of sovereignty are fighting for your AMERICA and spend their own time and their own time to save our beloved country.
Please join citizens throughout the country by sending your check or by making a donation on our "Billboard" page.
-----------------------
Thank you for your support at this crucial time in America.
Minuteman Founder,
Jim Gilchrist
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Donate Now
We have to pay our bills!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Start a Minuteman Chapter
We are planning 500 new Minuteman Chapters from coast to coast by Christmas! It's easy, fun and it must be done!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sign the Minuteman Pledge
We need people of good moral character and not afraid of being called a Patriot! Download, sign and fax to: 949-222-6607
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
BILLBOARD BY BILLBOARD THE MINUTEMEN WILL TAKE OUR COUNTRY BACK
Help Stop McCain
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Arizona citizens that passed legislation last election blocking taxpayer services to illegal aliens was long over due. Many applaud their efforts and endless work. The voters of Arizona sent the perfect message: Foreigners who break into the US illegally don't receive freebies from Arizona citizens. They will be reported and deported. The loud and clear message sent by Arizona taxpayers means the money in their wallets will no longer subsidize border jumpers. EVERY STATE in the country needs to implement their own initiative and send out a clear warning that their "Bank of Entitlements" will no longer fund illegal aliens. Simply put, American taxpayers are tired of footing the bill for illegal aliens breaking into the United States. That is why Minuteman Founder Jim Gilchrist and his Minutemen have started the "Minuteman Billboard Project". Our first target is Senator John McCain of Arizona.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Minuteman Billboard Project is going national and state-by-state we will send a loud and clear message not only to the President, but to the 62 senators who are pushing SB 2611 AMNESTY for illegal alien invaders. Senator John McCain will be the first targeted recipient as he is one of the sponsors on the McCain/Kennedy Amnesty Bill and by far the most vocal and rude elected official voting and sponsoring legislation to give up America's sovereignty.
Currently, Senators Kennedy and McCain joined forces to "work" the illegal alien problem. We must expose government mismanagement and corruption. Unfortunately, career politicians prolong this national crisis. Greedy elected officials need to be reckoned with as they have been hijacked by lobbyists. We must get to the bottom of the cesspool since our federal government offers little, if any help. We must start at the local government level and manage "OUR" money.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
It's time our elected officials represent us, "We the People." They swore on the Bible to uphold the Constitution and serve American citizens. Nowhere did it say they serve illegal aliens from other countries over American citizens. It's time they follow through on their sacred trust as a majority of Americans are "mad as hell and are not going to take it anymore."
Recently, MMP Founder Jim Gilchrist attended "Billboard Colorado's" unveiling of their first billboard and supported Congressman Tom Tancredo in Denver at this patriotic event. The citizens of Colorado donated their hard-earned money to have three billboards placed in strategic areas where citizens are able to view them. Go to BillboardColorado.com. Peter Boyles of 630 AM KHOW Radio was instrumental in starting this project.
Won't you please help, support and donate to the Minutemen Billboard Project? The opposition and open borders advocates receive funding from foundations such as The Ford Foundation, First Data/Western Union, Home Depot, etc. Jim Gilchrist and his soldiers of sovereignty are fighting for your AMERICA and spend their own time and their own time to save our beloved country.
Please join citizens throughout the country by sending your check or by making a donation on our "Billboard" page.
-----------------------
Thank you for your support at this crucial time in America.
Minuteman Founder,
Jim Gilchrist
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Donate Now
We have to pay our bills!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Start a Minuteman Chapter
We are planning 500 new Minuteman Chapters from coast to coast by Christmas! It's easy, fun and it must be done!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sign the Minuteman Pledge
We need people of good moral character and not afraid of being called a Patriot! Download, sign and fax to: 949-222-6607
Lawmakers fly high on special interests' dime
Lawmakers fly high on special interests' dime
If the thought of a congressman traveling to Paris or Rome courtesy of a special interest group makes you angry, you're going to be peeved for the foreseeable future.
There are many unsettled issues surrounding the ethics bill now being ironed out in Congress, but even if the bill passes,
it will not prevent lawmakers or their staff members from accepting pricey trips from corporations and special interest groups.
The Center for Public Integrity has released an eye-opening report on the travel members of Congress and their aides
have accepted from businesses and groups that try to sway Congress. The report found that members of Congress and
their staffers accepted at least 23,000 trips from
January 2000 through June 2005 worth a total of almost $50 million.
And these aren't trips to the county courthouse, either.
There were at least 200 trips to Paris, 150 to Hawaii and 140 to Italy. Those picking up the tab for the travel
included Microsoft, Time Warner and the Nuclear Energy Institute.
