Kerry: Congress Must Tone Down Rhetoric, Get Down To Business

Following this weekend’s tragic events in Arizona, Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) told an audience at the left-leaning Center for American Progress (CAP) that Congress must work to eliminate the hyperpartisan atmosphere and rhetoric that has engulfed the process in which America’s government functions.

“In the weeks and months ahead, the real issue we need to confront isn’t just what role divisive political rhetoric may have played on Saturday, but it’s the violence, divisive, overly simplistic dialogue does to our democracy every day,” Kerry said.

The Senator supported House Speaker John Boehner’s decision to suspend the House’s usual business this week but called on Congress to “suspend and end business as usual in the United States Capitol” moving forward. The effects of hyperpartisanship are evidenced in the record number of cloture votes held in the 111th Congress, Kerry said. Additionally, he asserted that his call for bipartisanship should echo through Congress in a time when the nation is mourning and struggling to trust an entity Kerry said shies away from making tough but necessary decisions.

“The big question wasn’t whose rhetoric was right or wrong,” Kerry said. “But whether our political conversation was indeed worthy of the confidence and trust of the American people.”

Aside from toning down political rhetoric on the hill, the Senate Foreign Relations Chair made clear that extreme spending cuts alone would not yield the amount of recovery needed to sufficiently reduce the nation’s deficit. The former Democratic presidential candidate stressed that increasing infrastructure and alternative energy investments will create jobs for America and will keep the nation amid the world’s elite countries.

“In this time of crisis, in this time of mourning, in this time of challenge and opportunity, we all need to commit to reaching across the aisle as colleagues did before us to unite to do the exceptional things that, together, can keep America exceptional,” Kerry said. “That’s our mission and we need to get about the business of accomplishing it.”

U.S. struggling to keep up with U.A.E. in renewables

At the 11th Annual Congressional Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Expo and Forum, several representatives delivered remarks on the potential of private sector businesses in the support of renewable energy. Private companies lobbying for federal assistance presented such products as private home and community wind generators.

Senator Wayne Allard (R-Colo.) said the private sector is the most appropriate and efficient means to expand renewable energy sources. Congressman Zachary Wamp (R-Tenn.) said the transition from natural gas to renewable fuels is "the most important challenge of our generation." Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.) said the U.S. has a lot of work to do to catch up with countries like Germany and the United Arab Emirates in terms of renewables. Congressman Jay Inslee (D-Wash.) said the U.S. needs to find freedom from its slavery and addiction to oil. He added that renewable energy is a huge economic growth opportunity and also "saves the planet."

Sorting out the fact from fiction in electronic employment verification systems

The House Judiciary Committee oversaw a hearing on electronic employment verification systems and the safeguards needed to protect privacy and prevent misuse within them. Chairwoman Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.) and Chairman John Conyers, Jr. (D-Mich.) presided over the hearing, while Rep. Ken Calvert (R-Calif.), Rep. Heath Shuler (D-N.C.), Rep. Sam Johnson (R-Tex.), and Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.) served as the primary witnesses. Both Lofgren and Conyers wanted a thorough explanation of the E-Verify system and the New Employee Verification Act (NEVA), sorting out the fact from the fiction.

Conyers said that the main purpose of the hearing was to figure out a way to improve the E-Verify system. E-Verify was created as part of the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 in order to verify the employment eligibility of both U.S. citizens and noncitizens at no charge to the employer. Calvert and Shuler highlighted the benefits of using E-Verify. Calvert said that all employers are required to check all potential new employees, inversely protecting everyone from discrimination. Shuler explained the high performance rate, saying that out of 1,000 employees 942 would be cleared automatically, 53 would be correctly mismatched, and the remaining five would successfully fight their mismatch. This gave the system an error rate of only half a percent.

Johnson and Giffords argued the flaws of E-Verify and explained the benefits of NEVA. Johnson said that in order to create an effective, secure, and reliable system, the system must prohibit unlawful employment, protect workers, partner with employers, reduce the risk of identity theft, and protect Social Security. Giffords agreed with him and said that NEVA fulfills each of these guidelines making it the best alternative to the E-Verify system. She stressed that if Congress does nothing to improve the system, “we will have failed.”