The Tucson Citizen
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By Gabrielle Giffords and Michael Burgess

Spring is when motorcyclists from the northern half of the country dust the snow off their boots and get on their motorcycles for the first ride of the year. Riders from the South take road trips to escape the heat.

That is why state and federal agencies recognize each May as Motorcycle Safety Awareness Month and this year Congress will weigh in as well.

As co-chairs of the Congressional Motorcycle Caucus and avid motorcyclists, we have introduced a resolution that supports the goals of Motorcycle Safety Awareness Month.

Currently the bipartisan resolution (HR 339) is working its way through committee and the full House and 18 additional co-sponsors. If you are concerned about motorcycle safety, please encourage your member of Congress to sign on to this measure.

Motorcycle Safety Awareness Month encourages riders to always wear helmets and other protective gear; never drink and ride; be properly licensed; and get training-important messages for motorcyclists whether they ride year-round or are just getting their motorcycles out of winter storage for the spring and summer seasons.

Another critical safety component of Motorcycle Safety Awareness Month, also highlighted by HR 339, is the need for other road users to be aware of motorcycles.

In 2006, 55 percent of all fatalities in motorcycle crashes involved another vehicle in addition to the motorcycle.

In many of these crashes, the driver of the other vehicle reported that they “never saw the motorcycle.”

Congress, state and federal agencies and the motorcycling public must take steps to ensure that drivers of cars, SUVs and trucks are aware of motorcyclists on the road.

Riders can do their part by having their headlight on (even during daylight hours); wearing bright and conspicuous helmets and safety gear; and riding responsibly.

In addition, all road users can increase safety by being cautious and always “taking a second look” before pulling out or turning.

Motorcycles are fun, reduce congestion, have minimal impact on infrastructure and are fuel efficient, making them more attractive than ever to many motorists.

More than 23 million people will operate a motorcycle this year and simply knowing that should spur all riders and drivers to be more aware.

There was a May 1 event on Capitol Hill at which Department of Transportation Secretary Mary Peters, members of Congress and safety advocates highlighted Motorcycle Safety Awareness Month.

We want to make this the safest year ever for motorcyclists. More importantly, please be a licensed, trained and responsible rider or remember to watch out for riders as you drive. You just might save a life.

U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, a Democrat, represents Arizona’s 8th Congressional District. U.S. Rep. Michael Burgess, a Republican, represents Texas’ 26th Congressional District. Both are avid motorcycle riders.

Click here to read the article on the Tucson Citizen website 

By Daniel Scarpinato
ARIZONA DAILY STAR

U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords was scheduled to return Tuesday night from a four-day trip to Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Giffords, a first-term Democrat who represents much of metropolitan Tucson, was part of a five-member, bipartisan congressional delegation that visited the countries - a trip that landed her in Afghanistan the same day as an assassination attempt against Afghan President Hamid Karzai during a military ceremony.

She was en route back to Washington Tuesday night and could not be contacted.

Her staff did not know where she was at the time of the assassination attempt. She was scheduled to meet with Karzai, but a spokesman did not know if the meeting ever took place.

Stops included Kabul and Kandahar, Afghanistan, and Islamabad, Pakistan.

Giffords did meet with Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf, and with U.S. and middle east military leaders.

She also had dinner Saturday night with members of D-M’s 355th Fighter Wing serving in Bagram. She had planned to deliver letters from their families, as well as 72 jars of fresh salsa, tortillas, chips and hot sauce donated by El Charro Café.

As shown by the attempt on Karzai’s life, the visit comes amid reports of growing violence in Afghanistan and a re-emergence of Taliban forces.

Just weeks ago, Giffords took what is likely her strongest stance on Iraq since being elected in 2006, calling for a phased withdrawal of all American forces and greater attention placed on stabilizing Afghanistan.

“What is going on in Afghanistan is the center front in the war of terrorism,” said Giffords’ spokesman, C.J. Karamargin. “It cannot be allowed to spiral out of the control.”

Public opinion on the U.S. role in Afghanistan runs directly counter to views on Iraq. Sixty-three percent of Americans believe the U.S. made a mistake in sending troops to Iraq, according to a recent USA Today/Gallup Poll. In comparison, 65 percent say going to Afghanistan in response to the Sept. 11 attacks was the right decision, according to the Pew Research Center.

Giffords serves on the Foreign Affairs and Armed Services committees, as well as the Armed Services subcommittees on readiness and air and land forces.

The trip was led by Rep. Adam Smith, D-Wash. Other members were Mike Conaway, R-Texas, Mac Thornberry, R-Texas and Bill Shuster, R-Pa.

On previous trips to Iraq, congressional delegations have stayed on military installations.

Click here to read the article on the Arizona Daily Star website

LINKS TO OTHER (NON-U.S.) STORIES ABOUT THE CODEL

http://www.pakistanlink.com/Headlines/Apr08/29/12.htm

http://www.app.com.pk/en_/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=36669&Itemid=2

http://www.nation.com.pk/daily/Apr-2008/29/index10.php

http://thepost.com.pk/MainNews.aspx?bdtl_id=10637&fb_id=2&catid=14

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-04/28/content_8069630.htm

American military forces are stretched to the limit over the war in Iraq, U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, D-Ariz., told reporters by phone Wednesday.

In a conference call with Southern Arizona journalists, she said Iraq should use some of its oil millions to help pay for the war.

Giffords came to the phone from a hearing of the House Armed Services Committee, one of four congressional committees faced over two days by Gen. David Petraeus, commander of American forces in Iraq, and Ryan C. Crocker, the American ambassador to Iraq.

Giffords said U.S. forces are now getting only a year of relief time at home after a tour of duty, where normally it should be three years.

And Giffords said the U.S. cannot afford to spend $400 million a day prosecuting the war in Iraq.

She said Iraq, which is making money from its huge oil sales, should step up and assume more of the cost of the war.

Two of her military advisers, retired Army Chief of Staff John Wickham Jr., and retired Air Force Maj. Gen. Donald W. Shepherd, joined her on the call. Both now live in Southern Arizona.

No matter when Americans start to pull out of Iraq, she said, it will be a complex project taking time.

The United States will leave behind much of its military equipment for Iraq’s use, but what that does come home will have to be decontaminated, a lengthy costly program.

And she said she hopes the United States doesn’t leave behind wrecked, damaged equipment in need of repair. Wickham said, “we turned over the worst we had so we could buy new. We need to do better than that.”

Giffords said she expects to continue the financial support of the war, and hopes the “surge” of 130,000 extra troops will start to reverse.

The Pentagon attributes the surge to some reduction in warfare there.

But the withdrawals probably won’t actually start January 2011.

Giffords also warned that so much concentration on Iraq is taking attention from two other hot spots-Afghanistan where the Taliban is again gaining force, and Pakistan where Al-Qaida is becoming a growing threat.

Gen. Wickham was critical of some of America’s weapons of war deployed in battle.

“We’ve got military airplanes 50 years old” that are flying. he said.

He said America is war-weary, and said we need to end involvement “without seeming to cut and run.”

Wickham also said the greatest threat to world security is no longer Iraq, but “Israel versus Iran.”

Giffords said U.S. forces will remain in Iraq even when the internal strife ends there.

And Wickham said, “if we don’t fix it now, we’ll have to go back.”

Click here to read the article on the Green Valleys News website

WASHINGTON - The United States has to force the hands of Iraqi politicians, and that means pulling America’s armed forces out of that country sooner rather than later.

That is the view of U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, retired Army chief of Staff Gen. John Wickham Jr., and retired Air Force Maj. Gen. Donald W. Shepperd.

In a telephone press conference with the trio, Democrat Giffords, who represents Southern Arizona and whose district includes two military installations - Fort Huachuca and Davis-Monthan Air Force Base - said she carefully listened to Gen. David H. Petraeus and U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Ryan Crocker who testified Wednesday before the House Armed Service Committee, of which she is a member.

Petraeus, the architect of the surge in Iraq, and Crocker also testified before the Senate Armed Services Committee on Tuesday where they recommended a reduction in some of the American forces in Iraq through July and then a wait-and-see period before any more troops leave.

While praising both men for their dedication, the congresswoman said the military, particularly the Army, is close to the breaking point because of the constant deployments and not having long enough rest periods at a home station.

As it is, soldiers are getting about a year between deployments, when it should be three years, she said.

