Arcuri Shuts Down Debate on FISA Bill

When Rep. Michael Arcuri ran for Congress last year, he promised a new approach to legislating in Washington. But yesterday, Arcuri’s hypocrisy was on full display when he voted along with other Democrats on the House Rules Committee to prevent Republicans from even offering amendments to the FISA bill. This is exactly the type of tactic Democrats criticized Republicans for employing in years past.

Brian Faughnan writes in a lengthy post on the Weekly Standard that by closing down the debate, Arcuri prevented a vote on common-sense amendments that would “authorize surveillance of those engaged in the creation of Weapons of Mass Destruction; authorize surveillance of foreign terrorists outside the United States; extend liability protection to telecommunications companies that relied on government directives and shared information deemed necessary for protection from terrorist attack; and, allow a debate on the Bush administration’s alternative.”

Faughnan thinks he knows why Arcuri is afraid to let those amendments come up for a vote on the House floor:

Because they know a majority of the House is against the Democratic leadership on this and other security issues. When the House approved a temporary extension of FISA that was consistent with White House recommendations, 41 Democrats voted with nearly all House Republicans to pass a strong bipartisan bill. Democratic leaders couldn’t allow that to happen again.

Despite calling himself a moderate, Arcuri is showing his true political stripes on this issue. Residents of the 24th District would be appalled if the local newspapers started revealing the truth about what was happening in Washington.

Arcuri Avoids Commenting on Licenses for Illegals

The New York Observer isn’t giving up in its quest to get Rep. Michael Arcuri on the record about Gov. Eliot Spitzer’s plan to give drivers’ licenses to illegal immigrants. Fellow freshman Democratic Rep. John Hall is worried about the idea and Rep. Kirsten Gillibrand has already come out in opposition. Arcuri, on the other hand, “hasn’t returned several messages about the issue.”

Arcuri Silent on Giving Drivers’ Licenses to Illegals

Rep. Michael Arcuri isn’t shy when it comes to articulating his position on issues, so it’s awfully interesting to see him dodging the important question of whether New York should give state-issued drivers’ licenses to illegal aliens. One of Arcuri’s fellow Democrats, Rep. Kirsten Gillibrand, has already come out in opposition. Here’s the scoop from the Majority Accountability Project:

An article this week in the New York Observer gauged political support for Spitzer’s proposal, noting the controversial governor has placed fellow Democrats in the uncomfortable position of having to take a public position on a highly volatile – and unpopular – issue.

“Some Democrats in New York’s Congressional delegation have spoken up,” the Observer’s Azi Paybarah reported. “Carolyn Maloney and Joe Crowley, from strongly Democratic districts, in favor; Kirsten Gillibrand, from a Republican-leaning area upstate, opposed – others have been paralyzed by the perceived potential for backlash.”

Among those suffering paralysis are Hall and Arcuri.

“Newly elected representative John Hall said that he’s for comprehensive immigration reform, but that he’s still studying the governor’s proposal,” the Observer said. “A message left for another freshman Democrat, Michael Arcuri of Utica, was not returned by press time.”

Not surprisingly, Hall’s and Arcuri’s having no opinion on Spitzer’s contentious proposal continues a pattern of avoiding public positions on hot button issues. Both Congressmen tiptoed around the immigration issue during their 2006 campaigns, and neither issued any substantive policy statements.

The report goes on to examine Arcuri’s position on illegal aliens during his stint as Oneida County district attorney and during his campaign last year.

Arcuri Secures Money for Manure Project, Other Pork

There are benefits to being in the majority in Congress, and Rep. Michael Arcuri is taking full advantage of bringing home the bacon. There’s no better example of that than the $25,000 he secured for the Chenango County Agricultural Energy Steering Committee to study how to “turn cow manure into energy.”

The manure project is just one of many pork-barrel projects that Arcuri has trumpeted in recent weeks. Other examples include:

• A federal grant of $1.2 million for Broome County to purchase four new hybrid-electric transit buses. Arcuri had the help of Rep. Maurice Hinchey for this grant.

• Four fire departments in Arcuri’s district will get a total of $526,672 to improve their preparedness as first responders. They include $185,250 for the Pinders Corners Fire Department in Otsego County, $135,850 for the Coventry Volunteer Fire Company in Chenango County, $57,000 for the City of Norwich Fire Department in Chenango County, and $148,572 for the Westmoreland Volunteer Fire Department in Oneida County.

• Oneida County will get $243,600 from the U.S. Transportation Department to buy to buy “one support vehicle, a bus washer, and computer hardware and software.”

• Following in the footsteps of former Rep. Sherwood Boehlert, Arcuri has secured $1.7 million from the Federal Aviation Administration for “continued redevelopment efforts at the Griffiss Airfield in Rome.” This brings the total to $19.4 million for Griffiss over the past four years.