PA Congressmen Who Voted Against VAWA

Both of Pennsylvania's senators voted to renew the Violence Against Women Act.  Today the House voted. Here is a list of Pennsylvania Congressmen who voted against it (final vote count):

Congressman  Mike Kelly (R-03)
Congressman Tom Marino (R-10)
Congressman Tim Murphy (R-18)
Congressman Scott Perry (R-04)
Congressman Joe Pitts (R-16)
Congressman Keith Rothfus (R-12)

While I have not looked to see what, if anything, any of these men said regarding their votes, the standard objections to this bill are that it extended protections to LGBT people, Native Americans, and illegal immigrants.

These six men will be up for re-election in 2014.  I hope the women in their district remember this vote.


 

Pitts Sees Dead People

from the inbox:

Congressman Joe Pitts seems to be a little bit behind the times. Apparently, he has been a little out of touch with recent Middle East relations. In a letter to a constituent, Rep. Pitts recommended that the Israelis and Palestinians restart talks with their leaders Ariel Sharon and Yasser Arafat. Arafat passed away almost a decade ago and Sharon has been in a coma for six years.

 [later]

'Arafat, Sharon must do more for peace' (Times of Israel) It seems that Congressman Joe Pitts (R-PA) is a tad out of the loop on matters of Middle East peace. If it were up to him, Israelis and Palestinians would restart peace talks under the guidance of their respective leaders, Ariel Sharon and Yasser Arafat.

Chaka Fattah's 2011 FEC Reports

Sometime next week the quarterly FEC report roundup should be done but in the meantime let’s take another quick look at Philadelphia. As always, let me state that I am neither a lawyer or an accountant.  These are just my observations and I encourage those interested to review the reports themselves at www.fec.gov.  I apologize in advance for any errors or misconceptions.

This is a short summary of the 2010 FEC reports for Congressman Chaka Fattah’s campaign.  Fattah has a safe seat (PA-02) so he doesn’t really need to raise the kind of money that candidates in more competitive districts do.  That shows.

His beginning cash on hand in the post general (2010) report, likely to be the low point of the election cycle, was $11,536.45.  At the end of 2011 he had $120,714.57.  Of the money raised over the year only $3,635 came from unitemized contributions.  That means he has remarkably few small donations, too small to meet the threshold requiring the campaign to report the donor’s name, occupation, address, etc.  Overall he received more money from PACs (about $186,000) than itemized donors (about $135,000).  Also unusual, he spent less on operational expenditures than he did on other expenses.  It’s almost twice as much on “other” than operating expenditures.  What is “other?”  Well, quite a bit goes to other political campaigns, donations to Philadelphia candidates like Curtis Jones and Blondell Reynolds Brown, and about a third of the “other” went to the Fattah for Mayor campaign debt.  He gave $40,000 to the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.   The campaign makes car payments, buys a lot of gas, and paid for Sirius radio.  It must be an expensive car; the payments are almost $800 a month.  The campaign also paid for some train tickets. There are payments to Paychex but I don’t see payments for salaried employees so maybe he pays consultants and the like through Paychex.   Fattah likes to travel – there are payments for plane tickets and it looks like he travels with staff sometimes; for some trips more than one ticket is purchased.

A couple of interesting notes from the donations.  In one quarter there were 12 itemized donations and 10 were from Comcast employees.  Nothing wrong with that but the optics in that one report are not perhaps the best.  Fattah also received a lot of money in one report from people in the space industry.  Looking at his committee assignments he is on the Appropriations Committee and one of his subcommittees deals with space.   In addition to the individual donations from Comcast employees he received a total of $10K from the Comcast PAC, notable amounts from the National Weather Service Employees Organization, and a teachers union.

In short, nothing really remarkable, but it's always interesting to look through these things.

Congressional Redistricting Resources

For those who wish to play along at home in the congressional redistricting process, here are some resources:

1) chart of current Pennsylvania congressional districts, both statewide and individual districts

2) list of current districts, population change since 2000 and how many people each district needs to add or cut to meet the new state average (from the Morning Call's Pennsylvania Avenue blog)

3) interactive census map showing the 2010 state population by county, along with some information on demographic changes over the past ten years (for instance, the number of Hispanics in the state increased over 82%, which probably made State Rep. Daryl Metcalfe's head explode)

Okay, now you can slice and dice, add and subtract, and carve out your version of the state's new congressional district, but remember, we are losing one, so you'll have 18 not 19.

Top Congressional Tweeters.

