At the Major League Baseball All-Star Game on July 13, Commissioner Bud Selig was heavily pressured to move next year’s game from Phoenix because of Arizona’s immigration law.

To his credit, Selig refused to accede to the demands, correctly pointing out that neither keeping the game in Phoenix nor moving it would affect Arizona lawmakers.

“We’ll do things when baseball can influence decisions,” Selig wisely told The New York Times. “I’ll say that very clearly. And this situation will be solved in the political process at the appropriate time.”

Good for Bud Selig.

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Op-Ed by U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords

Sierra Vista Herald

The 40 American volunteer aid workers had survived the earthquake. But they were separated into five small groups, waiting to be rescued from the devastated foreign nation.

Using rudimentary tools — hand-drawn maps, signaling mirrors and large letters stomped into the dirt — the aid workers attracted the attention of U.S. Air Force helicopter crews who had been dispatched to rescue them.

The men and women were located, loaded into the choppers and taken to a central point to be evaluated for injuries. All returned home safely.

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Arizona Capitol Times Blog, Feb. 5, 2010

By U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords

Special to the Green Valley News

Published: Saturday, January 23, 2010

Americans are rightly outraged about intelligence and security failures that allowed a would-be terrorist aboard a Northwest Airlines flight bound for Detroit on Christmas Day.

This frightening incident highlights the fact that the security procedures implemented after 9/11 fell well short of their intended goals.

Stronger security measures are needed to ensure that Americans can board an airliner without fearing that a fellow passenger will turn on them.

President Obama has properly directed increased and random screening of passengers on flights from other countries into the United States. He also directed that every passenger from 14 specific countries be patted down and have their carry-ons searched.

The new rules apply to passengers from Afghanistan, Algeria, Cuba, Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, Libya, Nigeria, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen.

These are strong first steps, but more needs to be done.

Several countries remain off that increased-screening list despite the insistence of intelligence sources that terrorism remains a problem there. I strongly urge that this list be expanded.

We must subject airline passengers to more intensive security checks if they fit a particular pattern of travel, originate from a suspect country or are of a specific age, economic or behavioral profile common among likely terrorists.

Some will claim this is an improper basis for scrutiny, but I reject that notion. We cannot ignore the fact that there are certain indicators of potential terrorist activity which can and should be used to initiate additional screening.

It is nonsensical to subject grandmothers in wheelchairs and babies in strollers to the same level of security as travelers from known terrorist safe havens.

We also must now reconsider the use of full-body scanners at airports. While giving proper consideration to privacy and civil liberty concerns, we must take all necessary steps to assure Americans that they can fly as safely as possible.

I fly frequently between Tucson and Washington, D.C. and stand in the same security lines, walk through the same metal detectors and remove my shoes as all travelers.

Like many, I wonder whether these procedures really make flying safer or if they are merely a facade to make us think that something is being done to improve security.

I have the utmost respect for the work done by the men and women of the Transportation Security Administration, who are on the front lines of airport security. But we must support the work of TSA by identifying threats before they reach an airport.

We created the Office of the Director of National Intelligence to unify the efforts of security-related agencies in the wake of the 9/11 attacks. Yet we still do not have a single accessible national database containing all terrorism-related information.

The review ordered by President Obama after the failed Christmas Day attack revealed that U.S. intelligence agencies remain unable to verify the visa status of all known or suspected terrorists on the No Fly list.

On Christmas Day a cascading series of failures allowed a person who was a known danger to come dreadfully close to exploding a commercial airliner over the United States. This should never have happened.

As a member of the House Armed Services and Foreign Affairs committees, I have been focused on the issues of airport and border security, terrorism, defeating al Qaeda and denying terrorists safe havens.

It has never been clearer that terrorism remains a very real threat to the United States and to our freedoms.

We will need renewed vigilance – from our allies, our government and the traveling public. Most importantly, we also will need decisive leadership – from the intelligence community, Congress and the White House.

U.S, Rep. Gabrielle Giffords is in her second term representing Arizona’s 8th Congressional District.

