On Trinity, A Learning Curve for Clarke

Think of it as a mini bridge to nowhere.

The Gravina Island Bridge, now notoriously known as the “Bridge to Nowhere” and was supported by then-Alaska Governor Sarah Palin, would cost hundreds of millions of dollars to connect a handful of people on Gavina Island with mainland Alaska – even though a perfectly healthy ferry system existed (or, at least, could have likely been upgraded for a less).

Still, like virtually all earmarks – and pork – requested by House representatives, the bridge was touted to be “a valuable use of taxpayer funds.”

It is under this tout that has gotten much-needed funding for worthy causes, as well as less worthy ones – even dubious ones with questionable existence, like the Trinity Community Development and Empowerment Group that has put at least three New York City congressmen and women in hot water.

The issue grew out of Rep. Edolphus Towns (D-Brooklyn) sponsoring $500,000 to a group that employs one of his staffers, raising concerns of a conflict of interest. But that issue was magnified with the involvement of Rep. Yvette Clarke (D-Brooklyn), who, with Towns, wanted Rep. Gregory Meeks, (D-Queens) to sponsor more than $4 million in taxpayer funds to Trinity.

According to its unsophisticated-looking Web site, Trinity presents itself to be a helper of the poor, the under-skilled, and under-represented communities – and, really, who isn’t supportive of that?

Towns and Clarke, both members of the Congressional Black Caucus, often co-sponsor each other’s bills. The same is true between Clarke and Meeks. So it’s not surprising that, if called upon by Towns for help, Clarke undoubtedly agrees – though, perhaps, too blindly.

“I really had no knowledge of any submission for this organization,” said Clarke, reported the New York Daily News.

To make matters worse, the Daily News reported that the office building for Trinity sat “empty,” boarded up and without electricity. An empty building seems as useful to taxpayers as a bridge to…?

Clarke, who is just in her second term serving in the House, no doubt made a misstep in her young tenure as a congresswoman. But in this heated political climate –  as isolated angry voters turn to violence and several New York politicians take beatings on ethical issues – missteps are less forgivable.

Clarke has since withdrawn her support of allocating taxpayer money for Trinity, as have the other two congressmen.

Towns and Meeks, who are more experienced politicians, weren’t looking out for their younger colleague, it seems.

Towns appears to have used Clarke to get Meeks involved on his “bridge to nowhere,” then, amid the specter of ethics violation, the two seasoned politicians abandon ship and left Clarke behind to sink or swim.

Weiner gets White Powder (not the fun kind)

Nine people had to be  evacuated from Anthony Weiner’s office in  Kew Gardens today, because of a letter with “white powder” and a note that told him to “drop dead”. The Powder will be checked thoroughly, but initial tests deemed it to be neither fun nor dangerous. The FBI called the note potentially threating .
Aside from the fear that this might cause the representative, it’s probably a good thing for his political standing and for the Democrats in general.
As the anger of the right takes concrete form in hateful letters and telephone calls to supporters of health care, it serves to highlight a distinction between the two parties in terms of identity: The Democrat’s relatively principled handling of recent political conflict, versus the seeming incitement to lawlessness by the Republicans.

Since the coming mid-term electoral battle is for voters from the political center, Weiner and the Democrats stand to gain from lawlessness in two ways.
First, despite their general anti-inside-the-beltway sympathies, Independents probably will not be swayed by the insistence of Republican leaders that they have in not played a part in stoking these ugly displays. Democrats being attacked for voting their principles are likely to be seen in a sympathetic light.
Secondly, If one accepts that part of the purpose of the recent Republican obstructionism was to make the Democrats seem incapable of governing, the association of the Republican Party with lawless behavior by people inspired by their rhetoric will not help them earn the mantle of authority and stability.
The mid-term elections seem to be breaking badly for the Democrats, but if they do seem to benefit at the polls from ongoing outrageous displays from the right. Weiner, being one of the lighting rods for these developments will perhaps enhance his stature within the Democratic hierarchy, which is an important consideration for a politician who is widely seen as having ambitions beyond the confines of his current role.
The 9th District is fairly reliably Democratic, and many of the more conservative elements are likely to be Orthodox Jews, who will not be pleased at the sight of a fellow Jew being threatened, so it probably also benefits him locally.