Fast Company has compiled a list of the top 100 congressional tweeters. The only Pennsylvanian on the list is Rep. Bill Shuster. Hmmm, room for improvement there from the rest of our delegation.

Dent Chief of Staff Trades Stocks

This can get a little dicey. Congressional representatives and their staff can trade stocks (buy and sell), even though in industries related to their committee assignments. There are no restrictions on this. The Wall Street Journal has been running some articles on this topic. On Saturday, "Congress has active investors," by Tom McGinty, Jason Zweig, and Brody Mullins went into some detail on this. The only Pennsylvania example mentioned was this:

Some congressional staffers actively traded lesser-known stocks. Consider George McElwee, chief of staff to Rep. Charlie Dent, (R., Pa.), who sits on the House Ethics Committee and the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, which oversees pipelines.

In 2008, Mr. McElwee reported trades in several small energy companies, including Pyramid Oil, which was bought and sold 14 times in his account during the year, and Rex Energy, which was traded 31 times in 2008. His profits or losses couldn't be determined from the disclosure filings. In 2009, Mr. McElwee didn't report any stock trades.

Neither Mr. McElwee nor Mr. Dent's office responded to requests for comment.

While there may not be rules against doing this, it does kind of look bad.

Brady's Role in Disclosure Act

Politico ("House passes campaign finance bill," by Kenneth P. Vogel and John Bresnahan, 6/25) reports that Rep. Bob Brady added an amendment to the new Disclosure act requiring, in most cases, that the organization paying for an ad be identified. Here is an excerpt:

A Democratic amendment tucked into campaign finance legislation Wednesday night also drew fire from Republicans and their allies, who contend it gives special treatment to Democrat-allied labor unions. The language in question would exempt from disclosure requirements transfers of cash from dues-funded groups to their affiliates to pay for certain election ads. It was inserted into the bill by Rep. Robert Brady (D-Pa.), chairman of the House Administration Committee and a big union backer.

Though unions sought the change because they thought an earlier version of the bill would have forced them to disclose granular information about nonpolitical functions, Brady spokesman Kyle Anderson said the change “applies to all membership, dues-based organizations.” And he blasted efforts to cast it as a union sweetheart deal, as “just another attempt by Republicans to grasp at technical straws because they can’t find a valid argument against the legislation that the American people will support.”

Kanjorski Now on Twitter

The latest Pennsylvania congressional representative to set up shop on twitter is Paul Kanjorski. You can view his tweets are: http://twitter.com/paulkanjorski

Kanjo Opening Remarks

from the inbox:

OPENING STATEMENT OF CONGRESSMAN PAUL E. KANJORSKI
HOUSE-SENATE CONFERENCE COMMITTEE ON H.R. 4173,
THE WALL STREET REFORM AND CONSUMER PROTECTION ACT
JUNE 10, 2010

_______________________

Mr. Chairman, today we begin our long-anticipated conference to harmonize the House and Senate versions of Wall Street regulatory reform. Feelings of anger, frustration and rage justifiably hang over this proceeding because of the recklessness of financial whiz kids, the greediness of Wall Street bankers, and the short-sightedness of our economic regulators. Congress must respond by fundamentally changing the way that Wall Street operates.

While excess consumption may have fueled the fire, the blaze that became a devastating financial inferno began with Wall Street’s exotic financial instruments and excessive risk-taking. Because financial titans pushed our entire economic system to a catastrophic cliff, Congress had to take drastic action. Our work ensured that average Americans could continue to use their ATM cards and small businesses on Main Street could continue to pay their workers.

Critics invoke the word bailout to disparage the emergency action taken in late 2008. But the stabilization of an economic system really amounts to a rescue, not a bailout. Fair-minded experts agree that the Troubled Asset Relief Program and other similarly targeted initiatives have saved the American way of life. And while we have not yet recouped all of the money loaned by TARP, we have recovered much of the funds. We also have solid plans for collecting the rest.

Once we pulled back from this economic precipice, Congress immediately began working on a plan to comprehensively reform the rules of the road for bankers, securities brokers, insurers and hedge fund advisers, and to empower regulators with new tools. In this regard, our most important task in the weeks ahead will be to end the too-big-to-fail problem.

My too-big-to-fail amendment in the House vests regulators with the authority to prevent financial institutions -- those whose demise threatens the entire system because they are too large, interconnected, concentrated, or risky -- from ever reaching such a precarious position. For this mechanism to work properly, the simple majority vote by the Council in the House’s bill must prevail over the Senate’s multi-layered and complex two-thirds majority vote requirements.

