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Headline
News
for the week ending June 13, 2003
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WHERE’S
THE MUD?
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“Where’s
the mud puddle?” I asked as I gazed at Elephant Butte Lake’s
crystal blue water Tuesday afternoon. The only thing dead I found
was a striper on the shoreline along Ridge Road.
But drought didn't kill it. Click on any of the three photos above
to start the photo series of the Butte.
Posted
6-11-03
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Bingaman
votes against giveaway to nuclear industry
Senator Jeff
Bingaman, D-NM, was a cosponsor of an amendment that would have stripped
billions of dollars in government subsidies for the nuclear industry from
an energy bill currently being debated on the Senate floor.
Posted
6-11-03
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House
Republican leaders hold working,
military families hostage on child tax credits
Instead of
taking action to correct the exclusion of working and military families
from the child tax credit, House Republican leaders have decided to hold
low-income children hostage in exchange for more reckless tax cuts.
Posted
6-11-03
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Domenici
votes to extend child
tax credit to lower-income families
Senator Pete
Domenici, R-NM, on Thursday voted with the Senate to expand the child tax
credit enacted last month, agreeing to offer the federal credit to about
100,000 more New Mexico households.
Posted
6-6-03
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Children's,
women's and families' groups
demand House action to fix callous exclusion
of
low-income working families from tax cuts
With the U.S.
Senate taking action to fix the callous exclusion of nearly 12 million
children in low-income working families from child tax credits on
Thursday, groups representing children, women and families are calling on
the House of Representatives and Representative Pearce to follow suit
immediately.
Posted
6-6-03
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CSE
opposes Senate action to
extend child tax credit
Given the
Senate's action last week to expand the child tax credit, one might not
realize that the 2003 Jobs and Growth Act completely eliminates federal
income tax liability for three million taxpayers and dramatically expands
the new 10 percent income tax bracket for lower income earners.
Posted
6-10-03
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T
or C gains $870,000 to extend airport runway
Senator Pete
Domenici today reported the U.S. Transportation Department has agreed to
provide the city of Truth or Consequences with $870,000 in federal funds
to extend a runway at the T or C Municipal Airport.
Posted
6-6-03
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Geronimo's
Pow-Wow
being
planned for T or C
Harlyn
Geronimo, grandson of the great Apache warrior Geronimo, has pledged his
support to create a Gathering of Nations and Pow-Wow in Truth or
Consequences as an annual event.
Posted
6-10-03
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That's
Entertainment in
T or C July 4
Get
ready for a huge treat on the July 4th weekend.
Posted
6-6-03
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NM
to benefit from additional $17M
awarded for homeland security activities
Senator
Pete Domenici said today he is optimistic that New Mexico will put to good
use the $16.9 million grant issued by the Department of Homeland Security
to continue preparations in the state for combating potential terrorist
threats and other emergencies.
Posted
6-10-03
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Pearce
& Barreto
team up for NM's
Hispanic small business community
For
Congressman Pearce, small businesses are tremendously important components
to the economic development of Southern New Mexico.
Posted
6-6-03
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Dry
Lakes Fire results in trail closure
The Dry Lakes
Complex Fire grew to about 4,675 acres by Monday in the Gila Wilderness.
Posted
6-10-03
Summary
of seasonal fire
activity on the Gila
Fifty-three
fires have been reported this year to date within the boundaries of the
Gila National Forest.
Posted
6-10-03
Dry
Lakes Complex Fires
merge at 3,200 acres
The Dry Lakes
Complex Fire continues to burn in the Gila Wilderness nine air miles
southwest of the Gila Cliff Dwellings and 27 miles northwest of Silver
City, NM, said officials of the U.S. Forest Service today.
Posted
6-6-03
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WHERE’S
THE MUD?
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“Where’s
the mud puddle?” I asked as I gazed at Elephant Butte Lake’s crystal
blue water Tuesday afternoon. The only thing dead I found was a striper on
the shoreline along Ridge Road.
