Category: Ashlee Picard
Amendment Could Alleviate Visa Shortage for Temporary Foreign Workers (MA)
WASHINGTON, April 26 – For the first time ever, when Michelle Langlois applied for H2B visas this year so that she could hire temporary foreign workers for her Nantucket bed and breakfast, her application was denied.
“I’ve been at the Brass Lantern for five years, so it’s the same that we’ve done every year and it’s the same that the people we bought it from did,” said Langlois, the owner of the inn and the president of the Nantucket Lodging Association.
Fortunately, through other resources, Langlois found enough workers to staff the Brass Lantern Inn from early-April to early-December, its usual season, she said. However, other companies haven’t been so lucky.
Small and seasonal businesses throughout New England have increasingly been running into problems with the H2B program for seasonal foreign workers due to a nationwide shortage of the visas. In 1990, the federal government set an annual cap of 66,000 H2B visas. For the past two years it has been more actively enforcing the limit, according to Art Canter, president and CEO of the Massachusetts Lodging Association, and the cap has been reached less than six months into the start of the fiscal year, which begins on October 1. That means businesses which want to hire summer workers are especially hard hit since all of the visas are given out by mid-winter.
The shortage is keeping businesses from bringing in foreign workers to do the jobs that Americans don’t seem to be taking. As a result, many companies are facing a labor crisis that could force them to shorten their seasons or even shut their doors.
But a measure passed last week by the Senate could end their worries – at least temporarily.
If the House of Representatives agrees to enact the Senate measure, which would be in effect only for the next two years, temporary foreign workers who have been employed in the country under the H2B visa program at least once in the past three years would be exempt from the national cap. Businesses that have been denied visas for this year might then still be able to bring in workers who followed the rules and returned home when they were supposed to.
“For several years in a row, the cap has created a crisis for the tourism industry in Massachusetts and nationwide. Countless small, family-run businesses depend on the ability to hire more workers for the summer season, and they can’t possibly find enough U.S. workers to fill the need,” Sen. Edward Kennedy said during an April 13 debate on the Senate floor. “Without this amendment, many of these firms can’t survive because seasonal business is the heart of their operation.”
The amendment passed overwhelmingly in the Senate, with 94 senators voting in favor including John Kerry and Kennedy (D-Mass.). Senator Barbara Mikulski, who introduced the amendment, previously introduced an identical bill in February which Kerry and Kennedy both co-sponsored. She decided to attach the measure to an emergency supplemental spending bill a couple of weeks ago so that the visa changes could be approved and take effect more quickly.
Before businesses can be approved for the visas, they must show that that they have made a rigorous effort to advertise jobs locally. For example, before Dan’s Floor Store in New Hampshire applied for H2B visas two years ago, the company put out “help wanted” ads for floor layers locally as well as in the Boston Globe and the New York Times. “They’re quite strict, which is good. Then again, it wasn’t too helpful for us because we’re in Londonderry,” said Andrew Ferrier, the store’s sales manager.
But in many summer tourism areas throughout Massachusetts and New Hampshire, the population isn’t large enough to supply the labor that lodging and restaurant businesses need during their busiest months. Businesses in Cape Cod, the islands, and the Berkshires are being hurt the most by the shortage of visas, according to Canter.
The Cape Cod tourism industry used to rely heavily on college students, according to Canter. “Way back when, the Cape would be rocking and rolling with college students who would be working summer jobs,” he said. But now that many businesses have expanded their seasons into the spring and summer months, college students can no longer supply the help that they need.
Summer tourism businesses are also at a disadvantage because they can only apply for the visas 120 days before they will be used. Winter industries like ski resorts need workers at the beginning of the year and are then able to apply for the visas earlier, leaving few visas for summer industries.
This year, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services announced that it hit the cap in January, only three months after the start of the fiscal year. If approved, Mikulski’s amendment would address this problem by reserving half of the 66,000 visas for companies sending in applications during the last six months of the fiscal year.
“The time for application comes at the time of the year when great numbers are taken up for the winter tourism, which has happened historically, and what we are trying to do with the Senator’s amendment is to treat the summer tourism and the summer needs on an even playing field,” Kennedy said during a debate on the amendment.
Langlois, who turned in the paperwork for her visas last December, received notice that her application was denied soon after. She found two workers already in the United States who extended their visas so that they could work for her, and one of her friends gave her an “open” H2B visa that had already been approved.
