Great endorsement of Senator Kerry

U.S. Senate

There are many reasons why Kerry, who faces Republican challenger Jeff Beatty of Harwich, deserves a fifth term in the Senate.

As we noted in our primary endorsement of our junior senator, Kerry has accomplished much for the nation and the commonwealth while conducting himself according to the highest principles. The voters agreed, handing Kerry a decisive victory over Gloucester lawyer Edward J. O'Reilly, who challenged him in the Sept. 16 Democratic primary.

In last week's one-and-only televised debate on NECN, Kerry's general election challenger, a former Army Delta Force officer, FBI counterterrorism consultant and CIA agent, took the same tack O'Reilly used, lambasting the senator for his vote authorizing the war in Iraq.

As we said in the editorial leading up to the primary, Kerry's vote for the war is a non-issue. He has explained his decision on that vote, contending that he was misled by the administration into believing war was a last resort. While we have opposed the war from the outset, we believe those who voted to authorize the president could not have expected that President Bush would have so recklessly ordered the Iraq invasion.

Kerry's support for troops serving in harm's way and returning veterans has been well-documented.

What we need to hear from the candidates during the lead-up to this election is where they stand on issues that affect middle-class Americans who are worried about the economy, health care and the environment.

On those issues, Kerry - like his senior counterpart, U.S. Sen. Edward M. Kennedy - has proven his commitment to make health care affordable for all.

Kerry has also been an outstanding advocate for the environment, recognizing that a new century offers more incentives to invest in clean energy initiatives. With Massachusetts positioning itself as a leader in promoting green jobs and industries, Kerry will be in a powerful position to help the commonwealth realize those ambitions.

Kerry's experience in the early '90s as the chairman of hearings that uncovered the Bank of Credit and Commerce International (BCCI) crisis, which was, at the time, the largest bank fraud scandal in history, should be valuable as the nation grapples with the repercussions of the current financial meltdown.

We are deeply troubled by Beatty's support for a ballot measure that would require the state to repeal the income tax, which we believe would be catastrophic to state services and local aid. Kerry is wisely against it.

We urge voters to return John Kerry to Washington. We need him there, more than ever.

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Since announcing his endorsement last month, Kerry has kept a frenetic pace, campaigning in nine states and contributing to the campaign in a slew of other ways, including:

Sending 25 million e-mails to raise support for Obama, including seven messages to each of the 3 million members of johnkerry.com, his online political community

Raising $400,000 online for Obama since his endorsement

Making 47 appearances on national and local television and radio programs to speak on Obama’s behalf

Making 10 trips to campaign for Obama in critical primary states stretching from Massachusetts to California to Texas

Making 60 phone calls to urge key superdelegates to support Obama’s campaign

10/20/2008

Kerry Calls On Paulson, Bernanke for Strict Oversight of AIG

WASHINGTON, D.C. – On Friday, Sen. John Kerry called on the Bush Administration to provide strict oversight of American International Group (AIG)’s expenses to insure taxpayer funds are not wasted.

In a letter to Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, Kerry called AIG’s recent lavish spending days after receiving a massive government loan “inappropriate” and “unacceptable” and specifically asked that all excessive spending and undue executive compensation be firmly prohibited.

“In these turbulent economic times, we must do everything possible to insure that the taxpayer’s hard-earned funds used to bailout big corporations are not spent on lavish parties, lobbyists, or bonuses for executives,” said Sen. Kerry. “I call on Secretary Paulson and Chairman Bernanke to do all they can to prevent AIG and other corporations from wasting taxpayer dollars.”

The full text of the letter is below:

October 17, 2008

Dear Secretary Paulson and Chairman Bernanke:

I am writing to ask you to use the authority provided under the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 (EESA) to insure that the American International Group (AIG) does not incur any unnecessary or excessive expenses at a cost to the taxpayer. In addition, I ask you to insure that executives at AIG do not receive any salaries, bonuses or benefits beyond those allowed under the executive compensation provisions in EESA.

According to published reports, AIG executives hosted a lavish $400,000 retreat at a California resort only days after AIG received an $85 billion loan from the federal government and while negotiations were ongoing for a second $37.8 billion loan. I am deeply concerned that the actions by AIG executives are inappropriate, unacceptable and are an insult to taxpayers who are providing their hard earned money to bailout this company. Every action needs to be taken to insure that AIG executives and all other corporations who receive taxpayer assistance do not abuse that trust.

I supported the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 because I believe that it provides you the tools that are needed to respond initially to the current financial crisis. However, I believe that corporations that receive federal assistance must live by rules that limit the costs to taxpayers, I believe the EESA provisions on executive compensation should be followed in every instance where a corporation receives either Treasury or the Federal Reserve funds, I also believe stronger limits on executive compensation are necessary and this issue should be addressed in the 111th Congress.

As you know, the executive compensation provisions included in EESA provide for the recovery of any bonus or incentive compensation paid to a senior executive officer based on statements of earnings, gains or other criteria that are later proved to be materially inaccurate. I ask you to provide me in detail the procedures that Treasury will implement to enforce the clawback provision and to ensure that companies receiving assistance are using this assistance for their daily operations and not unnecessary expenses. In addition, I ask you to take every action possible under current law to ensure that current AIG executives repay unnecessary expenses such as the $400,000 spent on the retreat. Please inform me if you need any additional authority to require companies like AIG to repay wasteful spending.

Thank you again for your consideration of my request. I appreciate your efforts to respond to this financial crisis and look forward to working with you on this important issue.

Kerry for US Senate

October 20, 2008

THE CASE for reelecting John F. Kerry to the US Senate would be strong under any circumstances. But the deepening recession will put pressure on Washington to retreat from causes that Kerry has made his own. The country needs his voice more than ever to push for expanded healthcare, action on global warming, and generous aid to countries facing the AIDS epidemic. The Globe endorses him for a fifth term.

Early on, Kerry saw the need to provide healthcare to children of working-poor families that earned too much to qualify for Medicaid. The State Children's Health Insurance Program, or S-Chip, addresses this, but proponents of expanding it failed in Congress this year. As Barack Obama said in a debate, healthcare is a right, not a privilege. Insuring children, at least, should not have to wait until the economy rebounds from the excesses of Wall Street.

Kerry was also an early advocate of curbing greenhouse gas emissions. The economic downturn has already caused members of the European Union to talk about backtracking on commitments to carbon dioxide reductions. Congress will hear similar arguments about the cost of converting to greener energy sources. Kerry, on the contrary, sees this as a "Rooseveltian moment" - a chance not to step back but to make investments in clean energy and infrastructure, including high-speed rail.

To the "drill, baby, drill" crowd, Kerry has the best answer: The oil and gas under environmentally vulnerable waters like Georges Bank constitute a strategic petroleum reserve that the nation should save for a time of real need.

Kerry has also been a Horatio at the bridge against efforts to open the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge for oil drilling.

A rare achievement of President Bush's has been his ability to rally both Republicans and Democrats behind his President's Emergency Program for AIDS Relief in Africa and other regions stricken by the disease. Kerry and former Republican senator William Frist of Tennessee led the way on AIDS assistance before Bush, to his credit, embraced the cause. As the nation's budget picture worsens, Kerry and others will likely have to fight to maintain funding for this vital program.

Kerry's Republican opponent, antiterrorism consultant Jeff Beatty of Cape Cod, could bring valuable national-security experience to the Senate. On the other hand, his opposition to taxes - he favors the reckless ballot question wiping out the state income tax - and a woman's right to choose raise doubts about his judgment on critical issues Congress will be facing. Especially in tough times, the state and the country will be better off having Kerry in the Senate.