But neither drought nor bad publicity killed it. I was amazed at how much
the lake had actually improved since last year's drought impacts. State
park personnel have kept access open by grading new roads and extending
the main concrete boat ramps to the receding waters. They also created new
campgrounds, both developed and primitive, to give campers more
opportunities. Despite receding water levels this summer, expected
to drop 25 feet in elevation to a storage of about 150,000 acre feet
covering slightly more than 6,000 surface acres (about nine square miles)
by the middle of September, I was amazed by how clear the lake's water
seemed Tuesday. At top, a sailboat crosses in front of Elephant Butte.
Next, a tree stump on south Rattlesnake Island frames the Butte. The third
and fourth photos show Rattlesnake Island from the west shoreline and the
west shoreline from Rattlesnake Island, respectively. Next, the dead
striped bass is found in shallow water along Ridge Road between the west
shoreline and Rattlesnake Island. The only gap on Ridge Road is about 40
to 50 feet long and only a foot or so deep. As such, Rattlesnake Island is
still an island until such time the ridge rises above the receding water
level, which will be soon. Notice how the water is calm on the north side
of Ridge Road and how it's choppy on the south side. Next, Paris wears a
life vest (personal floatation device) on loan from the state park's
visitors center. Lastly, waves
DJ
photo series by Bill Johnson
(posted
6-11-03)
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Bingaman
votes against
giveaway
to nuclear industry
WASHINGTON, DC - U.S. Senator Jeff
Bingaman, D-NM, was a cosponsor of an amendment that would have stripped
billions of dollars in government subsidies for the nuclear industry from
an energy bill currently being debated on the Senate floor.
The amendment, sponsored by Ron Wyden
(D-OR) and John Sununu (R-NH), was narrowly defeated Tuesday, 48-50.
Bingaman said the energy bill has some
good provisions relating to nuclear energy, citing the extension of the
Price-Anderson Act as one example.
But Bingaman, the top Democrat on the
Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, argued that taxpayers
should not have to foot a bill of up to $16 billion for the nuclear power
industry.
Bingaman made the following statements
on the Senate floor supporting the Wyden-Sununu amendment:
"I do not believe that loan
guarantees are necessary in this magnitude at this time. This is a mature
industry. We have more than 100 nuclear power plants now operating.
“The nuclear industry did not need
loan guarantees to get off the ground 50 years ago, and I do not believe
that those guarantees are required at this point.
"The companies that are most
likely to build these new nuclear power plants are the ones that have
built them before and the ones that are operating them now. These are not
small businesses.
“As a recent wave of mergers and
acquisitions, there are a dozen utilities that now own 75 percent of the
nation's nuclear capacity and two-thirds of its nuclear reactors. Each of
these utilities generates billions of dollars in revenues each year. Many
generate tens of billions of dollars in revenues each year.
“Collectively, these 12 utilities had
nearly $200 billion in revenues in 2001. There's no evidence that I'm
aware of in the record before us that the nuclear industry needs loan
guarantees of this magnitude in order to go ahead and build new nuclear
power plants.
"We have had this debate before.
Fifty years ago, at the dawn of the nuclear era, the House of
Representatives and Senate debated whether nuclear power plants should be
built and operated by the private sector or the federal government. The
decision was made to leave the construction and operation of nuclear power
plants to the utilities, to the private sector.
“It did not take loan guarantees to
get 100 nuclear power plants operating today, as we can attest. I think we
should continue to have faith in the free market and not subsidize the
next generation of nuclear power plants to this extent by shifting
economic risk from utility shareholders to the taxpayers," the
senator said.
Bingaman offered the same amendment
when the energy bill was before the Senate Energy Committee, but it was
defeated.
<<<
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(posted
6-11-03)
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House
Republican leaders hold working,
military
families hostage on child tax credits
Cynical
attempt by Republican leaders
exploits
exclusion of low-income children
to
pass another round of reckless tax cuts
WASHINGTON, DC - Instead of taking
action to correct the exclusion of working and military families from the
child tax credit, House Republican leaders have decided to hold low-income
children hostage in exchange for more reckless tax cuts.
It is now up to individual House
Republicans like United States Representative Steve Pearce to stand up and
stop the partisan game-playing with children, working families and the
military.
Instead of taking up legislation that
passed the Senate last week by an overwhelming margin of 94 - 2, House
leaders will offer $82 billion in additional tax cuts with no revenue
increases to offset the cost of their plan.
