Congressman Christopher Shays' E-Newsletter
March 2006

Dear Friend,

In this newsletter, we share information about:

• Our proposal to improve the ethics process in Congress;
• The recent Deficit Reduction Act, which will help slow the growth of entitlements;
• My 11th oversight trip to Iraq and the delivery of goods collected by Bridgeport students for our troops;
• My visit to Israel;
• Recent work in my Subcommittee on National Security, including a hearing on whistleblowers and oversight leading to the Defense Department’s Inspector General opening an office in the Persian Gulf to audit operations in Iraq;
• The Select Committee’s report on the failures in planning for and responding to Hurricane Katrina;
• My staff’s upcoming Field Office Hours; and
• Upcoming briefing on the new Medicare Prescription Drug Plan.

I hope you find this information helpful and look forward to your feedback.

Sincerely,

Christopher Shays
Member of Congress

Our Proposal to Improve the Ethics Process in Congress

You need to be able to trust your government is run ethically.

Recent scandals have eroded that trust, so Congressman Marty Meehan (D-MA) and I recently introduced legislation to create an Office of Public Integrity.

H.R. 4799 establishes an Office of Public Integrity, which would serve as a professional, independent, non-partisan office to investigate ethics complaints and inquiries for Congress, and present findings to the Ethics Committee for adjudication. It would also provide guidance to staff and oversee lobbyist disclosures.

Click here to learn more about our proposal to create a more effective ethics system in Congress.

Our Work to Slow the Growth of Entitlements

Entitlement spending is more than 50 percent of the federal budget and is on automatic pilot. To begin to address this challenge, I supported the Deficit Reduction Act, which will slow the growth of entitlement spending from 33 percent to 30 percent over the next five years.

The bill cuts $39 billion in entitlements through common-sense changes, including the auctioning of the spectrum, reduction in agriculture programs, increasing employer pension premiums and reforming welfare. The bill repeals student loan lenders’ subsidies, ending windfall profits for lenders. It also allows students to get more funding earlier and eliminates origination fees on their loans. The bill in no way reduces student loans; students are still eligible for $23,000 in student aid.

There has been much misinformation circulated about this bill, so I encourage you to:
Click here to learn about the Medicaid provisions.
Click here to learn about the Student Loan provisions.
Click here to learn about additional cost-cutting measures the bill makes.

My 11th Oversight trip to Iraq and the Delivery of Goods Collected by Bridgeport Students for Our Troops

I recently returned from my 11th oversight trip to Iraq, where we assessed the health and welfare of U.S. military forces, political developments, reconstruction efforts, and the training and equipping of Iraqi security forces. As Chairman of the Subcommittee on National Security, I go to Iraq every three to four months to chart the progress, or lack thereof, of our operations and return with specific recommendations to share with Congress and the Administration. After being wrong on weapons of mass destruction, I was even more determined to conduct my oversight firsthand and not rely on the Administration or press for key information.

Observation: Violence and significant challenges create the temptation among the American public and government leaders to withdraw from Iraq prematurely. We cannot allow this to happen. Since the overthrow of Saddam Hussein in April 2003, Iraqis have held democratic elections, approved a constitution and elected a National Assembly.

Recommendation: The United States should continue to assist Iraq in achieving political stability, economic growth and a secure environment. It is particularly important we give the Iraqis time to build a coalition government of Sunni, Shia and Kurds.

Observation: Although there has been progress made in reconstruction and economic development, the security situation continues to hamper rebuilding efforts and economic development, and many Iraqis are frustrated over the lack of essential services and jobs.

Recommendation: Continued funding is necessary to complete projects, especially those that improve electricity, water, sanitation and the oil infrastructure. Small projects led by Iraqis, with the assistance of non-governmental organizations (NGO), should be given special preference.

Observation: There are over 225,000 Iraqi security forces (military, police and border patrol) that are becoming well-trained, equipped and experienced in battle, but these forces lack qualified non-commissioned and mid-level commissioned officers and support forces such as medics and logisticians. It will take time to develop these leaders and support capabilities.

Recommendation: The American public should be informed Coalition forces will be required in Iraq for the foreseeable future to provide support, continued training and to serve as a deterrent against external threats from Syria and Iran.

Observations: Our forces are brave and determined and the equipment we have provided them is world class. However, I am concerned both our military forces and the equipment they use are being over-utilized. Additionally, primary modes of transportation, such as the C-130 Hercules aircraft, are old, overworked and in some cases unreliable.

Recommendation: Since our troops will be deployed to Iraq, and other locations around the globe for the foreseeable future, the personnel force structure should be adjusted to allow for less frequent deployments and equipment replacement should be accelerated.

I recently held 20 community meetings in every town in the Fourth District. During those meetings, I heard many residents expressing the sentiment that, whether they agreed with the war or not, we need to do the job right before we reduce our troop levels.

Click here to read more about my trip and recommendations.

During the trip, I had the privilege of delivering 175 pounds of items collected by the Thurgood Marshall Middle School for Social Justice in Bridgeport to soldiers stationed in Iraq. I am pictured above with Sgt. Noel Alvarado, who is stationed in Iraq with the Army’s 101st Airborne’s 4th Platoon.

My Visit to Israel

While in the Middle East, I also had the opportunity to travel to Israel, where we met with Shalom Turgeman, Senior Diplomatic and Political Advisor to the Prime Minister; General Giora Eiland (ret.), Israeli National Security Advisor; and MK Shimon Peres, former Prime Minister of Israel. We also met with U.S. Consul General Jacob Walles; Dr. Saeb Erekat, Palestinian Parliamentarian and the Chief Palestinian Negotiator to discuss the recent Palestinian Parliamentary elections.

