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  1. #1
    Senior Member jp_48504's Avatar
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    Legislators dump US mandates at 'Tea Party'

    Legislators dump US mandates at 'Tea Party'

    By April Simpson, Globe Staff | August 6, 2007

    Mimicking American colonists, four state senators from across the country staged a modern-day Boston Tea Party yesterday, this time protesting an overreaching government on the mainland.
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    "Instead of throwing tea in the harbor, we want to dump some of the unfunded federal mandates that we've been saddled with by Congress over the years," said Senator Richard T. Moore, who represents the Worcester and Norfolk districts in the state Legislature. "It's easy if you live in Washington to vote for a program, especially if you don't have to pay for it."

    From the deck of a 137-foot schooner docked at Rowes Wharf, the four legislators swung hollow crates marked with unfunded federal mandates above the murky waters of Boston Harbor.

    But it was just a ceremonial toss, imitating the 1773 protest against British taxation without representation.

    "We don't want to get arrested," Moore said while pretending to throw overboard a crate marked $12 million to fund No Child Left Behind, a law that raises standards for new teachers and has stringent requirements for public schools to raise students' test scores.

    Legislators from the 50 states and 25 countries are gathered in Boston this week for the annual National Conference of State Legislators, which opened yesterday. Senators from Texas, Georgia, and Virginia joined Moore on the deck of the Roseway, which was built in 1925.

    The legislators said they were concerned that in the past four fiscal years, the federal government has shifted $100 billion worth of unfunded mandates to states in an attempt to balance a burgeoning federal budget deficit. Unlike the federal government, states are required to balance their budgets every year, said Senator Leticia Van de Putte, a Texas Democrat.

    "Congress must start making difficult decisions and stop passing the buck to the states," said Van de Putte, who is president of National Conference of State Legislators.

    Senator Don Balfour, Republican of Georgia, said the Real ID Act, which requires states to comply with federal standards for issuing driver's licenses, is expected to cost states $11 billion over the next five years. The act, which President Bush signed in 2005, cost Massachusetts $150 million in its first year, Moore said.

    The cost-shifting measure calls for states to issue 240 billion new driver's licenses in the next five years, while verifying the legal presence of every applicant through databases that have not yet been implemented, Balfour said.

    "It may seem like a small thing on the surface, but as you dig deep, it's like an onion. The more you peel, the more it stinks," Balfour said.

    Senator Emmett Hanger, Republican of Virginia, added that the No Child Left Behind Act is being considered for renewal by Congress, but its "one-size-fits-all" approach should be tempered with a state-federal partnership that focuses on results instead of processes.

    "Now is the time to make this a truly effective education reform policy," Hanger said.

    Following Hanger's address, Moore and Balfour grabbed crates marked with "two of the worst federal mandates" -- the Real ID Act and No Child Left Behind -- and swung them over the water. When asked why they were not releasing them, Moore said, "I think the EPA has another mandate."

    Before leaving the vessel, Moore offered a few last words directed to a small group of tourists who had gathered to watch.

    "Keep spending money in Massachusetts," Moore said. "We need the sales tax revenue."

    April Simpson can be reached at asimpson@globe.com.

    http://www.boston.com/news/local/articl ... tea_party/
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  2. #2
    Senior Member Paige's Avatar
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    With a war funding and the funding for the illegal immigrant we just can't afford anything else. I would say that something has got to go. It may just be the Illegal Immigrant.
    <div>''Life's tough......it's even tougher if you're stupid.''
    -- John Wayne</div>

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    Senior Member AirborneSapper7's Avatar
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    Somebody's gotta go

    I agree it should be the Illegal Immigrant that gets the first boot ... but the corrupt politicians need to go soon after... it's just a shame we cannot mod edit these fools and put them on display in the town square for all to see
    Join our efforts to Secure America's Borders and End Illegal Immigration by Joining ALIPAC's E-Mail Alerts network (CLICK HERE)

  4. #4
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    We need to get rid of the corrupt politicians - and that's almost all of them - and the illegals at the same time. It is a cinch the ones up there now are not going to send them home.

    I do hope we don't get caught up in the Rep/Dem mindset again. It looks like we could see they are/have been cutting our throats for a very long time.
    Join our efforts to Secure America's Borders and End Illegal Immigration by Joining ALIPAC's E-Mail Alerts network (CLICK HERE)

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