The House Republican bill is a cynical
attempt to kill child credits for working and military families because it
can't pass the Republican-controlled Senate where a majority has demanded
any bill pay for itself by raising other fees, according to the New York
Times.
If the House Republican leaders'
additional $80 billion in un-paid for tax cuts were to pass, it would
explode the deficit - which the Congressional Budget Office has just
projected would increase to $400 billion - and force further budget cuts
to health care, schools and other key priorities for children and
families.
"Excluding working and military
families is appalling. We call on Representative Pearce to stand up and do
what is right," said Ralph G. Neas, President of People For the
American Way and Fair Taxes for All co-chair.
"Millions of families have been
excluded from getting the child tax credit, and they deserve better than
the cynical efforts of House Republican leaders to use this injustice to
extort even more reckless tax breaks," Neas said.
House Republican leaders continue to
oppose bi-partisan efforts to extend tax credits to working and military
families.
Republican Majority Leader Tom Delay
has said the bi-partisan plan "ain't going to happen." [New York
Times, 6-11-03]
Congresswoman Sue Myrick, chair of the
Republican Study Committee, said "If we're going to do it, we should
get something in exchange." [Congress Daily, 6-10-03]
"It is a clear indication of
warped priorities when families that work hard, pay taxes and play by the
rules are excluded from getting a tax credit for their kids," said
Roger Hickey, co-director of Campaign for America's Future and a Fair
Taxes for All co-chair.
"These families pay income and
payroll taxes, and their tax burdens are significant. Representative
Pearce must not use these families as leverage for more reckless tax
cuts," Hickey said.
One million of the 12 million children
who are being denied child tax credit help are from military and veterans'
families, according to a report by the Children's Defense Fund. More than
260,000 of these children have parents on active military duty. [http://www.childrensdefense.org]
<<<
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(posted
6-11-03)
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NM
to benefit from additional $17M
awarded
for homeland security activities
WASHINGTON, DC - U.S. Senator Pete Domenici said
today (Tuesday, June 10) he is optimistic that New Mexico will put to good
use the $16.9 million grant issued by the Department of Homeland Security
to continue preparations in the state for combating potential terrorist
threats and other emergencies.
DHS announced Tuesday that the funding will be
provided to the New Mexico Department of Public Safety to advance first
responder training, and offset the costs of enhanced security that was
incurred during the height of the war with Iraq.
The funding is also expected to cover expected
costs that could be associated with future periods of heightened threat.
"This is yet another installment of federal
resources being given to New Mexico for participating in homeland security
activities. I am glad the state will have this money to help train more
first responders and defer security costs associated with heightened
national security alerts," Domenici said.
"New Mexico is home to some critical
facilities and there will be additional costs associated with protecting
them and the public," he said.
Domenici, as a senior member of the Senate
Appropriations Committee and a member of the Homeland Security
Appropriations Subcommittee, played a role in crafting the $80 million
supplemental appropriations law that passed the Congress in April to fund
Operation Iraqi Freedom, the war on terrorism and U.S. homeland security.
The final supplemental package provided $3.9
billion for the Department of Homeland Security. This includes $2.2
billion for grants to first responders, with the bill specifying that 80
percent of $1.3 billion of this money will be delivered directly to
localities.
The DHS award to New Mexico is in addition to the
$300 million in new funding that Domenici added to the supplemental
funding law to support growing security costs at the nation's national
laboratories and federal water projects.
This $300 million is for programs under the
jurisdiction of the Senate Energy and Water Development Appropriations
Subcommittee that Domenici chairs, and will be directed toward homeland
security costs associated with Energy Department/National Nuclear Security
Administration (DOE/NNSA) national laboratories and facilities, including
Sandia and Los Alamos national laboratories.
The funding secured by Domenici will also support
security and safeguard requirements at federal water projects administered
by the Army Corps of Engineers and Bureau of Reclamation.
<<<
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(posted
6-10-03)
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CSE
opposes Senate action
to
extend child tax credit
It is new spending,
not a tax cut
WASHINGTON, DC - Given the Senate's action last
week to expand the child tax credit, one might not realize that the 2003
Jobs and Growth Act completely eliminates federal income tax liability for
three million taxpayers and dramatically expands the new 10 percent income
tax bracket for lower income earners.
