Members of the Congressional Black Caucus have been raising questions about the efforts of the Obama administration when it comes to fighting for minority issues. Congressman Donald Payne isn't keep his opinions a secret:
Several prominent caucus members have expressed doubts about the interest of administration officials in black American issues, referring to figures including Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel, and senior adviser David Axelrod. They "haven't had much involvement with minority communities in their careers," said Rep. Donald Payne (N.J.). "They've been in suites and boardrooms."
This is the kind of comment you generally see without attribution. I can't imagine that Rahm and Axelrod will be pleased when they see it.
Each week, Blue Jersey Radio streams LIVE with New Jersey's latest political buzz, interviews with newsmakers, and your stimulating calls.
This week: Our guest is Congressman Donald M. Payne, NJ-10, who's not only Newark's long-serving representative, but also the new Chair of the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation. He'll be talking about the CBC Foundation, what his role will be, and what role it plays in progressive politics. Plus, we'll catch up on his perspective of all that's going on in Washington.
With a great guest like this, it's tough to decide where to start - so help us out. What should we ask the good Congressman?
Drop your questions in the comments, then tune in and join the conversation!
Progressive Democrats of America to host Statewide Conference & Winter Warm Up Dinner
Conference will feature local and state progressive champions including U.S. Congressman Donald Payne, SICKO's Donna Smith, PDA National Director Tim Carpenter and others.
Let me preface this conversation by stating that I supported Senator Frank Lautenberg's re-election campaign during both the primary and general elections last year, but...
1) ...after seeing him speak in public numerous times at a dramatically reduced level of performance than in the past...
...and...
2) ...after last week's gubernatorial election results...
...and...
3) ...assuming that the aspiring Governors that are currently serving in the State Senate and State Assembly are not going to be willing to rescind the power that the Governor currently has to fill vacated U.S. Senate seats, I think that Democratic Party leaders, electeds, and rank-and-file members should reach out en masse to Senator Frank Lautenberg and ask him to resign his seat.
And we have gotten some good press and recognition around the intertubez for our efforts in this area. So, when I got an email from Jane Hamsher at FDL telling me that Mike Farrell had recorded a video thanking us for our efforts, I couldn't wait to see it and share it.
That being said, the fight is far from over, but at least we can enjoy some props:
Congressmen Bill Pascrell, Rush Holt, Donald Payne and Albio Sires deserve a standing ovation.
Before the Congressional recess, I started a series about calling our Representatives about the public option. And as fast as things were moving, our goal changed as quickly as we started - for a number of reasons. For starters, we wanted to have our Reps. commit to vote against any health care bill without a public option. And at the time, there were 2 (Holt and Payne) who committed to do so - Holt even did it on Blue Jersey Radio.
As bills passed the various House committees and the teabagging restarted, both Pascrell and Sires joined Holt and Payne in Taking the Pledge. So now, we are here, and we have a bit of a different take on things:
Instead of using a stick and "whipping the public option", a netroots-wide initiative is underway to use "carrots, not sticks", and thank those who have taken the "pledge" in the form of online donations to all members in the House who have taken the pledge.
For starters, here is the ActBlue page called They Took the Pledge that you can click on to show our 4 Reps. some love. I just donated $20 to each of them.
As my good friend, David Atkins (thereisnospoon) said the other day:
A new initiative organized by Howie Klein, Jane Hamsher, my brother Dante and myself to verbally and financially reward Congressmembers who pledge to vote down any healthcare bill that does not include the public option is catching fire. The objective is to use carrots as well as sticks to achieve progressive goals. As I said in the diary kicking off this intiative at DailyKos:
Human beings are psychologically predictable creatures, much like Pavlov's famous canine. We do respond well to punishment, but we respond just as well if not better to positive reinforcement. Do nothing but beat a dog with a stick, and the dog is likelier to be aggressive than lovingly loyal. Do nothing but scream at a child, and the child will eventually fail to respond to her abusive parent. Senators and Representatives, no matter how elevated, are still just people: the rules of psychological conditioning still apply. If all we can do is scream at people who don't do what we want, eventually no one will listen to us at all.
From this initiative, one that started 3 days ago, there is already $250,000 raised from over 4,000 donors - all to show that we have the backs of those who have ours.