Nadler drives. He shoots. He scores!

[Update below]

Congressional Democrats are riding the high-tide of legislative victory after passing health care reform this past week. For Congressman Nadler, it was a week of press releases and speeches from the floor of Congress.

There were two big Nadler moments around health care. The first, announced prior to the vote, was an announcement that the New York congressional delegation was able to provide the state $2.1 billion in Medicare savings. In the original Senate version of the bill, New York State would have been paying even more to cover the needy.

“Instead of costing New York State $779 million and punishing us for taking a more progressive stance in the Medicaid system, as was directed by the Senate-passed health insurance bill, the Delegation has successfully added provisions to instead save the State $1.3 billion in costs,” Nadler said in a press release. “Providing a net gain of $2.1 billion is a critical improvement to the legislation and will mean a great deal for balancing our State’s budget.”

The savings will be greatly appreciated as Albany legislators are trying to plug a nearly $10 billion budget hole.

Moment 2: as we’ve seen across the country, the rhetoric against the passage of health care reform has become toxic.

Case in point: Carl Paladino, an upstate Republican who will likely run for governor, compared health care reform to the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. “The day that that bill was passed will be remembered just as 9/11 was remembered in history,” he said.

Nadler, who represents lower Manhattan and did in 2001, didn’t take kindly to the statements.

“Every decent person should be disgusted by Carl Paladino’s comparison of the recently enacted health care reform bill with the attacks of 9/11,” Nadler said. “As the Member of Congress who represent the World Trade Center site and many of the people who were killed or permanently injured on that day, I believe that there is no place in public life for this kind of vile exploitation of their sacrifice.”

Take that, Paladino.

UPDATE: Apparently Paladino didn’t appreciate being admonished by Nadler reported New York magazine. “”I am not impressed that you kissed enough asses to chair a committee of politicians in the Congress,” Paladino told Nadler.

Serrano Puts the Uninsured In Front of the Undocumented

José E Serrano changed his stance and voted in favor of the Health Care reform bill last week, in what appears to be a win for his constituents, and perhaps the Congressman himself.

Serrano initially opposed the bill because of language that would prevent undocumented immigrants from getting coverage.  On Thursday, along with the rest of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, he announced his new position, and on Sunday he helped pass the bill.  With an immigration bill on the horizon, Serrano has another opportunity to help the undocumented.  With a constituency in extremely poor health, he might not have gotten another chance to help the uninsured.

Serrano explained why he changed his mind:  “I can vote for this bill with this provision in it for two reasons,” he said in a press release. “First, without victory on this bill, immigration reform will not move forward. Secondly, when we do immigration reform, people who were excluded from health reform will become documented and later citizens, and therefore will no longer be excluded.”

Estimating how many undocumented immigrants live in any area poses obvious challenges, (a problem the 2010 Census is supposed to ease), but the number is assumed to be extremely high in Serrano’s district.  At first glance, it might seem sensible for Serrano to de-prioritize these residents since they cannot vote.  But voters do not live in vacuums; an undocumented resident is likely the parent, sibling, employee, friend or neighbor of a voter.  And it is probably not hard for Serrano – who was born in Puerto Rico – to imagine how different his life might have been if he had been born a hundred miles away in the Dominican Republic.

But the decision to put off the fight for undocumented immigrants does make sense when looking at the health of the South Bronx.  Asthma is one of the biggest health problems in an area known for high traffic and heavy industry.  The levels lead the nation, with one in four elementary school students afflicted. Few residents do not have a preexisting condition of some kind.  The community boards are constantly asking for more and expanded health care centers – but the money is hard to find.  According to Serrano’s website, over 86,000 uninsured South Bronx residents would get coverage thanks to the bill.  The 65,000 people in the area on Medicaid would see improved coverage.  Thousands of small businesses, (the kind with 50 or fewer employees), would get tax breaks to offer employees coverage.  Millions of dollars would go to over 70 community health centers.