Yet the latest Senate action attempts to create
$10 billion in new spending. The child tax credit measure included in the
new tax cut is designed to provide relief to parents already struggling
with a federal income tax burden.
Further expanding this provision to parents who do
not pay taxes is not a tax cut. Instead, it is new federal spending that
will shift the tax burden onto actual taxpayers. Citizens for a Sound
Economy opposes the measure.
Further, Congress already created the Earned
Income Tax Credit (EITC) for the purpose of assisting the working poor.
Given the difficulties the IRS has administering the EITC, it is a bad
idea to further expand the agency's responsibilities.
The IRS overpaid $8.1 billion in EITC in 1999,
according to the House Budget Committee, and is now aggressively auditing
low-income taxpayers in a massive waste of resources. If Congress wants to
do more than the EITC to help low-income families, it should do so through
the existing state-managed temporary assistance system, where the aid is
part of an overall training and welfare strategy.
CSE President Paul Beckner said, "It is
typical Senate logic to attempt to provide 'tax relief' to those who pay
no taxes. These are the same folks who tried to 'cut' taxes by raising
them in the original tax cut bill. Now they want a stealth new program,
and the Senate move only will increase the burden on actual taxpayers.”
"The tax code is not a piggy bank. Welfare is
best handled by private charity and state welfare agencies, not tax
collection agencies. On behalf of the 280,000 members of Citizens for a
Sound Economy, I urge the House to hold firm and oppose the Senate's new
spending. Instead of creating new stealth welfare programs, Congress needs
to work on making the tax code more simple, fair, low, and honest,"
Beckner said.
<<<
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(posted
6-10-03)
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Geronimo's
Pow-Wow
being
planned for T or C
Harlyn
Geronimo, grandson of the great Apache warrior Geronimo, has pledged his
support to create a Gathering of Nations and Pow-Wow in Truth or
Consequences as an annual event.
This new event will absorb many of the wonderful
programs that the Geronimo Days committee has brought to the community
over the years and enhance them.
The focus will be more on the local Native
American history than on the settlement history. A new non-profit
corporation is being established to combine some local members as well as
Native Americans.
The committee hopes to have at least half of its
representation from the Native American community. Three objectives for
expanding this event are:
·
To
raise money for Geronimo Springs Museum.
·
To
build an historic early Indian Village and early New Mexican settler
town.]
·
To
build a treatment and rehabilitation center for substance abuse.
Harlyn Geronimo is so committed to the venture
that he will be the Chair of the new Board of Directors.
The focus is a bit of a shift from past Geronimo
Days events as this new Pow-Wow event will focus on peace and healing for
all peoples of the world.
The committee is in the early stages of
development, but the plan is to bring all people together from everywhere
for a period of healing.
Traditional foods prepared in traditional ways
will be available along with many learning opportunities for uses of
native New Mexico plants and herbs for treatment.
Traditional medicine will be a large component of
this gathering and the committee hopes the complementary medicine
community will come out and share various treatments for ailments of all
kinds.
The Gathering and Pow-Wow will unite the Apaches
and other Indian Nations for the first time in Southern New Mexico.
Harlyn Geronimo will bring Apaches from Oklahoma,
Texas, New Mexico and Arizona, and from the State of Chihuahua in Mexico.
This event also will promote New Mexico Governor
Bill Richardson's mission to reduce cultural barriers between Mexico and
New Mexico.
The committee is working on getting Chihuahua
Governor Martinez and Gov. Richardson to meet in T or C when the Elders
come to bless our sacred water.
The gathering will have traditional dancing,
ceremonies, music, sweat lodges and many educational opportunities for the
family, so block off your social calendar for the last weekend in October
(25th & 26th).
This event is sure to create new history in Sierra
County, being the first time for the re-uniting of the Native Peoples who
lived here first.
Advertising and marketing will be done extensively
throughout the country to draw people from all over the USA and nations
abroad. The goal is to fill up every hotel room in Sierra County.
To help or suggest additional ideas on ways the
committee can make this event better, call Lane Pack at the Sierra County
Economic Development Organization’s office at 894-9061.
<<<
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(posted
6-10-03) |
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Dry
Lakes Fire results in trail closure
SILVER CITY - The Dry Lakes Complex
Fire grew to about 4,675 acres by Monday in the Gila Wilderness.