The enactment of a strong Volcker rule will also help to end the problem of too big to fail. Its provisions to bar proprietary trading and to prohibit investments in hedge funds are a surgical version of the Glass-Steagall Act. Together, they will essentially resurrect the barrier between commercial and investment banking that resulted in a stable financial system for 70 years. And while we will still allow the mixing of banking and insurance activities, my Federal Insurance Office will effectively monitor this sector for potential risks going forward.

Some have myopically criticized this package because it does not abolish Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. However, by reforming the securitization process, risk retention requirements, and rating agency accountability, this bill lays the foundation for our upcoming work to address the future of these two institutions and, more broadly, the entire housing finance system.

In the House, I also worked to better protect investors and to greatly strengthen the powers of the Securities and Exchange Commission. While the Senate bill contains some of my reforms, the final package must include many more. For example, we must have the strongest possible fiduciary standard for every financial intermediary providing personalized advice.

Under Chairman Schapiro’s leadership, the Commission’s performance has improved markedly. But we must consider how to fundamentally alter securities regulation by including in the final bill my comprehensive external study to thoroughly examine the deficiencies of our current system and to identify what further reforms it must undergo.

Finally, we must significantly increase the accountability of rating agencies, whose overly optimistic assessments about the quality of financial garbage aided and abetted the financial crisis. Imposing greater liability on rating agencies will change the way they behave and ensure that they effectively perform their functions as market gatekeepers going forward.

In closing, this conference marks the culmination of a long, thoughtful series of hearings, markups and floor debates. As we work toward a bicameral -- and hopefully bipartisan -- consensus, we must aim to make the final Wall Street reform package as strong as possible.

Geisinger Part of Pilot Program

Vice President Biden and Congressman Paul Kanjorski announced today that Geisinger Clinic will be part of a pilot health care program.

Here is the press release:

Vice President Biden and U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius today announced that the Central Pennsylvania area has been selected as one of 15 communities across the country to serve as pilot communities for eventual wide-scale use of health information technology through the Beacon Community program. The $16,069,110 Recovery Act award to the Geisinger Clinic, a non-profit organization located in Danville, Penn., will not only help achieve meaningful and measurable improvements in health care quality, safety and efficiency in the Central Pennsylvania area, but also help lay the groundwork for an emerging health IT industry that is expected to support tens of thousands of jobs nationwide.

“These pioneering communities are going to lead the way in bringing smarter, lower-cost health care to all Americans through use of electronic health records. Because of their early efforts, doctors across the country will one day be able to coordinate patient care with the stroke of a key or pull up life-saving health information instantly in an emergency – and for the residents of these communities, that future is about to become a reality,” said Vice President Biden. “Thanks to the Recovery Act’s historic investment in health IT, we’re not only advancing the way health care is delivered in this country, we’re also building a whole new industry along with it – one that will shape our 21st Century economy for generations to come and employ tens of thousands of American workers.”

“The most important health care innovations are those that are designed and tested by providers and community leaders all across the country. Beacon Communities will offer insight into how health IT can make a real difference in the delivery of health care,” said Secretary Sebelius. “The Beacon Community Program will tap the best ideas across America and demonstrate the enormous benefit health IT will have to improving health and care within our communities.“

The selected Beacon Communities will use health IT resources within their community as a foundation for bringing doctors, hospitals, community health programs, federal programs and patients together to design new ways of improving quality and efficiency to benefit patients and taxpayers. Each Beacon Community has elected specific and measurable improvement goals in each of three vital areas for health systems improvement: quality, cost-efficiency, and population health. The goals vary according to the needs and priorities of each community. .

Led by Geisinger Clinic, the Keystone Beacon Community of Central Pennsylvania focuses on enhancing care for patients with pulmonary disease and congestive heart failure by creating a community-wide medical home and promoting Health Information Exchange throughout five rural, medically underserved counties. This community-wide collaboration will extend Geisinger’s proven models for practice redesign, quality improvement and cost reduction through iterative, transparent performance monitoring and feedback to independent healthcare organizations and providers throughout region. The community expects these advancements to further reduce healthcare costs by decreasing preventable hospital readmissions and emergency department visits.

Additionally, the Geisinger Clinic will be expected to access existing federal programs that are working to promote health information exchange at the community level. Close coordination with the Pennsylvania regional extension center program, health information exchange program, and the National Health Information Technology Research Center (HITRC), will ensure lessons learned are shared for the benefit of all. Over time, they will also work to leverage other existing federal programs and resources that are working to promote health information exchange at the community level, including the Department of Defense’s and the Department of Veterans Affairs’ development of a Virtual Lifetime Electronic Record (VLER) for all active duty, Guard and Reserve, retired military personnel, and eligible separated Veterans.