The time at a home station is needed for training and for soldiers to have a better understanding of what may face them by being instructed in such things as cultural awareness, part of Fort Huachuca’s program, the freshman representative said.

As for the American Army, “the war in Iraq has pushed it to the brink of breaking,” Giffords said.

Wickham, who now calls Tucson home, said he agrees 100 percent with the congresswoman’s take on the Iraqi situation.

“The Army, in my humble opinion, is almost broken,” the retired general said.

Shepperd, a television military analyst, said while he too agrees, there are other considerations that have to be part of any decisions. He also lives in Tucson.

While he said Petraeus’ idea of taking a pause is a good military operational tactic, the retired two-star general said it cannot be a long one.

However, decisions have to include a sense of reality, and some of those equations are the “the American public is weary of the war, and the military is stressed,” Shepperd said.

What the congresswoman and the two generals also said is action has to be taken to force the hand of the Iraqi government to do more instead of using America’s military presence in their country as a crutch.

What is best for the United States is to tell the Iraqis that America’s military is leaving, and they will have to defend their own nation, the congresswoman commented.

Right now the Iraqi leaders are wearing blinders, and that problem is also seen within some of the American government.

The United States has taken its eyes off the real threat, which is Afghanistan, where the Taliban are once again an increasing threat, and al-Qaida is becoming more of a problem in Pakistan as well, Giffords said.

“We can’t concentrate solely on Iraq,” she said.

But all three said the U.S. will have to have some kind of presence in the Middle East.

Shepperd noted the United Nations mandate on Iraq concludes at the end of this year, and that will be a good time to push the Iraqi government to take care of itself, he said.

“Iraq doesn’t want us there beyond the mandate anyway,” Shepperd said.

U.S. forces already have installations in Kuwait, Bahrain and Qatar, and that is where America’s military presence can be concentrated to respond to regional problems, he said.

Giffords said she and others in the American government do not want to see Iraq fail.

“We want Iraq to be a success,” she said, adding that America is walking on a tightrope when it comes to how that country is being handled.

The best thing to do is “Iraqize the war, and they can solve it if they want to,” she said.

And, yes, there will be violence when the United States leaves, but it will have to be the Iraqis who decide how to handle that problem.

By keeping American forces in that country “we are enabling Iraqis not to make decisions,” Giffords said.

Click here to read the article on the Sierra Vista Herald/Review website

Pam came to Tucson from Connecticut in 1964, when her husband accepted an appointment at the UofA to participate in the start of the Optical Sciences Department, now the highly-acclaimed College of Optical Sciences.

In 1965, Pam was offered a part-time position as an optical designer for Kitt Peak National Observatory (now NOAO), a position she held for six years. In 1972, after the birth of their fourth child, Pam rekindled a long-standing interest in handweaving, began a small business working from home, and co-founded the Tucson Handweavers and Spinners Guild.

Pam become involved in politics managing two TUSD School Board campaigns for Eva Bacal, who was elected in 1976. She volunteered full time for Citizens Against the Recall. The following year, she served on the Pima Association of Governments’ Citizens Committee, working on drainage projects.

Politics took a back seat when Pam returned to school to obtain a Masters of Library Science from the UofA. Positions as Information Specialist/Staff Scientist with Science Applications International Corporation, followed by Director of Operations of the Tucson AIDS Project and, finally, Co-Associate Director of Distance Learning at the UofA rounded out Pam’s professional career.

Pam believes it is, “absolutely essential for Gabrielle Giffords to continue in Congress.” Pam supported Gabrielle in the first election, but did not volunteer. This time around, “I felt that [Gabrielle] was going to have strong opposition in this campaign and although I had vowed I was never going back into politics, I knew it was important she get reelected, so I decided to volunteer,” she said.

“I’m impressed with the way Gabrielle has taken her extraordinary talent for entrepreneurship and so successfully combined it with her overwhelming desire to serve the people,” commented Pam. “I’m absolutely amazed at what she has accomplished in her year-and-a-half in office, and I’m enormously proud she’s my congresswoman.”

Pam’s interests include photography, handweaving, archaeology, music, dance, and theater. She currently serves on the Board of Directors of The Rogue Theatre. She enjoys spending time with her family, including her young grandsons and her lively and witty 100-year old mother.

The U.S. Forest Service announced Friday that it will extend the public comment process for a proposed copper mine southeast of Tucson.

The move was prompted by U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, D-Ariz., who told Forest Service administrators she was concerned that the public has no confidence in the agency’s impartiality related to the Rosemont Mine, which would be dug in the Santa Rita Mountains.

Giffords held a news conference at her Tucson office along with Forest Service officials to announce a more involved environmental impact survey.

The Forest Service will extend the deadline for the public to comment to July 11, an extra 90 days. It also will hold three open houses and three public hearings on the mine and establish a public working group to watch over the process. Dates and times for the added public meetings were still being worked out Friday, officials said.

“I want to make sure that there is a process that is seen as open,” Giffords said.

Jeanine Derby, supervisor of the Coronado National Forest, said she agreed to the steps even though “it’s not the normal way to go.” Canadian-based Augusta Resource Corp. owns the mining claim but needs to use Forest Service land for its operations.

The Forest Service can evaluate and restrict operations of the mine but can not deny Augusta the right to mine outright.
Forest Service spokeswoman Heidi Schewel said her agency can consider specific public complaints but not simply “pro” and “con” positions.

Augusta Resource will not contest the lengthening of the public review, even if it extends the two-year approval process.
“We have faith in the (public comment) process and encourage participation from all perspectives related to domestic mineral production,” said Jamie Sturgess, vice president of sustainable development at Rosemont.

The move will give environmentalists more of a chance to beat back the plan, said Gayle Hartmann, president of Save the Scenic Santa Ritas, which was established to fight the mine.

Hartmann wants Augusta’s proposal denied, which she says can be done high up in the executive branch. A new president could change the mine’s prospects, Hartmann said.

Click here to read the article on the Tucson Citizen website

An application by the City of Willcox for $200,000 for a senior citizens center is now before the House Appropriations Committee in Washington, DC.

The city has requested funding from the Department of Housing and Urban Development for construction of a 6,000-square-foot senior citizens center at a cost of $140,000 as well as $10,000 for kitchen appliances; $10,000 for gaming tables; and $40,000 in furnishings.

The Willcox City Council unanimously approved the application at its March 3 meeting.

“This is an action to apply for a direct, federal grant from Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords’ Office for $160,000, to be matched by $20,000 in local funds to construct and equip a senior citizens center for the City of Willcox,” City Manager Mike Leighton told the council.

Giffords’ office provides a form for applicants to make appropriations requests through her office for direct federal funding.

“This has been an issue for several years now,” Leighton told the council. “The city has not been able to garner the funds to construct and equip a senior center because, basically, other infrastructure issues have superseded it.”

“Giffords’ office has asked me to apply. I have done so and now request that a resolution be adopted supporting the application,” he added. “Please understand that these are highly competitive and that grants are now required to introduce a ‘national benefit’ into the language.”

In the city’s application, Leighton said, “The City of Willcox lies on the front line of this nation’s illegal immigration and potential terrorist crossing area from Mexico. It has a new border patrol facility being developed to provide facilities for a larger number of border patrol agents.”

“The city has taken advantage of all the training and grants in aid to help assist the federal government with its mission to quell the tide of illegal aliens and keep our borders secure from terrorists and terrorism,” said Leighton, adding that the city has also had “to put its limited matching dollars into infrastructure in support of future growth, mostly, more border patrol agents.”

“This hasn’t allowed the city to address another segment of our community in a fair or reasonable way,” he said. “We are proud to help them in any way we can and we maintain an excellent relationship with them.”

Leighton said that more than 35 percent of the Willcox population is 55 or older.

“They have paid their taxes, supported schools, and helped build this country into something very special,” he said. “They live on fixed incomes and they are faced with the uncertainties that the immigration and post 9/11 world has created for us all, except they often have to do it alone and without support from others.”

“Many seniors view the condition of the United States with trepidation and yes, fear,” Leighton said. “Many live alone and are not able to socialize and be with folks of their own age and beliefs. This applies to all of our diverse community. It is about half Anglo and half Hispanic. Both these communities oftentimes feel overwhelmed.”

“Let us not forget what they have done for us. It is time for us to do something for them,” he said. “They can still be vital to the community if they have something they can have ownership in and maintain with pride.”

Leighton said that Willcox is seeing more and more desire by baby boomers to retire here and in the surrounding area.