On Sunday, the fire reached the
northern portion of the Turkey Creek Trail (No. 155). To provide for
public safety, this trail is being closed from where the trail leaves the
bottom of Turkey Creek and goes up Skeleton Ridge to the junction with the
Miller Springs Trail (No. 159).
The Turkey Creek Trail to the hot
springs will remain open. Since the trail through Woodrow and Sycamore
Canyon (No. 158) leads to the area where the fire is burning, it is also
being closed.
Fire activity on Monday was
considerably less than a few days ago due to higher humidity. Less than 20
percent of the fire parameter has active fire and smoke. A few days ago,
eighty percent of the fire parameter had active fire and was producing
smoke.
Most of the active burning in the Dry
Lakes fire continues to occur on the north and west sides of the fire.
Even though fire activity has
moderated, Dick Rath, Northern Rockies Fire Use Team leader, said,
"It is important for anyone planning a trip in the Gila Wilderness to
check for the latest fire information with the District Office or the Gila
Cliff Dwellings National Monument Visitor Center. The Dry Lakes Fire will
probably continue to burn for some time into the future.”
“In addition, new lightning fires
like the recent 15-acre Moonshine Fire are likely to occur. To insure a
safe trip, it's a good idea to get the latest information on fire activity
and campfire restrictions before starting," Rath said.
The Dry Lakes fire is nine air miles
southwest of the Gila Cliff Dwellings and 27 miles northwest of Silver
City, NM.
The fire is burning in very steep,
remote and brushy country north of the Gila River.
The Northern Region Fire Use Team led
by Dick Rath continues to monitor the fire daily. It was reported Sunday
that the fire moved into Mexican spotted owl habitat.
The fire continues to improve resource
conditions and reduce unnaturally high fuel buildups.
On Sunday, however, the fire began
backing through Douglas fir and ponderosa pine - Mexican spotted owl
habitat - on the ridges above Turkey Creek.
George Weldon, Fire Behavior Analyst
for the Northern Rockies Fire Use Team that is managing the fire, said,
"The fire is primarily burning ground fuels. This will reduce the
risk of future fires destroying this habitat."
Two firefighters were sent to the New
Mexico Department of Game and Fish cabin at Miller Springs. They will be
raking pine needles and cutting one dead tree away from the cabin in case
the fire burns through that area. In keeping with wilderness ethics, this
work will be done with a crosscut saw and hand tools.
Dry lightning over the area Sunday
started a new fire within the management area for the Dry Lakes fire use
fire. This fire, the Moonshine fire, is also managed by the Northern
Region Fire Use Team.
The Moonshine fire is burning in grass
and down logs within the 1997 Lilly fire use fire. It is about five miles
south of the Snow Lake.
No smoke was visible Sunday from the
Sycamore fire that started within the Dry Lakes management area boundary
on June 5. The towns of Silver City, Gila and Cliff experienced smoky
conditions Sunday evening and Monday morning. This pattern of nighttime
smoke is likely to continue.
In addition to smoke from the Dry Lakes
fire, smoke is coming from the Thomas fire on the Apache-Sitgreaves
National Forest.
The information number for the
Wilderness District is 505-536-2260, the number for the Gila Cliff
Dwellings National Monument is 505-536-9461 and the number for information
specifically about the Dry Lakes Fire Use Fire is 505-388-8416.
<<<
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(posted
6-10-03) |
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Summary
of seasonal
fire
activity on the Gila
SILVER CITY - Fifty-three fires have
been reported this year to date within the boundaries of the Gila National
Forest.
Of those fires, five were
person-caused, while the remaining were ignited by lightning.
May 23 marked the beginning of the
“fire season.” Thirteen fires were reported over the Memorial Day
weekend and several new starts are being discovered every two or three
days.
With the frequency of lightning
ignitions, fire managers have been able to implement several “fire
use” projects across the forest. The projects allow fire to assume its
natural role in forest health, by reducing accumulations of forest litter
and debris.
The Boiler Fire, located 40 miles
northwest of Truth or Consequences, NM, is a designated fire use fire and
has crept over an area of 50,000 acres since April 17. The fire continues
to improve forest conditions as it migrates within the confines of a
pre-determined management area, marked by natural boundaries and borders.
