Sierra Vista Herald Published: Sunday, March 15, 2009

By Keith J. Allen

SIERRA VISTA – U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords has called on two top federal officials to address a rise in “border violence and drug trafficking.”

In letters to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano on Thursday, Giffords also invited the two Cabinet members or representatives of their departments to a closed-door summit on April 8 in Southern Arizona to discuss the border issues.

“A comprehensive approach to addressing the crisis on our southern border is imperative and I stand committed to working with you to make the U.S.-Mexico relationship a top priority in the Obama administration,” the final paragraph of the Arizona Democrat’s letter says.

The Eighth Congressional District that Giffords represents is one of 10 districts that borders the U.S.-Mexico border. Cochise County is part of Giffords’ district.

The district, which is within the U.S. Border Patrol’s Tucson Sector, has been the nation’s busiest sector for illegal immigrant apprehensions and marijuana seizures.

The congresswoman, who also is a member of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, notes in her letter that more than 1,000 deaths have occurred in Mexico this year and about 6,000 last year due to drug cartel violence.

“In addition, Phoenix now ranks second in the world – after Mexico City – in kidnappings. This is unacceptable and it is clear that bold and collaborative action by the U.S. and Mexican governments is needed,” her letter says.

Giffords uses the November killing of Sonoran police director Juan Manuel Pavon Felix as an example of the need to “strengthen our international partnership with Mexico against the current increase in border violence impacting both of our countries.” She said she met the police director during a November ceremony highlighting the cooperative anti-crime operations being done by U.S. and Mexican law enforcement.

The congresswoman also tells Clinton and Napolitano that she voiced concerns about the Bush administration’s funding request for the Merida Initiative, a program that provides aid to Mexico to battle drug trafficking. Those concerns, she said, range from lack of coordination between U.S. agencies and no “measurable benchmarks” to determine success.

“I remain dismayed that this plan has not produced any clear results in stemming the flood of drugs, guns, fugitives and violence that continues to spill into our country, and my district,” she writes.

Giffords’ letters come just a day after Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer sent a letter to the U.S. Defense Department requesting 250 National Guard troops be stationed along the U.S.-Mexico border in Arizona.

During an interview with the Herald/Review editorial board on Thursday, the Republican governor said she would be negligent if she didn’t ask for federal assistance, and that she is concerned about the drug cartel violence in Mexico. She said it is the federal government’s responsibility to protect the nation’s borders.

“We should be able to feel safe in our country,” she said.

In her letter to Defense Secretary Robert Gates, Brewer said Arizona faces “a number of unique and/or disproportionate challenges relative to other states.”

Napolitano, who held the Arizona governorship before resigning to take the homeland security role in the Obama administration, also asked for federal assistance regarding illegal immigration, including urging the Bush administration last year not to remove National Guard troops from working on the border.

During a visit to Cochise County last month, Arizona Attorney General Terry Goddard also expressed concern about the deadly drug cartel feud in Mexico and that it could spread into Arizona. He noted there have been a higher number of kidnappings in the Phoenix area related to smuggling, and that smugglers were adjusting their tactics along Arizona’s border with Mexico.

Sierra Vista Herald – Published: Thursday, March 19, 2009

Congresswoman and other political leaders react to the $165 million bonuses for AIG executives

By Bill Hess

SIERRA VISTA – While it was proper that AIG received billions of taxpayer dollars to help the global insurance giant weather the economic downturn, the company’s use of $165 million of the money to pay executive bonuses was not, Arizona Democratic U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords said.

Paying bonuses with taxpayer dollars to some of the executives who help create the financial woes for AIG was not only wrong, it teeters on being dishonest, she said during a telephone interview with the Herald/Review on Tuesday.

And, yes, she did vote for the eventual passage of the TARP bill, pushed by former Republican President George W. Bush and his Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson Jr.

But, how AIG is using the funds leads Giffords to question how Congress can better control the Troubled Asset Relief Program.

“The AIG situation is like pouring salt into an open wound,” said the representative, whose 8th Congressional District includes all of Cochise County. “I’m very angry, Congress is very angry, taxpayers are very angry.”

Gail Griffin, chair of the Cochise County Republican Party said, “The misappropriations of (TARP) funds is absolutely outrageous.”

Adding his disgust to what is happening is Bob Bland, chair of the Cochise County Democratic Committee, who said local members of the party are furious.