But if she hadn’t secured these workers, she would have been forced to make some choices. “What I probably would have looked at was shortening my season.,” she said. “We can’t change the level of service that our guests are used to expecting so we just have to do whatever is necessary to deliver that.”
People from Massachusetts and the rest of the region who visit Cape Cod and the islands every year might find some changes this summer, according to David Noble, director of external affairs at the Massachusetts Lodging Association.
“In certain situations or cases, they will not be able to visit or stay at some of the properties that they otherwise have done in the past,” he said. “And as a result, with fewer options for places to stay, they will either be forced to go to another place where there may be wait lists or maybe where the rates will be higher, or they will be forced to go somewhere else out of state.”
Paul Hartgen, president of the New Hampshire Lodging and Restaurant Association, said many of the businesses in jeopardy will simply adapt and find alternative labor sources if the amendment doesn’t pass. For example, some businesses may be able to hire foreign students through the J1 work-travel program, which allows foreign students to work in the country, usually during the summer. But such alternatives aren’t always ideal.
“You get people to do the work, but they may not either know the work, they may not be trained in that particular specialty or they may have to be trained to a different standard,” Langlois said.
A conference committee this week, in which the Senate and the House will discuss the legislation, will determine if Mikulski’s amendment goes though. Currently, more than 80 House members have cosponsored a bill identical to Mikulski’s amendment, which Hartgen calls, “a pretty good signal.”
If the amendment is passed quickly, businesses might be able to secure the help they need for this summer or bring in some of the trained foreign workers whom they have employed in the past.
“If it gets passed by mid-May, we could still have people here in July,” Langlois said of Nantucket restaurant and lodging businesses. “July and August are our busiest months. So that would help.”
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Locals Gather at Meehan’s Legislative Assembly
WASHINGTON, April 20 - When Barry Finegold found out that Rep. Martin Meehan would be holding his annual legislative assembly during the week of school vacation, he jumped at the chance to go.
"Every year I get an invitation, and I've always wanted to go because its very interesting and you learn a great deal and Washington is a great city," said Finegold, the Massachusetts state representative for Andover, Lawrence and Tewksbury.
But in the past, he's never been able to attend the event because the Massachusetts House has always been in session when it was held. "But the fact that Marty did it during school vacation week, it worked out," he said, because the House is not in session for the week.
Meehan hosted about 200 Massachusetts residents, most of them from the Fifth District, in a conference room on Capitol Hill Wednesday for his 12 th annual legislative assembly, which he also calls "Fifth District Day." Among the speakers at the assembly were Sens. Edward Kennedy and John Kerry (D-Mass.), Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), as well as James Carville, the co-host of CNN's Crossfire.
Most of the speakers raised such issues as Social Security, President Bush's energy bill and the federal budget deficit after lauding Meehan for his legislative work.
"Marty is such a leader in so many areas," Kennedy said. "We've worked together on tobacco issues, and campaign finance, and he's been a national leader.as well as working on all the things in the district."
As Kennedy spoke, his Portuguese water dogs, Sunny and Splash, played with Meehan's sons, five-year-old Bobby and two-year-old Daniel, beside the podium.
Patrick Blanchette, the Lawrence City Council president, said he was most looking forward to hearing McCain's speech. "We're from the Bay State," he said. "We get to hear Senators Kerry and Kennedy a lot."
Blanchette, who also teaches at the Greater Lawrence Technical School, also was able to attend the assembly for the first time. He said that he's been to Washington before and would like to plan a class trip to the city.
This year, Meehan held the event during the week of school vacation so that more people could come. About half of the people raised their hands when Meehan asked if they had been to one of his assemblies before, according to Meehan's spokesman, Matt Vogel.
As Kennedy pointed out, the assembly also was held the same day that the Red Sox were playing the Baltimore Orioles, whose stadium isn't far from Washington. Many people planned to go to the game after the assembly.
For Jonathan Blodgett, the Essex district attorney, Meehan's assembly was more about a chance to do some business.
"I wanted to come down to have a chance to talk to him a great deal about some of the issues important to me," he said. "We have a drug education program in my office which we're working very hard on, auto insurance fraud, and gangs. And those were a few things I talked to him about this morning."
