Eric Massa has started a new site, 29united.com. He'll use this site, and the associated mailing list, as platform to keep in touch with supporters in the district. The most recent post outlines his goals for the site, and it also details a door-to-door canvass that Massa conducted with a candidate for the Pittsford Village Board.
I've added a link to 29united under the "Candidate Sites" link list at right, using the principle that if it looks like a duck and quacks like a duck...
One of the complaints voiced by Republicans, including Randy Kuhl, is that the House is conducting its business on a fast track, limiting amendments and debate. This was true for the first set of votes of the 100 hour agenda, but the last vote on meaningful legislation, HR 547, looks more like business as usual for the House.
HR 547 is a narrowly drawn bill that seeks to increase markets for alternative fuels. Of the 10 amendments offered to the bill, 7 were from Republicans. All passed, including one amendment offered by Charlie Dent (R-PA-15) which was opposed by a majority of Democrats.
Like every other major piece of legislation in the House, the vote was preceded by a Republican motion to refer the legislation back to committee for further consideration. As usual, that vote failed on party lines (with a few crossovers).
HR 547 is a tiny bill - two pages of text - on a generally agreed-upon topic, so it's probably hasty to draw too many conclusions about the way the Democrats intend to run the House. Nevertheless, it's an example of a bi-partisan legislative process, which was pretty rare in the last few sessions of Congress.
President Bush's new budget isn't sitting well with Randy Kuhl. He's concerned about cuts in the funding to the West Valley Demonstration Project and a reduction to the rate of increase of Medicare and Medicaid reimbursement.
Both of these spending reductions have serious impact in the 29th. The West Valley project is an old nuclear site that has been on the cleanup list for years. Hospitals in smaller towns with large elderly populations live and die based on Medicare reimbursements.
Kuhl's concern is focused in the right place. But, as with many other issues in the 29th, we need look at the big picture. Kuhl's position in the 2006 campaign was that the Bush tax cuts are a good thing. Laura Bush endorsed his position, and one of the cornerstones of his ad campaign was that Massa would raise taxes. If Kuhl wants more money for West Valley and Medicare/Medicaid, he needs to tell us where it's coming from. Does he want to raise taxes to get it? Or does he want to cut spending somewhere else? Those are the tough choices that don't make the press releases.
Update: The Hornell Evening Tribune's coverage includes a sentence that sums it up:
Among the parts of the budget Kuhl like were a $550 increase in Pell Grants for college students, as well as the president's desire to balance the budget.
Desire doesn't become reality without hard choices.
Randy Kuhl has been writing letters on a number of topics. His most recent letter was sent to the House leadership, asking them to increase funding for the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP).
A previous letter to the Federal Rail Administration after two major derailments in the 29th has led to them sending a high-tech track inspection vehicle. This vehicle will be used to perform safety reviews of the area's freight track.
Reader Rich sent a link to the Wellsville Daily Reporter's long interview with Eric Massa. Massa dropped a number of hints about the 2008 race (most notably, his wife and daughter want him to run), but there's nothing really new about his intentions in the piece.
Massa also criticizes Randy Kuhl's position on Iraq. Kuhl will have an opportunity to clarify his position when the House votes on a non-binding resolution on the war.
Deciphering Congressional voting records isn't easy. Of the 1100 roll-call votes in the 109th Congress, most were procedural or insignificant. Finding out how your representative voted on issues you care about in this mass of data can be daunting.
To help readers understand Randy Kuhl's voting record, I'm experimenting with a new page: significant votes. This page will be regularly updated with votes that meet the following criteria:
This is a high bar: of the 73 roll-call votes in the current Congress, seven of them are significant by my measure. Of those seven votes, Randy Kuhl voted with the Democratic majority on five.
In the past month, Kuhl has been a relatively reliable member of the 60 or so Republicans who are voting against their party on significant issues. As the 110th Congress progresses, I'll be using the significant votes page to track this trend.
Reader Rich writes to report that today's Corning Leader has a story titled "Massa Mum on Run for Congress." Given the content, I'd say "coy" is a better word than "mum":
“I may keep that decision to a small group and figure out the best way to move forward from there,” Massa said Wednesday. “A decision has been made, but I'm not ready to discuss it publicly.”
Massa says that, if he runs, he'll have the backing of the Democratic party and will need to raise twice the $1.5 million he raised in 2006. He also said that he promised the party that he'd make his decision by today.