Serrano explained that his yes vote was for the health of his constituents.  “I have fought long and hard to ensure that they are able to lead healthy lives—whether it is working to clean the air that they breath or fighting for parks and open space for people to exercise and relax or even pushing for healthier food options. But voting in favor of this health reform bill is the biggest step we can take to ensure that Bronx residents live healthier lives.”

As much as it made sense for him to fight for coverage for the undocumented, ultimately it made even more sense for Serrano to vote for the bill.  His constituents needed the help, and will likely reward him for it with their continued support.  With health care finally taken care of, immigration reform should come up on the agenda soon, and Serrano will have another chance to help the undocumented.

Health Reform May Split Heavily Democratic District

Protesters hurled racial epithets, spit at, and heckled Democratic congressmen who walked with linked arms to the Capitol from their office buildings Sunday, according to the Washington Post.

Hannah Rappleye, a freelance photographer, who was just snapping pictures of the demonstrations, had to wrestle her camera away from a tea party protester.  “I just got out of there,” she said.

Health reform passed but now “crossing the aisle” will get tougher. It passed but also has torn apart whatever social fabric or a sense of civility lay between Democrats and Republicans. This us-or-them mentality between parties seems to reach its apex each week.

Some members of Joseph Crowley’s district, which covers the Bronx and Queens, a region that votes heavily Democratic, are vowing to unseat the six-term Congressman on this issue.

Bob Diamond, speaking for the Committee to Save Medicare, said, “We’re going to meet with Congressman Crowley at his Throggs Neck office to let him know, in no uncertain terms, that we will work against his reelection if he votes for legislation that will destroy our freedoms and our way of life as American citizens,” told the Bronx News Net before Sunday’s vote.

This tension has given rise to “extremists” like Oath takers – a group even to the right of Tea partiers. These are members of the military who say are willing to fight against the government to protect the constitution from people trying to destroy it.

The last 14 months have created a more polarized America. Obama’s push to the center-left, might have created a new divide.

Engel Scores for New York in Health Bill's Final Days

It’s not exactly clear how it happened, but in the eleven days between when Eliot Engel announced he wasn’t a guaranteed “yes” on the health care reform bill, and the day it passed Congress, the bill seems to have become dramatically better for New Yorkers.

“New York was getting bupkus,” said Joseph O’Brien, Engel’s Director of Communications, from his office in the Bronx. “Now it helps states like New York — ‘do-gooder states’ — get their fair share.”

Engel, a member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee’s Subcommittee on Health, wrote in a March 10 editorial for the Daily News that the plan placed an unfair burden on New York. He explained:

New York has long been a leader in providing health coverage to its residents. We are a “do-gooder” state; we provide coverage to parents with incomes up to 150% of the federal poverty level – and to childless adults up to 100% of that level.The Senate bill’s language effectively punishes us for this generosity. It would raise the coverage level in states that have not acted as “do-gooders,” with the federal government paying 100% of the costs – while not expanding the matching rates in states such as New York. This will compound already serious budgetary problems for our state.

But by March 21, when the bill came before the House, Engel was comfortable delivering a yes. In the days between, Engel met with White House staff as well as Senate Democrats. Some of the language regarding how Medicare coverage will be doled out was changed, and ended up being particularly beneficial to residents of Engel’s district.

From the Riverdale Press:

While the reform will be felt in all 50 states, the Riverdale/Kingsbridge area has a particular stake in the measure because of its demographics.

The local area has many seniors, numerous healthcare and nursing care facilities, as well as a large number of healthcare workers who live here. In addition, nearly all local businesses are small businesses, from mom-and-pop stores, to restaurants to realtors….

The bill mandates that senior citizens on the Medicare Part D plan receive some government support to cover prescription drug costs over $2,250. Previously, seniors would have to pay out of pocket for costs over that amount until they had paid a total of $5,100 for prescription drugs. The “doughnut hole” left many seniors unable to make to ends meet.