“People would like to assemble a firing squad and put AIG executives in front of it,” Bland said.

The continuing brouhaha is seeing bipartisan calls for bonus control as well as finger pointing with Republicans blaming Democrats and vice versa.

And, Giffords is coming in for a share of the blame.

A Wednesday release by the National Republican Congressional Committee, questioned why the Arizona Democrat voted for what the committee is now calling the “AIG stimulus bill” that allowed the company executives to receive the bonuses, courtesy of the taxpayers.

Using the word stimulus appears to try and connect TARP with President Barack Obama’s nearly trillion dollar stimulus bill that Congress recently passed.

However, Giffords said the TARP and the stimulus bills are separate issues and that the issue of AIG revolves around TARP funds.

In discussing the issue with the Herald/Review, the two-term congresswoman said that both House and Senate Democrats and Republicans supported the Bush TARP bill.

Additionally, on Feb. 5, the congresswoman expressed a need for restrictions on executive compensation as well as excessive bonuses.

TARP was “designed to stabilize the credit markets, not reward executives for their failures,” she said.

The congresswoman had already introduced a bill to curtail executive compensation for those companies that received TARP funds, and is a co-sponsor of another proposal to put constraints on executive salaries, bonuses and stock options for those who received or will receive TARP funds.

Legislative process was misused

Griffin noted that in the Senate, it was Democrat Chris Dodd, of Connecticut, who inserted language into the bill to allow the spending of the second half of the TARP money that all bonuses awarded prior to February would be paid.

And, she added it was interesting that the largest recipient of campaign donations in 2008 from AIG was Dodd, who received more than $103,000 from the company.

“Congressional Democrats and President Obama were asleep at the wheel on executive bonuses. Democrat Connecticut Sen. Chris Dodd crafted executive bonus protection inside the spending bill that President Obama signed last month,” Griffin said.

“Maybe next time Democrats will choose to have a fair, open and honest debate on legislation that affects Americans instead of crafting this kind of bill in secret and forcing a vote on a spending package that few members of Congress had time to review. The responsibility for this blatant misuse of taxpayer dollars falls squarely on the shoulders of the Democrats.” she said.

However, there seems to be an ongoing blame game in D.C., as some say Dodd did push the amendment to the TARP bill, while others are saying it was members of the Obama administration that forced the issue, with Dodd finally giving in to the proposal.

When it comes to the initial TARP bill, Bland said he doesn’t think any member of Congress, of either party, had time to read the bill and fully understand all the consequences of the more than $700 billion proposal.

“I don’t think they had time to do due diligence. I think that would have taken months,” he said, adding the bill had to be passed as soon as possible as an attempt to control the growing recession in the country.

AIG reported a loss of more than $61 billion in the last quarter and received $173 billion from the U.S. government, which now owns most of the company.

According to some news reports, AIG used some of the billions to pay off banks, some of which are non-U.S. entities, and other institutions to which it owed money.

The figures indicate U.S. banks, some of which received some TARP funds, were paid nearly $25 billion by AIG and foreign banks received slightly more than $37 billion.

And one of the companies AIG paid using TARP funds is Goldman Sachs, which received the special funds on its own.

At one time Paulson was the CEO of Goldman Sachs. Paulson, whose net worth is estimated to be $700 million, worked for Goldman Sachs for more than a quarter of a century.

The use of those funds to pay banks, especially those also on the receiving end of TARP money does not set well with Giffords.

Most frustration bonus centered

But, most of the frustration in Congress, as well as with the American people is centered around the bonus payments made by AIG, which many see as a major symptom of not caring for proper use of taxpayer dollars, the congresswoman said.

Giffords is part of a group of House members who are seeking a cap on executive salaries in companies that take TARP to be $500,000 a year – $100,000 more than the president of the United States receives. House members also seek redress through law to have the AIG bonuses either repaid to the government or heavily taxed. Giffords said such actions will not only tell AIG but other institutions receiving the special funds that they cannot continue as they have in the past when it comes to financial rewards for their employees.

When the United States is only paying hundreds of dollars a year extra in combat pay for its members of the armed forces who go into harm’s way, it is patently unfair that executives of companies like AIG are paid tens of thousands of dollars, the congresswoman said, especially in light that both types of payments come from the taxpayers.

