Should Rochester Be Thanking Bass?

Congressman Bass Energy Policy. The SMART Act.

So I spent some time today reading the press released SMART Act introduced by Congressman Charlie Bass. The testimony of Paul Chamberlin, AVP of UNH as a part of this was interesting and very smart.

He talked about ECOline which is a 12.6 mile pipeline that runs from the Turnkey Landfill in Rochester, NH to UNH where methane gas created from decomposing garbage is turned into electricity from congeneration. Mr. Chamberlin heralds this as good energy policy.

Maybe it is.

But what does Rochester get from all this? Do they get a higher host community agreement or payment in lieu of taxes for having this landfill and it's energy producing methane?

Since this pipeline is now in place I'm assuming the Rochester landfill owned by mulinational waste giant Waste Managment Inc. will need a continuing flow of garbage that can decompose to create the methane gas to power the lights at UNH. Did the voters of Rochester have any say if they wanted continued or expanded landfill operations in their city?

My guess is no they did not.

I wonder if UNH upon realizing an energy cost savings from the ECOline project lowered its overall tuition rates for instate students or offer some scholarships to Rochester students to attend UNH.

My guess is no they did not.

I'll be watching the SMART Act. I'm sure it leads somewhere I just don't know where.

Where's The Bacon Congressman Bass!

Years of political experience and what exactly is Congressman Bass doing for New Hampshire? What exactly?

This is a recent press release from the Vermont Congressional Delegation showing that their respective offices are doing what they're elected to to do:

Go to Washington, D.C. and bring back the bacon!

In this case long-term economic development and jobs.

"Senators Patrick Leahy and Bernie Sanders and Representative Peter Welch
Tuesday announced that Vermont will receive a $7.9 million grant from the US
Department of Transportation to upgrade the New England Central Railroad
in northern Vermont.
The federal grant will be used to rehabilitate 19 miles of track between
St. Albans and the Canadian border in Alburgh with new rail, ballast and
ties, and to make structural and deck repairs on six bridges. By achieving a
286,000-pound carrying capacity on the entire line in Vermont, this project
will make freight rail more efficient and competitive, creating new
economic opportunities for companies all along the rail line.
These rail improvements also will accelerate efforts by the State of
Vermont and Amtrak to expand passenger rail service along The Vermonter line to
Montreal – creating a seamless connection between major cities like
Washington, Philadelphia, New York, and Montreal and points in between.
Leahy said, “On top of the enhancements we are already making into this
rail line, these additional improvements will make Vermont more competitive
by generating new economic opportunities for businesses and new
transportation options for travelers. This is a wise investment in our future and a
real vote of confidence in the rail line and the Governor’s vision for rail in
Vermont.”
Sanders said, “Not only will this grant create jobs and enhance movement
of freight between Vermont and Canada, but upgrading this segment of track
is another step towards extending Amtrak’s Vermonter passenger rail service
to Montreal. This is exactly the kind of investment in our rail
infrastructure that the federal government should be doing.”

To Whom The Bass Tolls.

This blog is probably going to read like some sour grapes against the performance of Congressman Charlie Bass to his lack of response to my recent inquiry to his office about a piece of trade legislation that will affect all of New Hampshire.

This isn’t the case because there are lots of places I can contact regarding legislation including contacting congressional district offices in Maine and get quality information instead of where I live; which is in the NH Second Congressional District.

Let’s move on.

Recently I saw in the newspaper Bass is sponsoring a session at the NH Technical Institute in Concord an educational opportunity for constituents to learn how to “use Facebook and Social Media.”

Really.

I don’t use Facebook it is my understanding is that this is a site that is primarily designed for people to download their photos and personal, sexual problems for the whole world to see. So I guess Congressman Bass thinks it’s valuable to use his staff (taxpayer financed ) to teach people how to use Facebook and other social media.

I don’t understand this.

Let’s move on again.

So I’m reading the newspaper again and the NH Attorney General is subpoena information about the Bass Victory Committee and Robo telephone calls the article stated that “settlement was offered” but it didn’t work out, later the $400,000.00 fine was mentioned.