I don’t know exactly how the negotiating went down during those eleven days, but Engel is pretty sure it was his lobbying that got the changes made.

“I believe that it was due to the strong stand which I took with House leadership and the White House that led to the seemingly more equitable share of Federal Matching Assistance Percentage Funding (FMAP) funds secure for our state,” Engel said in a recent press release.

UPDATE 3:01PM: I seem to have gotten a little bit of my reporting wrong. O’Brien pointed out via email that…

It’s not only people in Rep. Engel’s district who will benefit, but New York State as a whole. What the Riverdale Press was writing about as favoring Riverdale was the ‘donut hole,’ which affects the senior population. That was another part of the health care legislation that Rep. Engel favored, but which was already in the bill and unaffected by Rep. Engel’s negotiating.

You Can't Always Get What You Want

In Washington, this past weekend, Congresswoman Nydia Velazquez and other fellow Democrats, took part in a great moment in the journey for improving millions of lives in America. It was a moment they have been preparing and anticipating – for a very long time, probably since November 2008.

Velazquez and her colleagues believed in the urgency and importance of this goal and made sure to be as outspoken as they could be, to make sure this opportunity will not be missed.

On Saturday, standing in front of 500,000 people, Velazquez called on Congress and the president to pass the immigration reform immediately.

Yes, perhaps the timing wasn’t perfect for the “March for America” rally, the nationwide rally for immigration reform. Not when the health care reform was being voted on in the house.

“We stand here to say to the Republican leadership in the Senate, to the Democrats in the Senate and also in the House, and the President Barack Obama, we want immigration reform now,” Velazquez called Sunday.

Velazquez, with more than 20 Congressional Hispanic Caucus members behind her, has already decided on Thursday, to support the health care bill. The CHC supported the bill, despite the fact that it prohibits illegal immigrants from buying health care from the proposed health exchanges. “The broader impacts of the legislation, override the other concerns,” The CHC statement said.

So maybe, the timing of the rally wasn’t so poor after all.

Congresswoman Velazquez has many different chairs to sit in.
She Chairs the Hispanic Caucus, the Small Business Association and Rep. of New York City’s Congressional District 12. She’s a Democrat-Latina with close ties with the Speaker of the House.
Most of the time, all these roles go together well, but on rare occasions, they can conflict. Generally, immigrants and small businesses, her constituency and her party share congruent interests.

Was it her loyalty to the CHC, SBA, to her constituency? Was it to Pelosi, her party, to America, her career, or all of the above that convinced her to support the controversial overhaul?

As for the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, Velazquez says its good news after all.
Only a week before the vote, the CHC threatened to derail the health care bill unless changes were made to the bill’s immigration provisions. But Velazquez and the caucus said that the 8.8 million Latinos who will benefit from the reform, are good enough reasons to support it.

“In my home district, it improves options for 324,000 residents, and expands care to 86,000 more,” she said in a statement on Monday.

For Small Businesses, the bill will provide tax credits for up to 249,000 New York small businesses to help make coverage more affordable.

“In my district alone, 33 clinics will see critical improvements, meaning more options for the men and women of Brooklyn, Queens and the Lower East Side,” Velazquez said.
[NYC Health and Hospitals Corporation will issue a statement Friday regarding the reform]

Her constituency doesn’t really care or understand, how their women in DC will vote. And those who are informed -don’t always agree.

In Williamsburg, Brooklyn, on a sunny Wednesday, a day before the CHC announced they unanimously support the reform, residents and business owners of Congressional District 12 weren’t following closely after Pelosi’s head-count.

Senior Italian residents were strolling, Hispanic school kids were playing in the streets, and Hassid Jews in long black coats were busy unpacking, reorganizing grocery shelves and replacing goods with “Kosher for Passover” products.

They were busy taking care of their small businesses and hardly gave any thought to the Washington thriller

On Grand Avenue, Willferd Ochoa sat in the back room of a small car service office. His cell phone was constantly ringing. Between conversations he said that Velazquez should vote against the bill.

“It has to be for everyone,” he said. “If someone is illegal but he has money to buy it, he should be able to.”