“The AIG executives should not be proud of themselves,” she added.

Congress is working to overcome the problems highlighted by AIG and its bonus payments by seeking a 95 percent federal tax on the payments, up from the existing 35 percent to 60 percent, based on how much is paid. The other 5 percent will probably end up in the hands of states, Giffords said.

As for foreign AIG employees who received bonuses, she said efforts will be made to ask those nations that have a tax treaty with the United States to recoup those funds.

That means no one will walk away with any of the bonus money, she said.

And, Congress is working to close other loopholes that will inform companies who receive bailout money how the funds can be spent, the congresswoman added.

Bland noted that when it comes to union contracts they always can be renegotiated and he sees no reason why AIG’s employee contracts could not be renegotiated.

Giffords said hardly anyone in the country is happy with the AIG bonus fallout.

“Everyone is really, really, really, really mad,” she said.

Thelma Grimes/Vail Sun, February 20, 2009

U.S. Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, D-District 8, said the American Recovery and Reinvestment Plan recently passed by Congress and signed by President Barack Obama is not perfect, but it puts America’s economy on track to survive the current recession.

In one of four town hall meetings held in Tucson last week, the second-term Congresswoman said the most important thing Congress can do right now is pass a bill that will help create jobs.

In January alone, 598,000 Americans were put out of work. Since the recession began in Dec. 2007, Giffords said the number of unemployed Americans has climbed to more than 3.6 million, the largest 13-month increase on record.

Consumer confidence and spending fell in December for a record sixth consecutive month, and slid to another all-time low in January.

Giffords said so many of her constituents across Southern Arizona have asked her why the hurry to pass the $880 billion stimulus package.

“Many of you asked what is the big hurry?” she said. “Well, the hurry is that the economy cannot continue on its current trend. The problem is accelerating, hence the need to act.”

Now that the bill is reality, Giffords said residents, state lawmakers and elected officials from cities and counties across America are asking what it means.

Giffords agreed that the more than 1,000-page document is difficult, and there are a lot of questions.

“My goal is to let you know what is included in this enormous legislation,” she said. “This is not a perfect piece of legislation, and this problem did not come up overnight.”

The efforts to get the economy on track will take time, Giffords stressed, as she laid out the plans for education and statewide funding at Pima Community College on Thursday.

Over the next two years, the stimulus package is expected to create 70,000 jobs in Arizona, 8,100 of those in District 8.

Giffords said there also will be tax cuts of up to $800 for two million workers and their families, and 75,000 Arizona families will be eligible for a new $2,500 college tax credit. Unemployment insurance will be expanding, and there will be funding to allow 193 aging school districts across the state to modernize buildings.

Economists looking at the stimulus bill, have said the tax cuts will bring a $13 per week tax cut to the average household.

Giffords stressed during the meeting that a lot of the funding the state may be eligible for in education, road projects and to help the state balance a $3 billion deficit, will depend on the Arizona Legislature.

In a radio show in Tucson Friday morning, Rep. Frank Antenori, R-District 30, said if the federal government wants the state to increase spending they will reject the funds being offered.

Just this year, the state legislature has cut $136 million for public education, and another $225 million from the state’s universities.

With the possibility of the stimulus package bringing an added $803 million to education in Arizona, Giffords said this could prevent deeper cuts to the school system, and prevent teachers from being laid off.

School administrators statewide have said if state lawmakers move forward with proposed budget cuts next year, they will have no other choice than to cut staff and certified teachers.

Attending Thursday’s town hall with Giffords was Dr. Elizabeth Celania-Fagen, superintendent of the Tucson Unified School District (TUSD). TUSD is one of the largest districts in the state, and with the proposed state cuts, could lose up to $63 million next year.

Celania-Gagen said the stimulus bill approved by the federal government brings new hope.

Tucson Vice Mayor Karin Uhlich agreed, stating they now have hope that funding will trickle into the local economy and help with a growing budget deficit, and will pay for shovel-ready projects such as a $75-million trolley system.

Will any of the funds make their way into Cochise County? While no one from the rural county attended the town halls in Tucson, Giffords said it will come down to local governments’ applying for money.

Benson had originally submitted proposals for about $900,000 in projects, but Public Works Director Brad Hamilton said most of them were eliminated because they did not have the right classification.