“Communities will be expected to build on an existing infrastructure of interoperable health IT and standards-based information exchange to show the promise for health IT. The Beacon Communities will offer evidence that widespread adoption of health IT and exchange of health information is both feasible and improves care delivery and health outcomes. The lessons learned through the program will be a roadmap for other communities to achieve meaningful use on a community-wide basis,” stated David Blumenthal, MD, MPP, national coordinator for health IT.”

The Geisinger Clinic award is part of an overall $100 billion federal government investment in science, innovation and technology the Administration is making through the Recovery Act to spur domestic job creation in emerging industries and create a long-term foundation for economic growth. The program was significantly oversubscribed with over 130 applications submitted for the initial 15 awards. Today’s awards are part of the $2 billion effort to achieve widespread meaningful use of health IT and provide for the use of an electronic health record (EHR) for each person in the United States by 2014. An additional $30 million is currently available to fund additional Beacon Community cooperative agreement awards. An announcement to apply will be made in the near future.

More information about Beacon Communities can be found at: http://Healthit.hhs.gov/Programs/Beacon.

For information about other HHS Recovery Act programs, see http://www.hhs.gov/recovery.

Here is Kanjorski's statement:

“Geisinger has been a model for quality and efficient health care throughout the country,” said Congressman Kanjorski. “Today, I joined Vice President Biden to announce funding that will help enable Geisinger to continue its outstanding work for Northeastern Pennsylvania. Through the Beacon Community program and the expansion of health information using new technologies, Geisinger can work to further enhance care for the patients at its facilities, as well as those at other health care institutions. This program helps bring our health care community together for the betterment of patients while also creating jobs at home.”

Video also available (Biden mentions Kanjorski at around 7:35)

Kanjorski on Rural Mortgages

from the inbox:

Today, the U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R. 5017, the Rural Housing Preservation and Stabilization Act of 2010, introduced by Congressman Paul E. Kanjorski (D-PA), the Chairman of the House Financial Services Subcommittee on Capital Markets, Insurance, and Government Sponsored Enterprises, by a vote of 352-62. The vote now clears the legislation for consideration in the Senate.

“Today, the House passed my much needed legislation to help ensure that families living in rural America can continue to access USDA loan guarantees so that they can buy homes with affordable mortgages,” said Chairman Kanjorski. “Many people living in rural communities do not have as much access to affordable home loans. The USDA program works to fix this problem, but it could run out of federal funding in a matter of days. We must ensure that families continue to have options for accessing affordable home loans. My bill will enable the program to continue its good work at no cost to the taxpayers. I am hopeful that the Senate will soon act on these matters as Senator Bennet of Colorado has already taken the lead in pushing this issue in that chamber. I urge the Senate to act quickly and pass this legislation.”

The House Financial Services Committee unanimously passed H.R. 5017 last week. The bill ensures the continued access of rural homebuyers to affordable mortgages through the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) loan guarantee program. The financial crisis has spiked consumer interest in the program, tripling the number of loans annually made since 2006. Because demand continues to grow, the program will exhaust its federal funding within days. H.R. 5017 would solve this problem by making the program self funded, enabling families living in rural communities to continue to access these loan guarantees.

“As a result of this program, I was able to purchase my first home which I have wanted all my life," said Virgie Spruiell from Bushkill, Pennsylvania. “I enjoy it every day and it is a blessing. I greatly appreciate Chairman Kanjorski's efforts to enable the program to continue so that other people can access these guaranteed home loans just as I did. It has had helped me tremendously."

Chairman Kanjorski’s legislation will correct the Section 502 Single Family Housing Guaranteed Loan Program funding shortfall by enabling the program to pay for itself, rather than relying on federal funding. In order to pay for the program, lenders will pay up to a 4 percent fee on new home mortgages and the USDA will have increased loan authority of $30 billion dollars for this fiscal year. As a result of these changes, financing of the program will move from a combination of government funding and industry fees to a self-sustaining initiative.

The USDA’s Rural Housing Service manages the Section 502 program, which provides a vital source of mortgage credit for people living in rural communities. Low- and moderate-income individuals and families in rural communities often have fewer mortgage credit options than those households in urban areas. The program aims to fill that void and lower the costs of homeownership by giving rural areas access to a home loan guarantee program. These guarantees decrease the exposure of home lenders to defaults so that they will underwrite more mortgages. In 2009, loans to more than 115,000 homebuyers guaranteed under the program averaged $112,000. To qualify for the program, borrowers must have good credit and reliable incomes to sustain homeownership.