As members of Congress headed home for break, the House Energy and Commerce Committee passed out their version of the healthcare bill. They wanted to arm members of Congress with the facts, so they put out district by district breakdowns:
The Committee has prepared, for each member, a district-level analysis of the impact of the legislation. This analysis includes information on the impact of the legislation on small businesses, seniors in Medicare, health care providers, and the uninsured. It also includes an estimate of the impacts of the surtax that is used to pay for the legislation.
America's Affordable Health Choices Act would provide significant benefits in the 7th Congressional District of New Jersey: up to 18,200 small businesses could receive tax credits to provide coverage to their employees; 8,100 seniors would avoid the donut hole in Medicare Part D; 800 families could escape bankruptcy each year due to unaffordable health care costs; health care providers would receive payment for $30 million in uncompensated care each year; and 21,000 uninsured individuals would gain access to high-quality, affordable health insurance.
You can see the benefits by district for each member of Congress:
You can see the full bill text and a summary put out by the committee as well. If you support this bill, your member of Congress needs to know about it. If you call, get your member of Congress to take the pledge. Our representatives are being inundated with phone calls and emails opposing healthcare. We need people who support the healthcare overhaul to start putting some action behind the talk, otherwise we'll be counting the time until the next chance to do something about healthcare.
He is widely viewed as the leading expert on African affairs in the Congress. He has traveled throughout the continent, including two recent trips to east and southern Africa. In a series of recent interchanges with AllAfrica, he discussed those trips and outlined his views on many of the most pressing African issues.
Here are some of the highlights from the interview. On Sudan and whether the Congressman thinks the sanctions should remain in place:
I would hope that President Obama's administration is not thinking about relaxing sanctions or making any kind of concessions to the government of Sudan. I would hope that we are not going to allow Bashir to continue to reign terror on the people of Darfur and also not really comply with the CPA.
Below the fold I'll have more of the Congressman's interview.
I went through the FEC filings to see how our House members are fairing with their fundraising efforts. First here are some observations
Congressman Adler raised the most money in the 2nd quarter with over $518K, followed by Congressman Pallone and then Garrett.
Congressman Pallone has the most Cash on Hand by far and away with over $3.7 million. He has twice as much as the next member, Congressman Rothman who is followed by Pascrell and then Lobiondo.
Congressman Adler raised the most form individuals at over $267K, followed by Pallone, Garrett and then Rothman.
Congressman Adler raised the most from PAC's at over 250K, followed by Pallone, Lance and Frelinghuysen.
The members of the NJ delegation that raised more from PAC's than individuals were Congressmen Andrews, Payne, LoBiondo, Frelinghuysen, Pallone and Lance.
From the Hill.com, we learn that the Independent Office of Congressional Ethics (OCE) wants another look at a trips taken by Congressman Payne and others:
The ethics committee, however, confirmed Monday that the five cases stemmed from two trips five Congressional Black Caucus members took to the Caribbean in November 2007 and 2008 that may have violated House travel rules barring corporate sponsorship. The members who attended those trips are Democratic Reps. Carolyn Kilpatrick (Mich.), Donald Payne (N.J.), Bennie Thompson (Miss.) and Charles Rangel (N.Y.) and Del. Donna Christensen of the Virgin Islands.
The panel has since launched a formal investigation into the trip.
"While the Committee was previously investigating the Carib News trip, the OCE did refer five related matters to the Committee," Blake Chisam, staff director for the ethics committee, said in a statement. "The Committee's statement forming an investigative subcommittee in the Carib News matter makes reference to the five Members that were the subject of the OCE referrals."
The Hill reported that the OCE interviewed several CBC staffers about the trip. The OCE apparently found enough evidence to forward the matter to the full ethics committee for further review.
Here's a copy of the press statement they issued on the matter. They formed an investigative subcommittee for a further look at the officially-connected travel in 2007 and 2008 that was sponsored, funded or organized by Carib News or Carib News Foundation:
The subcommittee will have jurisdiction to conduct a full and complete inquiry into allegations that have arisen regarding the sponsorship of the travel in 2007 and 2008. At the conclusion of the inquiry, the subcommittee is to report its findings , conclusions and recommendations to the full committee.
We'll have to see if anything further comes of this when those finds, recommendations and conclusions are reached.