A current list of road projects moving forward has Avondale receiving most of the funding with 50 approved projects. The lone project approved in Cochise County is in Tombstone.

Following Thursday’s town hall, Giffords said it’s still early, and she has been communicating with rural communities to get involved and request funding for various projects.

The points of this, she said, is not only to create jobs and improve infrastructure, but will also help local economies with a plan to buy supplies and equipment locally.

Besides education and other funding, Giffords said the massive stimulus bill also addresses the state’s social service agencies and will put more funding toward Medicaid and health insurance for unemployed workers.

Few issues are more important to Arizonans than the dire state of our nation’s economy. The hard-working men and women I represent want action – they want their federal government to do what is necessary to create jobs, help small businesses and lay the groundwork for long-term prosperity.

These are the bottom-line reasons for the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. I supported this bill, and President Obama signed it into law because we recognize that bold action is needed. America has lost 3.6 million jobs since November 2007 – one of the largest 13-month job losses in our history.

Standing by and doing nothing is not an option as retirement accounts dwindle, families lose health care and venerable American companies file for bankruptcy protection.

Make no mistake, the economic challenges confronting us constitute a crisis the likes of which we have not seen for a generation or more. Economists across the ideological spectrum say it could get worse before it gets better. The legislation passed by clear majorities in the House and Senate is a critical first step to regaining our economic health.

It is equally important to remember that the recession that now has our economy in its grip was not a lightning strike out of the blue. It is the result of years of flawed economic policies and reckless decisions. Dealing with the recession and a record national debt will test the leadership skills of every federal elected representative. This is not a time for partisan politics or sitting on the sidelines.

Anyone who doubts this should speak to the business leaders, mayors, homeowners, and college students who have attended the public forums I held on the economic recovery legislation. They want help, and they want us to work together to solve problems.

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act is not a perfect bill, but it has been carefully crafted to have the targeted and timely impact we need. For Arizona, this bill is intended to create or save 70,000 jobs over two years, cut taxes for 2 million workers and their families, give 75,000 families a new $2,500 college tax credit, expand unemployment insurance for 200,000 jobless workers, and provide funding to modernize at least 193 schools.

Particularly important are the bill’s provisions to make us more globally competitive through strategic investments in science and technology. These investments will have a profound impact on Arizona’s young but vibrant renewable energy industry. Thanks to our abundant sunshine and entrepreneurial spirit, we are poised to become a national leader in solar energy research, development, manufacturing and utilization.

Nationally, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act will help reach these goals by: doubling renewable energy generating capacity over three years; creating enough renewable energy to power 6 million homes; establishing a new loan-guarantee program to keep our transition to renewable energy on track; and providing tens of billions of dollars in competitive grant funding for energy efficiency and renewable-energy research and projects.

These investments represent a forward-thinking down payment on our future.

Arizonans are a resilient, creative and determined people. These characteristics allowed our ancestors to transform the desert Southwest into the second-fastest-growing state in the country. The same characteristics will enable us to emerge from this economic crisis stronger than ever.

Gabrielle Giffords – Feb. 23, 2009

San Pedro Valley News-Sun, February 3, 2009

Thelma Grimes

U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords voted yes on the $825-billion stimulus package proposed by President Barack Obama after urging from Southern Arizona community and business leaders.

After weeks of discussion with local decision makers, Giffords, a District 8 Democrat, said, “Arizonans are looking to Congress to move swiftly to stem job losses and protect critical infrastructure like our public education system, healthcare for working families and support for small businesses. We need to act quickly.”

Acting quickly is just what the U.S. House of Representatives did, with House Democrats voting in favor of President Obama’s stimulus package put forward in the first seven days of his taking the oath of office.

A statement from Giffords estimated that more than 500,000 American jobs are being lost each month, and passage of the bill is the start to reverse this trend and put the economy back on track.

However, Giffords did state she has concerns about the nation’s growing debt. She has since urged President Obama and House leaders to stay focused on the nation’s long-term goal of deficit reduction.

“Although I am pleased that this legislation contains an historic level of transparency, oversight and accountability, which will guarantee taxpayer dollars are spent wisely, I am concerned by the magnitude of this bill. I take seriously the responsibility to monitor these investments closely so Southern Arizona taxpayers see the result,” Giffords said.

