Edwards release

Congresswoman Edwards and Judiciary Committee Chairman Conyers Introduce Constitutional Amendment to Fix Flawed Supreme Court Ruling on Campaign Finance

02/02/10

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 2, 2010

Contact:

Dan Weber (Edwards): (202) 225-8699
Jonathan Godfrey (Conyers): 202-226-6888

Washington, D.C. – Congresswoman Donna F. Edwards (D-MD) and Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers (D-MI) today introduced an amendment to the U.S. Constitution to address the flawed ruling by the Supreme Court allowing corporations to spend unlimited amounts of money on elections. The amendment will undo the Supreme Court decision and allow Congress and the states to regulate the expenditure of funds by corporations for political speech.

“The ruling reached by the Roberts’ Court overturned decades of legal precedent by allowing corporations unfettered spending in our political campaigns,” said Congresswoman Edwards. “Another law will not rectify this disastrous decision.  A Constitutional Amendment is necessary to undo what this Court has done. Justice Brandeis got it right: ‘We can have democracy in this country, or we can have great wealth concentrated in the hands of a few, but we can’t have both.’ It is time we remove corporate influence from our policies and our politics. We cannot allow corporations to dominate our elections, to do so would be both undemocratic and unfair to ordinary citizens.”

“The Supreme Court’s idea that corporate political speech is no different than an individual citizen’s political speech was not the law when the Constitution was written, was not the law before the Supreme Court’s decision two weeks ago, and should not be the law in the future.  I look forward to working further with Ms. Edwards and my other colleagues to use every tool at our disposal to make sure that elected representatives are accountable to voters, not corporations,” said Chairman Conyers.

Click here to read the amendment language.

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Edwards statement

Congresswoman Donna F. Edwards’ Statement to Commence National Observance of Black History Month
02/01/10

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 1, 2010

Washington, D.C. – Congresswoman Donna F. Edwards (D-MD) released the following statement to commence the national observance of February as Black History Month.

“Black History Month is an opportunity to reflect on and pay tribute to the wonderful contributions of African Americans past and present. As we pause to commemorate this special time of year and recognize the 145th anniversary of the 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, we celebrate the incredible heritage of the African American community.

“The centennial of the National Urban League is one of this year’s highlights. For a hundred years, this organization has campaigned to break barriers to black employment and uphold their mission statement of helping African Americans ‘secure economic self reliance, parity, power, and civil rights.’

“This year’s theme for Black History Month, ‘The History of Black Economic Empowerment’, could not be more relevant. It is a chance to celebrate the individuals and organizations that drove a century of black economic empowerment with unprecedented numbers of small business owners and professionals. In Maryland’s 4th Congressional District, there are as many as 2,600 African American-owned businesses and 790 women-owned businesses. While these numbers are encouraging, they are also a reminder that we must think constructively on how to grow these numbers and address the current economic hardships plaguing our African American communities.

“High unemployment, foreclosures, limited access to quality, affordable healthcare, and educational disparities all threaten to jeopardize the potential of this and future generations. That is why I will continue to focus on comprehensive solutions to our shared challenges that cross racial, ethnic, and geographical lines. The leaders we honor this month deserve our same level of commitment to persevere in the face of challenges because we all deserve the right to realize our dreams.”

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Edwards release

Congresswoman Donna F. Edwards: Military Force Not Key to Success in Afghanistan
12/01/09

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 1, 2009

Washington, D.C. – Congresswoman Donna F. Edwards (D-MD) released the following statement after President Obama’s speech on Afghanistan. The President announced that he will send an additional 30,000 U.S. service members to Afghanistan, and intends to begin the military withdrawal by July 2011, with no end date identified.

“The decisions regarding the United States’ role in Afghanistan by President Obama and this Congress will impact significantly both countries, and the world, for years to come. While I appreciate President Obama’s careful deliberations and efforts to improve the situation in Afghanistan – a mess he inherited from the previous administration – I remain concerned that the President has left an open-ended commitment and not outlined a mission that can be met primarily with a surge of military force that is the core of the strategy. The question remains as to the future capacity of Afghanistan’s military and government to do what is required of them to build their country. We have little evidence, if any, that this outcome is likely given the levels of corruption in the Karzai government and the continued inter-tribal violence. I will continue to work with my Congressional colleagues and the President to address these concerns and others to meet the United States’ national security interests and domestic challenges we face.”

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I posted the other day about a new congressional expense report released for the 3rd Quarter of 2009. The complete report is here. I also have the numbers from the Maryland delegation below. The funding source is taxpayer dollars. Based on the Maryland delegation, Lockheed Martin Desktop Solutions and The Accurate Word LLC are really raking in the cash from all the members of Congress from the whole country.