But Blodgett also enjoyed hearing some of the speakers. "I got a kick out of Carville," he said. "He's very entertaining. I never heard him before."
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Patriots Celebrate Their Third Super Bowl Victory at White House
WASHINGTON, April 13 - The New England Patriots are no strangers to the White House.
For the third time in four years, President George W. Bush welcomed the champs to his Pennsylvania Avenue home Wednesday to congratulate the team on its 24 to 21 Super Bowl victory in February against the Philadelphia Eagles.
"I was thinking that Coach Belichick was so comfortable coming to the Rose Garden that he might just wear one of those designer sweatshirts," Bush said after taking the podium. "I'm a little disappointed."
The audience and players erupted into laughter as the President poked fun at Bill Belichick, the team's head coach. "I'm glad to see you own a tie, though," he told Belichick.
The usually tight-lipped coach, who donned a gray suit and blue tie in place of his infamous hooded sweatshirt, interrupted the President before he continued with his speech. "Is this a roast?" Belichick asked.
After waiting for the audience to settle down, Bush went on to thank guests, including Massachusetts Sens. John Kerry and Edward Kennedy and Rep. Martin Meehan (D-Mass.), for coming to the ceremony. He took a few moments to recognize longtime Patriots linebacker Tedy Bruschi, who suffered a stroke in February.
"I congratulate you on showing such courage on the field and off the field," Bush told Bruschi, who has yet to decide whether he'll be playing next season. This year, Bruschi played in his first Pro Bowl. On Monday, he threw one of the ceremonial pitches at the Red Sox opener at Fenway Park.
"There's a lot of people that were praying for you, I know. And I'm glad you're feeling good and I'm glad you're back," Bush said.
Bush expressed his regret that kicker Adam Vinatieri could not make it to the ceremony. Vinatieri, whose wife recently gave birth to their second child, had what Bush called "an excused absence."
As expected, Bush congratulated the team on its record-winning season, saying that it has been an inspiration to New England sports teams like the Boston Red Sox.
"In back-to-back championship seasons, you've won 34 games. That's a record. You've won nine straight playoff games, which ties a record. The coach has the best playoff record in league history," Bush said. "This is a club that has won 20 games in a row in the home park."
He also acknowledged their volunteer work, including a trip that several of the players made to Walter Reed Army Medical Center and to National Naval Medical Center.
"I think you saw firsthand the definition of courage when you saw those young soldiers who had been wounded that are working hard to overcome their injuries," Bush said. "I can assure you that your visit helped lift their spirits. There's nothing better than a Super Bowl champ encouraging somebody to continue to work hard to recover."
Patriots quarterback Tom Brady, in a press conference after the ceremony, agreed with the president.
"To go in there and see those troops.it makes what we do seem so unimportant," Brady said. "As much as they look up to us, we admire them more than we could ever express."
After Bush gave his speech, team owner Robert Kraft presented him with a white locker room team jersey, the newest addition to a growing collection of Patriots shirts that must be hanging in Bush's closet.
"It won't be on eBay, I can assure you that," the President quipped as Kraft handed over the jersey that said "Bush 1."
Bush said it might not be the last time that the Patriots are honored guests in his home.
"You know, I think I said last time there's a chance you'll be back. I wasn't sure about me," Bush joked. "I'm confident I'll be back next year. And the way you've been playing, there's a good chance you'll be too."
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Child Well-Being Index Shows Improvement
WASHINGTON, March 31 - Youth violence and teen pregnancy rates have plummeted since they reached their peaks in the early 1990s, according to a study released Wednesday.
The study - called the 2005 Foundation for Child Development Index of Child Well-Being - cited the baby boomer parenting style as one of the possible contributing factors for the improvements.
The child well-being index shows that the average live birth rate of adolescents dropped from 20 births per 1,000 females from the ages of 10 to 17 in the peak year of 1991 to a projected 10.9 births in 2004. Meanwhile, the violent crime victim rate fell from 121 per 1,000 people from the ages of 12 to 17 in 1994 to a projected rate of 47 in 2003. The study also projects that the violent crime offenders rate dropped to less than 4 per 1,000 adolescents in the same age range, which is down from 51 in the peak year of 1993.
While experts attending a panel discussion on the study at the Brookings Institution Wednesday talked about programs and policies that could help these long-term improvements continue, many of them agreed that no single factor could be isolated as the cause of these trends.