By U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords
SPECIAL TO THE ARIZONA DAILY STAR, November 6, 2009

It was 45 years ago that Congress passed the landmark Civil Rights Act of 1964 — a historic measure that for the first time outlawed all racial segregation in schools, public places and employment. We are poised to make another historic decision that for the first time would guarantee access to health care for all Americans.

I will vote for the Affordable Health Care for America Act on Saturday because it represents a much-needed first step in reforming our nation’s inadequate health-insurance system.

Make no mistake, this is not a perfect bill. But the town halls I recently held throughout Arizona’s 8th Congressional District made clear to me that we cannot let our efforts to confront this crisis get lost amid partisan bickering.

Families and businesses in Southeastern Arizona know reform is necessary and so do I. Here are eight primary reasons why I support this bill:

• It will not add to our nation’s debt and deficit. In fact, the bill is estimated to lower the deficit by up to $100 billion over 10 years.

• Individuals with pre-existing health conditions will no longer be denied coverage.

• 135,000 Medicare recipients in my district will benefit from lower drug costs through the closing of the Medicare Part D “doughnut hole” and allowing Medicare to negotiate with drug makers for lower drug prices.

• 400,000 Southeastern Arizonans who currently receive health-care coverage from their employers will be able to keep their existing insurance coverage.

• 46,000 people in my district who are currently uninsured will be able to obtain insurance at a reasonable cost.

• It includes tort reform initiatives that offer incentives to states that implement changes to traditional medical-malpractice laws.

• More than 13,000 small businesses in my district will be able to receive tax credits to provide health insurance for their employees.

• States will be able to enter into agreements allowing the sale of insurance across state lines, which will expand choice and promote competition.

These are among the reasons the bill is supported by the AARP and the American Medical Association.

As we debate the details of health-insurance reform in the coming weeks, we must not forget this underlying and undeniable fact: Our health-care system is failing us.

If we don’t act, health-care costs will increase $1,800 each year for the average family. Care and medication — already postponed by more than half of all Americans — will become more unaffordable and Americans will face a 50-50 chance of losing their insurance in the next 10 years. Inaction is not an option.

I don’t want insurance companies denying coverage because of pre-existing conditions. I don’t want Arizonans who lose their jobs to lose their insurance.

High health-care costs drove about 900 households in my district to file for bankruptcy last year. This bill addresses that crisis by capping annual out-of-pocket health-care costs at $5,000 for singles and $10,000 for couples and eliminates lifetime limits on insurance coverage.

Since elected to Congress in 2006, I have voted on thousands of bills. Most have been easy, some have been hard. Providing affordable, quality health care to all American citizens without adding a dime to the deficit will be one of the most historic actions Congress has taken.

Like the Civil Rights Act of a generation ago, the Affordable Health Care for America Act has ignited passionate debate in Arizona and across the country. It is a debate worth having. But like the debate of 45 years ago, I believe this will be a defining moment of equality in America.

The Arizona Republic, Oct. 29, 2009

If you want to be sure of reaching a destination, you need a map. It’s the same with an ambitious goal like ramping up solar energy in America.

Last Thursday, the U.S. House approved a bill to create a “Solar Technology Roadmap” that would provide much-needed focus and resources.

A committee, including representatives of the solar-power industry, would lay out the research-and-development needs for the next 15 years. The roadmap would be updated and revised regularly. The bill would authorize funding for R&D and demonstration projects, ramping up from $350 million in fiscal 2011 to $550 million in 2015.

For Arizona, solar power is a double economic opportunity: developing a solar industry and diversifying our power sources with a clean source of electricity. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, a second-term Democrat who is a champion of solar power in southern Arizona, sponsored the bill, HR 3585.

Other countries have sped ahead of the United States in developing solar power, and China is making a major push. If we don’t adopt better policies and support innovation, Giffords warns, America will go from importing foreign oil to importing solar panels.

This isn’t an easy time to argue for spending more money. But the bill picked up bipartisan support for a reason.

Rep. Roscoe Bartlett, a Maryland Republican who describes himself as a fiscal conservative, a scientist and an engineer, argues that the bill would not use too much money. The funding level, he explains, “only begins to reverse 20 years of underinvestment in solar power.”