Kanjorski Testimony

from the inbox, related video of Kanjorski questioning financial regulators at:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5wthtOm-OMQ:

Today, Congressman Paul E. Kanjorski (D-PA), the Chairman of the House Financial Services Subcommittee on Capital Markets, Insurance, and Government Sponsored Enterprises, is participating in a Financial Services Committee hearing entitled “Public Policy Issues Raised by the Report of the Lehman Bankruptcy Examiner.” The text of Chairman Kanjorski’s opening statement for today’s Committee hearing follows:

OPENING STATEMENT OF CONGRESSMAN PAUL E. KANJORSKI
COMMITTEE ON FINANCIAL SERVICES
HEARING ON THE PUBLIC POLICY ISSUES RAISED BY THE REPORT OF THE LEHMAN BANKRUPTCY EXAMINER

APRIL 20, 2010

_______________________

Mr. Chairman, we meet once again to examine yet another massive corporate failure. We have heard this sad song of corporate greed and regulatory breakdowns one too many times in recent years in instances like the accounting misdeeds at Enron, the massive Madoff fraud, and the audacious bets of American International Group. The events that led to Lehman’s collapse add another verse to this troubling refrain in American capitalism.

In the Lehman tune, it deeply troubles me that we must once again explore how reckless Wall Street titans profited at the expense of innocent shareholders on Main Street. I am also deeply disappointed in the performance of auditors and regulators who failed to uncover wrongdoing, mismanagement and capital shortfalls even as they fiddled in Lehman’s offices. The American people -- those who invest their hard earned savings and retirement nest eggs in our markets -- deserve not only answers about what happened, but also the enactment of real solutions designed to reform the way Wall Street functions.

The Valukas report also reveals that Wall Street executives continue to embellish the truth, tell half-truths and hide behind their power in the marketplace. Lehman’s former managers claim not to recall transactions or not to have spent meaningful time examining those very transactions important to investors. I find their excuses difficult to believe, especially in the wake of the corporate accounting and attestation reforms mandated by the Sarbanes-Oxley Act.

Moreover, Lehman’s unscrupulous practices illustrate exactly why the Senate needs to quickly pass -- and the Congress needs to swiftly finalize -- a Wall Street reform bill. The bill already passed by the House would force major participants in our markets to hold more capital and leverage less. Additionally, the House-passed legislation and the pending Senate bill include provisions to end the era of too big to fail, like my amendment directing regulators to break up financial firms that have become too big, too interconnected, too concentrated or too risky.

The thoughtful Valukas report additionally highlights the importance of my whistleblower reforms and tipster bounties contained in the House bill. Furthermore, his report proves the need to fundamentally change the way the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission operates. Among other things, the House bill doubles the Commission’s budget over 5 years and requires a comprehensive review and overhaul of the Commission’s operations.

In sum, today’s hearing builds the case for Wall Street reform. Hopefully, this Lehman hearing will be one of the last arias of this all too gloomy opera about the dark side of American capitalism. The proverbial fat lady has begun to sing; we must now complete our work.

Kanjorski Statement on Housing Finance

Today, Congressman Paul E. Kanjorski (D-PA), the Chairman of the House Financial Services Subcommittee on Capital Markets, Insurance, and Government Sponsored Enterprises, is participating in a Financial Services Committee hearing entitled “Housing Finance-What Should the New System Be Able to Do?: Part II-Government and Stakeholder Perspectives” The text of Chairman Kanjorski’s opening statement for today’s Committee hearing follows:

Mr. Chairman, we meet today to continue our discussions about what functions a new housing finance system should perform. I appreciate your efforts to focus the Financial Services Committee on this complex set of issues and share your interest in these important matters.

Today’s hearing is just one of many conversations with stakeholders that we will need to have before determining what legislative actions we should take to achieve the end goal of reestablishing a healthy, stable housing finance system. I approach these debates with an open mind and without any preconceived notion of what the solution ought to be. Through careful deliberation, however, I do believe that we can ultimately find the right policy approach.

In late 2008, then-Treasury Secretary Paulson placed Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac under conservatorship. Since then, the Treasury Department has committed to purchase more than $125 billion in preferred stock of the enterprises. Government agencies have also purchased in excess of $1.3 trillion in mortgage-backed securities. All of these actions have preserved the availability of housing credit during these difficult economic times.