When asked about traveling on someone else's dime, members of Congress vow that all of the trips were necessary for their work. And clearly, most of this travel comported with disclosure and ethics laws in place at the time.
(There were, however, at least 90 trips sponsored
by firms that lobby the federal government; ethics
rules forbid lobbyists from paying for congressional travel.)
But if the trips were necessary to government, then why are they financed by special interest groups? And does a congressman or staffer really need to go to a Colorado ski resort to study Social Security?
Yet if the trips irk the public, they suit Congress just
fine. Both houses of Congress have passed ethics reform efforts: The House bill asks the ethics committee to propose new travel rules, which may or may not be adopted. The Senate bill would prohibit lobbyists from going along on trips
and would tighten disclosure requirements. Both houses
talked about banning privately funded travel for lawmakers after the Jack Abramoff scandal hit; bans are included in neither of the bills.
Lawmakers can tout the value of these trips all they want,
but the real problem here is the sponsorships. Voters are
left to wonder if their traveling congressman is gathering information, or if the business sponsoring the trip is gathering influence.
http://www.tennessean.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060611/OPINION01/606110348/1008
MccainAlert.com
emial your congressman with your thoughts
If the thought of a congressman traveling to Paris or Rome courtesy of a special interest group makes you angry, you're going to be peeved for the foreseeable future.
There are many unsettled issues surrounding the ethics bill now being ironed out in Congress, but even if the bill passes,
it will not prevent lawmakers or their staff members from accepting pricey trips from corporations and special interest groups.
The Center for Public Integrity has released an eye-opening report on the travel members of Congress and their aides
have accepted from businesses and groups that try to sway Congress. The report found that members of Congress and
their staffers accepted at least 23,000 trips from
January 2000 through June 2005 worth a total of almost $50 million.
And these aren't trips to the county courthouse, either.
There were at least 200 trips to Paris, 150 to Hawaii and 140 to Italy. Those picking up the tab for the travel
included Microsoft, Time Warner and the Nuclear Energy Institute.
When asked about traveling on someone else's dime, members of Congress vow that all of the trips were necessary for their work. And clearly, most of this travel comported with disclosure and ethics laws in place at the time.
(There were, however, at least 90 trips sponsored
by firms that lobby the federal government; ethics
rules forbid lobbyists from paying for congressional travel.)
But if the trips were necessary to government, then why are they financed by special interest groups? And does a congressman or staffer really need to go to a Colorado ski resort to study Social Security?
Yet if the trips irk the public, they suit Congress just
fine. Both houses of Congress have passed ethics reform efforts: The House bill asks the ethics committee to propose new travel rules, which may or may not be adopted. The Senate bill would prohibit lobbyists from going along on trips
and would tighten disclosure requirements. Both houses
talked about banning privately funded travel for lawmakers after the Jack Abramoff scandal hit; bans are included in neither of the bills.
Lawmakers can tout the value of these trips all they want,
but the real problem here is the sponsorships. Voters are
left to wonder if their traveling congressman is gathering information, or if the business sponsoring the trip is gathering influence.
http://www.tennessean.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060611/OPINION01/606110348/1008
MccainAlert.com
emial your congressman with your thoughts
Friday, June 09, 2006
Bad month for Senator Mccain/champion of the "indocumentados"
Bad month for Senator Mccain/champion of the "indocumentados"
In almost every poll, the three front-runners for the Republican nomination in 2008 are Rudy Giuliani,
Condi Rice and John McCain.
As Condi has ruled it out and Rudy is a Manhattanite
on social and moral issues -- gays, guns, affirmative action and abortion -- McCain, as a conservative maverick and
media darling, appeared to have the pole position for the nomination. That no charismatic challenger is visible has seemed to add to the aura of inevitability of John McCain.
But the last six weeks have muddled this picture,
and McCain now appears out of step with his party and
country. Consider the returns from California of Tuesday last.
Brian Bilbray, a lobbyist who had won 15 percent in the
primary to 44 percent for Democratic opponent
Francine Busby -- to fill the seat of convicted Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham -- came from behind to win 49-45.
Busby's failure suggests the "culture-of-corruption" issue is no sure winner for Democrats this fall. Bad news for
Rahm Emanuel, who runs the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.
But worse news for McCain. For Bilbray attributes his
comeback to a relentless assault on the McCain amnesty for illegal aliens that passed the Senate in May and his
support for a 2,000-mile fence on the U.S. border
from the Gulf of Mexico to the Pacific. So miffed at Bilbray was McCain he canceled a fund-raising appearance.