"Parents who grew up during the '70s and early '80s saw firsthand - and possibly even experienced - the harmful effects of marijuana and cocaine use," panelist Kenneth Land, the developer of the index and a sociologist at Duke University, said in a press release.
Because of this, they might be more willing to talk to their children about the negative consequences of such actions and perhaps be stricter when it comes to controlling their children, Land said during the panel discussion.
"Parents are scheduling their kids' after-school hours much more regularly then in the past," Land said. "And when the kids are not programmed into one of the after-school activities, what are they doing? Well, we all know they are likely to be playing video games inside the home, which does protect them from violent crime.and other types of risky behavior outside the household."
Aside from the generational changes, Land said that the decline of the crack cocaine epidemic of the early 1990s, the strengthened economy of the late 1990s and an increase in community policing could have accounted for the improvements.
Gil Kerlikowske, the chief of police in Seattle, said the federally funded Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) program, which distributes money to local and community police departments, significantly helps cut back on violent crimes committed by children. He said the technology and training grants given by COPS allow local police departments to find new ways of fighting crime, such as Boston's Operation Night Light, which curbed youth crime by making surprise visits to the homes, schools and worksites of high-risk child offenders.
Under President George W. Bush's proposed budget for 2006, appropriations forCOPS, would be cut from $499 million to $22 million. Bush, in his budget, said the program is "not able to effectively demonstrate an impact on reducing crime."
In 2004, the Essex County Sheriff's Department received a technology grant for $98,948 from the COPS program to implement a facial recognition program. Once finished, the program will enable more than 30 police departments in the area to access an electronic database that would include photos of people who were previously arrested or incarcerated, said Paul Fleming, the spokesman for the Essex County Sheriff's Department. Police officers could use the program to confirm the identities of people they bring into their departments, he said.
"This is going to be a great benefit to the law enforcement community once this program is on line," Fleming said. "We know that money is tight from the local perspective.so that any time we can secure grants that will help us construct programs that are forward-thinking and that aid in the protection and safety of residents in the region, we're always going to push to do that."
Rep. John Tierney helped the Essex County Sheriff's Department secure the grant, according to Fleming. "In my district, you won't find a community that will say it didn't help," said Tierney of the COPS program during an interview in February. The sheriff's department is still trying to find additional funds to cover the cost of the project, Fleming said.
Several of the panelists also noted that participation in school readiness and pre-kindergarten programs can decrease the chances of teen pregnancy and youth violence.
"Pre-K programs are not only among the most powerful weapons against crime, but are the most powerful weapon against teen pregnancy," said Sandy Newman, the president of Fight Crime: Invest in Kids, a bipartisan, non-profit anti-crime organization.
The federal government should invest more in such school readiness programs, which are low-level investments in time and money in comparison to putting people in jail, Kerlikowske said.
Money for the Head Start program, a federally financed pre-kindergarten program for needy children, is also in jeopardy of being reduced, Newman said.
Whenever programs at the local level receive federal grants, whether they are community block grants or other types of grants, they use the money to do something "new and different," according to panelist Jeffrey A. Butts, the director of the Program on Youth Justice at the Urban Institute, a nonpartisan economic and social policy research organization.
"In the past few years, there's been a decline in federal funding, which basically reduces innovation, experimentation and new ideas," he said.
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Democratic Leaders Speak Out Against Nuclear Option
WASHINGTON, March 16 - Reaching into the chest pocket of his suit coat, Sen. Robert Byrd (D-W.Va) pulled out a miniature copy of the Constitution, held it up in the air and waved it before a cheering crowd.
"Our Constitution is under attack," declared the 87-year-old senior member of the Senate. "We must kill this dangerous effort to rewrite our precious Constitution. Our freedom of speech is in jeopardy."
Byrd joined seven of his colleagues Wednesday in rallying support for the Democratic senators who plan to fight any attempt by Republican leaders to change the rules that allow senators to filibuster against federal judicial nominees.
"These rules have been tested by time and experience," Byrd explained before the rally. "These rules provide potential for a minority. The Senate is the last bastion of the minority."
About 500 people attended the rally, sitting shoulder to shoulder in the crowded ballroom of the Washington Court Hotel, standing against the walls and spilling into the doorways. Byrd offered words of encouragement as his colleagues spoke, raising his voice in the occasional "yeah" or "uh-huh," while the audience responded with hoots, hollers and whistles.