“This increase in retirees will only increase the need for a facility that brings an uncertain community together,” he said.

“Franklin Roosevelt said that, ‘We have nothing to fear, but fear itself.’ That adage came out of World War II when there was lot to fear,” Leighton said. “I would suggest we are in the midst of much the same in 2008. We are faced with significant change and the seeming inability to protect our borders from illegal immigrants and terrorists.”

“The security benefits created by a senior center lie with the fact that the whole community, including seniors, will have a place to come for solace, camaraderie, edification, and peace,” he said.

Giffords has also submitted a federal funding request for another Willcox project, as well as a request for a project that would impact the city, said her Communications Director C.J. Karamargin.

“The total request for Willcox projects is $810,000,” he said.

One is a request for $500,000 to remodel and expand the emergency department at Northern Cochise Community Hospital (NCCH).

“The emergency room in this rural community provides service for 12,000 people, but has not been renovated in 20 years, while emergency room visits have increased 10 fold during that time. Willcox is over an hour from the next town and over an hour and a half from the next full-service hospital.”

The other is a request for $150,000 for Cochise County Entrepreneurial Education and Development for Cochise Community College.

“This funding will be used to create comprehensive education programs that provide small business owners and entrepreneurs with skills to create and strengthen businesses particularly in rural areas of Cochise County and among underserved populations. Cochise Community College services the entire 6,200 square miles of Cochise County with campuses in Sierra Vista and Douglas, and education centers in Benson, Willcox, Fort Huachuca and Nogales.”

“These wide-spread campuses provide important services for hard-to-reach areas of Arizona. Cochise College will use this funding to expand existing resources in its Small Business Development Center. The funding will provide small business assistance through trainings and workshops held throughout the county that utilize certified dedicated professionals with access to high-quality global resources for the local business community in Cochise County.”

About her federal funding requests, Giffords said, “As a fiscally-conservative member of the Blue Dog coalition and a former business owner, I believe Congress must spend with the utmost care. In selecting funding projects for our region I was extremely selective, submitting fewer than half of the requests that were sent to my office.”

“I believe it is part of my job to bring the hard-earned tax dollars of Southern Arizonans home to our communities in meaningful ways,” she said.

The requests from the Willcox area constitute three out of 48 Southern Arizona projects submitted by Giffords, for a total of $119.5 million, said Karamargin, adding that includes $16.5 million for military construction; $15 million for defense; and $1.38 million for solar energy.

Karamargin told the Range News that the bidding process is a rigorous one.

“I can tell you there are many organizations seeking federal funding,” he said. “The Congresswoman screens the requests looking for projects with a worthwhile community, regional, or national benefit. The Willcox projects passed muster.”

The requests from Southern Arizona will now have to compete with those from members of Congress from all over the country.

“The applicants have to make the case to the Congresswoman, because she then has to make the case to the Appropriations Committee,” Karamargin said.

Congress has cut the overall funding level for FY 2009 projects in half, as it did last year for FY 2008 projects, Giffords said.

“A majority of my requests will not be approved due to this drastic reduction, but I believe they deserve strong consideration by my colleagues on the Appropriations Committee,” she said.

For those wishing to write the House Appropriations Committee in support of these local projects, the address is Room H-218, The Capitol, Washington, DC, 20515. The chairman is Democratic Congressman Dave Obey of Wisconsin.

Click here to read the article on the Arizona Range News website

WASHINGTON - U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords is seeking more than $117 million in next year’s federal budget to support a number of agencies in her congressional district.Of the 48 projects Giffords is seeking funds for, 20 projects with a value of slightly more than $16.6 million are either in or partially part of functions in Cochise County.

As part of establishing accountability, transparency and openness in the appropriations process, the freshman Democratic congresswoman said, “I enthusiastically support these reforms and believe that our government must be accessible to all Americans.”

This is the second year that the openness of the appropriations process has led her to list what projects she is supporting for Congressional District 8.

The 110th Congress adopted the procedure that requires the identification of the recipient of the project, stating the purpose of the project, subjecting all funding requests to full disclosure before a vote is taken, certifying the congressional member, or spouse, has no financial interest in the project and making all approved projects available after each appropriations bill passes the House of Representatives.

“I am going beyond the new requirements and disclosing my fiscal year 2009 (which begins Oct. 1) district funding requests prior to their considerations,” Giffords said. “In selecting funding projects for our region I was extremely selective, submitting fewer than half of the requests that were sent to my office. I believe it is part of my job to bring the hard-earned tax dollars of Southern Arizonans home to our communities in meaningful ways.”

Four of the projects have to deal with the San Pedro River area.

The Nature Conservancy is seeking $285,000 for its San Pedro River Ecosystem Project. This funding will be used by the U.S. Forest Service’s Forest Legacy Program to acquire conservation easements on three tracts that total 166 acres. All of the private owners are willing to participate in this program to put their lands into permanent conservation protection with the state of Arizona.

Three of the other proposals will support the Upper San Pedro Partnership, a consortium of federal, state and local agencies, as well as environmental groups and businesses.

One seeks $115,000 for San Pedro Riparian National Conservation Area, Section 321 Watershed Protection and Restoration. This funding will be used to enhance the health of the San Pedro River Watershed by removing invasive species that absorb more water than native species. After removal is completed, areas will be reseeded with desirable native grasses.

The second seeks $252,000 for the San Pedro Riparian National Conservation Area Section 321 Monitoring and Verification requirements. This funding will be used by BLM to produce and analyze objective scientific information necessary to satisfy the annual reporting requirements of Public Law 108-136, Section 321.

The third is a request for $750,000 monitoring and reporting on the Upper San Pedro River Monitoring and Reporting. This funding will be used by the U.S. Geological Survey to monitor the flow of the San Pedro River and the conditions of the regional aquifer of the Sierra Vista Subwatershed.

Sierra Vista Mayor Bob Strain, the partnership’s chairman, said the money is needed to help a number of federal agencies, who are members of the partnership, do work that will address the water woes in the area’s basin.

The previous U.S. representative for the area, Jim Kolbe, a Republican who retired after serving more than 20 years in Congress, was able to obtain earmarks ranging up to more than $3 million a year for the partnership to do a great deal of work, including scientific studies, he said.

But, Strain noted, earmarks are no long favorably considered by many in Congress, and there are a number of moves to eliminate them all together.

The Republican presidential nominee-in-waiting, U.S. Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., also has told the partnership members on many occasions that while he supports their efforts, the federal treasury is not unlimited. McCain also has made known his dislike for earmarks and has promised, if elected to the nation’s highest office, to veto any bill with earmarks.

He prefers that funds are debated in the open and go through the legislative process for approval.

Strain said that by asking for the funds to be part of a federal agency’s budget, the process will be open. Strain also noted county and city leaders have budgeted tens of thousands of dollars toward the partnership over the years.

With Giffords’ support, Strain said, “This is only but a step in a long process, a very promising step.”

In her release of her appropriations requests, the congresswoman warned many of the requests will not be approved due to the nation’s economic problems, which will force reductions.

“But I believe they deserve strong considerations by my colleagues on the Appropriations Committee,” Giffords said.

For a detailed list of Giffords’ appropriations requests for fiscal year 2009, visit giffords.house.gov.

The following are other project that U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords has requested that involve Cochise County. Four requests that involve the San Pedro River are not seen, but are mentioned in the main story. Projects are listed by the name of the subcommittee that will review them.

Agriculture, Rural Development,

Food and Drug Administration

• $120,000 for scientific support for the Upper San Pedro Partnership to fund the organization’s ongoing participation in the USDA-Agricultural Research Service, Southwest Watershed Research Center.

Defense

• $5 million for the Asymmetric Threat Response and Analysis Project. The funds are requested for a joint University of Arizona/Fort Huachuca Battle Lab research effort that is developing computerized tools for the Army that will predict and prevent insurgent attacks.
• $4 million for the Silver Fox and Manta Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) to fund further development and deployment of high-tech sensors on the Silver Fox Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV). Research and development of the Silver Fox is a joint effort spearheaded by the Fort Huachuca Battle Laboratory and Tucson contractor Advanced Ceramics Research.

Energy and Water Development

• $183,534 for a rooftop solar electric system for the Bisbee City Hall. The funding will be used to install a 30 kilowatt solar array. Current energy costs for the building are about $21,000 per year and this project would reduce that amount by approximately 47 percent.