In the 21 years Willfred has been living in the US, he never visited a doctor here. Only when he goes home, to Ecuador, he gets all his check-ups -usually all in one day.

In an accounting office in Bushwick, Refael was also very busy. He had been helping small businesses and immigrants with their accounting papers and legal aid.

“We never know how many, or what kind of changes were made,” he said.
“I support the amnesty, but this is how the system works, you have to respect the law. If you’re illegal – you’re illegal,” Refael said, regarding the illegal immigrants provision.

Last week, Obama embraced a framework for legislation offering a new high-tech identification card for U.S. citizens and legal immigrants who want a job.
But on Friday, Sen. Lindsey Graham who offered the legislation said:

“If the health care bill goes through this weekend, that will, in my view, pretty much kill any chance of immigration reform passing the Senate this year.”

The health care bill passed 219-212, but the immigration reform will probably have to wait.

After clashing recently with another Democrat, Rahm Emanuel, who has been pushing for his own goals,Velazquez stated “he’s always about winning”, she found out you sometimes have to sacrifice to be on the winning side.

Staten Island says 'no' to health reform

Staten Island’s Rep. Mike McMahon was the only “No” vote on health care reform out of the New York City delegation.

In a sense he gave the district exactly what they wanted: blind obstruction.

It’s no surprise that most of the island, although grossly misinformed, is decidedly against the president’s health care initiative — or any other initiative he has for that matter.

I’ve done some reporting on this issue in the past and the feelings from the mid-island business community was generally weary of this elusive health care plan.

Here is a sampling for Sept 09:

“My husband has his own business and he pays $2,000 a month for insurance. We’re hurting but I do have three kids. I don’t know what I’m going to get (if reform passes).”

– Pat Siringo, clerk at Uniquely Yours

“It’s not the cheapest but at least I have insurance. I am concerned about the effect this plan will have on seniors. I don’t want any more change; I’ve had enough change.”

-Lorraine Graziano, owner of S I Quick Print.

“My wife had to get a job at (Staten Island University) Hospital so I could get health care. I went for two years without insurance. But, if you work 20 years to get to a certain point with your business why should you be penalized (with higher taxes). It’s not right, I hope it doesn’t pass.”

-Michael DiGuido, owner of The Animal Pantry.

“He won’t vote for it, and it won’t pass. Financially it doesn’t make any sense. Staten Island is a conservative place in general. Staten Island can take care of itself.”
-Warren Crapo owner Crapo Realty

Every single business owner complained about the rising costs of health care. However, every single business owner was strongly against health care reform.

Is there a disconnect here? Where are they getting their info? Fox News? The Advance? The Marketeer?

By Tuesday, the media was sniping at McMahon from every angle.

The NY Daily News claimed that the White House was upset with McMahon’s intransigence.

The local paper spoke to a potential primary challenger, who had lost to McMahon in ’08.

Meanwhile McMahon’s opponents were unsheathing their right-wing rhetoric.

“It is a very sad day for all Americans when bribery and backroom deals beat the will of the people,” Mike Grimm said in a press release.

The other Mike, Allegretti, went to the NY Post to air his grievances

But what about the Island’s conservative base? They must be on McMahon’s side now right?

“As long as the congressman has a ‘D’ next to his name, he will be part of the problem in perpetuating the Pelosi Congress,” said Santarpia, the leader of Staten Island’s Tea Party, to the Staten Island Advance.

Looks like McMahon can’t please anybody.

Rangel Gets Back to Basics Before Slip-Up

As Americans tuned into CNN and C-Span in high numbers to watch the House debate and vote on health care reform, controversy swelled about racial insults hurled at black members of Congress as they made their way in to debate.

In an incident that took place on Saturday, black members of the house allegedly had the N-word shouted  at them by members of the Tea-Party movement. These leaders included Reps. John Lewis, D-Ga. Rep. Lewis had been instrumental in the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960’s, fighting against the government for equality for blacks. Now, as a member of the institution he once rebelled against, he faced off against racism once more. “I haven’t heard anything like this in 40, 45 years. Since the march to Selma, really,” Rep. Lewis told reporters.