Before Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.), the second longest-serving member in the chamber, began his speech, Byrd met him at the podium for a hearty handshake. Kennedy, intermittently pounding his fist against the wooden stand as he spoke, denounced the Republican members, saying that they were breaching the constitutional principles of checks and balances and divided government.
"They control the executive. They control the House. They control the Senate. And they want to control the judiciary, and I say, 'No way!' " he said as the audience erupted into applause.
Under current rules, senators can filibuster, or stall a vote, on the confirmation of judicial appointees, unless at least 60 of the 100 members agree that the vote should proceed. The filibuster, which is allowed only in the Senate, serves to give the minority party more power.
Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist has threatened to attempt to ban filibusters on judicial nominations, a measure many are calling the "nuclear option," if the Democrats try to stall votes on President Bush's judicial nominees.
Many Democratic members are standing behind Minority Leader Harry Reid, who told Republicans in a letter Tuesday that in retaliation against the nuclear option, Democrats would stunt the progress of the chamber by not cooperating in the passage of much of the legislation brought to the floor. In a statement Tuesday, Frist said that such a shut-down of the Senate would be "irresponsible and partisan."
According to Reid, a ban on the use of the filibuster in judicial nominations might only be the beginning.
"The point of the matter is if they change it on judges, then they're going to change it on cabinet nominations, on ambassadors, and then if that isn't good enough, they'll change it on an issue like...abortion," he said in an interview before the rally began.
Later, during the event, Reid reiterated that the issue is not simply about judges. "This is about the arrogance of power," he asserted. Republicans complain that the Democrats in the last session of Congress filibustered against 10 court nominees and should not be able to filibuster against any judicial candidates. Bush has renominated seven of the 10 whose nominations were blocked by filibusters.
Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) said Republicans should be happy that the Democrats confirmed so many of Bush's nominees. "You got 95 percent of what you want. Say 'thank you' and move on," she quipped. Boxer apologized to the audience for supporting a ban on the use of the filibuster when she first became a member of the Senate. Since then, she's realized the value of the tool, she said.
"We forgive you!" one audience member shouted.
Like several of the speakers, Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.), said that Democrats needed to persuade Republicans to reject the nuclear option by advising them that the day could come when Republicans become the minority party and might need to rely on the filibuster themselves.
"The best way to prevent the Republican majority in the White House from going nuclear...and undermining our American system of checks and balances is to prevent this whole thing from ever happening in the first place," Clinton said. "And to do that, we have to persuade a handful of Republicans that this is not what they signed on for."
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Senators Push Budget Committee to Increase LIHEAP Funds
WASHINGTON, March 3- Harsh weather conditions and rising energy costs have prompted a bipartisan group of senators, including Massachusetts Democrats John Kerry and Ted Kennedy, to ask the Senate Budget Committee to allot $3 billion to the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) for the 2006 fiscal year-an increase of about 50 percent over President Bush's proposal for the program.
"For many low-income families, disabled individuals and senior citizens living on fixed incomes, home energy costs are unaffordable," the 39 senators said in a letter sent Tuesday to Budget Committee chairman Judd Gregg (R-NH) . "These families often carry a higher energy burden than most Americans - spending up to 17 percent of their income on home energy bills," said the letter.
The program helps eligible low-income families meet the costs of heating their homes in the winter and cooling their homes in the summer. With the rising prices of natural gas, heating oil and propane, and the growing number of households eligible for LIHEAP, the program is underfunded, the letter said.
In response to the letter, Gregg said in a statement Wednesday, "It would be premature for me to say what specifics may or may not be in the Senate product." The committee is expected to vote next week, he added.
Kerry, said in a statement Thursday, "We need to alleviate the burden for those seniors and families who have to choose between heat and basic necessities such as prescription drugs, housing and food by providing urgently needed LIHEAP funds.Massachusetts continues to be hit by powerful storms this season, but that does not mean people should live in continual financial crisis to get through the winter."
Bush's proposed budget for 2006 would allot $2 billion in basic and emergency funds to LIHEAP, which is $182 million less than it received for the current year, according to the Web site for the Department of Health and Human Service (HHS), which oversees LIHEAP.