Two wilderness fires, the Dry and the
Lake fires were reported on May 31, within close proximity of one another.
Located 27 miles northwest of Silver City, the fires merged on June 3, to
form the Dry Lakes Complex, which by Monday grew to 4,675 acres.
The Northern Rockies Fire Use Team led
by Dick Rath has been assigned to the Complex. A dedicated information
phone line has been established for people wanting more information about
the Dry Lakes Complex and surrounding area activities, the phone number is
505-388-8416.
As the season progresses, other
lightning-caused ignitions may become candidates for fire use. Decisions
for determining management strategies will be made for each fire on a case
by case basis.
People are reminded that campfire and
smoking restrictions are in effect on the Gila National Forest. For
general information on fire activity or restrictions, call 505-388-8245;
or call toll free 1-877-864-6985.
<<<
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(posted
6-10-03) |
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T
or C gains $870,000
to extend airport runway
WASHINGTON, DC - U.S. Senator Pete
Domenici today (Friday, June 6) reported the U.S. Transportation
Department has agreed to provide the city of Truth or Consequences with
$870,000 in federal funds to extend a runway at the T or C Municipal
Airport.
Domenici, who serves on the Senate
Appropriations Committee that funds the Transportation Department, said
the Truth or Consequences grant is among the more than $3.6 million in
aviation funds being distributed for airport improvements in Albuquerque,
Grants, Farmington, Raton, Truth or Consequences, Tucumcari, Questa, and
the Zuni Pueblo.
“These grant funds will go toward
making airports in the state safer and more welcoming for flights,"
Domenici said.
“I am pleased with this level of
funding and its distribution. We still have a lot more work to be done at
various airports, but these grants are very welcome,” he said.
T or C will use the federal funds to
extend runway 13/31 at the Truth or Consequences Municipal Airport by an
additional 1,600 feet. The extension will accommodate Airplane Design
Group II aircraft.
"Although they now use the T or C
airport, this runway extension will make it safer for these Group II
aircraft to use this airport," Domenici said.
<<<
>>>
(posted
6-6-03) |
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Dry
Lakes Complex
Fires
merge at 3,200 acres
SILVER CITY – The Dry Lakes Complex
Fire continues to burn in the Gila Wilderness nine air miles southwest of
the Gila Cliff Dwellings and 27 miles northwest of Silver City, NM, said
officials of the U.S. Forest Service today (Friday, June 6).
Hot dry weather and low nighttime
humidity has contributed to active burning periods averaging 18 hours a
day. The Dry and the Lake fire have burned together and are now one
3,200-acre fire.
There was some lightning activity over
the area on Thursday resulting in a new fire start to the northeast of the
existing fire area. The new start is less than an acre in size. It will be
managed as part of the Dry Lakes Complex.
A 20-person crew continues to work on
clearing the Turkey Creek trail about four miles west of the fire.
This trail is being cleaned in case the
team decides to burn out from that point as the fire gets close to the
trail.
Trails nearest to the fire include the
Turkey Creek Trail No. 155 to the north and west, the Miller Spring trail
No. 159 to the northeast, the Granny Mountain trail No. 160 to the east
and the Gila River trail No. 724 to the south.
The fire is greater than three miles
from all trails except the northeastern portion of the Turkey Creek Trail.
This portion of the trail is about one mile from the fire.
The Fire Use Team, led by Dick Rath, is
monitoring fire activity and weather projections daily to determine when,
where, and if it will be necessary to take any suppression action in the
Dry Lakes Complex.
There are many areas around the fire
perimeter that are of concern due to the amount of dry and dead material
that can carry and spread the fire.
Key factors in management decisions
continue to be: firefighter, aviation, and public safety; protection of
Threatened and Endangered (TE) Species habitat for the Mexican Spotted
Owl, Gila Trout, Gila Chub, Mexican Wolf with three more TE Species added
to the list - the Spikedace (small minnow), Chiricahua Leopard Frog, and
Loach Minnow; and protection of one structure, the New Mexico Department
of Game and Fish cabin at Miller Springs.
It is likely that the fire eventually
will burn through some Threatened and Endangered species habitat. Fire in
those areas will be managed to minimize negative impacts and maximize
benefits.
