DODD STATEMENT ON NIE AND STALLED IRAQ DEBATE

WASHINGTON -Senator and Presidential Candidate Chris Dodd today issued the following statement about the stalled Senate debate regarding Iraq.

"On the same day that the National Intelligence Estimate was declassified, and revealed that Al-Qaeda will likely leverage its contacts and capabilities in Iraq to mount an attack on U.S. soil, President Bush and his allies in the Senate are threatening to hold up a change of course in Iraq. The National Intelligence Estimate plainly shows that our continued involvement in Iraq is making us less secure at home and abroad, and yet there are some who believe that we must stay the course.

"I believe those who refuse to allow this Senate to vote on this critical issue do a grave disservice to America's security by enabling this President to continue with his failed strategy in Iraq. Every additional day we "stay the course" in Iraq our nation is less safe and the people of Iraq get further away from coming together to fashion a political and diplomatic solution to their civil conflict. Our men and women in uniform have served this nation valiantly in Iraq, but we must serve them better by safely and responsibly bringing this war to an end.

"It is imperative that we change course in Iraq now.

"Sadly the President and his allies stand in the way of that goal. But support for the President's policy erodes as each passing day unfolds with more violence and chaos in Iraq. And, I predict the day will come when this Congress will have the courage to say enough is enough - but sadly it won't come before more American lives are lost, our standing in the world is further eroded, and our country becomes more vulnerable."

Edwards for President Campaign to Hold Policy Forums Across New Hampshire

(Manchester, NH) – From Monday, July 23rd, through Thursday, July 26th, the Edwards for President Campaign will host a series of policy forums across New Hampshire that will give voters the chance to talk with senior policy staff about Edwards' policies concerning Iraq, veterans' issues, the environment, disability issues and health care.

Campaign Manager Congressman David Bonior and the senior policy staff will join New Hampshire voters to discuss Senator Edwards’ bold and detailed policies. These forums will get beyond ‘sound bite’ answers and offer the opportunity to hear in-depth voters’ comments, questions, and suggestions.

The events are free and open to the public. For more information or to RSVP go to www.johnedwards.com/nh/events.

July 23rd – Iraq War Policy Forum and Debate Watch Party

5:30 p.m.

5:30 p.m.

John Edwards for President Office

12 North Main Street, Concord, NH 03301

July 24th – Veterans Policy Forum

7:00 p.m.

John Edwards for President Office

40 Chestnut Street, Dover, NH 03824

July 25th – Environmental Policy Forum

12:00 p.m.

John Edwards for President Office

12 North Main Street, Concord, NH 03301

July 25th – Disabilities Policy Forum, Portsmouth

7:00 p.m.

John Edwards for President Office

195 Hanover Street, Suite 34, Portsmouth, NH 03801

July 26th – Health Care Policy Forum

7:00 p.m.

John Edwards for President Office

66 Hanover Street, Suite 201, Manchester, NH 03101

Shea-Porter Introduces Bill to Curb Presidential Signing Statements

Washington, DC - Congresswoman Carol-Shea Porter (D-NH) introduced a bill on Monday to rein in the use of presidential signing statements. The Presidential Signing Statements Act of 2007 (HR 3045) would prohibit the courts from considering signing statements when interpreting federal laws.

Shea-Porter's legislation is the companion to a bill introduced in the Senate last month by Senator Arlen Specter (R-PA), the ranking Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee.

"President Bush has trampled on the constitutional separation of powers through his abuse of signing statements," said Congresswoman Shea-Porter. "He has attempted to usurp power that was given to the Congress, not the President, and has severely bruised the system of checks and balances. This is an insult to the founders of this country and to the American people, and it cannot be allowed to continue."

Instead of issuing new regulations for the President or the Executive Branch, Shea-Porter's bill seeks to protect the constitutional separation of powers by defining how the courts may use signing statements when interpreting the law. Specifically, the bill reads: "In determining the meaning of any Act of Congress, no Federal or State court shall rely on or defer to a presidential signing statement as a source of authority." H.R. 3045 does not attempt to curtail legitimate uses for signing statements, such as providing instruction to executive branch agencies.

"Every third grader learns about separation of powers and checks and balances - the Congress writes the laws and the President signs them," continued Shea-Porter. "Nowhere in the Constitution does it say that the President can approve part of a law and ignore the rest."

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United States House of Representatives
1508 Longworth House Office Building * Washington, DC 20515

(202) 225-5456 phone * (202) 225-5822 fax * http://shea-porter.house.gov

Background on H.R. 3045: The Presidential Signing Statements Act

History of Signing Statements:

Although signing statements have been around since Andrew Jackson, their use has increased dramatically in recent years. As of April of this year, President Bush had issued 127 separate signing statements containing challenges to over 700 specific provisions of various bills. There have also been a number of high profile cases, including the McCain anti-torture amendment and the Patriot Act reauthorization, in which the President has used signing statements to ignore laws passed by Congress.