Under the Bush proposal, Massachusetts would receive about $74 million of the total, not including emergency funds, which is roughly $3.5 million less than it was allocated this year, according to the National Energy Assistance Directors' Association.
On Tuesday, the Department of Health and Human Services released an additional $50 million in emergency LIHEAP funds, which includes about $2.8 million for Massachusetts, according to an HHS press release. Massachusetts received more funds than all states except New York and Pennsylvania.
"Today's release of LIHEAP funding will help needy families in Massachusetts.," Kennedy said in a statement Tuesday. "I applaud the Administration for today's action." The program allotted $100 million in emergency funds to the states in both December and January, according to the HHS. Massachusetts received $11.2 million of this total.
In the fiscal year2004, Massachusetts received an approximate total of $80.39 million in basic and emergency funds, said Phil Hailer, the communications director for the Massachusetts Department of Housing and Community Development, in an interview Thursday. This fiscal year, he said, it has received almost $90 million so far.
Governor Mitt Romney signed a bill Friday allotting $7.5 million in state funds to the Massachusetts LIHEAP, according to the HHS Web site. According to Hailer, supplemental state funding for the program is "pretty rare."
"It's typically totally federally funded," he said. "We've had our second pretty difficult winter in a row." The state legislature " must have figured these funds were indeed needed."
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Red Sox Fans Cheer on Their Team at The White House
WASHINGTON, March 2 - Just because the Red Sox won the World Series doesn't mean their fans have changed.
Guests attending President Bush's congratulatory greetings to the Red Sox players chanted and heckled Wednesday afternoon as they awaited Bush's arrival on the South Lawn of the White House.
One audience member held up a sign that said, "Jeter and A-Rod - Wish they were here." Another shouted, "Who's your papi?" into the crowd.
Many of them burst into the familiar "Here we go Red Sox!" cheer as the players stood, beaming, on risers set up in front of the Oval Office.
Only when President Bush took the podium did the fans briefly fall silent.
"So, like, what took you so long?" Bush, a former co-owner of the Texas Rangers, asked the team. The audience broke into laughter.
Amid a slew of one-liners, Bush congratulated the Red Sox on their victory against the St. Louis Cardinals. The team claimed their first World Series title since 1918 by sweeping the Cardinals last fall.
"I appreciate the way this team played baseball. It took a lot of guts and a lot of hair," he joked. "No one really expected the answer to the curse of the Bambino would come from a group of players that call themselves 'idiots,' except for maybe idiots who don't understand baseball."
Sen. John Kerry, who, along with Bush, had just attended a Capitol ceremony honoring baseball legend Jackie Robinson, arrived late to the White House event.
Bush interrupted his remarks to welcome Kerry as his former opponent hurried towards his seat. "I like to see Senator Kerry, except when we're fixing to debate," Bush quipped.
Bush thanked former Red Sox stars Dom DiMaggio, baseball legend Joe DiMaggio's brother, and Jimmy Piersall, for being at the event.
"You guys represent a lot of great Boston Red Sox players that a lot of us grew up watching play," he said. "You're representing a great tradition of wonderful folks."
Guests stood and cheered in true Red Sox fashion as team captain Jason Varitek and pitcher Curt Schilling presented the 43 rd president and Vice President Dick Cheney with jerseys that said "Bush 43" and "Cheney 2."
Rep. Martin Meehan and Sen. Edward Kennedy also attended the event, along with other members of the Massachusetts delegation.
"I came to the White House today not just because the last time we won the World Series Woodrow Wilson was President but because I think it's important to recognize the achievement of these classic underdogs," Meehan said in a statement after the event.
Johnny Damon, Kevin Millar, David Ortiz and Varitek met with members of the press after the ceremony. They thanked their fans and expressed their gratitude for being welcomed to the White House.
"We're definitely going to try to get back here next year," Damon said.
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Meehan’s Campaign Coffers Grow
WASHINGTON, Feb. 24 - Rep. Martin Meehan started this year with $4.5 million in his campaign coffers, making him the House member with the second most in unspent contributions, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.
Of the 435 House members, Meehan trails only Rep. Bob Goodlatte (R-Va), who has about $11 million in his campaign war chest, according to the center's website.