Financial Services and General Government

• $150,000 for Cochise County Entrepreneurial Education and Development at Cochise College. The funding will be used to create comprehensive education programs that provide small business owners and entrepreneurs with skills to create strengthen businesses particularly in rural area of Cochise County and among underserved populations.

Homeland Security

• $750,000 to be used to conduct flood plain studies of areas that FEMA has recently placed, or proposes to place, in the new Zone A category.

Military Construction and Veterans Affairs

• $2 million is being sought to upgrade and expand the air traffic control radar operations building on Fort Huachuca. The existing facility is more than 20 years old and was not designed to accommodate equipment expansion and additional personnel. The money will provide the resources necessary to construct a 4,446-square-foot addition to the existing air traffic control facility.

Transportation, Housing and Urban Development

• $366,000 for the renovation of the Grand Theatre in Douglas. The funding will support the Douglas Arts & Humanities Association to continue ongoing structural and functional work on the historic theater, focusing on building safety, security, structural integrity and weatherization.
• $160,000 to construct a senior citizen center. The center will serve up to 300 people at a time in this remote, culturally-unique community. It will help to keep seniors active and serve as a food pantry for those in need.

Labor, Health and Human Services, Education

• $300,000 to build an electronic health record system for the Benson Hospital. This funding will be used to deploy an electronic health record system at the health facility, which is a critical access hospital.
• $500,000 for the construction and renovation of health and mental health service areas of domestic violence shelters in Sierra Vista and Douglas operated by Catholic Community Services of Southern Arizona. The funds being requested are for the construction and renovation of the health and mental health service areas of the Sierra Vista Forgach House and the Douglas House of Hope.
• $400,000 to continue supporting the Midwestern University Sierra Vista Postgraduate Nursing Program as part of the Sierra Vista Regional Health Center. The funding will be used to continue the development and implementation of the Postgraduate Nursing Educational Program at the rural Sierra Vista Regional Health Center.
• $500,000 to remodel and expand the emergency department at the Northern Cochise Community Hospital in Willcox. The funds also will be used to upgrade emergency equipment at the medical facility.
• $250,000 for a health clinic construction and renovation project at the Copper Queen Community Hospital in Bisbee. The funds will be used to acquire a modular building to house medical services for the Palominas/Hereford Rural Health Clinic.
• $125,000 for health clinic renovations at the Southeast Arizona Medical Center in Douglas. Funding will be used by the hospital to renovate a donated facility in Douglas to establish a new rural health clinic within the city limits.
• $400,000 for a rural pediatric center of excellence for the Chiricahua Community Health Centers. The funding will be used to support the establishment of a special center in Douglas.

Click here to read the article on the Sierra Vista Herald website

Giffords’ wish list is much slimmer than what she submitted last year, when it hit $326 million. One of last year’s requests alone — $187 million in guided missiles for the Army — exceeded all her requests combined this year.

Her priorities also have shifted. In 2007, the bulk of Giffords’ requests were for military projects — to the tune of $226 million. This year only $15 million is tagged for defense spending.

Instead, the largest share — $50 million — is for public transit. That includes $43 million for a modern streetcar system in Downtown Tucson, to be matched with Regional Transportation Authority funds. Another $7 million would pay for a state study of a commuter train running between Tucson and Phoenix.

The earmark process tacks spending projects onto House and Senate bills, rather than going through the normal appropriations process. Just like the requests of other members of Congress, none of Giffords’ requests is guaranteed to receive funding.

Last year less than $20 million of her total $326 million in requests ended up being funded through earmarks. And some, such as $14 million for Tucson’s Arroyo Chico flood-control and drainage project, had also been requested by neighboring Democratic Rep. Raúl Grijalva. However, there are ways other than earmarks to get money appropriated, and at least one project — $5 million to fund the development of a computer program to predict and prevent insurgent attacks — was funded directly in the budget.

This year, that program is, again, on Giffords’ list of earmarks.

The largest single item after the transit request is $14.5 million for a new fire- and crash-rescue station for Davis-Monthan Air Force Base. Giffords has asked for an additional $10 million for the Arroyo Chico project.

Another big-ticket item is a request for a $4.5 million air-traffic-control tower at Marana Regional Airport. Giffords also wants $2 million for improvements to the Catalina Highway, which takes visitors to the top of Mount Lemmon.

The list reflects Giffords’ stated interest in preservation of the San Pedro River, with $1.4 million in multiple conservation-related efforts.

About $1.4 million has been requested for three solar projects: $1 million for research on solar generators; $183,534 for solar panels at Bisbee City Hall; and $200,000 for panels at the Tucson Community Food Bank.

One small allotment — $125,000 — would pay for an investigation into using reclaimed water for food processing. Research would be conducted by University of Arizona students at a Frito-Lay facility near Casa Grande, according to the request.

A number of small requests, including $160,000 for a senior center in Willcox, are for rural interests, totaling $5.5 million.

Giffords’ slimmer list is a reflection of the economic downturn and the current federal budget situation, said her spokesman, C.J. Karamargin.

“The vetting process in our office changed as a result of that,” Karamargin said. “There are a lot of entities that come to members of Congress seeking federal funds, . . . and they need to state why they are of national or community benefit.”

The shift away from defense spending, he said, is not a change in priorities.

“Each of these things has to stand on its own merits,” he said. “They all fall under the large context of an economy that is going through a period of uncertainty.”

Giffords has said she would support a ban on earmarking, but Karamargin said that until that happens, she will seek earmarks.

“This is the process now in place,” he said. “The congresswoman knows that every year her constituents send millions of dollars to Washington. She wants to make sure some of that money comes back to the district.”

Democratic state Rep. Steve Farley of Tucson, who has been one of the most vocal local advocates of public transit, was pleased to hear about the $50 million request for rail. “I think she’s realizing the electrification of the streetcar means we can use homegrown solar energy to power our transit,” Farley said.

After facing criticism last year for initially keeping her earmarks under wraps only to eventually release them, Giffords wasted no time in making them known this time. She posted them on her congressional Web site Wednesday evening, the same day they were due. Grijalva, who released his list first last year, plans to release this year’s requests within the next several days.

Click here to read the article on the Arizona Daily Star website

A bill introduced last week by U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords would double the number of H-1B visas that allow immigrants to legally work in the United States.

The Tucson Democrat’s bill, known as the Innovation Employment Act, calls for increasing the limit of H-1B visas from 65,000 a year to 130,000 a year. The bill also would eliminate a 20,000-a-year cap on visas for foreign graduate or doctoral-program graduates who study science, technology, engineering or math.

Another bill submitted by U.S. Rep. Lamar Smith, R-Texas, would expand the annual visa limit even further to 195,000 for fiscal years 2008 and 2009.

A Giffords representative said expanding the number of visas for high-tech companies is critical to ensure Arizona and other states are competitive in a global economy that rewards science and math skills.

“In order to stay competitive and keep the momentum going in Arizona, we need to make sure that the talent is here. It is just the type of people we want here to drive and grow our economy,” said C.J. Karamargin, a Giffords spokesman.

Karamargin said Giffords introduced the bill after hearing from Arizona tech leaders about the need for a more robust immigrant-worker visa program that brings talented employees to the United States.

The program is used by high-tech companies and universities alike, with the University of Arizona counting more than 300 H-1B visa holders.

Science Foundation Arizona President Bill Harris said a shortage of engineers and technical workers is one of the most challenging hurdles Arizona faces as it seeks to build a knowledge-based economy.

Harris said he would strongly support Giffords’ bill because it seeks to expand the nation’s pool of technical workers, but, he added, the long-term solution rests with the nation’s education system.

“It points to the need to more effectively prepare our own students,” Harris said.

H-1B visas have drawn fire from some domestic tech workers who say some employers abuse the program and use it to access cheap labor.

Click here to read the article on the Arizona Republic website

Solar energy is more than just a clean, renewable source of electricity for our homes, schools and businesses. Harnessing the power of the sun helps our country achieve energy independence, boost our economy and assure a healthy environment for future generations.

Arizonans are working toward the shared vision of turning our state into the national solar energy leader. Entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, environmentalists, educators, researchers, retailers, homeowners and elected officials at the local, state and federal levels - all of us see the sun as an untapped opportunity. We are thinking big. We believe Arizona’s abundant sunshine can light the path to a prosperous 21st century. We are convinced that power from the sun can be transmitted to every corner of our state and across the nation.

