There has been a convergence of Chaka FattaH data lately and I have collected it together for you, along with some other information. Congressman Fattah is considered the frontrunner in the Philadelphia mayoral race.
For one, the Daily News has a nice article examining some of the congressional earmarks that Rep. Fattah has included in federal legislation. Worth taking a look. "Earmarked by Fattah: Do charities funded by taxpayers give him an advantage?" by Catherine Lucey & Bob Warner (3/06/07).
The Philadelphia Magazine is continuing their series of articles on mayoral candidates. This month it is Fattah. "Just your average politician" by Andrew Putz (3/07). One thing that struck me was this:
The one person who seems to suffer no angst over the contest is Fattah himself: "Lu Blackwell's supporters always talked about how he voted the right way on everything," he says. "Well I thought a congressman ought to do more than that. I thought a congressman should initiate legislation." (p. 164 of the printed magazine)
This is in reference to the special election held in 1991 when Congressman Bill Gray retired. Fattah ran on a third party against Democrat Lucien Blackwell. Blackwell won. Fattah won the seat in 1994 and has been in congress ever since.
Personally I think the use of sponsored legislation to evaluate elected officials is overrated but if Fattah thinks it's a good way to do so, then let's see what he's come up with lately. Yesterday I posted a list of the number, and sometimes details of, bills sponsored by the Pennsylvania congressional delegation. In 2007 Rep. Fattah has sponsored none. He has, however, been busy running for mayor. So I did a search in Thomas to see what legislation he sponsored in the 109th (9 items) and 108th (6 items) congress. Brief information is provided below.
If you want to double check this use the Thomas search screen.
109th congress
Items 1 through 9 of 9
1. [109th] H.CON.RES.377 : Honoring the Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates (ECFMG) for fifty years of distinguished service.
Sponsor: Rep Fattah, Chaka [PA-2] (introduced 4/4/2006) Cosponsors (None)
Committees: House Education and the Workforce
Latest Major Action: 5/24/2006 Referred to House subcommittee. Status: Referred to the Subcommittee on 21st Century Competitiveness.
________________________________________
2. [109th] H.RES.349 : Recognizing the importance of addressing extreme poverty in Africa, recognizing the devastating impact that HIV/AIDS has had on the African economy, recognizing the need for the development of a safe blood supply in Africa, and congratulating the city of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania for hosting the "Live 8 2005" concert.
Sponsor: Rep Fattah, Chaka [PA-2] (introduced 6/30/2005) Cosponsors (None)
Committees: House International Relations
Latest Major Action: 6/30/2005 Referred to House committee. Status: Referred to the House Committee on International Relations.
________________________________________
3. [109th] H.RES.798 : Recognizing and celebrating students who overcome immeasurable adversity to excel academically.
Sponsor: Rep Fattah, Chaka [PA-2] (introduced 5/4/2006) Cosponsors (None)
Committees: House Education and the Workforce
Latest Major Action: 5/24/2006 Referred to House subcommittee. Status: Referred to the Subcommittee on Education Reform.
________________________________________
4. [109th] H.R.378 : To establish a program to assist homeowners experiencing unavoidable, temporary difficulty making payments on mortgages insured under the National Housing Act.
Sponsor: Rep Fattah, Chaka [PA-2] (introduced 1/26/2005) Cosponsors (19)
Committees: House Financial Services
Latest Major Action: 2/28/2005 Referred to House subcommittee. Status: Referred to the Subcommittee on Housing and Community Opportunity.
________________________________________
5. [109th] H.R.379 : To ensure equal protection and due process of law in capital punishment cases by imposing a moratorium on the imposition and carrying out of the death penalty in certain States.
Sponsor: Rep Fattah, Chaka [PA-2] (introduced 1/26/2005) Cosponsors (5)
Committees: House Judiciary
Latest Major Action: 3/2/2005 Referred to House subcommittee. Status: Referred to the Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security.
________________________________________
6. [109th] H.R.1341 : To require each State to provide a minimum level of access to health care to all citizens of such State as a condition for participation in Federal health care funding programs.
Sponsor: Rep Fattah, Chaka [PA-2] (introduced 3/16/2005) Cosponsors (None)
Committees: House Energy and Commerce; House Ways and Means; House Resources
Latest Major Action: 3/24/2005 House committee/subcommittee actions. Status: Executive Comment Requested from HHS.
________________________________________
7. [109th] H.R.1601 : To require a study and comprehensive analytical report on transforming America by reforming the Federal tax code through elimination of all Federal taxes on individuals and corporations and replacing the Federal tax code with a transaction fee-based system.