Not only is McCain the champion of the "indocumentados,"
he has imputed racist motives to senators who oppose
putting illegals on a path to American citizenship.
As Kathryn Jean Lopez of National Review Online writes,
"McCain uttered on the Senate floor what was probably
the worst sentence of the entire debate," when he flippantly asked, "What next -- are we going to say work-authorized immigrants are going to have to ride in the back of the bus?"
This language is redolent of the moral superiority liberals often assumed, which helped to make them insufferable
to Middle America.
After comparing opponents of his amnesty bill to defenders
of Jim Crow, McCain, says Lopez, at an off-the-record event
in New York, allegedly called Rush Limbaugh a "nativist."
He then joined the liberal Republicans in voting against
a constitutional amendment that would define marriage as between a man and a woman.
see more Pat Buchanan at....
http://news.yahoo.com/s/uc/20060609/cm_uc_crpbux/pat_buchanan20060609
In almost every poll, the three front-runners for the Republican nomination in 2008 are Rudy Giuliani,
Condi Rice and John McCain.
As Condi has ruled it out and Rudy is a Manhattanite
on social and moral issues -- gays, guns, affirmative action and abortion -- McCain, as a conservative maverick and
media darling, appeared to have the pole position for the nomination. That no charismatic challenger is visible has seemed to add to the aura of inevitability of John McCain.
But the last six weeks have muddled this picture,
and McCain now appears out of step with his party and
country. Consider the returns from California of Tuesday last.
Brian Bilbray, a lobbyist who had won 15 percent in the
primary to 44 percent for Democratic opponent
Francine Busby -- to fill the seat of convicted Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham -- came from behind to win 49-45.
Busby's failure suggests the "culture-of-corruption" issue is no sure winner for Democrats this fall. Bad news for
Rahm Emanuel, who runs the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.
But worse news for McCain. For Bilbray attributes his
comeback to a relentless assault on the McCain amnesty for illegal aliens that passed the Senate in May and his
support for a 2,000-mile fence on the U.S. border
from the Gulf of Mexico to the Pacific. So miffed at Bilbray was McCain he canceled a fund-raising appearance.
Not only is McCain the champion of the "indocumentados,"
he has imputed racist motives to senators who oppose
putting illegals on a path to American citizenship.
As Kathryn Jean Lopez of National Review Online writes,
"McCain uttered on the Senate floor what was probably
the worst sentence of the entire debate," when he flippantly asked, "What next -- are we going to say work-authorized immigrants are going to have to ride in the back of the bus?"
This language is redolent of the moral superiority liberals often assumed, which helped to make them insufferable
to Middle America.
After comparing opponents of his amnesty bill to defenders
of Jim Crow, McCain, says Lopez, at an off-the-record event
in New York, allegedly called Rush Limbaugh a "nativist."
He then joined the liberal Republicans in voting against
a constitutional amendment that would define marriage as between a man and a woman.
see more Pat Buchanan at....
http://news.yahoo.com/s/uc/20060609/cm_uc_crpbux/pat_buchanan20060609
Alert: Senator Mccain on new cable tv options.
McCain bill backs 'a la carte' cable menu
Industry and local government officials critical of proposal
Cable companies that offer channels on an individual basis rather than in packages would receive a break on local franchise fees and requirements under legislation
introduced Wednesday by Sen. John McCain.
The Arizona Republican's bill would allow cable operators
that offer channels on an "a la carte" basis to be
eligible to receive a nationwide franchise, which allows a cable
provider to avoid negotiations on a city-by-city basis.
Cable companies also would pay lower fees for rights of
way and not be required to offer as many public access channels.
"For almost 10 years I have supported giving consumers the ability to buy cable channels individually . . . to provide consumers with more control over the viewing options
in their home and their monthly cable bill," McCain
said in a statement. "Cable companies have resisted this and have continued to give consumers all the 'choice' of a North Korean election ballot."
The proposed legislation immediately drew fire not
only from the cable industry but from local government officials, who could stand to lose millions in franchise
fees that typically are used to fund essential city
services such as police and sanitation.
see more at..............
http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/tech/article/0,2777,DRMN_23910_4758516,00.html
see more at www.mccainalert.com
www.mccainalert.com
Industry and local government officials critical of proposal
Cable companies that offer channels on an individual basis rather than in packages would receive a break on local franchise fees and requirements under legislation
introduced Wednesday by Sen. John McCain.
The Arizona Republican's bill would allow cable operators
that offer channels on an "a la carte" basis to be
eligible to receive a nationwide franchise, which allows a cable
provider to avoid negotiations on a city-by-city basis.