This vision is not science fiction, but it could remain little more than a dream if the Arizona Corporation Commission fails to sustain its commitment to renewable energy.

This powerful five-member panel regulates utilities in Arizona, sets prices for natural gas and electricity, and determines how much our utilities must invest in renewable energy. In 2006, the all-Republican ACC wisely decided that 15 percent of our state’s energy production should come from renewable sources by 2025. Currently less than 1 percent of Arizona’s power comes from renewable energy. Known as the Renewable Energy Standard (RES), this 15 percent mandate emerged after a decade of research and endured the most heavily-vetted rule-making process in our state’s history.

Unfortunately, some of the declared candidates running for the three open ACC seats support repealing the RES. Other candidates have threatened to reconfigure it. Such actions would be disastrous. Thwarting the bold and widely supported RES would squander our incredible opportunity to make Arizona a national leader in solar power.

The solar industry is small but vibrant and growing fast. According to the Solar Energy Industries Association, from 2006 to 2007 the industry grew by 116 percent and more than doubled its number of jobs. This growth is going to continue and Arizona should embrace it. It is time for us to get out front. Maintaining and enforcing our state’s renewable energy standard will help get us there.

With more than 300 days of sunshine every year and an expanding high-technology industry, Arizona should be leading the race for solar energy dominance. That is why I am bringing members of the House Science and Technology Committee, including Chairman Bart Gordon, D-Tenn., and Ranking Member Ralph Hall, R-Texas, to Tucson today for a congressional field hearing on utility-scale solar power. Top business and policy experts will testify regarding opportunities and obstacles to generating large amounts of electricity from solar energy.

Creating long-lasting and meaningful solar policy for our state, however, will require more than one congressional field hearing. I will continue to convene elected officials, business organizations, researchers, utility company executives and motivated citizens to promote this clean and abundant source of renewable energy. But now, more than ever, the future of solar energy in Arizona is in the hands of the ACC members who will be elected in November.

If a new ACC panel decides to back-pedal on RES, solar companies will hesitate to invest here and we will continue to fall behind. I encourage all Arizonans to evaluate the candidates and support those who recognize the tremendous economic and environmental progress solar power offers our state and nation.

Click here to read Representative Giffords’ opinion on the Arizona Daily Star website

WASHINGTON – U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords this week signed on as the first Democratic co-sponsor of legislation that will create a new, reliable way for employers to verify the eligibility status of new hires.

The New Employee Verification Act overhauls the flawed system of employee verification now in place by providing employers with a fast, effective way to check whether a prospective employee is in the United States legally.

“Employers are on the front lines of the illegal immigration crisis facing our country,” said Giffords. “They need a worker status verification system that works.”

The New Employee Verification Act, or H.R. 5515, would provide employers with a secure and accurate process for identifying employees, including the option to pursue in-depth background checks. It also would streamline the verification process for employers by eliminating the need for businesses to maintain employment-eligibility records. An advisory panel of public and private sector experts would help ensure the highest degree of accuracy, privacy and security.

“Our economy is going through a difficult period,” said Giffords. “The federal government should make it easier for businesses to comply with federal immigration laws, not more difficult.”

This is among the reasons the bill is supported by many in Arizona, which recently enacted a tough new law to punish employers who hire illegal immigrants. “The fact that HR 5515 would improve on state law is a real benefit,” said W. Mark Clark, president and CEO of CODAC Behavioral Health Services. “The current Arizona system can cause delays in hiring people. It requires us to check two to three different systems which are duplicative and costly. We are in a workforce-challenged environment, and HR 5515 would be a significant improvement over the current verification system.”

These comments were echoed by Jack Camper, president and CEO of the Tucson Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce. He said H.R. 5515 creates a better system than “Arizona’s draconian employer sanctions law.”

The New Employee Verification Act was introduced by U.S. Rep. Sam Johnson of Texas, a Republican who serves on the House Ways & Means Committee. U.S. Rep. Trent Franks of Arizona is among the bill’s 13 co-sponsors.

Federal law prohibits the hiring of any individual unauthorized to work in the United States. But the law has been criticized by employers as unwieldy and enforced by a system riddled with fraud and abuse.

Johnson said the bill “recognizes that our current system is broken and draws upon the latest advances in technology in order to chart a new course. This proposal will help restore our faith in the rule of law, and restore the blessings of legal immigration our nation has long enjoyed.”

The bill’s supporters include the Greater Sierra Vista Area Chamber of Commerce, the Marana Chamber of Commerce, Peter Likins of the Southern Arizona Town Hall, and the National Federation of Independent Businesses.

Dan Danner, executive vice president of NFIB, praised the New Employee Verification Act for including reasonable employee verification requirements that small business owners can comply with and understand. “All immigration reforms that include provisions requiring employers to verify that employees are eligible to work in the U.S. need to take into account how they will impact small businesses,” said Dan Danner, executive vice president of NFIB. “In order for immigration reforms to be successful, the enforcement provisions need to be workable, efficient and fair without over burdening small business owners. NFIB commends Representative Giffords for cosponsoring the New Employee Verification Act.”

Click here to read the article on the Daily Dispatch website

When freshman Rep. Tim Mahoney, D-Fla., learned that his voting record in 2007 placed him precisely in the center of the House in National Journal’s congressional vote ratings, his initial reaction was laughter. “I laughed because of the statistical probability,” he said. “I was never a legislator. I was a businessman who gets the facts in the best interests of my district. I don’t get caught up in ideology.”

Instead, Mahoney explained, he has focused on the diverse needs of his South Florida constituents, including strengthening federal protection of homeowners insurance against hurricanes, developing water-resource projects to clean up the Everglades, and boosting the development of fuels made from sugarcane. “I got elected because people in my district weren’t happy with the status quo,” said Mahoney, who has been widely described as an “accidental” congressman because he won the seat of Republican Rep. Mark Foley, who resigned shortly before the 2006 election after it was disclosed that he had sent sexually explicit instant messages to congressional pages.

Mahoney said he wasn’t familiar with National Journal’s vote ratings until he was informed that the results made him the man in the middle of the House’s ideological spectrum, with 214 members more conservative than he was, 214 members more liberal than he was, and the rest not receiving scores because of missed votes. His votes for liberal positions on the minimum-wage hike, embryonic-stem-cell research, and Iraq war spending were balanced by his conservative votes on the alternative minimum tax, illegal aliens, and missile defense funds.

Mahoney nevertheless seemed pleased with the outcome. He suggested that he is helping to reshape politics in his bellwether state, which famously split in the 2000 presidential election. “I’m proud as a conservative Democrat to be right in the middle,” he said. “My [campaign] opponents are conservative Republicans and out of touch with the district.”

Mahoney has plenty of freshman classmates to keep him company at the center, including Rep. Nancy Boyda, D-Kan. She said she viewed her moderate ranking as “third-party validation” of her nonpartisan approach, which, she emphasized, is “not based on ideology or beholden to a party.”

“Kansans don’t get involved in the politics,” Boyda contended. “They want to know how the issues affect them.” She is so independent that she has refused to join the House’s moderate “Blue Dog” Democrats and has turned down entreaties to participate in party programs to promote her re-election. “I told [House Democratic Caucus Chairman] Rahm [Emanuel] in no uncertain language that I didn’t care what he thought about how I should run my campaign,” Boyda said. “I told him to leave me alone, and I won’t tell him how to run [other] campaigns. After three weeks, he learned to leave me alone.”

Boyda’s centrism is all the more compelling because she defeated GOP Rep. Jim Ryun, who was the No. 1 most conservative House member in NJ’s 2006 vote ratings. Ryun is trying to regain the seat this year, but he faces a primary challenge from a more moderate Republican.

These and other freshman Democrats exemplify the major changes in the House and Senate following the shift in party control brought by the 2006 election. When Republicans held the majorities, the members at the ideological center, not surprisingly, tended to be moderate Republicans who — despite some grumbling — usually voted for the agenda set by President Bush and GOP congressional leaders. In those days, the smaller corps of moderate Democrats rarely determined the outcome on major votes.

Those dynamics changed radically last year, particularly in the House. Republicans there displayed intense cohesion and unity: None of them ended up in the liberal half of the chamber in the 2007 vote ratings, and only Reps. Wayne Gilchrest, R-Md., and Christopher Shays, R-Conn., ranked outside the 200 most conservative members. The House’s new center filled disproportionately with freshman Democrats, particularly those who won GOP-held seats. They joined more-senior moderate Democrats — including longtime Blue Dogs and “New Democrats” — to replace the moderate Republicans who had occupied the center under GOP control.