If the Bass campaign didn’t do anything wrong then why was the word settlement mentioned?

Where is a James Tobin when you need him?

I’m not sour grapes on Congressman Bass now I know the rules if I need the services of my Congressman or have questions about a major piece of legislation I’ll just call over to Maine and they’ll do a great job at returning my phone calls with conversation and ideas of real substance.

Moving New Hampshire Forward.

“Has the potential to become the world’s most powerful trading block.”-Video.

One of the disadvantages of being a follower of politics and policy is that there can be the tendency to be an armchair quarterback.

“If I were on the field I’d do it this way, I’d pass the ball and my side would win the football game.”

Well I’m not down on the field, I’m not the quarterback, I’m not a policymaker and I’m sure that if I were in either of these position(s) it would be a heck of a lot different.

But I’m going to continue on anyway...

I’m disappointed that Congressman Bass didn’t get back to me after my questions at a recent town hall event in Bath. But I can understand his position. Free trade agreements half way around the world isn’t exactly a pressing issue for the second congressional district. I’m sure his staff persons have all the work that they can handle as well.

It’s still an important issue.

During this same meeting when asked Bass himself said that working on the bureaucracy called the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) was going to be a priority for him during this next legislative session. I don’t know what determines what his important priorities are; but if I were a member of congress I’d think that a major piece of trade legislation encompassing: “1/3 of the world’s GDP.” would be important and even if I weren’t directly involved in its drafting I’d still have some knowledge of this bill and what it could mean to New Hampshire.

Congressman Bass stated to me that he has never heard of this legislation.

I’ve been doing some research on my own the Trans-Pacific Trade Zone is also called the Trans-Pacific Partnership.

And it will impact New Hampshire along with the rest of the United States.

Questioning The Councilor.

So after Congressman Bass responds about foreign trade I continue on the iniative asking Executive Councilor Ray Burton the following:

Q. "Councilor Burton you have told me and other constituents that you support the NH Rail Transit Authority, a quasi state agency that has no oversight and substantial contact and bonding authority to increase state indebtedness and costs to the taxpayers. How can you support this when there has been no evidence that passenger rail service between Concord and Boston would even be viable?"

Burton responds by talking about the Amtrak Downeaster and how Maine advanced this using Federal money. And how effective the Amtrak Downeaster is. I responded to this by offering a clarification that the Amtrak Downeaster was created by public referendum, over 500,000 signatures were collected and it was placed on and approved by vote in a public referendum. This doesn't exist in New Hampshire. So I followed up with another question:

Q. "Councilor how can you support a multi-million dollar proposal that probally isn't even viable, how many people from your district have been appointed to the rail authority and how many citizens of Manchester, Nashua and Concord are saying that they want this rail service?"

Burton responded by explaining that there would likely be a contract before the Governor and Executive Council to "study the feasibility of this rail service." As if this hasn't already been studied umpteenth times by every state Regional Planning Commission, Consultant and even Amtrak itself. Then the long-time Executive Councilor goes on describing the political process and how Governor Lynch makes his appointments including the influential former Sen. Peter Burling. And then he closed out his reponse by stating "New Hampshire has a long history of subsidizing mass transit systems, he cited Concord Trailways, now Concord Coach as an example "I support this." he said.

At this point Congressman Bass offered some comments to this Keynesian, big government, more taxes economic model:

"I remember when Manchester Airport was nothing more than a dilapidated hanger and parking was on the grass adjacent to the building for $1.00 if you choose to pay it." Congressman Bass said.

Then he described how far Manchester Airport has come in terms of development and what this has brought to transportation and economic development across the region. He also suggested that rail service into Manchester would assist in the development and create Manchester as a viable alternative to Logan Airport in Boston.

It was getting late in the evening and I decided against evoking a running debate as to how spending millions of dollars to run half-empty trains into Manchester is going to change the dynamics of an airport where ticket prices and parking are issues that can be resolved by just taking the bus into Boston's Logan airport.

It was good of these two elected officials to even offer this Town Hall meeting I think as time goes by and the next generation of individuals gets elected into offices like this this won't happen anymore.

They'll probably just do it online.