Congressional Quarterly has analyzed the roll call voting patterns of members of Congress since 1953. The three principal studies involve:
The frequency with which lawmakers vote with the president when he clearly indicates his preferences (Presidential Support).
The frequency with which they vote with their party, on occasions when a majority of Republicans oppose a majority of Democrats (Party Unity).
And the frequency with which they show up and cast "yea" or "nay" votes (Voting Participation).
And here are the NJ members on the House side:
Pres Support
Party Unity
Participation
John Adler
88
86
97
Rob Andrews
96
99
99
Rodney Frelinghuysen
58
80
99
Scott Garrett
15
98
97
Rush Holt
96
99
98
Leonard Lance
69
74
100
Frank Lobiondo
77
65
100
Frank Pallone
96
99
96
Donald Payne
88
99
96
Bill Pascrell
96
95
89
Steve Rothman
96
99
98
Albio Sires
96
97
97
Chris Smith
77
64
97
And the numbers for our Senators:
Frank Lautenberg
97
100
99
Bob Menendez
97
100
99
Lance and LoBiondo are two of only sixteen members to participate in 100% of the votes. Only thirteen other Republicans gave less support to President Obama than our very own Scott Garrett. Smith and LoBiondo are sixth and seventh for the lowest party unity with Lance ranking 22nd. Menendez and Lautenberg are both tops in party unity with 100% support.
Now that a Democrat is in the White House, the political dynamics of voting for war funding have changed. Would Republicans vote any spending bill from this President, after so many pro-war votes? Would Democrats who opposed previous supplementals now vote in favor? And would Scott Garrett ever vote with a majority of New Jersey Representatives?
With the help of the New Jersey delegation, the party of no kept their streak in tact today opposing a bill that would help families stay in their homes by avoiding foreclosure:
Democrats are in blue, and Republicans are in red.
The measure passed 234-191. There were seven Republicans in Congress who supported the bill, none from New Jersey. Here's a description of the intent of the bill they opposed today:
To prevent mortgage foreclosures and enhance mortgage credit availability.
Three New Jersey districts are in the top 50 district nationally for 2009 foreclosures: NJ-03 has the 13th most, NJ-01 the 14th most, and NJ-02 the 44th most. What's more, the 2009-2012 numbers project an even bleaker future. This mortgage relief bill is badly needed.
So the question arises: Will NJ Republicans vote for a mortgage relief bill to help thousands of families struggling in their districts? Or will they continue to kowtow to Rush Limbaugh and sell out their voters? Time will tell, but don't count me among the optimists.
So with his district ranked 44th in 2009 foreclosures, Frank "the moderate" LoBiondo turned his back and walked the party line. He was joined by Leonard Lance, Chris Smith, Rodney Frelinghuysen and of course Scott Garrett. Keep making New Jersey proud guys.
In response to the recent Gaza War, a fundraising page was set up on ActBlue.com in order to contribute to elected officials who have been supportive of the peoples of Israel and Palestine. The page is called "A Dream of Peace: Justice and Equality for The People of Israel and Palestine", and can be found here.
The mission of the page states "All of the people of the Holy Land need to live in peace and security. We need to support and elect candidates that are willing to stand up for the rights of the citizens of Israel and Palestine. These candidates support measures to stop violence, increase economic and humanitarian aid, actively engage in negotiation, and promote co-existence among these two Peoples."
Democrats are in blue, and Republicans are in red.
Regarding the Economic recovery vote, it passed with absolutely no Republican support in this new era of bi-partisanship by a 244-188 margin. Americans United for change ripped the NJ GOP opposition to the plan, leaving out Scott Garrett who also voted no:
Thanks to the extraordinary leadership of President Obama and Speaker Pelosi, the U.S. House has acted quickly and decisively to move forward this major economic recovery plan that will put millions of middle-class Americans back to work and back spending money again. This was perhaps the most historic vote in Congress since the vote to authorize the war in Iraq. Yet, amid a crippling economic recession that has cost millions of Americans their jobs and threatens millions more if nothing is done, Representatives Frelinghuysen, Lance, LoBiondo and Smith all chose to put partisan politics and the failed policies of the past over the struggling families they represent. President Obama reached out to Democrats and Republicans alike and set aside partisanship and ideology to craft a bold measure to get America back to work. It's sad that these Representatives are still clinging to petty partisanship and the same failed, well-worn ideology of Bush 'trickle-down' economics that got us into this mess to begin with.