Of the 10 Democrats, including Mahoney, who hold the slots at the exact center of the House in the 2007 vote ratings, six are first-termers. More broadly, National Journal typically classifies members with average — or “composite” — scores in the vote ratings between 35 and 65 on a scale of 100 as “centrists.” Nineteen of the 42 House Democratic freshmen qualify as centrists under those standards, as do three of the nine Senate Democratic freshmen. (Click here for a PDF of the congressional centrists.)

Among the Senate centrists was freshman Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., whose overall rating made her only two ticks more liberal than Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La., at that chamber’s ideological fulcrum. “When you come from a moderate state, being moderate is as natural as brushing your teeth,” said McCaskill, who ousted GOP Sen. Jim Talent. “It’s the people you represent.” Joining McCaskill among the centrists were freshman Sens. Jim Webb, D-Va., and Jon Tester, D-Mont.

National Journal has compiled the congressional vote ratings annually since 1981 under a system designed by William Schneider, a CNN political analyst and commentator, and a contributing editor to the magazine. The ratings are based on key votes – 107 in the House and 99 in the Senate for 2007 — that a panel of NJ reporters and editors selected and classified as relating to economic, social, or foreign policy.

Computer-assisted calculations ranked lawmakers on how they voted in each of the three issue areas relative to each other on a conservative-to-liberal scale in both the Senate and the House, and assigned percentile scores. The system also assigns composite scores, which are an average of the members’ issue-based scores.

The results show, for example, that on foreign-policy issues, Boyda had a liberal score of 57 and a conservative score of 42. That means that she was more liberal than 57 percent of other members, more conservative than 42 percent, and tied with the rest. The scores do not mean that Boyda voted with the liberals 57 percent of the time, or that she was 57 percent “correct” from a liberal perspective.

Voting Their Districts
While plotting their 2006 election strategy, the Democratic campaign committee chiefs, Emanuel and Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., made a concerted effort to recruit candidates who matched their states and districts, even if their policy positions were not in line with party dogma. Schumer, for example, supported freshman Sen. Bob Casey, D-Pa., despite his anti-abortion views, because he thought that Casey could defeat GOP Sen. Rick Santorum. Similarly, even though Tester and Webb favor gun rights, heavy support from Schumer’s committee helped put them over the top in the election. Democratic leaders also crafted a modest, middle-of-the-road agenda — “Six for ‘06″ — that their party’s challengers could embrace, even in Republican strongholds.

The upshot, of course, was the “majority makers,” 30 freshman Democrats in the House and six in the Senate who won Republican-held seats. Their victories handed their party control of Capitol Hill, but the newcomers also gave the Democratic caucuses a more moderate hue.

“We bring a healthy attitude to the Democratic Party,” Webb said. “People tend to listen to our views.” He described many of the freshmen as “economic populists.” Asked to define that term, he replied, “You measure the health of a society by how working people are doing, not by what’s happening on Wall Street. There are probably six of us out of the nine [freshmen] that were elected together that to varying levels feel strongly about that.”

Rep. Jason Altmire, D-Pa., said that the moderate vote-ratings scores for him and other freshmen prove that “we could, for the first time, field candidates who could be competitive in these [Republican] districts. These results show where I want to be: working the middle with both sides.” By contrast, Altmire said, he defeated his predecessor, GOP Rep. Melissa Hart, in his suburban Pittsburgh district because “she had moved too far from the center; once her constituents found that out, they kicked her out.” Hart is seeking to regain the seat this year.

“I’m a conservative Democrat,” explained freshman Rep. Christopher Carney, D-Pa., who represents the northeastern corner of his state. “And that’s where our district is — with family values, people who attend church, and people like me who are gun owners, hunters, and fly fishermen.” Carney defeated Republican Rep. Don Sherwood, who faced legal charges that he had abused a woman who claimed to be his mistress.

The vote ratings “show my independence,” said freshman Rep. Zack Space, D-Ohio, who succeeded convicted GOP Rep. Bob Ney. “The results don’t surprise me. I try very hard to view my voting obligation as a reflection of my constituents…. People in my district don’t want to know about liberals and conservatives. They want actions consistent with their values.”

Freshman Rep. Ciro Rodriguez, D-Texas, previously represented a mostly urban district centered in San Antonio. But because of redistricting, the seat he captured in his 2006 comeback is radically different and far more conservative, sprawling more than 600 miles from the San Antonio suburbs to the outskirts of El Paso. He now takes more-conservative stances on some issues, such as immigration and gun control, and his vote ratings scores have moved toward the center.

“It’s a totally different ball game,” Rodriguez said. “Although my basic values haven’t changed, what changes is that I am responding to views of different constituents. I have a better appreciation of members who represent swing districts and how the [Democratic] leadership has to deal with those members.”

Indeed. As they’ve settled into their roles on the Hill, the majority makers (and their leaders) have been painfully aware of the need to ensure their political viability — particularly in the House, where the freshmen face re-election already this fall. They have become prime GOP targets, and their fates will go a long way in determining whether Democrats retain their House majority, and by how much.

The freshmen know that every vote they cast could be used against them on the campaign trail. For the leaders, it’s a constant balancing act: seeking to satisfy and help the moderate first-termers politically, while not endangering the party agenda or alienating more-liberal caucus members.

Altmire has not been afraid to disagree with Democratic leaders. “Early this Congress, they would make clear their unhappiness,” he said. “Over time, they have decided they can work without us on some votes, and they are comfortable that we know what we are doing.”

Likewise, Carney said, “I have no hesitation when I vote against the party view if it conflicts with the values of my district.” Space, when asked whether he talks with other freshmen before tough votes, replied, “We don’t turn to each other on how to vote but to share information on how we vote,” such as constituency-related data.

A look at the voting patterns of the two most conservative freshman Democrats — Rep. Joe Donnelly, D-Ind., and McCaskill — demonstrates how they and their classmates have given the leaders heartburn. Donnelly sided with conservatives on seven of the 44 economic votes used in NJ’s 2007 vote ratings, including his vote against expanding the State Children’s Health Insurance Program by raising tobacco taxes; that measure, a Democratic leadership priority, passed by 21 votes. Donnelly and five other freshmen were also among the 12 House Democrats who voted against their party’s budget resolution last March, allowing the leaders only a narrow 216-210 win for advancing their tax and spending priorities for the coming year.

Immigration and law enforcement votes tilted Donnelly’s record on social issues toward the conservative end of the spectrum. He voted with most Republicans and against most Democrats to build additional fencing along the southwest border, a measure that liberals managed to turn back by a close 200-217 vote. Overall in the social category, he voted with conservatives 23 of 35 times. Similarly, Donnelly voted with conservatives 18 of 28 times on foreign policy, largely on defense matters. He voted to fund the Iraq war through the first half of 2008, for example, siding with all but one Republican and with 77 other Democrats, including 15 other freshman Democrats who replaced Republicans.

McCaskill was equally willing to go her own way in the Senate. In the economic category, she voted with conservatives on seven of the 36 votes included in the 2007 ratings. Like Donnelly, McCaskill voted against raising taxes to fund the SCHIP expansion.

On social issues, McCaskill also took conservative stances on immigration, leading her to side with conservatives on 11 of 34 votes. Her vote was decisive on one key matter: She — along with Webb and Casey — gave President Bush exactly the 60 votes he needed in August to keep intelligence surveillance powers for six more months, over the objections of most Democrats and of civil-liberties groups. On the war, McCaskill rejected liberal efforts to withdraw troops quickly and to cut off funding. All told, she sided with conservatives on eight of the 29 foreign-policy votes.

Freshman Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, D-Ariz., said she thinks her leaders are sympathetic to the first-termers’ occasional splits with their party. “I’m sure they understand that we need to keep this district to retain the majority — and that I won’t return unless I vote my constituency,” she said.

Giffords predicted that her centrist score in the vote ratings would have a positive effect at home. She recalled serving in the Arizona Legislature, when “we rallied around the scoreboard to see everybody’s grades” in interest-group ratings. “My opponents call me a ‘Nancy Pelosi liberal,’ ” she said. “But the electorate understands the facts … and they want us to get the job done, and on a bipartisan basis.”