Cable companies also would pay lower fees for rights of
way and not be required to offer as many public access channels.
"For almost 10 years I have supported giving consumers the ability to buy cable channels individually . . . to provide consumers with more control over the viewing options
in their home and their monthly cable bill," McCain
said in a statement. "Cable companies have resisted this and have continued to give consumers all the 'choice' of a North Korean election ballot."
The proposed legislation immediately drew fire not
only from the cable industry but from local government officials, who could stand to lose millions in franchise
fees that typically are used to fund essential city
services such as police and sanitation.
see more at..............
http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/tech/article/0,2777,DRMN_23910_4758516,00.html
see more at www.mccainalert.com
www.mccainalert.com
Wednesday, June 07, 2006
4 Mexicans pleaded guilty to immigrant smuggling
4 Mexicans pleaded guilty to immigrant smuggling
Four Mexicans accused of sneaking across
the border pleaded guilty Tuesday under a new state
law targeting immigrant smugglers.
They were among the first 48 alleged customers of
smugglers to be charged as conspirators to the crime.
The four, who pleaded guilty to solicitation to
commit immigrant smuggling, were sentenced to
two years supervised probation and expected to
face deportation proceedings.
Critics say the law was intended to be used
against smugglers, not their customers.
Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas has
said the customers of smugglers need to be
held accountable.
In all, 19 of the 48 have pleaded guilty to
solicitation to commit immigrant smuggling.
Nearly 200 people, most of whom are customers
of smugglers, have been charged in Maricopa County
under the law.
see more at
http://kvoa.com/Global/story.asp?S=4999582
Four Mexicans accused of sneaking across
the border pleaded guilty Tuesday under a new state
law targeting immigrant smugglers.
They were among the first 48 alleged customers of
smugglers to be charged as conspirators to the crime.
The four, who pleaded guilty to solicitation to
commit immigrant smuggling, were sentenced to
two years supervised probation and expected to
face deportation proceedings.
Critics say the law was intended to be used
against smugglers, not their customers.
Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas has
said the customers of smugglers need to be
held accountable.
In all, 19 of the 48 have pleaded guilty to
solicitation to commit immigrant smuggling.
Nearly 200 people, most of whom are customers
of smugglers, have been charged in Maricopa County
under the law.
see more at
http://kvoa.com/Global/story.asp?S=4999582
Tuesday, June 06, 2006
Senator John Mccain stance on same sex marriage ?
Senator John Mccain stance on same sex marriage ?
And while some actually believe that McCain takes a "moderate" stance on gay marriage because he has said repeatedly that he will vote against a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage, that's not exactly his position, as he is too happy to point out to the Religious Right. McCain would only vote against a constitutional amendment if it would supersede a pending, Arizona gay-marriage measure, which he strongly supports.
If the Arizona ban was struck down, McCain would switch gears and vote for a federal prohibition on gay marriage via a constitutional amendment.
"I will vote against a constitutional amendment, which will come before the Senate on this issue, because I think the states should decide. That's the essence of federalism," said McCain, appearing on Meet the Press in April. "In my state of Arizona, we have a ballot initiative on this issue, which I am supporting. And so if through the court process, they say that that's not constitutional, then I would support a constitutional amendment."
He's also been a leader in the Bush Crew's attempts to blind Americans with fear to regain support for the war in Iraq. "We must win in Iraq. We cannot fail. If we lose in Iraq, they're coming after us. We will fight them somewhere else -- like here," said McCain this month at the Utah Republican Party Convention. "It's all part of a gigantic, titanic struggle between good and evil."
see more at
http://www.alternet.org/story/37035/
see more on Senator Mccain antics
And while some actually believe that McCain takes a "moderate" stance on gay marriage because he has said repeatedly that he will vote against a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage, that's not exactly his position, as he is too happy to point out to the Religious Right. McCain would only vote against a constitutional amendment if it would supersede a pending, Arizona gay-marriage measure, which he strongly supports.
If the Arizona ban was struck down, McCain would switch gears and vote for a federal prohibition on gay marriage via a constitutional amendment.
"I will vote against a constitutional amendment, which will come before the Senate on this issue, because I think the states should decide. That's the essence of federalism," said McCain, appearing on Meet the Press in April. "In my state of Arizona, we have a ballot initiative on this issue, which I am supporting. And so if through the court process, they say that that's not constitutional, then I would support a constitutional amendment."