With the House passing the stimulus package 244-188 vote, the U.S. Senate is set to start debating the issue this week. All except 11 Democrats passed the package in the House, and all 177 Republicans voted against the bill.

According to an Associated Press report, the bill had attracted criticism from Republicans and some Democrats for spending billions of dollars on education, despite questions on whether or not the bill would actually create jobs.

Sen. John McCain said earlier last week that he would not vote for the bill as it stands now, stating he questions some of the bill’s spending, such as the $275 billion in tax breaks that includes money for people who don’t pay income taxes, $550 billion in spending, including $200 million to re-sod the National Mall and a planned $360 million to fight sexually transmitted diseases.

“We need to make tax cuts permanent, and we need to make a commitment that there’ll be no new taxes,” McCain, a Republican, said in a Fox News interview. “We need to cut business taxes. We need to have a commitment that after a couple of quarters of growth that we will embark on a path to reduce spending to get our budget in balance.”

President Obama has called for bipartisan politics as the historic bill passes through Congress, stating last Wednesday that he would be willing to work with Republicans to make changes.

In Arizona, state lawmakers have said with a pending $2 billion budget crisis, the need for federal funds is essential. Arizona posted an unemployment rate of 6.9 percent in December, the highest since 1993.

Under the current approved bill, Giffords’ office said more than 125,000 jobs would be created or saved by the year 2010. Arizona is also set to receive $6.5 billion in direct state funding.

The financial assistance will put $585 million toward Arizona highways and bridges, $277 million for modernization, renovation and repair of public schools, $1.1 billion in pell grant funding, assisting an estimated 350,000 low-income college students, $18 million for youth employment and training, $4 million for low-income home energy assistance and $1.9 billion in Medicaid funding.

Giffords said more than two million Arizonans are also expected to benefit through tax cuts in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act through a refundable tax credit of up to $500 per worker or $1,000 per couple filing jointly.

“State and local leaders in Arizona have a very hard job to do during these difficult economic times,” Giffords said. “I am committed to working together to help provide the necessary tools to get through this crisis and lead our state toward a stronger economic future.”

Elected officials throughout Southern Arizona agreed with Giffords’ vote of approval last week.

President Obama has stated on several occasions that he would like the bill signed into law by Feb. 16.

House passes economic stimulus

Giffords: Plan will help Arizona budget woes

By Bill Hess
Herald/Review, January 29, 2009

WASHINGTON – The U.S. House of Representatives’ version of the stimulus package on Wednesday has more than $6.5 billion for Arizona and will help ease the state’s budget shortfall, U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords said.

In voting for the bill, the Democrat said, “Inaction was not acceptable.”

The legislation in the House passed by a vote of 244-188. The Senate has a different stimulus proposal it is considering.

“By infusing into the state more than $250 million for education, nearly $2 billion for Medicaid and other funds the state’s budget will be helped,” said Giffords, who represents the 8th Congressional District, which includes all of Cochise County.

State legislators are facing a $1.6 billion deficit for the current fiscal year, and an estimated $3 billion in the 2010 fiscal year.

Additional stimulus money is for highway and bridges, assisting unemployment and training programs and other needs, Giffords said during a phone interview with the Herald/Review.

Local communities that have provided a list of “shovel ready” road projects to the Arizona Department of Transportation could see some of the nearly $600 million that will be provided to the state, if the bill makes it through both chambers of Congress, she said.

The proposed multi-billion-dollar stimulus package in the House also includes money for federal programs that can bring funding the states, she said.

For example, NASA is supposed to get $500,000 to be used for grants and that could continue to help the University of Arizona, which has been a recipient of such funds in the past.

The university receives 22 percent of its federal grant money from NASA, and Giffords sees no reason that will not continue.

The proposed Senate bill has $1.5 billion recommended for NASA grants, she said.

Giffords’ husband is a NASA astronaut. But on Wednesday, she also was named the chair of the House Committee on Science and Technology’s Space and Aeronautics Subcommittee.

The House leadership has said ensuring the stimulus package is on President Barack Obama’s desk is a priority and that the chamber will remain in session until the House and Senate agree to a final bill.

The congresswoman, now in her second term, sees that happening by mid-February.

Giffords said the House version of the bill requires transparency in how the federal funds are spent by recipients to ensure jobs are created and to track how the money is used to spur growth in the economy.

