Oct 22 2009
Larry Kissell Double Talks on Transparency
As a general rule of thumb, I will not post press releases from the NRCC or the DNC (yet that doesn’t stop them from sending me 10 a week) because they typically are just cheap partisan pot shots. This one, however, I do think has some legitimate merit.
ShareEarlier this month, Larry Kissell joined 22 other members of Congress in petitioning leadership to provide a greater level of transparency in the House’s handling of legislation.
“We have always believed that transparency and openness are essential to a fair and working government…Rep. Brian Baird has put forward a proposal, H Res 554, which would prohibit the House from considering legislation that has not been made publicly available, via the Internet, to Members of the Congress and the general public for at least 72 hours. We strongly agree with the intent of this proposal.” (letter from Rep. Larry Kissell and 22 other members to Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, 10/5/09 )
That was then, this is now. When it was time to back up his words with his vote, Kissell balked.
“Larry Kissell proved once again that he prefers to let his party craft their big-government machinations behind a cloud of secrecy when he voted late yesterday to kill a measure that would have shined the light on important legislation. Kissell sided with his Democrat colleagues on the House Agriculture Committee to squelch a Republican amendment that would have required all committee legislation to be available online within 24 hours of consideration and all amendments to be available online within 24 hours of passage.” (see NRCC release below)
FOR AN EXPLANATION, CALL LARRY KISSELL AT (202) 225-3715
FOR MORE INFORMATION, CALL ANDY SERÉ AT (713) 806-7720
So these groups actually spam you because you run this blog?
That could explain a lot of the stuff I’ve been getting in the last couple of years.
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Stupid Ultra Moderate Kissell let that funding for Republican Murdock’s Bio-Center go through after Robin Hayes failed for 5 years asking for same.
God, I hate effective people that bring 5,000 jobs to a District when they have a D by their name.
Funding for USDA center at research campus secured (Independent Tribune)
KANNAPOLIS – The N.C. Research Campus has got a new tenant on the way.
President Barack Obama signed the FY 2010 Agriculture Appropriations Bill Wednesday — which included $1 million to establish a U.S. Department of Agriculture human nutrition research center in Kannapolis.
“The Nutrition Center will be home to ground-breaking research that will make our communities healthier,” U.S. Rep. Larry Kissell said in a statement. “This research can help us to better understand exactly how nutrition impacts our health as well as bring new jobs to our area.”
Kissell originally asked for $500,000, which passed the U.S. House over the summer. Then Sens. Richard Burr and Kay Hagan added $500,000 more to the appropriation. The full amount passed the U.S. Senate in August.
This is a piece of welcome news for the research campus, which has seen construction grind to a halt because of economic conditions and a partner company — Wilmington-based contract research organization PPD — leave in May.
The Agriculture Research Service, the research arm of the USDA, would use the funds to hire staff to establish the center in the Core Research Laboratory. It would be the seventh center dedicated to human nutrition the USDA operates in the country — the largest one being in Beltsville, Md.
Campus developer Castle & Cooke and the City of Kannapolis have been lobbying to have a federal presence in Kannapolis since Dole Food Company owner David Murdock announced the research campus in 2005.
“It’s incredibly gratifying to see direct investment in research by the federal government,” said City Manager Mike Legg. “We think this is a nice foot in the door and there is plenty of room for growth. This is not the end to the pursuit of this presence, but the beginning.”
North Carolina has a significant investment in the research campus, through funding research institutes through seven campuses of the UNC system. In the budget approved by the General Assembly in August, the research campus will be seeing $3 million in FY 2010 and $3 million in FY 2011, bringing the state’s total recurring investment in the research campus to $22.5 million.
The state also is supporting Rowan-Cabarrus Community College and its biotechnology training programs. RCCC’s building is currently under construction at the campus.
Earlier this month, Murdock told the Charlotte Chamber of Commerce retreat in Pinehurst that three more buildings will begin construction in November.
“The arrival of the USDA Human Nutrition Research Center to the N.C. Research Campus will long be remembered as a benchmark in fulfilling the mission of the campus to transform nutrition, agriculture and human health to benefit mankind,” Murdock said in a statement.
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Republicans TOTALLY should have had a chance to review and vote AGAINST jobs in the 8th District. How can they win if people have jobs?
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