The government, however, has further scaled back its commitments in our mortgage markets since our hearing last month on this same topic. Specifically, on March 31 the Federal Reserve ended its program to purchase mortgage-backed securities. As our markets recover from the financial crisis, we must return to the private sector those functions that properly belong with the private sector. Although we must continue to carefully monitor what happens to mortgage rates and investor demand, I am so far pleased with the results of this separation.

In thinking about where we should go, we must also consider where we have been. In good times and in bad, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have historically proven vital to increasing liquidity and improving the distribution of capital available for home mortgages. Together, these institutions have helped tens of millions of middle class families to share in the American Dream of owning their homes. I want the new housing finance system to continue to achieve this goal.

While I look forward to hearing the testimony of all of the participants today, I am especially eager to learn the thoughts of the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development. His thoughts will help to guide the Capital Markets Subcommittee as it continues with the explorations begun last June regarding the housing finance system. At our forthcoming hearings, I anticipate that we will explore specific questions like the need for mortgage insurance, the housing finance systems of other countries, and the structure of guarantee fees.

In sum, Mr. Chairman, these important matters are ripe for debate and represent the next big mountain that our Committee must climb. This trek is almost as difficult as reforming financial regulation. If the legislative debates on financial services regulatory reform were like scaling Mount Everest, then the deliberations of the future of housing finance are surely like ascending Mount McKinley. I am glad that we have had some practice.

Kanjorski and Volcker

The January 27 issue of The American Prospect had an article, "Breaking the Banks," by
Tim Fernholz. Here is an excerpt:

“Rep. Paul Kanjorski of Pennsylvania agreed not enough was being done to limit the types of risks that banks could take and was receptive to Volcker's critique. He authored an amendment that would allow regulators to order any financial firm out of a certain line of business if it proved a risk to the system; for instance, American International Group could have been ordered to divest its risky Financial Products division…

later

“In December, Obama, reacting to both Volcker's policy critique and bank risk-taking, specifically asked his team to build on the Kanjorski amendment by creating a mandatory regulation rather than a firm-by-firm approach, according to a White House official…

"’It's quite an accomplishment for the president to pick up [this idea] into the red zone, a football analogy. We just made up 30 yards,’ Kanjorski told me. ‘Some people are of the opinion that it may be an afterthought; I just don't think it is. I anticipated that they would either at some point endorse it or the president would endorse it.’”

Kanjo Continues '70's Media Blitz

Congressman Paul Kanjorski, not content with appearing in Rolling Stone, is also quoted in Mother Jones. See "Is the Senate Bungling Its Wall Street Crackdown? House lawmakers working on financial reform fear the Senate could blow Washington's chance to rein in the big banks," by Andy Kroll.

Creem Magazine ceased publication in 1989, but In These Times is still going strong (shout out to editor Joel Bleifuss). Maybe Kanjo will show up there next!

Kanjo in Rolling Stone

Congressman Paul Kanjorski was quoted in a Rolling Stone article, "Wall Street's Bailout Hustle: Goldman Sachs and other big banks aren't just pocketing the trillions we gave them to rescue the economy - they're re-creating the conditions for another crash," by Matt Taibbi.

No word on whether or not he'll be on the cover (all the oldsters can sing along with me, "I keep gettin' richer but I can't get my picture on the cover of the Rolling Stone ....")

A Quick Note on John Murtha

Congressman John Murtha died earlier this month. Since his congressional district isn't in the geographic area I cover I've never written much about him. After his death it seemed best to let his family grieve in peace without out of town bloggers horning in and talking about him. However, long time friend of the blog Josh Nanberg has written a heartfelt remembrance of the congressman. Here is his summary:

Mr. Murtha explained that became involved with diabetes because of high rates among his constituents. He was able to use his position as an appropriations subcommittee chair to ensure that research dollars went to addressing the problem. And despite his national importance, his chairmanship, his newfound celebrity status in the progressive community because of his opposition to the war, Jack Murtha was telling us about the importance of being responsible to the people who send you to Congress every time there’s an election.

Remarks on the Death of John Murtha

Assorted remarks from the inbox:

Chris Doherty:

Scranton Mayor Chris Doherty today released the following statement on the passing of Congressman John Murtha.

“Pennsylvania lost one of its giants today. Congressman Murtha was one of the last great titans of the United States Congress who had the experience and the record of accomplishment to earn the respect of both the most conservative and progressive of his colleagues.