Track the stimulus money

The stimulus bill, formally titled the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, has a dedicated Web site – recovery.gov – that allows citizens to track every penny and to hold federal, state and local officials accountable.

Key requirements of the House proposal are:

• A quarterly presidential report on the status of the economy.

• A public notification of contracts and grants awarded to be published online to include a description of what is funded, the purpose and the total cost.

• A review of recovery funding by the Government Accountability Office.

• An agreement by the president and congressional leaders that the legislation won’t contain specific earmarks.

What would Arizona get?

Here is a summary of money that Arizona would get from the economic stimulus package being voted on Wednesday in the House of Representatives. The Senate is considering a separate stimulus bill.

• Highways and bridges: $586.5 million

• Mass transit: $89.8 million

• Other rail: $5 million

• Wastewater treatment: $39.2 million

• Low-income energy assistance: $4 million

• Head Start: $12.1 million

• School modernization: $390.4 million

• Education technology grants: $18.7 million

• State budget aid: $1.3 billion

Source: The numbers are based on tables released by the House Appropriations Committee and the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. Compiled by the Associated Press.

By Bill Hess

Sierra Vista Herald/Review,  January 9, 2009

WASHINGTON – Calling what is facing the 111th Congress “an exciting time as well as one of deep concern,” U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords said during a telephone interview on Thursday that “the nation’s economic crisis is deepening.”

Once the December unemployment figures are released, it is expected more than 2 million Americans will have lost their jobs in 2008, the Arizona Democrat said.

The nation is facing a growing problem approaching what America went through during the Great Depression of the late 1920s and early 1930s, the congresswoman said. And, she said, it appears that this year the number of people facing unemployment will grow by the thousands each month.

Giffords said congressional and other national leaders will have to join President-elect Barack Obama in addressing the issues head on and not to fall into bitter partisanship.

And whatever federal stimulus package is to be considered, it will need to have input at local and state levels as well, the congresswoman said.

On Saturday, she is scheduled to meet with local and state officials in Tucson at an Economic Stimulus Forum in an effort to collect suggestions for Congress to consider to start reviving the economy. Sierra Vista Mayor Bob Strain and the Assistant City Manager Mary Jacobs are two of the officials who plan to attend the meeting. Jacobs said the list she’ll have will consist of 23 “shovel ready” ideas that have been designed and are ready to go but do not have city funding. The total estimated cost of the projects is about $37 million.

Strain said most are road projects, as well as one for improvement at the city-operated airport and a wastewater treatment plant to serve Castle & Cooke’s  Tribute subdivision.

The mayor said Giffords’ effort to ask for input this early in the federal process is much better than having funds provided without input.

The importance is increased in light of the state’s financial woes that has seen a lessening of Highway User Revenue Funds and income and sales taxes that are distributed throughout the state, Strain said.

Jacobs said Giffords’ Saturday event is a good way for her to understand the needs of rural communities within the 8th Congressional District.

Strain said he and other leaders of local governments in the district understand the wish lists still have to compete with the state’s needs and other entities nationwide.

“It’s just an initial step in the stimulus process,” he said.

Giffords said that while the stimulus package Obama is seeking is most important, there are a number of items Congress will be handling.

An issue of concern in Arizona is immigration. She said she hopes Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., and the future secretary of Homeland Security, Arizona’s current Gov. Janet Napolitano, a Democrat, will work together, as they have promised, on immigration issues.

Noting that gas prices have gone down, Giffords said there now seems to be a lack of concern about the energy issues that have to be addressed, which she called unfortunate.

“I’ve noticed there has been a increase in the sales of big cars again,” she said.

But she said the federal government cannot re-enter a complacent zone and must push for better energy projects.

One of her major projects revolves around solar energy, and Giffords and U.S. Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., are introducing a bill to boost the federal government’s use of solar and wind energy.

The bill, H.R. 175, allows the General Services Administration to enter into renewable energy contracts for 30 years, instead of being limited to 10 years, as laws now limit the agency that manages most non-military federal properties. GSA is in the process of “greening” federal buildings which includes the installation of solar panels.

Solar energy is an industry that can employ many people in Arizona, Giffords said.

“By 2012 solar energy will be on track to be as cost effective and on par with the coal industry,” the congresswoman said, adding that now is the time for Arizona to step up and be in the forefront of the growing new energy program.