He's also been a leader in the Bush Crew's attempts to blind Americans with fear to regain support for the war in Iraq. "We must win in Iraq. We cannot fail. If we lose in Iraq, they're coming after us. We will fight them somewhere else -- like here," said McCain this month at the Utah Republican Party Convention. "It's all part of a gigantic, titanic struggle between good and evil."
see more at
http://www.alternet.org/story/37035/
see more on Senator Mccain antics
Monday, June 05, 2006
$50 million in freebie travel trips to Congress
Privately Sponsored Trips Hot Tickets on Capitol Hill
$50 million in freebie travel trips to Congress
Study finds almost $50 million spent on travel
Over a 5½-year period ending in 2005, members of
Congress and their aides took at least 23,000 trips
valued at almost $50 million financed by private sponsors,
many of them corporations, trade associations and
nonprofit groups with business on Capitol Hill.
Who are the top travelers?
While some of these trips might qualify as legitimate
fact-finding missions, the purpose of others is less clear.
A nine-month analysis of congressional disclosure forms
for travel from January 2000 through June 2005 done by
the Center for Public Integrity, American Public Media
and Northwestern University's Medill News Service
turned up thousands of costly excursions
at least 200 trips to Paris, 150 to Hawaii and 140 to Italy.
Congressional travelers gave speeches in Scotland,
attended meetings in Australia and toured nuclear
facilities in Spain. They pondered welfare reform
in Scottsdale, Ariz., and the future of Social Security
at a Colorado ski resort, according to the forms.
Some trips seem to have been little more than pricey
vacations often taken in the company of spouses or
other relatives wrapped around speeches or seminars.
In many instances, trip sponsors appeared to be buying
access to elected officials or their advisers. Some
such as the Nuclear Energy Institute, Microsoft,
Time Warner and The Walt Disney Co. clearly have
products to sell or programs to promote.
The motives of others the Congressional
Institute or the Mercatus Center at George Mason
University, for example are less obvious.
Congressional
Fact-Finding Missions?
Congressional ethics rules permit lawmakers and aides to take privately sponsored travel in connection with their official duties, but state that trips shouldn't be "substantially recreational in nature." Yet thousands of them approved in recent years have been to such prime vacation spots as Paris, Rome and the Colorado Rockies.
Source: U.S. House and Senate travel disclosure forms
The analysis found many apparent violations of ethics rules. Disclosure forms show, for example, that at least 90 trips, valued at about $145,000, were sponsored or co-sponsored by firms registered to lobby the federal government. Ethics rules do not allow lobbyists to pay for congressional travel.
http://www.publicintegrity.org/powertrips/report.aspx?aid=799
$50 million in freebie travel trips to Congress
Study finds almost $50 million spent on travel
Over a 5½-year period ending in 2005, members of
Congress and their aides took at least 23,000 trips
valued at almost $50 million financed by private sponsors,
many of them corporations, trade associations and
nonprofit groups with business on Capitol Hill.
Who are the top travelers?
While some of these trips might qualify as legitimate
fact-finding missions, the purpose of others is less clear.
A nine-month analysis of congressional disclosure forms
for travel from January 2000 through June 2005 done by
the Center for Public Integrity, American Public Media
and Northwestern University's Medill News Service
turned up thousands of costly excursions
at least 200 trips to Paris, 150 to Hawaii and 140 to Italy.
Congressional travelers gave speeches in Scotland,
attended meetings in Australia and toured nuclear
facilities in Spain. They pondered welfare reform
in Scottsdale, Ariz., and the future of Social Security
at a Colorado ski resort, according to the forms.
Some trips seem to have been little more than pricey
vacations often taken in the company of spouses or
other relatives wrapped around speeches or seminars.
In many instances, trip sponsors appeared to be buying
access to elected officials or their advisers. Some
such as the Nuclear Energy Institute, Microsoft,
Time Warner and The Walt Disney Co. clearly have
products to sell or programs to promote.
The motives of others the Congressional
Institute or the Mercatus Center at George Mason
University, for example are less obvious.
Congressional
Fact-Finding Missions?
Congressional ethics rules permit lawmakers and aides to take privately sponsored travel in connection with their official duties, but state that trips shouldn't be "substantially recreational in nature." Yet thousands of them approved in recent years have been to such prime vacation spots as Paris, Rome and the Colorado Rockies.
Source: U.S. House and Senate travel disclosure forms
The analysis found many apparent violations of ethics rules. Disclosure forms show, for example, that at least 90 trips, valued at about $145,000, were sponsored or co-sponsored by firms registered to lobby the federal government. Ethics rules do not allow lobbyists to pay for congressional travel.
http://www.publicintegrity.org/powertrips/report.aspx?aid=799
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