GOP operatives are skeptical that these Democrats’ centrist voting records will give them much electoral protection. For many of the freshman Democrats who represent Republican-leaning districts, “walking the plank for Nancy Pelosi — even if they don’t vote with her 100 percent of the time — still has very real political consequences,” said Ken Spain, a spokesman for the National Republican Congressional Committee.

“It only takes one or two issues to make an election competitive, and so far, a large number of freshman Democrats have provided us with plenty of fodder for the fall,” Spain added. In February, for instance, after House Democrats decided to let the intelligence surveillance law expire without passing a new one, the NRCC sent press releases to 20 freshman Democrats’ districts arguing that the lawmakers were “playing political chicken with American lives and our country’s security.”

In a session this week with reporters, NRCC Chairman Tom Cole, R-Okla., said that even if the freshman Democrats have compiled moderate records, they’ll still suffer politically because of what he described as their party’s paltry legislative achievements. “Most voters will tell you the country is not better off,” Cole said.

Having served three terms before he was defeated in 2004 and then regained his seat in 2006, freshman Rep. Baron Hill, D-Ind., is very familiar with Republican campaign tactics. “I wouldn’t expect them to say anything else,” Hill said. “They will say anything in their ads, as I have learned over the years. I don’t respond to their ads, other than to respond with my own ads. My theme is that I am a moderate Democrat, as are most of my constituents.”

Class Conflicts And Consensus
The freshman Democratic class of 2006 isn’t entirely moderate, of course. Those who won blue districts or states tended to have far more-liberal scores in NJ’s vote ratings. Take freshman Rep. Yvette Clarke, D-N.Y., who succeeded retired Democratic Rep. Major Owens in a Brooklyn-based district that gave John Kerry 86 percent of its vote in the 2004 presidential election. She was the 33rd-most-liberal House member in 2007. And freshman Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., who ousted moderate GOP Sen. Lincoln Chafee, was the second-most-liberal senator last year.

Casey noted that the wide-ranging scores of the nine freshman Senate Democrats reflect how different their states are — from reddish Missouri, Montana, and Virginia, to swing states Ohio and Pennsylvania, to bright blue Rhode Island. “We represent different states and different constituencies,” Casey said. “There’s a lot of diversity in the class.”

Such ideological diversity has made it difficult for the class to find much consensus on policy positions. The single most unifying issue for the freshman Democrats in both chambers has been ethics reform, which is not surprising, given that their party’s electoral success resulted in great measure from the GOP’s ethics problems. “We want to have a legacy as a class,” Altmire told NJ last year. “It won’t be on policy grounds, but to have an identity as agents of change who focus on reforms.”

Casey agreed. “Ethics is probably the best example of us not just agreeing to come together, but having a real unanimous feeling about it,” he said. “I was surprised, frankly, at the camaraderie in the class. I thought everyone would stay in their own lanes, lead their own lives legislatively.”

McCaskill, a former state auditor, contended, “My theme song is accountability. My comfort zone is asking questions about the way the money is being spent.” The freshmen are not afraid to challenge their party’s veterans and push tough ethics changes, she noted. “Some, especially those who came from the House, are much more diplomatic and much more strategic. And some of us have a bad habit of picking up a two-by-four.”

–Research associate Peter Bell assisted in compiling this year’s vote ratings.

Click here to read the article on the National Journal website

As your representative in Congress, I want you to have the facts.

First and foremost, our nation’s ability to conduct intelligence surveillance of potential enemies has not been diminished. Under current law, our government may continue to monitor communications of any foreign target, including every known terrorist group. If a new terrorist group is identified, our intelligence agencies can move quickly to take the necessary steps to protect us.

Secondly, let me give you some background. The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) became law in 1978 to provide a legal framework for the electronic surveillance of Americans who could be involved in acts of espionage, terrorism or treason against the United States. At the time, Congress rightly sought to strike a balance between protecting our civil liberties and providing the intelligence community with the ability to collect information vital to our national security.

Since the enactment of FISA, much has changed in the world of telecommunications. Technology has advanced at an astounding rate and the internet has revolutionized the way we communicate.

U.S. surveillance laws have been updated many times over the past three decades. I believe reforms are needed. We need the best tools possible in our fight against terrorism.

The FISA legislation proposed by the Bush Administration last summer, the Protect America Act of 2007 (PAA), went too far. It failed to strike the right balance between personal freedom and national security. The PAA became law in August without my support. It authorized the warrantless interception of all foreign electronic communications routed through the U.S. even if the constitutional rights of Americans were violated in the process. It also eliminated any meaningful oversight role for the FISA court, expecting intelligence agencies to police themselves, and opening the door to possible abuse by the executive branch.

The PAA reforms were controversial so they were only put into effect for six months, until February 16, 2008. More permanent FISA reform legislation was still needed so the House of Representatives passed the RESTORE Act on November 15, 2007, a law that would allow our government to collect intelligence and combat terrorism while also protecting our individual freedoms.

I supported this bill. It specifies that no warrant is required to intercept communications between non-U.S. persons located outside the United States and provides the Administration with the emergency authority to conduct surveillance for 45 days before obtaining a warrant. It also states that conducting surveillance of Americans for the purposes of intelligence collection in the U.S. requires a warrant from the FISA court.

The RESTORE Act was sent to the Senate at the end of 2007, where it was extensively revised. The Senate sent its amended version back to the House on February12, just four days before the PAA was set to expire. Unfortunately, negotiations between the two chambers failed and no permanent FISA reform legislation was brought to the House Floor.

I opposed adjourning the House for the Presidents’ Day District Work Period. It was irresponsible for Congress to go home when this issue had not been resolved. I sent a letter to Speaker Nancy Pelosi urging that she keep members in Washington until compromise FISA legislation could be voted on and sent to the President. I called for the cancellation of the district work period so that this important work could be completed. The only vote before the expiration of the PAA, however, was for a 21-day extension of current law so that the House and Senate would have more time to negotiate permanent FISA reform legislation.

I voted for this measure and was extremely disappointed it did not pass. Although the expiration of the Protect America Act does not prevent our intelligence community from gathering the information it needs, I remain committed to meaningful and permanent FISA reform.

I sent Speaker Pelosi another letter on February 26 encouraging her to resume negotiations with the Senate as soon as possible.

Securing our nation and protecting it from terrorist attacks are our greatest responsibilities in Congress.

We can and must do this while maintaining the individual freedoms of all Americans.

Click here to read the article on the Tucson Citizen website

Bill and Hunter began volunteering for Gabrielle in 2006. He was looking for a volunteer activity he and Hunter could share. As Bill drove past the 2006 Campaign office on his way to and from work, it struck him that working in the political arena “just might be a good experience for Hunter,” he said. “I wanted her to know what happens behind the scenes.” Only seven at the time, Hunter was the youngest volunteer in the office on a regular basis!

In addition to having a volunteer activity with Hunter, Bill also wanted to be engaged in the campaign. “I liked Gabrielle’s fair stance on immigration,” he said. “If I didn’t do something to help her get elected, I would have felt extremely bad.”

Two years later, Bill and Hunter are still volunteering. “We went to the first open house held this year and immediately signed up for our Monday night slot,” Bill said. Hunter is excited to be back. “Helping out is fun,” she said. “I like Gabrielle, she’s always nice to people. There are good reasons for her being elected.” While at the office, Hunter works on preparing supplies for walk packets and mailings and from time to time, she helps her Dad on the computer.

Although it was important to get Gabrielle elected in 2006, “it’s even more important to get her reelected,” says Bill. “She’s leading the way on solar energy and has really found her own way in Washington.”

Bill is a principal in his family’s advertising agency, Ackerley Advertising. Work, family, and writing keep him very busy. He has published one book entitled “Creating Copy,” a trade book on how to write for advertising. A second book, “Happy Habit,” about living your life happy, is on the way.
He and his wife, Heidi, have been married for fifteen years. Hunter is their only child and they have a miniature chocolate poodle named Cocoa.

Hunter is a third-grader at Fruchthendler Elementary. When not at school or the campaign office, she can be found playing first base on her softball team or playing the harp and drums. She hasn’t decided which instrument she likes better. “I like them both,” she says.

“I am elated and extremely gratified to report to you that on the afternoon of Wednesday, Feb. 13, 2008, a milestone was reached in the National Day of the Cowboy campaign when the National Day of the Cowboy resolution was introduced in both the House and the Senate simultaneously,” said Executive Director Bethany Braley from national headquarters in Willcox.

