Congressman Christopher Shays' E-Newsletter
June 2006

Dear Friend,

In this newsletter, we share information about:

• Securing Veterans' Personal Information and Improving Veterans Services;
• Funding for Fourth District Transportation, Infrastructure, Environment and Education Programs;
• The House Debate on the Global War on Terror;
• Our Recent Hearing in my National Security Subcommittee on the Use of Energy as a Weapon;
• Continued Progress with our Legislation to Require Localities to Incorporate Pet Owners and Their Pets in Local Evacuation Strategy;
• An Update on my Work on Housing, Including Action on Rental Assistance and Housing Redevelopment Bills;
• The Visit of the National Endowment for the Arts Chairman and our Fourth District Congressional Arts Competition winner; and
• My Continued Work Advocating for Implementation of all the 9/11 Commission's Recommendations, Including Risk-Based Homeland Security Funding and Strengthening the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board.

I hope you find this information useful and that you will not hesitate to contact our office if there is anything we can do to be helpful to you and your neighbors.

Sincerely,

Christopher Shays

Member of Congress

Securing Veterans' Personal Information and Improving Veterans Services

Loss of Veterans' Personal Information

After it was revealed that the personal information of 26.5 million veterans was compromised, I wrote to the Inspector General of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to understand further the extent of the information which was stolen. We also brought the Secretary of the VA before the Government Reform Committee, of which I am Vice Chair, and I had the opportunity to question him directly about how this information could so easily leave the VA complex.

As a member of the Financial Service Committee, I supported legislation which requires any entity that owns or possesses personal data electronically to implement security policies to protect that information, and co-authored an amendment which applies these standards to the Executive Branch, including the VA, retroactively.

I am also an original cosponsor of H.R. 5464, the Veteran's Identity Protection Act, which will provide free credit reports and credit monitoring for one year to each of the 26.5 million veterans affected by the theft of electronic data.

In addition, Governor Rell and I hosted two seminars in Norwalk and Fairfield for veterans to learn tangible actions to protect their identity in the wake of the theft.

The Secretary of the VA announced today they recovered the stolen laptop and there have been no reports of identity theft to date.

Improving Veterans Services in Connecticut

The Connecticut Delegation announced the Department of Veterans Affairs will provide Connecticut's veterans home in Rocky Hill a $2.99 million grant to support improvements to the facility and a $21,985,495 federal grant which will enable construction of a new $33.8 million, 125-bed residential health care facility.

The WorkPlace, Inc., in Bridgeport, is also slated to receive a $296,000 competitive grant from the U.S. Department of Labor for a program to help reintegrate homeless veterans into the workforce.

I was pleased to support both of these grant applications.

Funding for Fourth District Transportation, Infrastructure, Environment and Education Programs

Below is a chart of projects funded in various Appropriations Bills which have moved through the Committee process this year.

House Debate on the Global War on Terror

On June 16, the U.S. House of Representatives had an 11 hour debate on the Global War on Terror.

Members on all sides of the issue had an opportunity to express their views. I spoke on the rule governing debate and on the resolution.

Given we attacked Iraq and disbanded their army, police and border patrol, it is our responsibility to ensure Iraqis can protect themselves before we leave. Having traveled to Iraq 12 times, I have spoken to many Iraqis who tell me their biggest fear is "that you will leave us; that you will leave us before we can grab hold of democracy and defend ourselves." I am working to successfully finish what we started by bringing our troops home once Iraqis have the capability of defending themselves.

The Hartford Courant's NE Magazine recently published an article detailing my thought process on the war on terror and our operations in Iraq, which may be of interest to you. Visit http://www.courant.com/news/local/northeast/hc-ne-shays0611,0,2874612.story?coll=hc-northeast-top to read the story.

My National Security Subcommittee's Hearing on the Use of Energy as a Weapon

Our dependence on foreign-supplied fuels is a threat to our national security, and to the security of the international community.

During our May 16 hearing, we received testimony from witnesses from the U.S. Departments of Energy and State, and others.

We must break our addiction to foreign sources of energy, particularly oil, because suppliers exploit American energy dependence to influence our policies, and terrorists see oil as our Achilles heel. We are funding both sides in the war on terrorism: the US military -- and on the other side -- energy supplying countries who support Islamist militants. Kicking the habit is an urgent necessity.

For that reason, Congressman Maurice Hinchey (D-NY) and I introduced the Energy for Our Future Act which seeks to decrease United States dependence on foreign oil, protect the environment, build a market for renewable energy and promote energy conservation.

