Truth 13: Fossella and Big Oil

I received this press release from a new organization, Truth 13, that looks like it could do some great work getting press to report on Rep. Fossella's lacking record and leadership. Good start.

REP. VITO FOSSELLA REPRESENTS BIG OIL IN CONGRESS INSTEAD OF CONSTITUENTS.


STATEN ISLAND, NY -- "Oil prices are yet again on the rise and there is no reason to believe they won't continue in an ever-upward direction" said Richard Marini of Truth13, a group of concerned citizens residing in New York's 13th congressional district who are challenging the voting record of their representative in congress. As of November 21, according to the Wall Street Journal [1] prices have reached as high as $99.28 a barrel – more than $3 a gallon for gasoline, with diesel fuel prices at record levels of more than $3.30 a gallon. Mr. Marini who lives in Great Kills said "As prices increase, small businesses suffer and households tighten their wallets. All the while, oil companies continue to make record profits" – On November 1st 2007, Exxon Mobil reported third quarter profits [2] of $9.4 billion dollars (Exxon Mobil News Release 11/1/07).


Every year, Big Oil spends millions of their dollars lobbying Congress. Since 1990, more than $150 million dollars of oil and gas industry profits has gone into the hands of Republicans according to the Center for Responsive Politics [3]. The Republican Congressman representing Staten Island and Brooklyn, where the effects of high oil prices may be hitting hardest, is no different. According to Federal Election Committee records, Rep. Vito Fossella (R-NY) has received over $68,000 in political contributions from oil and gas industry political action committees. This includes a staggering $11,500 from Exxon’s PAC [4].


In 2005, Fossella voted to give over $16 billion in tax breaks to oil companies already making record profits (HR 6, 7/28/05; HR 3893, 10/7/05). In July of 2007, he voted against an appropriations bill (HR 2641, 7/17/07) that included $213 million dollars for developing hydrogen-based energy technologies. Earlier that year in January, Fossella voted against a bill (HR 6, 1/18/07) that would reduce U.S. dependence on foreign oil by investing in clean renewable energy thus reducing our reliance on unstable regions which are generally governed by dictatorial means. These regions are generally anti-western and help fund anti-American groups that are uncontrollable by western influences. "Voting against non-fossil fuel energy programs endangers our national security by forcing our continued reliance on energy from the Middle East to drive our cars and heat our homes" said Richard Greve, a member of Truth13.


Most recently, Rep. Fossella voted against an important bill (HR 2776, 8/4/07) that would repeal enormous tax breaks for highly profitable oil and gas companies, while providing incentives for the production of renewable energy and energy conservation. He also voted against a bill (H.R. 3221, 8/4/07) that would move the United States toward greater energy independence and security by developing new technologies, creating green jobs, and modernizing our energy infrastructure. Mr. Greve said "We face a long term energy problem, not just here in Staten Island, but nationwide. As oil and gas prices continue to rise, our solution must not be to give Big Oil more money, but to wean ourselves off a dependence on oil. On this front Rep. Vito Fossella's record in Congress, regrettably, has been catastrophic."


Founded in 2007, Truth 13 is a group of concerned citizens residing in New York's 13th Congressional district in Staten Island and Brooklyn who are concerned about how their representative in Congress is failing to work towards the interest of his constituents. Their mission is to educate voters of the 13th Congressional District (NY) to the voting record of their elected representative in Washington, D.C.

1. http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/O/OIL_PRICES?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2007-11-06-16-51-13


2. http://exxonmobil.com/corporate/files/corporate/investor_earnings_3q07.pdf


3. http://www.opensecrets.org/industries/indus.asp?cycle=2008&ind=E01

4. http://query.nictusa.com/cgi-bin/can_give/H8NY13028


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Vito Fossella brings Dick Cheney to NYC for help, protests Monday

via Truth13;

Progressive groups protest Dick Cheney/Koch Industries’ Vito Fossella fundraiser

Truth 13 and other progressive groups are organizing a protest Monday morning [April 21] outside a fundraiser for New York City’s only Republican House member, Vito Fossella, organized by Vice President Dick Cheney and polluters Koch Industries (pronounced Coke)..

Fossella’s Democratic opponent Steve Harrison is scheduled to appear.

