Media

Washington, D.C. --- U.S. Rep. Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ), founder of the Congressional Caucus on India and Indian Americans, today introduced legislation supporting India's bid for a permanent seat on the United Nation's Security Council. Pallone's legislation, a "Sense of Congress," would put the U.S. House of Representatives officially on record in support of India's bid.

U.S. Rep. Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ), Ranking Democrat of the House Fisheries and Oceans Subcommittee, will join U.S. Reps. Jim McDermott (D-WA) and Sam Farr (D-CA) at a press conference on Wednesday, February 9 at 12:30 p.m. to release a letter signed by over 50 of their House colleagues calling on the Bush Administration to reexamine their salmon policies and to work to save and restore salmon runs. Pallone led the effort on the letter to Bush.

"Last week, President Bush spent the majority of his State of the Union Address talking about his Social Security privatization plan and the continued war in Iraq, and yet neither of these funding priorities appeared in his budget.

"The Inspector General's alarming report shows just how far the Bush administration will go to satisfy corporate polluters. The Bush administration must have realized scientists at EPA would never come back with the lenient rules it wanted, and that's why the administration rigged the process from the very beginning.

"Based on the IG's findings, the administration simply cannot go ahead with finalizing this rule next month. It's clear corporate and administration biases won out over sound science in the creation of EPA's new mercury rule.

"I was hopeful President Bush would be more specific this evening about his privatization plan for Social Security. It's clear the president doesn't want to level with the American people about the large benefit cuts they'd face if his risky privatization plan ever became law. Rather than strengthening Social Security, the president's proposal weakens the program by diverting funds already guaranteed to future beneficiaries into private accounts that don't offer the same security.

Washington, D.C. --- U.S. Rep. Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ) today called on the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (BPU) to investigate allegations of illegal asset transfers by JCP&L. During discussions with BPU officials, the New Jersey congressman received assurances the board will conduct a thorough review of JCP&L's activities.

New Brunswick, NJ --- Pointing to the fact that nine chemical plants in the New Jersey area are at risk of a terrorist attack that could affect more than a million people, U.S. Rep. Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ), a senior member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, today said he will soon reintroduce legislation to improve security and reduce hazards at these facilities and hundreds of others around the nation. Pallones legislation in the House is the companion to legislation that will be introduced in the U.S. Senate by U.S. Sen. Jon Corzine (D-NJ).

Washington, D.C. --- U.S. Reps. Joe Knollenberg (R-MI) and Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ), cochairmen of the Congressional Caucus on Armenian Issues, today called on the U.S. State Department to formally renounce remarks by a State Department official in Moscow describing the government of Nagorno-Karabakh as "criminal secessionists." The lawmakers made the request in a letter to Secretary of State nominee Condoleezza Rice.

Text of the letter to Secretary Rice follows.

January 25, 2005

Secretary Nominee Condoleezza Rice