Carson Against GOP Census Trickery

Wilson46201 — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 21:31:22 GMT

WASHINGTON, D.C.-With Census forms set to hit mailboxes next week, Congressman André Carson released the following statement after voting to pass a House bill that bans deceptive mailings. The Prevent Deceptive Census Look Alike Mailings Act passed the House by a unanimous vote of 416-0.

"Participation in the U.S. Census has been a patriotic duty since our nation's founders included it in the Constitution in 1787, and it remains critical today that all Americans stand up and be counted.
"Data from the U.S. Census helps drive policy at all levels of government, and it is a determining factor in how much federal funding communities receive for roads, schools, redevelopment initiatives and much more. Participation in the Census directly impacts Indianapolis' cut of nearly $400 billion that is annually allocated to communities, so it is vitally important that residents take 10 minutes to fill out the short questionnaire.
"While Congress pushes to build awareness around the U.S. Census, we also took an important step this week to crack down on deceptive private mailings intended to look like official Census information. There are accounts of households receiving envelopes marked 'Census' and 'official documents' when in reality, these items have nothing to do with the U.S. Census. These are private mailers aimed at taking advantage of people. They're completely unacceptable, and they must be stopped.
"This week, the House passed the Prevent Deceptive Census Look-Alike Mailings Act, which requires any envelope marked 'Census' to clearly indicate the sender, reducing the likelihood of people being misled. The bill also requires these envelopes to include a clear disclaimer stating that the mailing is not affiliated with the U.S. Census.
"While we can't prevent a private organization from using the word 'Census,' this legislation makes it illegal for entities to disguise their mailers as official federal documentation."

To view an official Census form and see what residents should look for in their mailboxes next week, visit: http://2010.census.gov/2010cen...

5 Reasons the Climate Bill is Not Dead

Heather TaylorMiesle NRDC Action Fund — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 19:07:49 GMT

Cross-posted from The Huffington Post

The Weekly Standard ran a cover story this week called, "In Denial: The Meltdown of the Climate Campaign." Despite the cute play on words about who is denying what, the article got it all wrong. Climate change legislation is not dead--not as long as publications like this keep putting it on its cover.
As one experienced senator recently told an NRDC trustee: "I have never seen an important piece of legislation get passed that wasn't declared dead several times before."

All the big bills flirt with death. Why? Because it is really, really hard to move legislation through Congress. I have seen the most straightforward bills--like the ones to name post offices--get slowed to a halt while hand wringing and horse trading goes on.

I have even seen the bills that uphold the status quo get bogged down. I worked on a bill to phase out the exportation of dangerous mercury. The federal government had already started phasing it out, private industry had done the same, and the House of Representatives passed the bill with ease. Yet still it sat on life support in the Senate for months. Everyone thought it was a goner--until it wasn't. It passed in 2008.

Clean energy and climate legislation will be much more transformative than the mercury bill was, and as a result, its birthing process will be even more tortured. But I am not calling it stillborn, and here is why.

1. Senators Continue to Propose New Climate Bills
Whether you like these bills or hate them, Senators are continuing to look for a path forward. Senators Cantwell and Collins recently drafted a climate bill, and Senators Kerry, Graham, and Lieberman are about to release their version. Senators don't write legislation about dead issues.

2. The Press Keeps Covering Climate
A mantra among elected officials used to be "There is No Such Thing As Bad Press." In the modern day of the internet and ethics fiascos, we now know this saying is nothing if not exaggerated. However, every Washington insider knows that an issue is alive as long as it is talked about in the media. Climate bills are getting a lot of coverage, from editorial pages calling for action to major dailies reporting on the political maneuverings. Even the National Standard put Al Gore and climate action on its cover this week. It may not be all positive press but climate is big news.

3. Climate Action Has Bipartisan Traction
We all know Congress has sunk to historic levels of partisan paralysis. Senator Collins joined Senator Snowe in one climate proposal. It is especially significant that the most anticipated climate proposal is currently being written by Democratic Senator Kerry, Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, and Independent Senator Lieberman.

4. President Obama Is Rolling Up His Sleeves
President Obama said in his State of the Union Address that he wants a comprehensive clean energy and climate bill on his desk this year. Since then, he has met with senators, business leaders, and environmental groups to push action along. The latest example was on Tuesday when he called a bipartisan group of swing senators to the White House.

5. There Is Strong Business Support for the Bill
Companies are still fleeing the Chamber of Commerce over its attempts to thwart clean energy and climate legislation. Meanwhile, the American Businesses for Clean Energy --a group of companies urging Congress to pass such legislation--has more than 2,500 members in 41 states after just four months in existence.

The bottom line is that all bills that offer any hope of meaningful change live on life support. The climate bill ain't dead yet - not by a long shot.

Heather Taylor-Miesle is the director of the NRDC Action Fund. Become a fan on Facebook or Twitter.

Blue Indiana - Recommended Diaries

Carson Against GOP Census Trickery

5 Reasons the Climate Bill is Not Dead