“From his heroism on the battlefield to his fierce advocacy for his constituents, Congressman Murtha never backed away from a fight. He had a firm sense of what he wanted to accomplish, and he refused to let anything stand in his way.

“We will miss his representation in Congress and his friendship here at home. My thoughts and prayers and those of my entire family go out to Congressman Murtha’s friends and relatives on this very sad day.”

Pres. Barack Obama:

Michelle and I were deeply saddened today to hear about the passing of Congressman John Murtha. Jack was a devoted husband, a loving father and a steadfast advocate for the people of Pennsylvania for nearly 40 years. His passion for service was born during his decorated career in the United States Marine Corps, and he went on to earn the distinction of being the first Vietnam War combat veteran elected to Congress. Jack’s tough-as-nails reputation carried over to Congress, where he became a respected voice on issues of national security. Our thoughts and prayers are with his wife of nearly 55 years, Joyce, their three children, and the entire Murtha family.

Tim Kaine:

DNC Chairman Tim Kaine released the following statement on the passing of Congressman John Murtha.

“Today we mourn the loss of a great American figure who dedicated his life to serving his country both in the military and in the halls of Congress. Congressman Murtha had a storied 37-year career in the U.S. Marine Corps and in 1974 he became the first Vietnam War combat veteran elected to Congress.

“Just the other day, Congressman Murtha became the longest serving Pennsylvanian in the history of the House of Representatives. During his career, he worked hard to bring tens of thousands of middle class jobs to western Pennsylvania. His legacy as a fighter for his causes and his constituents will be remembered long after his passing.
“Our thoughts and prayers today are with the Congressman’s wife, his children and his grandchildren.”

Rep. Paul Kanjorski:

Congressman Paul E. Kanjorski (PA-11) provided the below statement on the passing away of Congressman John Murtha.

“As we mourn the loss of Congressman Murtha, I pass along my thoughts and prayers to his family and friends. Today, an era of Pennsylvania’s history has sadly ended as the nation and Pennsylvania has lost one of its most determined and tireless public servants.

“Jack was a friend and colleague who I have looked up to throughout my time in Congress for his dedication to our country and our military troops, his strength to work in a bipartisan way, and his passion for his work and the Pennsylvanians he represented. Throughout his career in public service, Jack has been a symbol of the hardworking Pennsylvanians through the Commonwealth.

“While prone to criticism in Washington for his knack for securing federal funding for his Congressional district, that federal funding helped create thousands of jobs for Pennsylvanians and aided with needed economic development in his district. He was elected to help his district, which is exactly why we, as Members of Congress, are all elected. Jack was able to effectively balance the needs of his constituents with the needs of the country.

“The legacy that he has left will surely live on as a symbol of the great work that one man can do and as something that we can all strive to achieve. As the leader of the Pennsylvania Congressional delegation, and as a close friend, he will be sorely missed.”

Below is a statement for the Congressional Record that Congressman Kanjorski submitted on Friday on behalf of many Members of the Pennsylvania Congressional delegation. On Friday, Congressman Murtha became the longest serving Member of Congress ever from Pennsylvania.

Joe Sestak:

Congressman Joe Sestak (PA-07) released the following statement on the passing today of Congressman John Murtha:

“My thoughts and prayers go out to the Murtha family at this very difficult time. His service to our nation in Congress reflected an unyielding commitment to his constituents, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and our nation. However, he holds my greatest respect for the courage he showed in serving as a United States Marine and subsequently becoming the first Vietnam combat veteran elected to Congress. In doing so, he gave a voice to millions of men and women who fought in an unpopular war and were not afforded the respect and care they earned and deserved.

It was a privilege to work with him on a number of issues, and I am especially appreciative of the help he gave me as a mentor, whether it was on an approach within the halls of Congress, specific legislative items, or coming to my District to assist at key events. We should all be grateful for his commitment to public service for his District, Pennsylvania and this nation.”

Kanjorski Statement on AIG Bonuses

From the inbox:

Congressman Paul E. Kanjorski (D-PA), the Chairman of the House Financial Services Subcommittee on Capital Markets, Insurance, and Government Sponsored Enterprises, expressed aggravation and disappointment about reports that American International Group (AIG) will pay $100 million in bonuses to employees at the very business unit that caused the company to lose tens of billions of dollars and seek a federal bailout. These bonuses only highlight the need for the Kanjorski amendment which will prevent the existence of companies that are deemed “too big to fail,” like AIG.