Threatened and Endangered habitat and
the cabin are not presently threatened. Smoke from the fire could be seen
in Silver City yesterday evening. This could happen occasionally as the
fire continues to burn. Because of prevailing northwest winds, smoke is
expected to disperse away from primary population areas.
The Dry Lakes Complex will be monitored
and evaluated daily until it is completely out. For fire restriction
updates and fire information call 505-388-8416.
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(posted
6-6-03) |
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Children's,
women's and families' groups
demand
House action to fix callous exclusion
of
low-income working families from tax cuts
U.S.
Representative Steve Pearce voted for tax cuts that left out millions of
families and their children; Senate has acted to restore key provision,
now it is up to Pearce and the House
WASHINGTON, DC - With the U.S. Senate
taking action to fix the callous exclusion of nearly 12 million children
in low-income working families from child tax credits on Thursday, groups
representing children, women and families are calling on the House of
Representatives and Representative Pearce to follow suit immediately.
The National Women's Law Center, the
Children's Defense Fund and the Center for Community Change are pushing
today (Friday, June 6) for an immediate restoration of the child tax
credit for low-income working families who were intentionally left out of
the tax bill to make room for tax breaks for millionaires that
Representative Pearce voted for and President Bush signed.
The Senate passed the measure 94 to 2,
with only Oklahoma Senators Don Nickles and James Inhofe voting no.
Instead of taking quick action, as the
Senate has done, House Republican leaders have indicated that the House
will hold these 12 million children and their families hostage to their
desire for more and bigger tax cuts for millionaires.
Tom DeLay, the House majority leader,
has said in reference to a child tax credit fix, "There are a lot of
other things that are more important than that." (New York Times
6/4/03)
"It is imperative that the House
and Representative Pearce act immediately to correct one of the most
flagrantly unfair features of the tax bill recently signed by President
Bush," said Nancy Duff Campbell, Co-President of the National Women's
Law Center.
"Representative Pearce voted to
leave no millionaire behind and to cut out millions of families that work
hard, play by the rules, and struggle to make ends meet in this tough
economy. Now that the Senate has taken action, we hope the House and
Representative Pearce will move quickly to do the same."
According to the Children's Defense
Fund, one million children from military and veterans' families are being
denied child tax credit help.
More than 260,000 of these children
have parents on active military duty. In addition, one in four of all
American children - including nearly half of all Black and Latino children
- receive nothing from the tax bill signed by President Bush because their
hard-working parents earn too little.
Children's Defense Fund President
Marian Wright Edelman said it is profoundly unjust to ask our soldiers to
defend our nation abroad while abandoning their children and families at
home.
"This horrible wrong should be
corrected immediately. Representative Pearce should do right by the
families and children of New Mexico," said Edelman. "We don't
have a money problem in America, we have a values and priorities problem.
Representative Pearce should understand that the urgent needs of children
and hard-working military and civilian families must come ahead of
millionaires and billionaires."
The message of the Center for Community
Change's television ads that began running Thursday will remain the same
as the issue moves to the House.
"Though we welcome the Senate's
action on behalf of some low-income families, we are disappointed to see
that it used this moment as another opportunity to create more tax breaks
for the very rich and continued to ignore the needs of the lowest-income
families altogether," said Stephanie Robinson, Esq., National
Director of Public Policy, Center for Community Change.
"Now the battle has moved. We hope
that the House will find wisdom in moving forward on a bill that is
equitable to all and does not leave behind the poorest of the poor,"
Robinson said.
Under a bipartisan agreement, the
Senate voted yesterday to restore, at no net cost, tax credits for the
nearly 12 million children in families with $10,500 to $26,625 in annual
income that were intentionally left out of the tax bill at the last
minute.
But in order to win support for the
measure in the Senate and from the White House, the compromise extended
the child tax credit for married couples making up to $200,000.
Moreover, the Senate bill does nothing
to extend the credit to families making less than $10,500.
The National Women's Law Center is a
non-profit organization that has been working since 1972 to advance and
protect women's legal rights.
NWLC focuses on major policy areas of
importance to women and their families including economic security,
education, employment and health, with special attention given to the
concerns of low-income women.