The delay of the digital transition vote failed by a vote of 258-168. It wasn't a party line vote and in NJ, Congressman Adler voted against, while Congressman Lobiondo voted for. Congressman Payne did not vote on the bill. I'm not sure what the delay would have done, it's not like there is going to be more money available in four months.
Frank LoBiondo once again took a ride with Scott Garrett and Rodney Frelinghuysen opposing fair pay for women. I'm sure women are very thankful for the lack of support:
Adler
Andrews
Holt
Pascrell
Payne
Rothman
Sires
Lance
Smith
Frelinghuysen
Garrett
LoBiondo
Democrats are in blue, and Republicans are in red.
Frank Pallone voted for the bill on Jan 9, but did not vote this time. Both Senators Menendez and Lautenberg supported the legislation in the Senate. Capitol Quickies shed some light on why they needed a second vote in the House:
The House of Representatives on Tuesday had to vote a second time on the bill, after the Senate broke out from the bill a more controversial, related proposal the House had lumped in that would allow women to get compensatory and punitive damages if the equal-pay law is violated.
It now heads to President Obama's desk for signature.
Michael Moore's SICKO website lists the 93 sponsors of the national health coverage legislation, HR676. Payne was the first NJ Representative to sign on as a cosponsor. Holt was a late comer, joining the list in 9/08. However, Pallone is not on the list at all. Does anyone know why and what can be done to bring this to his attention and to encourage him to support this rather than less progressive alternatives? CA dems are heavily represented on this list, but NJ and WA do not have enough Democrats on board.
Obama's election set off an instant desire to see his inauguration -- just over 10 weeks away -- and then frenetic efforts last week to be present for what will be a milestone in American history.
Members of Congress, who will distribute tickets, were swamped with requests. The office of Rep. Jesse L. Jackson Jr. (D-Ill.) was "deluged." The switchboard in the office of Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.) was "overwhelmed." Staff workers for Rep. Donald M. Payne (D-N.J.) logged more than 2,000 ticket requests in three days. The office of Del. Eleanor Homes Norton (D-D.C.) got so many calls that they had to stop taking requests.
Tickets to inaugural events are free of charge and distributed through members of the incoming Congress. The ceremonies are coordinated by different committees, and the tickets to the events are distributed differently. Events include a morning worship service, a procession to the Capitol, a swearing-in ceremony, an address, a parade and balls.
"Any website or ticket broker claiming that they have inaugural tickets is simply not telling the truth," Howard Gantman, staff director for the committee, said in a release. "Tickets for the swearing-in of President-elect are all provided through members of Congress, and the President-elect and Vice President-elect through the Presidential Inaugural Committee. We urge the public to view any offers of tickets for sale with great skepticism."
It is an exciting time in our country's history. Just make sure that if you are trying to be there as it happens, you don't get taken advantage of in the process.
Pallone introduces 10th district Rep. Donald Payne. Payne spends a significant portion of his speech discussing the role race may play in this campaign.
Payne's speech goes on for a while. He just said, "Let me conclude, again," which drew laughter from the audience. Payne finishes his speech with a rhetorical flourish and receives a standing ovation.
NJ-01 Rep. Rob Andrews says it is "essential" to return Frank Lautenberg to the US Senate.
Andrews: when someone asks you, "Where were you the night america changed," you will have the honor of saying, "we were there."
Andrews implores the crowd to "think about some people who aren't here this morning, and where they will be a year or two from now," including children who go to run-down schoolsa and seniors suffering without air conditioning.
Andrews: McCain means a "third Bush term," and a "third bush term" means a "third or fourth deployment" for the brave men and women of the NJ national guard. We have a chance to make a difference.
Finally, Bill Pascrell, who credits yesterday's unanimous vote to Joe Cryan and Jon Corzine. Pascrell: "We need better schools and not bigger jails." The Congressman asks his grandson to stand up, and says "this is what this election is about this November." He then cites Dante's Inferno:
I don't know that Bush and Cheney will be in the hottest levels of Hell, but I sure as hell know Karl Rove will be.
