Senator George Allen (Allen) to
chensihong@chensihong.org;chensihong@cableplus.com.cn
Senator Allen's May Newsletter
----- Original Message -----
From: Senator George Allen (Allen)
Sent: Saturday, April 30, 2005 2:16 AM
Subject: Senator Allen's May Newsletter
May 2005 Newsletter
Dear
Friend:
I hope this newsletter finds you in good
spirits! April has been a busy month for legislative work here in
Washington, D.C. If I haven’t seen you while traveling around the
Commonwealth this month, I hope this note will help to update you on my
activities on your behalf in the U.S. Senate.
Virginia Sports Hall of Fame Opens In Portsmouth
Last month, I had the opportunity to deliver the
keynote speech at the grand opening of the Virginia Sports Hall of Fame
in Portsmouth. The Hall of Fame’s new facility is a tremendous
attraction which will bring more visitors, events and business activity
to downtown Portsmouth.
It doesn’t matter if
you’re a Redskins fan, a racing fan or a fan of any other sport – I
think all Virginians will love this wonderful, interactive, exciting
museum.
My father was inducted into the Virginia
Sports Hall of Fame seven years ago and I had the honor of giving his
induction speech. I was thrilled to be back as part of this grand
opening for the human spirit inspired by our Virginia sports heroes!
Fighting to Keep Taxes off Your Internet Bill
Just two weeks ago, I introduced legislation with
Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR) and Congressman Chris Cox (R-CA) which would
permanently extend the four year Internet access tax moratorium we
passed last year to keep State and local taxes off the Internet. As you
can probably tell, one of my top priorities in the Senate is to promote
the growth and opportunity of the individual enterprise zone that is the
Internet.
I have also recently introduced
legislation in the Senate with Senator Wyden that prohibits a tax on
telephone service that was enacted to finance the Spanish American War
more than a century ago from being extended to Internet access. That
tax-known as the Federal Excise Tax on Communications (FET)-is currently
applied to all local and long distance telephone service. My legislation
effectively 'walls off' the Internet from any attempts to apply the FET,
which currently is 3 percent but has been higher throughout its long
history. The principle of my Federal Internet Tax Prohibition is to make
the Internet remain as accessible as possible to all people in all parts
of our country, forever.
Just as we are fighting
to keep the States and localities from imposing regressive taxes (from
15-18 percent), we will also fight to ban the federales from instituting
this Spanish American “luxury tax” on your Internet bill. By expanding
this tax, the federal government would hinder the investment and
deployment of broadband services and would impact economic growth of
small businesses especially in smaller towns and rural areas.
Standing Up for Reform at the United Nations
Senate Democrats have been attacking the
President’s nominee, John Bolton, to be the U.S. ambassador to the U.N.
But I think John Bolton has the right experience, knowledge, background
and principles to represent the U.S. in the United Nations at this
crucial time of needed scrutiny, accountability and reform.
The opponents don’t want to talk about John
Bolton’s record of achievement. This is the person who gathered 60
nations together on the proliferation security initiative, which
interdicted weapons of mass destruction. And he led the fight in getting
the United Nations to repeal an odious resolution which likened Zionism
to racism.
I actually like the fact that he's not
going to be seduced by pontificating, bureaucratic platitudes in the
United Nations. Honest, vigorous leadership for reform in the U.N. is
good for the U.S. taxpayers, for the advocacy of the advancement of
freedom, and also for pointing out how farcical it is that the United
Nations allows repressive countries like Syria, Zimbabwe and Sudan on
the Human Rights Commission.
The Democrats are
off on these detours and tangents of hearsay and uncorroborated
evidence. But the fact is: John Bolton is the right man for the American
taxpayers, for our values and ultimately the credibility of the United
Nations.
Keeping Our Armed Forces Strong
I was especially pleased with two pieces of
legislation that we passed in April to support our men and women in
uniform.
In an unlikely pair, I teamed up with
Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) for a great cause that we both strongly
support. We introduced an amendment which eliminates the pay-gap that
exists when federal employees who serve in the National Guard and
Reserves are called up for active duty. As a former Governor, I
understand the need to have a strong National Guard; it is important
that we do everything reasonable to help lessen the financial burden
that Guard and Reserves and their families face when they are serving
their country. The brave members of our Guard and Reserve sacrifice much
for this country and I do not believe we should be asking them to
sacrifice a portion of their hard-earned salary on top of everything
else.
I was also extremely pleased at an
amendment we passed to save the aircraft carrier USS John F. Kennedy –
what a Virginia-Florida team victory! I especially thank Senator Warner
for his leadership on this important matter. This was a bi-partisan
success to provide our Navy with the maximum flexibility to meet the
requirements for aircraft carrier presence in all regions of importance
to the U.S. To reduce the number of carriers now would be illogical and
shortsighted, especially in this time of war and the rapid build up of
the Chinese Navy. This was the wise approach for the sake of our
security and the flexibility that we need for projecting our power and
protecting our interests in the Far East especially when the USS Kitty
Hawk and the USS Kennedy are our only two conventional carriers that can
be ported in Japan.
The Passing of Two Great
Leaders
Unfortunately, in the past few weeks, we
have seen the passing of two great leaders that I’d like to mention.
On April 2, the world lost one of the great
inspirational leaders of our time. I will always remember Pope John Paul
II as one of the true giants, along with Ronald Reagan and Margaret
Thatcher, who provided the leadership to win the Cold War by standing up
against the Communist repression of the human spirit. In addition to his
steady support of freedom, Pope John Paul II was a strong voice of moral
clarity during a time when popular culture has devalued life. During his
truly historic life, Pope John Paul II was an inspirational,
transformational and admired servant of God and mankind. He will be
remembered always as a man of strength and peace, courage and
principles. He helped change the world for the better and we will be
forever grateful.
On March 31, we all lost
another inspirational leader and vibrant spirit in Anne Kincaid. Anne
was a fighter and a winner who put her devotion to God and service to
her family as the clear priorities in her life. In her public service
roles she consistently and selflessly advocated for the sanctity of life
and the education of public officials about the unborn. There was no
more committed and articulate advocate for the Life movement than Anne
Kincaid. Susan and I will miss her greatly and are keeping her husband,
Bill, and their sons Ben, Kennon and Wren in our thoughts and prayers
during this difficult time.
One more thing…
This Sunday, May 1st, I’ll be appearing on
“Meet the Press” with Tim Russert to discuss John Bolton’s nomination
to be UN ambassador, social security and the obstruction of President
Bush’s judicial nominees. Check your local listings for air times.
* * *
In the coming weeks,
I encourage you to check my website http://www.allen.senate.gov/ for
current information on my activities. Again, please feel free to share
this newsletter with your friends and family who may be interested. If
you have not already signed up for your own personal copy, you may do so
at http://www.allen.senate.gov/?c=newsletter
It
is an honor to serve you in the United States Senate, and I look forward
to hearing from you soon. With warm regards, I remain
Sincerely,
George Allen,
U.S. Senator
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Senator George Allen (Allen) to
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