The solar roadmap is modeled on a previous effort to develop semiconductors, which spurred two decades of technological advances. The bill still needs a sponsor in the Senate. It would be a real stretch for Sen. Jon Kyl or John McCain to back a bill that was opposed by Arizona’s three Republicans in the House. But they should take a look.

By U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords

Arizona Daily Star - July 26, 2009

By U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords

SPECIAL TO THE ARIZONA DAILY STAR

Last month, a Tucson father who was desperate called my office.

His wife has cancer. One of his young daughters has an incurable disease. He was recently laid off and lost his health insurance.

This father was forced to find three new jobs to make ends meet — including one that offered health insurance. But coverage for his family was denied because of their pre-existing medical conditions.

Now his daughter hasn’t had treatment for her illness in more than nine months and the family has lost their home to foreclosure.

There can be no doubt that our health care system is failing us. Premiums have doubled in the last nine years, increasing three times faster than real wages. We are spending too much, receiving too little and are left worrying that the insurance we have won’t be enough.

Unless we do something, 14,000 Americans will lose their health insurance today — just as 14,000 Americans lost their health insurance yesterday and 14,000 more Americans will lose their health insurance tomorrow.

We are great nation. We deserve the best health care in the world.

We need reform that puts patients first. It is not right and not fair that insurance companies can deny coverage because of pre- existing conditions or impose lifetime limits on service.

I support reform that allows Americans to keep their current health-care program, keep their doctors and keep their hospitals.

I support reform that creates competition through a strong public option that lowers everyone’s costs and competes with private insurers.

I support reform that allows Arizonans who lose their jobs to afford insurance so they can get back on their feet without fear of getting sick.

I support reform that will slow the growth of health-care costs and does not impose new taxes or burdens on our nation’s most valuable economic contributors, small businesses.

I support reform that would allow this father to keep his insurance so his daughter and wife don’t have to go without proper care.

Last week, this nation observed the 40th anniversary of humans’ arrival on the moon — one of the most awesome accomplishments in the history of mankind. Now our generation has our own opportunity to make history.

A nation that can leave footprints on another celestial body is up to this challenge.

Providing Americans with health care that gives them lifetime security and peace of mind must be America’s next great accomplishment.

ARIZONA DAILY STAR Published: 05.22.2009
Editorial

When President Obama unveiled his detailed budget plan earlier this month, he proposed eliminating or trimming 121 programs in an effort to save $17 billion in the next fiscal year. He said some of the cuts were “more painful than others.”

One cut, we believe, was also more irresponsible than others.

The Obama plan would eliminate the State Criminal Alien Assistance Program, or SCAAP, which helps states partially offset costs they incur to prosecute and imprison illegal entrants. The program received $400 million last year.

This cut is unconscionable because it makes border states pay all the law-enforcement costs associated with illegal immigration, which is a federal responsibility. It is, after all, the United States border.

Many members of Congress justifiably were quick to criticize the elimination of SCAAP funding. We call on them to continue fighting to save the program.

Former President Bush also eliminated funding for SCAAP in his 2009 budget, but lawmakers were able to restore the money.

We would like to see a repeat of that effort this year.

Soon after Obama unveiled his budget, Sen. Jon Kyl, R-Ariz., signed a bipartisan letter asking the Senate Appropriations Committee Chairwoman Barbara Mikulski, D-Md., to reject the Obama proposal and fund SCAAP.
The letter, dated May 8, says: “Border protection and enforcement of immigration laws remains a federal responsibility. We will continue to make our case to the new administration that SCAAP is an important component of the Department of Justice’s support of state and local law enforcement.”

That same day, U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, D-Ariz., joined fellow Arizona Democratic Reps. Harry Mitchell and Ann Kirkpatrick in writing a letter to House appropriations leaders urging renewal of SCAAP funding. Since then, 20 other lawmakers – 15 Democrats and five Republicans – have co-signed the letter.

“I’m working very hard, along with other members of Congress, to make sure the federal government stands up to its responsibilities,” Giffords told us Thursday. “State and local governments are spending a lot of tax money to make up for the federal government’s failure to protect the border. They need to be compensated for it.”