When: 10 AM Monday April 21
Where: 740 Park Avenue (71st Street). [Google Maps]

About Truth 13: Founded in 2007, Truth 13 is an independent group of concerned citizens dedicated to removing New York's 13th Congressional District representative Vito Fossella from office. Their mission is to educate voters of the 13th Congressional District about their Congressperson's track record of voting for the interests of organizations like Koch industries instead of those of his constituents.

Here is another example of Fossella's vulnerability. Dick Cheney has a 15% approval rating, meaning a majority of his own party disapproves of him. Fossella clearly believes Cheney's money is far more important to his campaign right now than worrying about being associated with this administration. Fossella has had Cheney raise money for him before, but never has he openly flaunted his regard for Dick Cheney.

update: Democrats.com are joining the protests and just sent out an email to supporters asking for their participation;

Vice President Cheney will be in town shilling for cash for NY Congressman Vito Fossella. They'll be hosted by NYC's wealthiest resident, David Koch, the billionaire head of Koch Industries, a conglomerate with hugely polluting oil and gas holdings. Koch Industries is the second largest privately-held company in the U.S. and a major contributor to Republican campaigns.

Let's tell the luncheon guests: Fossella must go!

Truth13 on Vito Fossella and Mortgage Crisis

REP. VITO FOSSELLA'S ANSWER TO MORTGAGE CIRSIS IS TO RAID HOMEOWNERS RETIREMENT ACCOUNTS

STATEN ISLAND, NY ­­ According to Reuters [1], Republican Rep. Vito Fossella (NY­13) the Congressman representing Staten Island and Brooklyn, is introducing the Homeowners Assistant Act. Rep. Fossella’s bill will allow homeowners with a poor credit history, affected by the subprime crisis to tap into their retirement accounts to bail themselves out of trouble.

Richard Marini of Truth13, a group of concerned citizens residing in the 13th district, said "Vito Fossella obviously does not understand the severity of the issue. His answer to the mortgage foreclosure crisis is to shift the focus away from the irresponsible lending practices of his industry campaign contributors, and raid struggling homeowners’ retirement funds."

According to The Staten Island Advance [2], AARP spokesman Jim Dau warns "homeowners at risk should understand that tapping in early into retirement savings compounds into a bigger loss."

A New York State Senate report on subprime lending stated Staten Island's South Shore had the highest rate of foreclosures [3]. The report which covered the five boroughs as well as Nassau and Westchester counties showed that the 10314 zip code had the greatest number of foreclosure filings. The second largest area was Eltingville and Annadale. A U.S. Senate committee reported [4] that 1,472 homes would be in foreclosure on Staten Island. Over one million homeowners nationwide will be forced into foreclosure over the next 6 years at a cost estimated at $120 billion dollars [5] but industry experts say the cost would be significantly more then that.

“An important aspect of this is that not only will these people lose their homes, but any loss to the lenders will come out of our pockets too. The lenders will not suffer their own bad risk taking. The cost will be passed on in the form of a government bailouts to protect corporate interests, which in turn, will be passed on to the public in the form of taxes” said George Rosquist, a member of Truth13.

On November 15, 2007, Vito Fossella protected his lending industry campaign contributors by voting against a bill (H.R. 3915, 11/25/2007). The bill would have required the disclosure of an estimated interest rate (APR), the maximum it can adjust, the total estimated monthly payment and what percentage it is of a borrower's monthly income. This bill would have reformed consumer mortgage
practices and provided accountability, with licensing and registration requirements for residential mortgage originators and minimum standards for consumer mortgage loans.

Steve Schwall of Truth13, said “If Fossella really wants to help the problem, why not lobby for an investigation into the business practices of the mortgage businesses and brokers who made so much money on these loans, fully knowing that most of them would default? Fines for fraud violations could be applied to a fund for the victims. I don't expect to see that from Vito, since he receives much of his campaign money from banks and financial industry services and probably would not want to hurt his friends.”

According to the Center for Responsive Politics, Federal Election Committee records show that since 1989, Rep. Fossella has received more than $1.7 million dollars in contributions from the Real Estate, Finance and Insurance sector [6]. On December 13th, 2007 Ameriquest, a member of the National Associated of Home Builders which has contributed over $17,000 to Rep. Fossella [7] since 1990, mailed checks to 25,000 of eligible homeowners in New York State [8] alone as part of a settlement agreement [9] that resolved an investigation by the Attorney Generals and banking/finance regulators implicating Ameriquest and other affiliated companies that had engaged in various unlawful mortgage lending practices from January 1, 1999 through December 31, 2005. Attorney General Andrew M. Cuomo said “Ameriquest both exploited borrowers and contributed to today's staggering crisis in the mortgage industry” [10].