The left column of figures is year to date (YTD) while the right column is for the 3rd Quarter. You can click on the thumbnails to get the full-sized image. I provided commentary on specific items below the general numbers. The commentary is just based on what looks unusual to me.

Frank Kratovil, Jr. (MD-01)

Kratovil spent approximately $15K in district office rent for the quarter. One large expenditure was over $18K in June to American Direct Mail. You can go to the PDF of the full report here to look at the itemized expenses yourself.

C.A. Dutch Ruppersberger (MD-02)

Ruppersberger is paying Onstar memberships in his expenses as well as a significant amount  (over $26K for just one quarter) of rent to COPT. There is also a new purchase of nearly $6700 in furniture for the quarter. You can go to the PDF of the full report here to look at the itemized expenses yourself.

John P. Sarbanes (MD-03)

District office rent payments to the H. Adams Limited Partnership are approaching $16K for the quarter. There is one large printing bill totaling over $25,000. There are home security system expenses itemized as well. One curious thing is a payment for web and email services to Liberty Concepts. As far as I know, the House has its own email servers and its own web servers for members to use. I’m curious what the $2,000 to them for this quarter actually went for. You can go to the PDF of the full report here to look at the itemized expenses yourself.

Donna Edwards (MD-04)

Edwards has probably the longest itemized list so it would take further research to find any patterns or trends. You can go to the PDF of the full report here to look at the itemized expenses yourself.

Steny Hoyer (MD-05)

Reports from earlier this week indicated Hoyer spent $1,561 on bottled water alone this quarter. Cities across the country have been banning purchases of bottled water since the U.S. Council of Mayors endorsed such measures in 2007 as away to limit the environmental impact the plastic bottles have. Maryland bans on bottled water include Takoma Park and the University of Maryland. I seem to remember a proposed ban in Baltimore City and/or Annapolis as well.

There are also over $25K in district office rental expenses for the quarter.

One example of where the money goes is in an August event. Hoyer spent $5379.66 on food and beverage expenses just to Middleton Hall. There was also $400 in space rentals paid to Middleton Hall. On August 28, Hoyer hosted a Women’s Equality Day Luncheon at the hall. The featured speaker was HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius. The number of attendees is not listed anywhere and other expenses itemized on the report are likely also associated with this event. The banquest menu for the venue indicates a basic price of $22.99 a person (not including taxes or gratuities.)

You can go to the PDF of the full report here to look at the itemized expenses yourself.

Roscoe Bartlett (MD-06)

Bartlett spent an estimated $16K+ in district office rent for the quarter. His office also used Fireside21 for web and internet services in addition to the in-house services provided on the Hill. You can go to the PDF of the full report here to look at the itemized expenses yourself.

Elijah Cummings (MD-07)

Cummings broke the $1 million mark for the year in just 3 quarters. Cummings spent just over $20K in the 3rd Quarter alone on district office rent. His largest food and beverage expense for 3rd quarter was approximately $3900 spent at Morgan State in June.

You can go to the PDF of the full report here to look at the itemized expenses yourself.

Chris Van Hollen (MD-08)

Van Hollen spent just under $22K in district office rent for the quarter. Fireside21 also has been paid by Van Hollen.You can go to the PDF of the full report here to look at the itemized expenses yourself.

UPDATE

Bryan Sears wrote on this topic and received a reply from Sarbanes’ office:

Makeda Scott, communications director for Rep. John Sarbanes called at 4:30 p.m. to explain the “home security expenses” referenced on Insidecharmcity.com.

“It’s actually for security for the front door of the district office in Towson,” Scott said.

Edwards release

Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley Proclaims November 20th Special Day of Tribute to the Honorable Donna Edwards
11/20/09

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 20, 2009

Washington, D.C. – Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley proclaimed Friday, November 20, 2009, a “special day of Tribute to the Honorable Donna Edwards” for her successful efforts to provide Maryland’s children increased access to healthy and nutritious meals as part of the At-Risk Afterschool Supper Program.

“Children learn best and grow to their fullest potential when they are well fed,” said Rep. Edwards. “During these difficult economic times with hard-working families struggling to make ends meet, I am thankful to have been able to bring more federal nutrition programs to Maryland. As a result, Maryland is now able to offer the At-Risk After School Supper Program. I look forward to working with the O’Malley-Brown team to strengthen our efforts on behalf of the 4th Congressional District and the state of Maryland. I thank Governor O’Malley for this recognition.”

This surprise announcement was made at the Governor’s Partnership to End Childhood Hunger Summit: Outreach to Faith-Based Leaders held at Prince George’s Community College. The announcement and the efforts of Congresswoman Edwards and Governor O’Malley come just days after the United States Department of Agriculture released a sobering report that nearly 50 million people, including 17 million children, live in households in which food is scarce.
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