The Pima County Sheriff’s Department and other state law-enforcement agencies received $17.4 million in SCAAP funding in 2008 and $18.4 million in 2007.

That may sound like a decent sum, but for years border-area law-enforcement agencies have been receiving about 10 cents for every dollar they spend to prosecute and incarcerate illegal entrants.
With local governments straining to pay for essential services, cutting payments for doing the federal government’s job is wrong.

Gov. Jan Brewer made an issue of the SCAAP cut in a speech Wednesday to the Tucson Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce, calling it another example of the federal government’s unpaid bills.
“I have personally spoken to President Obama about this and asked that he re-review his plans to eliminate the so-called SCAAP funds,” Brewer said.

Giffords said her office has been in touch with Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, the former governor of Arizona, in an attempt to persuade the administration to renew SCAAP funding.

“She gets this,” Giffords said of Napolitano. “She herself has billed the federal government for border costs. We think she can be a conduit to the president.”

Giffords expressed cautious optimism that SCAAP funding can be restored. She also added this it is an issue with support on both sides of the aisle and from lawmakers who don’t live in border states. Lawmakers from Massachusetts, New York and Ohio have signed her letter.

Border communities are unfairly burdened by the government’s failure to solve the illegal-immigration problem.

Until that issue is solved, border states should be reimbursed for trying to clean up the federal government’s mess.

The Citizen’s Demise
GABRIELLE GIFFORDS
Tucson Citizen Published: 05.16.2009

Arizona’s oldest continuously published newspaper will hit Tucson newsstands and doorsteps for the last time on May 16.

As a longtime reader of the Tucson Citizen, I think I speak for many when I say the paper’s closure will be like saying goodbye to an old, trusted friend.

What a friend it has been. The Citizen already was 11 years old when it told us about Wyatt Earp’s shootout at the OK Corral in 1881. It had been around 42 years when Arizona became a state in 1912. And when the city of Tucson celebrated its bicentennial in 1975, the Citizen had a 105-year record of reporting behind it.

Tucson will be very different without the Citizen. Our community will have one fewer voice, one fewer watchdog, one fewer place to go for the news we need to understand our increasingly complex world.

Many believe that, as an afternoon newspaper, the Citizen’s days have long been numbered. Perhaps, but the loss of the Citizen is emblematic of a far more troubling trend. The entire newspaper industry is struggling as never before, thanks in part to a seismic shift in how we get our news.

Today the Internet, not the daily newspaper, serves as our window to the world.

For news junkies and avid newspaper readers, this is a truly sad turn of events. I count myself among this shrinking community.

Sure, going online is fast and handy. But old school types love newspapers – we love holding them, with a cup of coffee at hand, and learning about what has happened in our neighborhood, city, state and country.

Some of us – the real die-hards – even like comparing competing articles and editorials on the same subject among rival newspapers. Tucson was one of the few cities where this was possible; ours was one of the last two-newspaper towns left in America.

With the demise of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer and the Rocky Mountain News in Denver over the past month, Tucson is by no means alone in having to rely on one newspaper. That, however, is little comfort. Competition is a good thing for newspapers, as it is for any business.

Having two newspapers fostered a competitive spirit that allowed the Tucson Citizen and Arizona Daily Star to bring out the best in each another. Reporters, editors and photographers at each of our papers wanted to scoop the other guy. In that race, readers were the winners.

Since 1870, the Citizen has kept southern Arizonans informed. We didn’t always agree with an editorial position or like the angle of a news story, yet we kept reading.

We needed the Citizen. Sometimes we needed it to figure out a City Council decision. Sometimes we needed it to tell us how the Wildcats did. And sometimes we just needed it to tell us when movies began at The Loft.

The point is, the Citizen was there for us.

From the era of the Butterfield Overland Stage to the Phoenix Mars Mission, the Citizen helped chronicle Arizona’s amazing journey from a rough and tumble territory to the second-fastest growing state in the country.

It was an indispensable part of our community. It educated us, entertained us and inspired us. It will be missed.

Goodbye, dear friend.

Gabrielle Giffords is a member of the U.S. House representing Tucson and southern Arizona.