The mission of the Children's Defense
Fund is to Leave No Child Behind® and to ensure every child a Healthy
Start, a Head Start, a Fair Start, a Safe Start, and a Moral Start in life
and successful passage to adulthood with the help of caring families and
communities.
The Center for Community Change is a
nonprofit organization started by the Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Fund more
than 30 years ago that works to empower low-income-led organizations
fighting for social change in their neighborhoods.
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(posted
6-6-03) |
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Domenici
votes to extend child
tax credit to lower-income
families
WASHINGTON, DC -- U.S. Senator Pete Domenici,
R-NM, on Thursday voted with the Senate to expand the child tax credit
enacted last month, agreeing to offer the federal credit to about 100,000
more New Mexico households.
The Senate on Thursday passed (94-2) an amendment
to HR.1308 that expands the child tax credit, giving it to families that
earn between $10,500 and $26,625 a year.
This benefit was built into the Senate-passed
version of the Jobs and Economic Growth Act enacted in May, but it was
stripped from the package during House and Senate negotiations.
"I support this bill because it will bring
more benefits to New Mexico. The tax credit that we already passed will
benefit more than 160,000 households, and the measure we passed today
could add another 100,000 to that total," Domenici said.
"These tax credits are aimed at putting more
money into the pockets of those who are working hard to raise their
children. The expanded program will give lower-income families, who don't
generally have federal income tax liability, an opportunity to benefit
from this program," he said.
It is estimated about 100,000 married and
single-parent households in New Mexico, with incomes between $10,500 and
$26,625, could be eligible for the credit approved by the Senate on
Thursday.
The Senate also acted to eliminate the marriage
penalty aspect of the child tax credit.
The move by the Senate to extend the child tax
credit, as part of HR.1308, must still gain the approval of the House of
Representatives and the Bush administration.
Domenici was a leading advocate for the enactment
of the $350 billion Jobs and Economic Growth package that increased the
existing child tax credit from $600 to $1,000 in 2003 and 2004.
The increase will benefit 163,000 households with
children in New Mexico.
The U.S. Treasury Department is expected to begin
delivering child tax credit refunds based on 2002 tax returns to these
families this summer.
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(posted
6-6-03) |
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Pearce &
Barreto team up for NM's
Hispanic small business
community
Small
Business Administrator visits
Las
Cruces & Belen with Rep. Pearce
WASHINGTON, DC - For Congressman Pearce, small
businesses are tremendously important components to the economic
development of Southern New Mexico.
On Saturday, June 7, Peace will be hosting Small
Business Administrator Hector Barreto in Belen and Las Cruces for meetings
with Hispanic small business owners.
Pearce, a small business owner, said, "I want
to encourage the entrepreneurial spirit in New Mexico among our Hispanic
community and that is why I have asked our nation's Small Business
Administrator to join us for a very important discussion."
"I have invited small business owners from
our Hispanic communities to come and sit down with me and so that they can
bring their issues, concerns and visions to the table," he added.
"I am expecting to have extremely productive
meetings with our small business owners in both Belen and Las Cruces. Mr.
Barreto is an expert on small businesses and has a unique understanding of
the important issues surrounding small business in the Hispanic
community," said Pearce.
Hector Barreto was unanimously confirmed by the
U.S. Senate as the 21st administrator of the U.S. Small
Business Administration in July 2001.
In this capacity, he oversees the delivery of
financial and business development tools to America's entrepreneurs.
With a portfolio of direct and guaranteed business
loans and disaster loans worth more than $45 billion, SBA is the largest
single financial backer and facilitator of technical assistance and
contracting opportunities for the nation's small businesses.
Barreto's position, and his lifetime of
involvement with the small-business community, has also made him America's
highest-ranking, small-business advocate.
He, like Pearce, meets with small-business owners
and the trade associations that represent them, keeping in constant touch
with the needs and priorities of America's small businesses, and sharing
those priorities with the President.
Barreto has also served as vice chairman of the
board for the U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.
Pearce and Barreto will be in Belen on Saturday,
June 7, at Sisneros Metal Shop, 2300 Roldan Drive, from 8 to 9:30 a.m.
After Belen, Pearce and Barreto will travel to Las
Cruces to the First Federal Bank, 1800 S. Telshor Blvd., for the second
meeting that will be from 2 to 3:30 p.m.
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(posted
6-6-03) |
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