Meehan added $3.17 million to his campaign funds in the last election cycle, according to campaign finance reports filed with the Federal Election Commission (FEC). The Lowell Democrat, who was first elected to the House in 1992, was said to have been interested in running for Sen. John Kerry's seat this year had Kerry won the presidential election.
"I'm working very hard at my job and enjoy working on behalf of the people in the Merrimack Valley. My intention is to keep up the job and to run for re-election," Meehan said in a telephone interview on Thursday.
Meehan has won at least 60 percent of the vote in every election since 1994 . In the 1996 and 2000 general elections he ran uncontested.
"A large amount of cash-on-hand can discourage opponents from running against you," said Steven Weiss, the communications director at the Center for Responsive Politics. "That's one reason why lawmakers, even those with safe seats, try to begin the election cycle with a lot of money in the bank."
In 2004, candidates who spent the most won 95 percent of the House races, Weiss said.
Meehan spent $459,977 in the last election cycle and won 67 percent of the vote, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. He ran against Republican Thomas Patrick Tierney, who spent $30,406 of the $30,943 that he raised.
House members can transfer unspent campaign funds to another federal race, such as running for Senate, FEC spokesman George Smaragdis said. Members also can use the money to make contributions to other federal candidates, but the contributions can not exceed $2,000 per election cycle, he said.
Weiss said members also can use the unspent funds to contribute unlimited amounts of money to political parties
Meehan contributed $10,000 to the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee in 2003, according to reports filed with the FEC. In 2002, he donated $100,000 to the committee and gave about $28,000 to the Massachusetts Democratic State Committee.
According to the Center for Responsive Politics, Meehan raised about 77 percent of his funds from donors within Massachusetts, making him the seventh-top recipient of in-state contributions in the House.
"Congressman Meehan is proud to have so much of a grassroots contribution in the Merrimack Valley," said Matt Vogel, Meehan's spokesman.
Meehan, a sponsor of a 2002 campaign finance law that halted the spending of soft money by political party committees to influence federal elections, relies on individual donors to contribute to his campaign. He does not accept funds from political action committees.
Individuals can donate a maximum of $4,000 to a candidate's campaign each election cycle.
Meehan's top contributors include donors affiliated with Commonwealth Motors in Lawrence and Physical Sciences Inc. in Andover, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.
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Meehan Supports Bill to Prevent Underage Drinking
WASHINGTON, Feb. 17 - U.S. Rep. Martin Meehan announced Thursday that he is co-sponsoring a bill that would provide federal money to curb teen drinking.
"Thousands of middle and high school age students take their first drink every day," Meehan said in a press release. "It is time for Congress to support a prevention program that teaches today's youth about the dangers of underage drinking."
The bill, called the Sober Truth on Preventing (STOP) Underage Drinking Act, was introduced Wednesday in both the Senate and House. Sen. Christopher Dodd (D-Conn.) and Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.) are among the co-sponsors of the bill, which was first introduced last July.
"The members co-sponsoring the 'STOP Underage Drinking Act' hail from both parties and both houses of Congress," said Jim O'Hara, the executive director of the Center on Alcohol Marketing and Youth, in a statement Wednesday. "Such broad and continued leadership on reducing underage drinking is essential if we are to safeguard our children, their health and their futures."
In addition to allotting $10 million in grants for underage drinking prevention programs, the bill would create an interagency coordinating committee to coordinate prevention efforts and provide annual reports on their progress.
"Underage drinking is the top public health issue facing our children today," Meehan said. "We have a responsibility to educate our children about the dangers of alcohol abuse."
The bill also would fund underage drinking research as well as a national media campaign to educate adults about the dangers of underage drinking.
"Limiting youth access to alcohol is essential to solving the underage drinking problem, and this legislation will help reach adults with the cold hard facts: the earlier teens drink the more likely they are to become alcohol dependent and to drive drunk," said Wendy J. Hamilton, the national president of Mothers Against Drunk Driving, in a press release Wednesday.
Raising awareness among adults about the risks of underage drinking is "very critical," said Stephen Wallace, the chairman and chief executive officer of Students Against Destructive Decisions (SADD), during a phone interview Thursday.
In 1981, SADD was founded as Students Against Driving Drunk in Wayland, Mass. Now located in Marlborough, Mass., SADD is one of the largest peer-to-peer youth education organizations in the country.
"The kids are getting the booze from somewhere," Wallace said. "In my experience, far too often adults are facilitators of that illegal behavior."