“I am deeply disappointed that AIG has, yet again, failed to halt excessive employee bonuses after receiving access to more than $180 billion in taxpayer money to keep the company afloat,” said Chairman Kanjorski. “AIG is a shining example of why we cannot allow companies to become “too big to fail.” The Kanjorski amendment will make it so that in the future, companies including AIG, will not be able to become so interconnected that they could severely damage the American economy if they collapse. Last year, I held two hearings on these issues, including one where the then CEO of AIG testified. I will continue to examine these matters as Congress works to ensure that the government swiftly winds down its support for AIG.”

Chairman Kanjorski added, “The House passed a Wall Street reform bill which includes this amendment. Just last month, the President expressed his support for a similar proposal. Now, the Senate must do its part by passing Wall Street reform legislation which includes the Kanjorski amendment or similar language in the larger bill. AIG’s bonuses only reemphasize that we must take action as soon as possible to better protect the American taxpayers and the American economy. I look forward to the day when the phrase ‘too big to fail’ is no longer a part of our vocabulary.”

Chairman Kanjorski has been a leader in crafting landmark Wall Street reform legislation to work to prevent future financial crises and better protect every American. H.R. 4173, the Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, passed in the House in December. The bill includes the Kanjorski amendment which would work to prevent another situation like we encountered with AIG. Specifically, the amendment would empower federal regulators to rein in and dismantle financial firms that are so large, inter-connected, or risky that their collapse would put at risk the entire American economic system, even if those firms currently appear to be well-capitalized and healthy. Therefore, American taxpayers should no longer be on the hook for bailouts, as financial companies would not be able to become “too big to fail.”

Kanjorski Statement on Bank Restrictions

From the inbox:

KANJORSKI STATEMENT ON PRESIDENT’S PROPOSAL TO LIMIT SIZE AND SCOPE OF BANKS

President’s Proposal Molded After Kanjorski Amendment to Address Companies that Are “Too Big To Fail” and Prevent Future Bailouts

WASHINGTON – Today, Congressman Paul E. Kanjorski (PA-11), Chairman of the House Financial Services Subcommittee on Capital Markets, Insurance, and Government Sponsored Enterprises, provided the following statement supporting the President’s proposal to limit the size and scope of financial institutions and better protect taxpayers by preventing companies that are deemed “too big to fail” to exist. The President’s proposal is similar to the Kanjorski amendment that was included in H.R. 4173, the Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, which the House passed on December 11. The Kanjorski amendment would empower federal regulators to rein in and dismantle financial firms that are so large, inter-connected or risky that their collapse would put at risk the entire American economic system, even if those firms currently appear to be well capitalized and healthy. Therefore, American taxpayers should no longer be on the hook for bailouts, as financial companies would not be able to become “too big to fail.”

“I applaud President Obama for joining me in working to end the era of reckless financial institutions that have become so large and interconnected that they could be deemed ‘too big to fail’,” said Chairman Kanjorski. “A year and a half ago, Congress took drastic, but necessary action, to prevent an economic disaster that would have severely affected every American and set back our financial system by decades. But, many of the financial companies do not seem to have learned their lessons from that harrowing experience. In November, I took the first action in Congress to prevent companies from becoming too interconnected and risky by introducing an amendment, which was included in the House-passed Wall Street reform bill, to prevent companies from becoming ‘too big to fail.’ Now that the President has put forward a similar proposal, I hope that we can work to enact Wall Street reform that will better protect every American and ensure that no single company can pose a risk to the entire economy. We owe it to the American people to make these ideas a reality.”

A summary of the Kanjorski amendment follows:

· Objective Standards. Size is by no means the only factor to determine if a financial company is “too big to fail.” The recent financial crisis has shown that many other factors can also cause a company to become a systemic risk. Rather, the amendment considers a variety of objective standards to determine if financial firms pose a threat to our financial stability, including the scope, scale, exposure, leverage, interconnectedness of financial activities, as well as size of the financial company. The Kanjorski amendment does not cap the size of financial institutions.

· Mitigatory Actions. If a financial company is deemed systemically risky, the Kanjorski amendment provides responsible preventative actions to protect our financial system and curtail those risks. These include modifying existing prudential standards, imposing conditions on or terminating activities, limiting mergers and acquisitions, and in the most extreme cases, breaking up a financial company.

· Protects American Competitiveness. We have learned from this financial crisis that we are all connected. The Kanjorski amendment addresses the concern that our regulatory system works in conjunction with those around the globe. Currently, the European Union is considering similar action, and harmonized regulations would benefit both economies.