About Truth13: Founded in 2007, Truth 13 is a group residents of New York's 13th Congressional district in Staten Island and Brooklyn who are concerned about how their Congressman is failing to represent his constituents. Their mission is to educate voters of the District to Fossella’s voting record and his dependence on campaign financing from the banking and other industries.

1. http://www.reuters.com/article/fundsFundsNews/idUSN1042665720071210
2. http://www.silive.com/news/advance/index.ssf?/base/news/119729166355850xml&coll=1&thispage=1
3. http://www.silive.com/news/advance/index.ssf?/base/news/1188726334318800.xml&coll=1&thispage=1
4. http://www.nydailynews.com/news/2007/10/26/2007­10­26_schumer_warns_of_15000_home_foreclosures.html
5. http://money.cnn.com/2007/04/13/real_estate/subprimebailout_cost.moneymag/index.htm
6. http://www.opensecrets.org/politicians/allsector.asp?CID=N00000983
7. http://www.opensecrets.org/orgs/recips.asp?ID=D000000086&Type=P&Cycle=A&Sort=A&State=NY
8. http://www.oag.state.ny.us/press/2007/jul/jul12b_07.html
9. http://www.ameriquestmultistatesettlement.com
10. http://www.oag.state.ny.us/press/2007/dec/dec24a_07.html

truth13ny.googlepages.com

DFNYC opening endorsement voting

Tonight was the candidate forum hosted by DFNYC, Stonewall Democratic Club, Three Parks Independent Democratic Club, Village Reform Democratic Club and Truth 13. The featured guests were to be Steve Harrison and Domenic Recchia. As of late this afternoon only Harrison had confirmed his attendance.

Tonight is also the opening of the endorsement voting for DFNYC in this race. Unlike many of the political clubs in the city voting members of DFNYC have attendance requirements to become a voting member, so this is not something that can easily be stacked. Harrison seems to be well received so far by members of the organization who have held events and fundraisers for him. Most of this support comes from his participation and progressive and grassroot outreach that is coming on strong this election. I have a hard time seeing how he does not easily win this endorsement and add it to his list. Here was my analysis of a DFNYC endorsement following Harrison's PDA endorsement;

PDA could bring invaluable volunteers into this race and if I had the option of having the volunteer advantage or the fund raising advantage I would gladly take the volunteers. You can buy ads and literature all you want, but if you don't have a ground game distributing those, talking to voters and getting them to the polls they are useless. If Democracy for America (DFA) follows suit and gets involved in this race on Harrison's behalf, which would not surprise me given DFNYC's involvement, I would think Harrison would quickly have the advantage in this race. I would also give him a sizable and experienced volunteer advantage. DFNYC enthusiastically campaigned for Barbaro in 2004 so they do have some history with this district and wanting to take out Fossella.

Check out dfnyc.org for voting information. Also this is another reason to join their mailing list if you have not done so alredy. You can signup at that link as well.

DFNYC endorses Harrison

via DFNYC email;

Democracy for NYC recently held a forum and endorsement vote in the Democratic Primary in NYC's 13th Congressional district, currently represented by incumbent Republican Vito Fossella. Steve Harrison has won our endorsement with an unprecedented 100% of the vote!

We look forward to working with Steve Harrison to defeat Vito Fossella in the 2008 elections. To learn more about Steve, check out his website:
http://www.steveharrisonforcongress.com

DFNYC voting members, those who have been to three events in the past year, were eligible to vote. Ballots could be downloaded at our website and mailed in, or turned in at events, between April 15th and April 29th.

On Tuesday, April 15, Democracy for NYC, Stonewall Democratic Club, Three Parks Independent Democratic Club, Village Reform Democratic Club and Truth 13 held a candidate forum for the Democratic primary in the 13th Congressional District: Both candidates were invited. Steve Harrison attended the forum. Councilmember Recchia did not attend.

Harrison has previously been endorsed by;
* Democratic Organization of Richmond County
* Staten Island Democratic Association
* American Heritage Democratic Club
* Progressive Democrats of America
* Democratic Advancement PAC