Some of the most prominent signing statements in which President Bush asserted that he would not follow the law involved:

o       Congressional requirements to report back to Congress on the use of Patriot Act authority to secretly search homes and seize private papers;

o       The McCain amendment forbidding any U.S. officials to use torture or cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment on prisoners (the President said in his statement that as Commander in Chief he could waive any such requirement if necessary to prevent terrorist attacks);

o       A requirement that government scientists transmit their findings to Congress uncensored, along with a guarantee that whistleblower employees at the Department of Energy and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission will not be punished for providing information to Congress about safety issues in the planned nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain

Some additional examples of signing statements in which President Bush has indicated he will not follow the law are:
o       Bills banning the use of U.S. troops in combat against rebels in Colombia;
o       Bills requiring reports to Congress when money from regular appropriations is diverted to secret operations;
o       Two bills forbidding the use in military intelligence of materials "not lawfully collected" violation of the Fourth Amendment; a post-Abu Ghraib bill mandating new regulations for military prisons in which military lawyers were permitted to advise commanders on the legality of certain kinds of treatment even if the Department of Justice lawyers did not agree;

o       Bills requiring retraining of prison guards in humane treatment under the Geneva Conventions, requiring background checks for civilian contractors in Iraq and banning contractors from performing security, law enforcement, intelligence and criminal justice functions.

[Source: American Bar Association Task Force on Presidential Signing Statements and the Separation of Powers Doctrine, July 24, 2006. http://www.abanet.org/op/signingstatements/aba_final_signing_statements_recommendation-report_7-24-06.pdf ]

Provisions of HR 3045: The Presidential Signing Statements Act of 2007

o       Prevents the President from issuing a signing statement that alters the meaning of a statute by instructing Federal and State courts not to rely on Presidential signing statements in interpreting a statute.

o       Grants Congress the power to participate in any case where the construction or constitutionality of any act of Congress is in question and a presidential signing statement for that act was issued, by:

a)      Allowing Congress to file an amicus brief and present oral argument in such a case.
b)      Instructing that if Congress passes a joint resolution declaring its view of the correct interpretation of the statute, the court must admit that resolution into the case record.

c)      Providing for expedited review in such a case.

Timeline of the Presidential Signing Statements Act: H.R.3045 and S.1747

o       S.1747 was introduced in the Senate by Sen. Arlen Specter (R-PA) on June 29, 2007
o       HR.3045 was introduced in the House by Congresswoman Carol Shea-Porter on July 16, 2007

Dodd Campaign Offers Unprecedented Look into Campaign Life

WASHINGTON - Senator Chris Dodd's Presidential campaign will be holding an extended day of D-TV, a multi-channel video window into the campaign. Dodd, who has been praised by Jeff Jarvis of the Washington Post's Channel 08 as being "more open and expansive with his Internet video strategy than most of the candidates," will have his campaign staff on hand for live chats with voters across the country.

"With D-TV we are able to use groundbreaking technology to give supporters across the country the ability to get involved with our campaign in a very direct way," said internet director Tim Tagaris. "The extended day of D-TV will give viewers an unprecedented opportunity to interact with senior members of the Dodd Campaign and gain a greater understanding of what exactly happens in the day to day operations of the campaign."

Participants in D-TV's inaugural day of extended coverage include Communications Director Hari Sevugan, Deputy Campaign Manager Matt Butler, Political Director Scott Arceneaux, Internet Director Tim Tagaris and Policy Director Amos Hochstein. The full schedule of D-TV coverage is below.

D-TV Schedule
12:00     Chat with Communications Director Hari Sevugan
12:10     Live office camera
12:30     Chat with Deputy Campaign Manager Matt Butler
12:45     Live office camera
1:00       Chat with Policy Director Amos Hochstein
1:15       Live office camera
1:30      Chat with Internet Director Tim Tagaris
1:45      Live office camera
2:00      Chat with Political Director Scott Arceneaux
2:25      Live office camera
2:45      Chat with Scheduler Jennifer Goodman
3:15      Chat with Blogger Matt Browner-Hamlin
5:00      Nightly newscast
5:30      Chat with Finance Director Vince Frillici

Dal LaMagna Announces Bid for U.S. Presidency

Dal LaMagna is announcing his candidacy for the Democratic nomination for the U.S. Presidency tomorrow, Wednesday, July 18, in Concord, New Hampshire.  The announcement will be held at 11:00 a.m. at the Barley House, 132 North Main Street, Concord, NH. 

LaMagna is a progressive businessman, the founder of the Progressive Government Initiative, and the executive producer of three documentary films about the Iraq war: The War Tapes, Iraq for Sale, and The Ground Truth.

LaMagna is expected to discuss what he has learned from numerous meetings with U.S. generals, Iraqi members of Parliament, Iraqi clerics, tribal sheiks, and citizens over the past six months. He is also expected to share some video clips of these meetings that highlight suggestions for ending the violence.

LaMagna advocates immediate announcement that all troops will be withdrawn from Iraq according to a timeline negotiated with the Iraqi Government..  "Most Iraqis I've heard from tell me they want us to leave, they can take care themselves, there won't be civil war," LaMagna says in an ad that begins airing on New Hampshire TV stations Wednesday night.

During his announcement, LaMagna will tell Americans what they can do to accelerate the beginning of the end of the violence in Iraq against our troops and Iraqis.

In 1980, LaMagna founded Tweezerman, a company where he practiced responsible capitalism and where each employee was an owner.  Starting from nothing, LaMagna built Tweezerman into a successful multinational corporation. 

Beginning at 6:00 a.m. on Wednesday, LaMagna's announcement speech can be read in its entirety via his campaign website, lamagnaforpresident.com.

To interview Dal LaMagna, please call Jennifer Hicks, 617-285-9068.