She is a little disappointed she will not be able to attend a solar energy conference in Phoenix today that she has worked on for six months. She must remain in Washington, D.C.

However, she will address the event through a video teleconferencing hookup.

Giffords is a member of the House Science Committee and the House Armed Services Committee, two panels she also served on during her first term.

In her role on the Armed Services Committee, Giffords said there are a number of issues that must be addressed during her second term.

Those issues include ensuring the armed forces have the best equipment needed for the continuing war on terrorism, especially in light that much of the material has to be replaced due to its use during the past seven years.

Southern Arizona has three military installations – Fort Huachuca in Sierra Vista and Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Tucson, and the Arizona Air National Guard’s 162nd Fighter Wing at Tucson International Airport.

Some home-owning service members also have expressed concern that when moving from one area of the nation to another, they face the possibility of not being able to sell their homes in the current economy.

This, they said, could impact their military service because the armed forces consider foreclosures as financially irresponsible, which leads to the removal of security clearances needed in their work.

Giffords said this is an issue that Congress must review and see if relief can be provided to the service members.

Other issues important to service members and their families, such as ensuring service members and their family members have the best health care.

“If we lose the families, we will lost the service member,” Giffords said.

As the 111th Congress continues, Giffords  expects  more issues to appear. But, she said, most of the issues are going to be about “the economy, the economy, the economy.”

Local leaders worry red tape will tie up federal cash

Patrick McNamara

The Explorer, January14, 2009

With as much as $800 billion up for grabs, regional leaders were keen to hear how they might get their fair shares out of President-elect Barack Obama’s proposed economic stimulus package.

Officials from several Southern Arizona communities were on hand last Saturday at Tucson’s Eastside City Hall, where Democratic U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords held a forum on the incoming president’s plan.

The president-elect has said the money would go primarily toward roadway improvements and other infrastructure projects.

At stake for many here, though, including Oro Valley Mayor Paul Loomis and Marana Mayor Ed Honea, was how the money will find its way to local coffers and to whom local leaders should forward their project-funding wish lists.

Many local governments in Giffords 8th Congressional District already have sent such lists to her office, including Oro Valley, Marana, Tucson and Pima County.

But Giffords implied that she’s limited in what strings she can pull. The money likely will come in the form of block grants, which will be administered by state agencies, she explained.

The Arizona Department of Transportation in particular could play a leading role in doling out economic stimulus money.

If that’s the case, then local governments would have to lobby state lawmakers on behalf of local projects.

“State legislators across Arizona will have to work to make sure their voices are heard,” Giffords said.

Some officials raised concerns that Maricopa County might swallow most of the money that could come Arizona’s way.

ADOT Board Chairman Si Schorr, who represents Pima County, suggested one way to prevent that from happening would be to adhere to the transportation department’s funding breakdown, the so-called Casa Grande Accord.

Under that agreement, Maricopa County receives 37 percent of state highway funds, Pima gets 13 percent, and the rest of the counties divvy up the remaining 50 percent.

“If it veers very far from that mathematical formula, there will be some very unhappy people,” Schorr said.

But, even before federal lawmakers write the first draft of the proposed stimulus package, some local leaders worry that the money could get tied up in bureaucratic red tape.

Cochise County Supervisor Richard Searle raised the point, later echoed by other regional leaders, that money allocated at the state level for local projects often takes years to wind its way through the maze of legal and procedural requirements.

Searle points to Davis Road, a 15-mile rural thoroughfare between highways 80 and 191 near Tombstone.

Former Congressman Jim Kolbe, Giffords’ predecessor, four years ago secured $3 million in federal money for the county to resurface the road.

“A shovel has not been turned on that project yet,” Searle said.

He blames ADOT for the delay and thinks much of Obama’s stimulus money could get held up in state bureaucracies as well.

“This $700 billion could get tied up and not get to the municipalities for two years,” Searle said.

Giffords stressed that the best way for local governments to ensure speedy delivery of money would be to make sure their projects are ready to go.

Oro Valley, for example, included on its projects list the already-under-construction Municipal Operations Complex in Rancho Vistoso and the long-planned-for Naranja Town Site park.

“The projects had to be ready to begin,” Oro Valley Assistant Town Manager Jerene Watson said.

Marana officials also included projects currently planned or those already approved by voters.