The Hamas victory in the elections is of great concern to me and many others and presents a major challenge to the peace process. There is simply no way our government can meet with or provide assistance to a government led by a terrorist organization.

Hamas ran a campaign based on cleaning out the corruption of the Fatah party. The Palestinian people responded to this pledge, but sadly in the process elected a terrorist government. Unless Hamas recognizes the State of Israel’s right to exist, ceases incitement and permanently disarms and dismantles their terrorist infrastructure, the United States will not work with this government, nor can we expect Israel to.

Subcommittee Oversight: National Security Whistleblowers and Iraq Inspector General

Whistleblowers

Extraordinary powers needed to wage the war on terrorism could, if unchecked, inflict collateral damage on the very rights and freedoms we fight to protect. The use of expansive executive authorities demands equally expansive oversight by Congress, the public and even the employees inside the sensitive operations.

We heard the concerns from national security whistleblowers at our February 14th hearing, and received recommendations on how to strengthen protections in the future. In some cases, these national security whistleblowers have had their security clearances suspended and revoked in retaliation for fighting waste, fraud and abuse. This can have the same chilling effect as demotion or firing. Those with whom we trust the nation’s secrets should not be second class citizens when it comes to asserting their obligation to speak truth to power.

Click here to learn more about my hearing and read witnesses’ testimony.

DoD Inspector General in Persian Gulf

During another hearing I chaired in my Subcommittee on National Security and on one of my trips to Iraq, we discovered that the Department of Defense Inspector General did not have a permanent presence in the Middle East to audit military spending. Congress established a Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction, but the Department of Defense was conducting its audits of military operations in Iraq from the United States.

Due to the concern we expressed in that hearing and on our oversight trip, the Department of Defense Inspector General has announced he will open an office this Spring in Qatar to audit our military operations in Iraq, Afghanistan and Kuwait. I am grateful for this response. Given the billions of dollars we are investing in rebuilding Iraq, it’s crucial we are on the ground, working to make certain our funds are spent for their intended purpose

Click here to read more about the hearing on Iraqi reconstruction.

Our Report on the Response and Planning Failures for Hurricane Katrina

The Select Bipartisan Committee to Investigate the Preparation for and Response to Hurricane Katrina, of which I am a member, investigated the planning and response failures to Hurricane Katrina. We recently released our final report, which underscored what we have long known: our government failed at all levels in planning for and responding to Hurricane Katrina.

The White House was clearly in a fog, Homeland Security Secretary Chertoff was totally detached and FEMA Director Michael Brown was negligent and simply not up for the job. Regretfully, both Louisiana Governor Blanco and New Orleans Mayor Nagin were not decisive, requiring a mandatory evacuation only 19 hours before the storm hit despite the fact they were warned 48 hours in advance that Hurricane Katrina was going to be a Category 5 storm. In addition, the Mayor fueled rumors which were dangerously inaccurate and only added to the problems.

I had the opportunity to go on the first Congressional trip to the Gulf Coast region after Hurricane Katrina and took this picture of a Mississippi neighborhood from a helicopter, which was typical of what we saw for 90 miles. Homes were literally piled like sticks and the debris was strewn as far as the eye could see.

Despite an eight day drill a year before the storm which showed that with a Category 4 hurricane New Orleans’ levees could be breached and the City would experience major communications breakdowns, we didn’t take the precautions necessary to save lives. This was a storm of Biblical proportions, but the loss of life could have been stemmed even more with smarter, more decisive planning and action.

I am disappointed we do not appear to have learned many lessons from September 11th. Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney (D-NY) and I are continuing to draft legislation to implement the remaining 9-11 Commission recommendations and will continue to work hard for reforms that improve communication, technology, logistics and planning, and accountability.

To read more about the report and my reaction to the Hurricane Katrina report, click here.

Our March Staff Field Office Hours

My staff will be available to speak with you about questions or concerns related to federal government programs and agencies at our upcoming staff office hours for those of you who live in or near Monroe, Norwalk, Oxford and Wilton.

These office hours are intended to help us better serve you. I hope if you need assistance with, or have questions about, federal programs and agencies, you will find these hours convenient and will not hesitate to visit my staff.

Please remember my staff is always available in our Bridgeport office, Monday through Friday from 8:45 A.M. to 5:15 P.M. and in our Stamford office Monday, Wednesday and Thursday from 10:00 A.M. to 4:00 P.M.

Upcoming briefing on the new Medicare Prescription Drug Plan

After holding 45 briefings on the Medicare Prescription Drug Benefit last year, my staff will hold three more in March. I encourage anyone who may be interested in taking advantage of this program, or who is the caretaker of someone who may benefit, to attend these informative briefings. The Medicare Prescription Drug benefit will help many on Medicare save money on their medications and provide a safety net for unexpected drug expenses. Seniors have until May 15, 2006 to sign up for this benefit without a penalty.

Stamford
Thursday, March 9
11:30 A.M. - 1:00 P.M.
Yerwood Center
95 Fairfield Avenue

New Canaan
Thursday, March 9
2:00 P.M.
New Canaan Public Library
151 Main Street

Ridgefield
Saturday, March 25
11:00 A.M.
Ridgefield Health Fair
Ridgefield Community Center
316 Main Street