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Tierney Bashes Bush’s budget
WASHINGTON, Feb. 10 - Rep. John Tierney (D-Mass.) said President Bush's proposal to decrease the budget deficit by cutting discretionary programs will prove unsuccessful.
"The discretionary programs that he's cutting have almost nothing to do with the increase in deficit," Tierney said of Bush's budget proposal, which was announced Monday. "Going after these issues is not going after where the problem lies."
Tierney, in a telephone interview, said that Bush's tax cuts are the true problem behind the deficit.
"This is not the time to extend tax cuts for people already working and doing so well," Tierney said. "The reason for the majority of the deficit is earlier tax cuts. Stop digging the hole."
Because of opposition from both Democrats and Republicans, Tierney said, the budget will have to be "reworked considerably."
Tierney said Bush will face scrutiny for his proposal to cut community block grants that many cities use for housing initiatives, as well programs for people with low incomes, like the fuel assistance program.
"He's made his choice. Cities, towns, and families are quite upset," Tierney said.
Tierney, the only New England lawmaker on the House Committee on Education and the Workforce, said he did not agree with many of the cuts to education programs that Bush proposed.
"This president is doing nothing to make college more affordable," he said. "We have to have a competitive strategy when countries like Japan and China are forging ahead."
Bush's budget proposed increases for some education programs mandated by the No Child Left Behind Act but called for cuts for programs like Even Start, which provides family literacy services, Safe and Drug-Free Schools and Communities State Grants, and Federal Perkins Loans.
Tierney also said Bush's budget would cut law enforcement presence despite the public's belief that such programs are increasingly necessary to cope with rising drug use and other concerns.
"There are going to be fewer and fewer police on the streets.," Tierney said. "Cutting back on that is not going to be seen as helpful."
Under Bush's proposal, appropriations for Community Oriented Policing Services, or COPS, would be cut from $499 million to $22 million. The COPS program provides grants to state and local law enforcement agencies to hire police officers and buy technological equipment.
President Clinton launched the COPS initiative in 1994 to hire more community police in high-crime neighborhoods. But Bush, in his new budget, said the program is "not able to effectively demonstrate an impact on reducing crime."
But Tierney said, "In my district, you won't find a community that will say it didn't help."
The Essex County Sheriff's Department received a technology grant for $98,948 in 2004 from the COPS program.
In 2003, the Town of Danvers and the Salem Police Department received grants from the COPS' Homeland Security Overtime Program (HSOP), which provided grants to increase the overtime budgets of programs that increase public safety, according to COPS' Massachusetts state report. Danvers received $14,735 and Salem received $48,283 in HSOP grants, according to the report.
Over the past six years, Amesbury, Beverly, Georgetown, Gloucester, Ipswich, Marblehead and Newburyport have received at least $125,000 each through COPS' Cops in Schools grants.
In January, Tierney and more than 50 other House members of both parties sent a letter to Bush recommending that his fiscal year 2006 budget include "a significant increase" in funds for the hiring of first responders, according to a January press release from Tierney's office.
According to the press release, the letter to the president said: "In FY 2005, your administration requested no spending for first-responder hiring, including COPS hiring, within the Office of Justice Programs at the Department of Justice..We cannot continue this downward trend."
Since 1994, Massachusetts has received $215.8 million in COPS grants, which have been used "to add 3,032 law enforcement officers and support the purchase of crime-fighting technology," said Gilbert Moore, the press secretary for the. Justice Department's COPS office.
"Each year, the demand for grant resources has exceeded our funding capacity," Moore said. "We've been very well received by local law enforcement agencies."
The reliance of local police departments on COPS grants varies greatly, according to Moore. If a smaller law enforcement agency employs five officers who work only during the day, then it may request a grant to add one or two police officers to the staff to work the night shift. In this case, if the agency receives the grant, the program has provided them with 24-hour coverage, which is a "tremendous service," Moore said.
Larger law enforcement agencies often request grants for many more officers. Since 1994, the Boston Police Department has received grants to hire 112 officers, as well as grants to implement technology systems that allow officers to remain in the field while completing administrative tasks.
"We've provided them with technology grants that equate to the presence of an additional 27 officers," Moore said. "If they put a mobile data terminal inside a vehicle, then the officer can do paperwork on the street."
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