The list they submitted includes money for the Twin Peaks interchange project. That project is part of the $2.1 billion Regional Transportation Authority package voters approved in 2004.

Pima County officials seek $80 million for a new courthouse complex.(Click here for a list of Pima County requests.) .

County voters approved selling bonds for the court complex in 2004. But, when it came time to start construction, county officials realized the $76 million allocated for the project wouldn’t cover the costs, which have more than doubled to $155 million.

“If we even get one project, that would free up funds in our general fund,” Oro Valley’s Watson said.

By Ellen Sussman

Green Valley News, January 13, 2009

To keep state, county and municipal elected and appointed officials informed about President-elect Barack Obama’s American Recovery and Reinvestment Plan, which will soon come before Congress and how it will affect Arizona, U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords hosted a roundtable meeting on Saturday at the east side City Hall in Tucson.

Welcomed by City Council member Rodney Glassman, 41 representatives at the three levels of government attended and included Green Valley Community Coordinating Council Executive Director Sandi Richey, Member-at-Large Sandra Stone, town of Sahuarita Mayor Lynne Skelton and Town Manager Jim Stahle.

Pointing out foreclosures as one of the economic indicators in Arizona, Giffords said the state ranks third in the nation for foreclosures, after Nevada and Florida.

One in every 198 homes in Arizona received a foreclosure notice in November 2008. In Pima County, foreclosures increased 289 percent from 2006 to 2008; in 2008, there were 8,961 foreclosures in Pima County.

Referring to the Recovery and Reinvestment Plan, Giffords said, “We need to work across party lines and create shovel-ready jobs in Southern Arizona.”

The plan includes saving at least three million jobs, creating “green” jobs, investing at least $750 billion into energy, education, health care, state budget relief and infrastructure plus tax cuts and unemployment relief.

Of “Green” Energy and Efficiency Investments, President-elect Obama’s plan calls for doubling alternative energy production in the next three years, supporting new energy technologies and jobs, modernizing 75 percent of federal buildings and improving the energy efficiency of two million American homes.

From the state level

Doug Cole, deputy director of Secretary of State Jan Brewer’s transition team, said, “This is not a Democratic issue or a Republican issue, it’s not an Arizona issue, but a national issue.”

Brewer will soon replace and complete Gov. Janet Napolitano’s term when the governor becomes Homeland Security Secretary.

Director of the Arizona Department of Transportation Victor Mendez said all levels of government are under stress. Speaking of the proposed nationwide investments of $30.25 billion for highways and bridges, $12 billion for transit and $5 billion for rail, Mendez said, “This is an investment for the future of the infrastructure of the country.”

He emphasized the need to create “ready-to-go” jobs within the next three to six months and said, “If we’re not ready, the money will go somewhere else.”

Mendez is proposing $1.3 billion in statewide, ready-to-go projects with $317 million for Pima County and said every $1 billion generates 35,000 jobs.

Of the proposed $800,000 billion stimulus bill and the $30.25 billion allocated for highways and bridges, Mendez said, “Arizona’s portion is not a whole lot.”

He called for sustainable jobs; not jobs that will be over in a year or two and said he doesn’t have a solution but it’s something that needs to be worked on.

Deputy Director of the Arizona Department of Commerce Kent Ennis spoke about energy conservation block grants to improve state buildings plus grants to improve energy efficiency in commercial buildings and said, “We need to take full advantage of what’s coming down the pike.”

Q and A

Reiterating what was mentioned earlier, Giffords said, “It’s important to have things right and to have projects ready-to-go. We want this to be as bipartisan as possible,” adding that all funding, including ADOT, will go through the governor’s office.

Responding to an attendee who challenged ADOT to make transportation projects “green,” Giffords said, “Most green projects are not ready-to-go. That’s why we’re here today. We need to get a green list ready.

Arizona Senator-elect Linda Lopez said there will be a need for funds for childcare if mothers and fathers will be going back to work. Giffords said she would advocate for this.

Closing the two-hour meeting, Giffords again emphasized the need for ready-to-go projects that will create jobs and adding “green” projects down the line.

In a one-question inquiry with Deputy Director Cole of Secretary of State Brewer’s transition team, when asked who will be the director of the governor’s Southern Arizona office, Cole told the Green Valley News, “We’ll announce it this week.”

For up-to-date information on the economic stimulus legislation, go to www.giffords.house.gov.