Sponsor: Rep Fattah, Chaka [PA-2] (introduced 4/13/2005) Cosponsors (None)
Committees: House Ways and Means
Latest Major Action: 4/13/2005 Referred to House committee. Status: Referred to the House Committee on Ways and Means.
________________________________________
8. [109th] H.R.2178 : To provide for adequate and equitable educational opportunities for students in State public school systems, and for other purposes.
Sponsor: Rep Fattah, Chaka [PA-2] (introduced 5/5/2005) Cosponsors (128)
Committees: House Education and the Workforce
Latest Major Action: 5/20/2005 Referred to House subcommittee. Status: Referred to the Subcommittee on Education Reform.
________________________________________
9. [109th] H.R.3551 : To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 by strengthening and expanding the Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs (GEAR UP) in order to facilitate the transition of low-income high school students into post-secondary education.
Sponsor: Rep Fattah, Chaka [PA-2] (introduced 7/28/2005) Cosponsors (None)
Committees: House Education and the Workforce
Latest Major Action: 10/12/2005 Referred to House subcommittee. Status: Referred to the Subcommittee on 21st Century Competitiveness.
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108th congress
Items 1 through 6 of 6
1. [108th] H.R.236 : To provide for adequate and equitable educational opportunities for students in State public school systems, and for other purposes.
Sponsor: Rep Fattah, Chaka [PA-2] (introduced 1/8/2003) Cosponsors (188)
Committees: House Education and the Workforce
Latest Major Action: 2/21/2003 Referred to House subcommittee. Status: Referred to the Subcommittee on Education Reform.
________________________________________
2. [108th] H.R.1357 : To establish a program to assist homeowners experiencing unavoidable, temporary difficulty making payments on mortgages insured under the National Housing Act.
Sponsor: Rep Fattah, Chaka [PA-2] (introduced 3/19/2003) Cosponsors (32)
Committees: House Financial Services
Latest Major Action: 3/31/2003 Referred to House subcommittee. Status: Referred to the Subcommittee on Housing and Community Opportunity.
________________________________________
3. [108th] H.R.3759 : To require a study on transforming America by reforming the Federal tax code through elimination of all Federal taxes on individuals and corporations and replacing the Federal tax code with a transaction fee-based system.
Sponsor: Rep Fattah, Chaka [PA-2] (introduced 2/3/2004) Cosponsors (None)
Committees: House Ways and Means
Latest Major Action: 2/3/2004 Referred to House committee. Status: Referred to the House Committee on Ways and Means.
________________________________________
4. [108th] H.R.3948 : To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 by strengthening and expanding the Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs (GEAR UP) in order to facilitate the transition of low-income high school students into post-secondary education.
Sponsor: Rep Fattah, Chaka [PA-2] (introduced 3/11/2004) Cosponsors (None)
Committees: House Education and the Workforce
Latest Major Action: 3/29/2004 Referred to House subcommittee. Status: Referred to the Subcommittee on 21st Century Competitiveness.
________________________________________
5. [108th] H.R.3988 : To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 by strengthening and expanding the Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs (GEAR UP) in order to facilitate the transition of low-income high school students into post-secondary education.
Sponsor: Rep Fattah, Chaka [PA-2] (introduced 3/17/2004) Cosponsors (58)
Committees: House Education and the Workforce
Latest Major Action: 4/30/2004 Referred to House subcommittee. Status: Referred to the Subcommittee on 21st Century Competitiveness.
________________________________________
6. [108th] H.AMDT.331 to H.R.2861 Amendment increases funding for the Hope VI public housing revitalization program by $4.5 million.
Sponsor: Rep Fattah, Chaka [PA-2] (introduced 7/25/2003) Cosponsors (None)
Latest Major Action: 7/25/2003 House amendment agreed to. Status: On agreeing to the Fattah amendment (A006) Agreed to by voice vote.
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4 comments:
Only in this current Congress is Fattah in a position to get bills considered and passed because his party, the Dems, are in control of the House agenda. To me, it doesn't
matter how many bills he initiated since he was elected in 1994 because the GOP controlled the house and set the agenda and Democrats were not invited to the legislation party. I fault Fattah for not having bills ready to go at the bell for the 110th Congress.
For a 7th term representative to
have zero bills introduced when every other colleague has done so
is pretty damning in my book.
Good point.
He's lazy...it's as simple as that.
I don't think I'd characterize Fattah as lazy, but I do think he's been bitten by the "I wanna be mayor of Philadelphia" bug for awhile and has put legislative accomplishment on the back burner.
I'm thinking it might be a good idea to make candidates running for an office other than the one they hold resign the one they have. I don't think representative democracy is well-served when elected officials have one foot in and one foot out, as it were. Also I don't think it's fair to voters who might like to have someone who actually wants the job they're running for.
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