Congressman Rangel, also active in the Civil Rights movement and one of the founding members of the Congressional Black Caucus, was quick to respond. As the Fox News Website reported:

You don’t see any black folks in these groups,” said Rangel. “Ever, ever, ever, ever, ever.”Rangel suggested that some of the protesters knew Lewis’ story and deliberately went after him.”They knew what he represented.”

Rangel also made sure to make his feelings known during the actual debate. “”No matter how long anybody has been in this body, people will ask which side were you on and, thank God, I’m on the right side,” Rangel said on the floor of the House. on Sunday.

Rangel rose up in Congress fighting for under-represented Blacks and other minorities, as well as poverty-stricken, so, in the wake of recent scandals, it served him well to remind his constituents about the positive things he stood for and the many fights against racial intolerance he fought and won in the past. Instead of merely doing damage control and trying to stay out of the limelight, he was able to make his voice heard again.

Unfortunately, the Rangel campaign made a recent gaffe that the Daily News was able to seize upon. A tax pamphlet was sent out to Rangel’s constituents offering advice on how to do your taxes properly and receive money back from the federal government.

alg_rangel_pamphlet

Considering allegations of tax fraud against Rangel, the Daily News find a few quotable types who were amazed at Rangel’s hubris. From the article:

“Well, I think if anyone is going to tell you how to pay – or not pay – taxes, he’s your guy,” chuckled retiree Ed Hanft, 85. “It’s too much of a reminder to his constituents as to what he did. He shouldn’t talk about taxes at all.”

Reno Brown, 89, agreed. “I’d never take tax advice from that guy,” Brown told the Daily News.

“It’s probably not the best time to put something like that out,” observed Keisha Jones, 40.

A common criticism lobbied at Rangel was that he felt too comfortable in his powerful position and took questionable liberties because of this. Sending out a pamphlet championing your ability to help people do their taxes when you’re in tax trouble yourself probably isn’t the best move if you’re trying to show that you don’t think you’re above the law.

Health Care Reform Passes: "Lunch Ladies" Defeated

219 House Democrats passed a landmark health care reform bill late Sunday evening – as Jamie Oliver travelled to the most obese city in America to promote healthier eating habits on his new show “Food Revolution” on ABC – that is meant to benefit tens of thousands of uninsured residents in New York Congressional District 11 in Brooklyn.

The interactive graph above shows how the bill will affect the district, by the numbers.

“This bill gives Americans more choices and brings down health care costs for everyone,” said Rep. Yvette Clarke, who voted for the bill.

Indeed, the bill may also benefit 367,000 of her constituents with health insurance through improvements in their coverage, and more than 11,000 small business in her district are targeted to receive tax credits to afford health insurance, she said.

(Read my previous post for an analysis of why Rep. Clarke voted for health care reform.)

The timing for Food Revolution’s preview perhaps couldn’t have been more impeccable.

Jamie Oliver, the British chef who helped transform the public lunch program in the U.K. through the show’s British version, was faced in West Virginia by a tough, punchy “lunch lady” who refused to change from her ways of serving frozen pizza, processed foods and just-add-water mashed potatoes.

The idea of preparing and serving fresh food everyday to kids seemed not only impossible to her, but perhaps worse, she didn’t think the kids would like it – so why even try to feed them better, more nutritious food?

Change is never easy. The year-long kicking and scratching between Democrats and Republicans over health care reform is evident of that, if nothing else. But President Obama and Congress, like Jamie Oliver, have decided to take on the Republican “lunch ladies” in the interest of a better, healthier America.

The reconciled health care reform bill, which includes the backing of Pro-Life Caucus Democrats, still needs approval by a simple majority in the Senate before landing on President Obama’s desk.

“Tonight after nearly 100 years of talk and frustration,” said Obama around 12:42 a.m. on Monday, “we proved that this government of the people and by the people is still for the people.”

Though no House lunch ladies voted for the bill – including all Republicans and some Democrats – it’s still unclear if they’ll become fans of “Food Revolution.”