The government’s plan to try terrorists in Lower Manhattan is a noble idea that will create gridlock and economic chaos affecting hundreds of small businesses for years, putting most of them out of business. I support Mayor Bloomberg’s sensible call to move the trials to a military base or a more secure and less-trafficked area. And I’m surprised and disappointed that the Chair of the House Small Business Committee or one of her representatives did not appear at the hearings or comment on a situation which would create even more financial hardship for the suffering small businesses in her district.
Article Links:
House, With a Surprise Objection, Extends S.B.A. Stimulus Provisions
S.B.A. May Get Big Increase in Funds
Small Business Gets A Boost With War Bill
Bruce’s Response:
NYDIA SLAMS SMALL BUSINESS
Nydia Velazquez, the “mercurial chair” of the House Small Business Committee was one of only 23 Democrats to vote against a bill to reallocate $125 million of new credit for SBA loans to small businesses during the worst sustained recession in American history. Claiming that she opposes war funding, referring to the bill into which this funding gem was slipped, even though she previously voted for war funding, the Congresswoman effectively voted to screw Brooklyn, Queens and Manhattan small businesses out of SBA loans which directly support small businesses; the jobs-creation engine of our economy. Her position denies small businesses – the firms that will expand, hire new employees and stimulate local economic growth – a chance to weather the recession.
“Nydia’s unwillingness to bring home programs that will drive the economy in NY 12 and expand the base of small businesses is completely beyond understanding, Bruce Hirschfeld observed. “Was she distracted? Not paying attention? Or is she beholden to political or other special interests? How can the SBA committee chair be against funding new SBA loans? It doesn’t make any sense.”
Article Links:
Bill would give undocumented legal status
Progressives Push To Revisist Amnesty For Illegal Aliens
Bruce’s Response:
NYDIA’s IMMIGRATION REFORM PLAN IS UNREALISTIC
Immigration law desperately needs reform but Nydia Velazquez’s new unrealistic plan is wrong on two counts.
First, it plays on and to the anxieties and sympathies of the Latino community at the expense of getting a meaningful bill passed. Her proposal to offer illegal immigrants a $500 fine leading to a special 6 year visa ending up with a green card is the equivalent of waving a red flag in front of anti-immigration forces in Congress and among the public, many of who don’t need much encouragement to vote anti-Latino. The plan has no chance of passing. It’s a way to win sympathy from her financial supporters without gaining anything for the community.
Second, it’s a slap in the face to the immigrants who played by the rules, participated in previous amnesties and suffered through our antiquated system. Without a fair and realistic immigration program, there is no value to becoming a citizen and no difference between the services offered legal and illegal immigrants.
According to Bruce Hirschfeld, “We have a moral obligation toward immigrants, but this $500 fine and visa plan will inflame the majority who will vote against us. It’s the wrong strategy for getting what our community desperately needs – common sense and fair immigration reform. Nydia would rather play to her cronies than craft a proposal that actually has a chance to pass. It’s a classic move by a do-nothing politician.”
Article Links:
The Broadway Triangle, Now Playing
OK Given To Triangle Plans
Bruce’s Response:
NYDIA OPPOSES HOUSING & JOBS AT BROADWAY TRIANGLE PROJECT
After little public involvement in the 4-year old political battle over the redevelopment project called Broadway Triangle, a recently passed project that will bring jobs and 800 affordable housing units to NY 12, Nydia Velazquez has come out from the back rooms to express her opposition to forthcoming neighborhood improvements.
“This has been an extended, ugly battle over the spoils of a project that will ultimately bring jobs, housing and hope to North Brooklyn, ” Bruce Hirschfeld noted. “Our Congresswoman has been working the back rooms rather than working for the benefit of her constituents. More concerned with who gets the contracts and which supporters get rewards than in funding new jobs, building affordable homes and stimulating civic improvement for Williamsburg, Nydia once again demonstrates her utter lack of concern for the people of her district.”
Article Links:
Gowanus support stirs controversy
Bruce’s Response:
NYDIA WRONG ON GOWANUS CANAL CLEAN-UP
The Federal government needs to intervene to clean-up the Gowanus Canal. There are several ways to manage this complex process. Nydia Velazquez favors designating the canal a “Superfund” site which would trigger a range of government provisions and create a permanent stigma to the area. This approach is opposed by Mayor Bloomberg and others who better understand the nuances of the system and the needs of the community.
“The minute a site is designated under the Superfund rules, all kinds of options shut down and we lose any possible chance of real reclamation or real future development, Bruce Hirschfeld believes. ” There are several ways to skin this cat, but Nydia wants to take the simplest one which effectively writes off the neighborhood for generations and eliminates our prospects for attracting investment, creating new jobs or expanding our economic horizons.. This is another instance of our Congresswoman having little real understanding of the issues, the government procedures or the people she is supposed to serve.”
Article Links:
US House Districts With Fewest Academy Nominations
Bruce’s Response:
NYDIA DENIES NEW YORK TEENS COLLEGE OPPORTUNITIES
Every Member of Congress can appoint qualified students to the military academies. A military academy education is considered among the finest collegiate programs in the United States and is frequently a training ground for future community leaders, entrepreneurs and professionals. Most Congressmen use their complete quota.
Not our Congresswoman. Nydia Velazquez has consistently sidestepped opportunities to promote our youth and improve the diversity of the military. She is regularly among the lowest nominators in the Congress.
“We have the qualified students, we just don’t have a Congresswoman willing to advance them,” says Bruce Hirschfeld. “That’s the only logical conclusion. Her unwillingness to use these fully funded opportunities on behalf of students in NY 12 deprives deserving teenagers of educational opportunities and reduces the diversity in the armed forces. It’s a doubly negative posture.”
Article Links:
The N.F.I.B. Reconsiders Credit Card Reform
Bruce’s Response:
NYDIA EXCLUDES SMALL BUSINESSES FROM CREDIT CARD REFORM
Congress is trying to reform credit card practices to relieve credit pressures and stimulate the economy. Curiously Congresswoman Nydia Velazquez, Chair of the House Small Business Committee, doesn’t want the small business community to get the relief they need. She has stymied a bill that would include provisions for small businesses to enjoy credit card reform.
“It would be funny if the situation wasn’t so serious. The Chair of the Small Business Committee doesn’t seem to want to help small businesses in her district or elsewhere,” Bruce Hirschfeld remarked. “Here’s someone who has the potential to truly help and who chooses to stay on the sidelines when a key component of the NY 12 and the national economy are facing a credit card crunch. Its clear that credit card companies need to be pressured, regulated and reformed. Its also clear that credit cards give small businesses the wiggle room to survive in a very tough climate. As a small business owner myself I truly realize the importance of using credit to run my business. I go to Staples, or Home Depot, and use my credit cards. As a business owner I want the same credit card protections as consumers and I expect my congresswoman to fight for me. But Nydia isn’t up to the task. Like so many of her positions, this too, doesn’t make much sense.”