This legislation is supported by the Sierra Club, League of Conservation Voters, Natural Resources Defense Council, Union of Concerned Scientists, U.S. Public Interest Research Group (PIRG), Connecticut Public Interest Research Group (ConnPIRG), Environmental Action, Connecticut Fund for the Environment, Republicans for Environmental Protection and the Audubon Society.

Continued Progress to Require Localities to Incorporate Pet Owners and Pets in Local Evacuation Strategy

The Pets Evacuation and Transportation Standards (PETS) Act, which I introduced with Congressman Tom Lantos (D-CA) after Hurricane Katrina, passed the U.S. House of Representatives on May 22 in a bipartisan vote of 349 to 24.

Our legislation requires local and state jurisdictions to include a plan for dealing with pet owners and pets in their local emergency evacuation strategy.

This bill does not put animals before humans, but rather ensures that pet owners don't have to make a choice between their personal safety and their pets' safety. I'm grateful for the House's support of this legislation and, as Co-Chair of the Congressional Friends of Animals Caucus, remain committed to working for its passage.

An Update on My Work on Housing: Action on my Rental Assistance and Housing Redevelopment Bills

H.R. 5443, Section 8 Voucher Reform Act, of which I am an original cosponsor, cleared the Financial Services Committee on June 14.

Section 8 vouchers are an effective rental program for very low-income members of our communities. Our bipartisan reforms will help Section 8 be a more effective, flexible and efficient program. This is a great step toward reform.

I offered an amendment in Committee which gives priority for Section 8 funds to victims of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault or stalking. To learn more about this amendment read this article from the Norwalk Hour.

The Financial Services Committee also passed by voice vote, my bill H.R. 5347, the HOPE VI Reauthorization Act, which extends the HOPE VI program until September 2011 and authorizes annual funding of $600 million.

The HOPE VI program, which has been critical to improving housing in Stamford, provides government grants which leverage significant state, local and private funds. These public-private partnerships help to transform dilapidated public housing into new mixed-income communities.


Arts News

National Endowment for the Arts Workshop and Tour

As Co-Chair of the Congressional Arts Caucus, it was my pleasure to host National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) Chairman Dana Gioia. The NEA conducted a grants workshop for arts organizations at the Silvermine Guild Arts Center in New Canaan. Gioia also toured the Westport Country Playhouse and the Aldrich Museum to learn more about arts programs in the Fourth District.

Congressman Christopher Shays, pictured above (left to right), with Silvermine Guild Executive Director Cynthia Clair, New Canaan First Selectman Judy Neville, NEA Chairman Dana Gioia, and Connecticut Commission on Culture and Tourism Executive Director Jennifer Aniskovich. They are pictured at the Silvermine Guild on their recent tour of the facility.

Fourth District Arts Competition

The Fourth Congressional District Arts competition took place on June 3 at the Westport Arts Center.

Alexandra Heine's pastel, "Still Life with Green Pitcher," was chosen as the winner (pictured above). Alexandra is a Westport resident and student of art teacher Camille Eskell at Staples High School. Alexandra's artwork will hang for one year beside works from other congressional districts in the passageway between the House office buildings and the United States Capitol.

Continuing Advocacy to Implement All of 9/11 Commission's Recommendations

We have made progress reforming the intelligence community, but almost two years after the 9/11 Commission released its 41 thoughtful proposals, there are 27 proposals for which the government still receives an average, near-failing or failing grade.

As a result, Carolyn Maloney (D-NY) and I introduced H.R. 5017, the Ensuring Implementation of the 9/11 Commission Report Act, which addresses each of the recommendations and holds the appropriate agency accountable for reporting to Congress on its actions.

Strengthening the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board

I also recently held a hearing to probe progress on these recommendations, with a particular focus on the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board. Believing in the importance of this Board and having successfully increased its funding for two consecutive years, I have a particular interest in understanding how we can get this Board strong and fully functioning.

Risk-based Homeland Security Funding

We recently learned New York and Connecticut will take significant cuts in homeland security funding from the Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) grant program.

As a member of the Homeland Security Committee and Chair of the Subcommittee on National Security, Emerging Threats and International Relations, I have long advocated for allocating homeland security funding to the nation's highest risk areas.

I could not understand how the Department's risk-based formula could justify these cuts, so I wrote to DHS Secretary Chertoff expressing concern with the funding distribution, and to Homeland Security Appropriations Subcommittee Chairman Harold Rogers urging the Committee to include additional criteria to guide the homeland security funding distribution process.

Our legislation, H.R. 5017, includes language that distributes homeland security funding based upon an assessment of risk and vulnerability and includes a 0.25 percent base level for all states.