“This impressive achievement is the result of the combined efforts of Wyoming’s Sen. Mike Enzi and Arizona’s Rep. Gabrielle Giffords. They successfully coordinated their resolution efforts in order to maximize the impact of its introduction in Congress,” Braley said.

The 2008 resolution numbers are for the House, H.RES.984 and for the Senate, Resolution S.RES.450. The bills can be viewed online at www.thomas.gov.

“Senator Enzi and Congresswoman Giffords now urgently need our participation in order to keep this momentum going,” Braley said last Thursday.

“I ask that each of you take a moment tomorrow to call or e-mail your senators and representatives. Tell them you want them to support these two important resolutions either by co-sponsoring them or by making a commitment to vote for them.”

“Giffords will need your help the most because she has to garner a higher number of supporters, and also because this will be the first time the resolution may actually come up for a vote in the House,” she added.

Sen. Craig Thomas of Wyoming originally sponsored the resolution in the United States Senate in 2005, 2006, and 2007. After Thomas died last June, Sen. Mike Enzi took it over, committing to sponsor the 2008 Cowboy Day resolution in the Senate.

Once the Cowboy Day’s national headquarters moved to Willcox in December, Giffords agreed to sponsor the bill in the U.S. House of Representatives.

“You all know this is the furthest we’ve ever come in our shared request for a permanent day of celebration and recognition for the cowboy and our precious western heritage, so I urge you to get involved now and help us push this forward successfully,” Braley said last Thursday.

“This resolution declares Congress’ support for officially designating a day to honor working cowboys and cowgirls and their ongoing contributions to their communities,” she added.

“Please help us protect this unique and important element of our culture by insisting that those who represent you do their part to work for the preservation of this heritage for future generations.”

Braley is also issuing a plea to supporters across America to lobby governors for Cowboy Heritage Month.

“Now it’s time to put our state plan in action, too,” Braley said Thursday. “We need someone from every state to ask their respective governors to proclaim July as your state’s Cowboy Heritage Month.”

Braley is sharing the text she used in the proposed Arizona resolution “to give you an idea of how to approach this.”

“The idea is to list some cowboy and cowgirl information about your state, whether current or historical, and also include the fact that communities in your state celebrate the National Day of the Cowboy in July,” she said.

“If you want to create the request for your state, please send me an email with your name, state, and phone number,” Braley said.

“I’ll put that in a spreadsheet so we can keep track of which states are being taken care of and also so you can coordinate efforts if you like.”

Since Arizona State Historian Marshall Trimble provided some of the information found in Arizona’s version, Braley encourages others to seek out their own state historians, whom she calls “a good resource to supplement what details you gather from the ranch associations, etc.”

For her part, Braley sent a request lastThursday morning asking Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano to proclaim July as Arizona Cowboy Heritage Month.

The proposed resolution reads:

“Whereas, Arizona’s rugged mountains, steep canyons, cactus, dry deserts and wild cattle have produced some of the finest cowboys in the world…”

“Whereas Willcox, Arizona, was once the cattle shipping capital of the world and… Holbrook, Arizona’s Hashknife Pony Express is the oldest officially sanctioned Pony Express in the world;”

“Whereas, the Cowbelles, a nationwide organization created to foster good will and friendship among cattlemen and cattlewomen, was originally founded in Douglas, Arizona, and…the National Day of the Cowboy Headquarters are located in Arizona.”

“Whereas, Scottsdale, Arizona, has always called itself ‘the West’s most western town’, and…the World’s Oldest Continuous Rodeo still takes place in Payson, Arizona, and… Rex Allen, the last of the silver screen’s singing cowboys, was born and raised in Willcox, Arizona;”

“Whereas, Ash Fork, Arizona, was the busiest cattle shipping point on the Santa Fe Railroad between Kansas City and Los Angeles during the 20th century, and…Tombstone, Arizona, the “Town Too Tough to Die,” did more to popularize the cowboy in the movies than any other town in the West, and…during the first half of the 20th century, the Tovrea stockyards in Phoenix, Arizona, boasted the world’s largest feed lot;”

“Whereas, Wickenburg, Arizona, was once known as the ‘Dude Ranch Capital of the World,’ and…Father Kino is known as the Old West’s “Original Cowboy” because he herded cattle into southern Arizona from Sonora in the 1690s;”

“Whereas the cowboy and cowgirl continue to play a significant role in Arizona’s economy through their excellent stewardship of both the land and animals on Arizona’s many ranches, and…the National Day of the Cowboy is celebrated in numerous Arizona communities each July, now, therefore, I, Janet Napolitano, do hereby proclaim July as Arizona Cowboy Heritage Month.”

For further information, contact Bethany Braley at (520) 766-6362 or via e-mail at bethany@nationaldayofthecowboy.com

Click here to read the article on the Arizona Range News website

With so many economic indicators pointing to a recession, Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, D-Ariz., said the U.S. Congress had to act quickly in passing the tax stimulus package recently signed into law by President George Bush.

In a town hall meeting last Wednesday in east Tucson, the District 8 Congresswoman explained to a packed audience that the government will be sending rebates worth $117 billion to 130 million families throughout the U.S. In Arizona, 2.5 million families are expected to receive an average of $800, Giffords said.

“We, as the federal government, found a way to put money back in the hands of the taxpayers and stimulate the economy in order to avoid a recession,” Giffords said. “We needed it to be a one-time thing in order to boost the economy without having any long-term commitments.”

Giffords said the rebate, which is expected to stimulate the economy, will benefit low-income families, veterans, retirees living on social security and the middle class.

To assure that all those deserving the rebate check are paid, Giffords explained that the amount of the rebate would be based on the adjusted gross income reported on their 2007 tax return. Giffords said a married couple with two children making $80,000 a year would receive $1,800.

For seniors and disabled citizens, the measure provides recovery rebates to anyone who receives at least $3,000 in Social Security income, self-employment income or veterans’ disability payments. These Americans are expected to get at least $300 per single, $600 per couple and another $300 per child.

The rebates will also go to middle-income Americans. Giffords said the wealthiest taxpayers are not eligible for a rebate. The tax-relief package begins to phase out above incomes of $75,000 for single residents and at $150,000 for married couples.

Giffords said she voted in favor of providing some tax relief to Americans because of all the indicators pointing to a downturn in the both the national and Arizona economies.

At the national level, Giffords said the inflation rate has hit a 17-year high at 4.1 percent, the housing crisis has spread into other financial markets and consumer confidence is now at a five-year low.

In Arizona, Giffords said concerns are even more elevated. Arizona is one of four states generating more than a 30 percent foreclosure rate for sub-prime home loans. Job growth has dropped from 6 percent to 1.3 percent, energy costs continue to increase, health care costs are up 33 percent and the unemployment rate has now reached a two-year high.

Nationwide, Giffords said 500,000 Americans are looking for work right now.

“Consumer confidence is down,” Giffords said. “The housing market is falling rapidly. When you talk to economists, it makes sense to spend the money right now to keep the economy rolling. The backbone of our country is small businesses, and people are really struggling right now.”

Not all residents were excited by the stimulus package. One resident questioned Giffords on who taxpayers will have to pay for the so-called relief in years to come.

Giffords agreed that times are tough, noting that the national debt is at a $9-trillion high, that the war in Iraq is costing $12 billion a month.

Even with that, Giffords said the stimulus package is needed to keep the economy rolling and provide some assistance to taxpayers. The Congresswoman explained that the hope is families will spend their rebate checks, therefore boosting a slowing economy.

Another resident questioned Giffords on what Congress is doing to find a long-term solution instead of a quick fix such as the stimulus package.

Giffords agreed that more needs to be done to keep jobs in the U.S., but said her main concern is the public education system.

Giffords said not enough students are graduating from high school each year and more needs to be done in the way of math and science. Providing an example, Giffords said last year the U.S. graduated 60,000 engineers.

While that number may seem high to some, she said China graduated 600,000.

While protecting the economy in the long term is important, Giffords said for now she is traveling around Southern Arizona to educate residents on the current stimulus package.

Visit www.giffords.house.gov/contact/email/or they can attend free tax clinics around Southern Arizona.

In Benson, tax assistance is available at the Benson Community Center at 705 W. Union St., on Thursdays between noon and 4 p.m. Assistance will be available on Feb. 28, March 13 and 27 and April 10.

Click here to read the article on the San Pedro Valley News-Sun website

It has been the end of a long journey for St. David resident Shirley Gillette, who last week received the Purple Hea