Infrastructure investment creates jobs AND improves security
Q: You've co-sponsored legislation to establish a national commission on infrastructure. Is our government actually doing anything better at making us collectively safer?
We have to make investments in infrastructure. This will create jobs, not only if
we once again focus on our bridges, our tunnels, our ports, our airports, our mass transit--it will put millions of people to work--but it is also part of homeland security. We need to have a better infrastructure in order to protect us.
And it's not only the physical infrastructure, it is the virtual infrastructure, like a national broadband system that our police and firefighters can actually access and use to be safe. So I think that we've got to look at this, with the disaster that
we see, from the levees of New Orleans to the bridge in Minneapolis to what happened to us in New York City on 9/11, as the highest priority, and it will be at the top of my list when I'm president.
Source: 2007 AFL-CIO Democratic primary forum
Aug 8, 2007
Fight for interoperable communications for first responders
We have been fighting for interoperable communications since September 12. We have put in legislation. We've asked for more money, but when firefighters can't talk to police officers, when emergency responders can't talk to each other,
we not only saw it on September 11, we saw it again during Hurricane Katrina. What was a natural disaster was turned into a national disgrace, and we need to get the funds directly where they are needed.
Source: 2007 IAFF Presidential Forum in Washington DC
Mar 14, 2007
Introduced CAMRA to study how sex in media affects teens
A 2004 study found that teens who watch a lot of television with sexual content and more likely to initiate intercourse in the following year. Overexposure to highly-sexed television made kids act older--12-year-olds behaved like 14-year-olds.
A decade of new research confirms that heavy exposure to violent and sexually explicit media triggers unhealthy responses from boys and girls alike, regardless of race. But we don't yet know the full effects of all this technology on our kids.
CAMRA, the Children and Media Research Advancement Act, which I introduced in the Senate, would coordinate and fund new research into the effects of viewing and using electronic media, including television, computers, video games, and the Internet, on ch
Source: 2006 intro to It Takes A Village, by H. Clinton, p. xiv&305
Dec 12, 2006
Balance Internet freedom of speech against defamation
In 1998, reporters questioned Clinton on how the White House viewed the Internet's decentralizing effects, in the context of White House sex scandal stories on the web:
Q: I wonder if you think this new Internet media is necessarily an entirel
good thing?
A: Every time technology makes an advance, we are all going to have to rethink how we deal with this, because there are always competing values. As exciting as these new developments are, there are a number of serious issues without any kin
of editing function or gate-keeping function. What does it mean to have the right to defend your reputation, or to respond to what someone says? I'm a big pro-balance person.
Q: Sounds like you favor regulation.
I don't know enough to know what to b
in favor of, because I think it's one of those new issues we've got to address. We've got to see whether our existing laws protect people's right of privacy & protect them against defamation. So I think we have to tread carefully.
Source: Vast Right-Wing Conspiracy, by Amanda Carpenter, p.110-112
Oct 11, 2006
Against charging for e-mail
The debate’s moderator asked Clinton and Lazio: “How you stand on federal bill 602p?” “I have no idea,” Clinton interjected. The moderator went on: “Under the bill that’s now before Congress, the U.S. Postal Service would be able to bill e-mail users
5 cents for each e-mail they send. They want this to help recoup losses of about $230 million a year because of the proliferation of e-mail. So I’m wondering if you would vote for this bill, and do you see the Internet as a source of revenue for the
government in the years to come?“
Clinton said she wouldn’t support such legislation, but - ever careful - said she was basing her answer on what the moderator had said. ”Well, based on your description, I wouldn’t vote for that bill,“ Clinton
said. ”It sounds burdensome and not justifiable to me.“
The only problem is that the proposed bill, ”602p,“ does not exist. The hoax has circulated widely over the Internet since April 1999, despite continuing attempts to knock it down.
Source: MS-NBC report on debate in Manhattan
Oct 8, 2000
Details of “Bill 602P” hoax
The debate’s moderator asked Clinton and Lazio: “How you stand on federal bill 602p?” The only problem is that the proposed bill, “602p,” does not exist. An advisory on the Postal Service’s Web site put it this way in May 1999: “A completely false rumor
concerning the US Postal Service is being circulated on Internet e-mail. A similar hoax occurred recently concerning Canada Post. The e-mail message claims that a ‘Congressman Schnell’ has introduced ‘Bill 602P’ to allow the federal government to impose
a 5-cent surcharge on each e-mail message delivered over the Internet. The money would be collected by Internet Service Providers and then turned over to the Postal Service. No such proposed legislation exists.“
The hoax has persisted despite warnings
on some House members’ Web sites and despite the fact that ‘602p’ is not a valid designation for a congressional bill, which normally bears the preface of ”H.R.“ in the House and ”S“ in the Senate. Nor is there any member of Congress named Schnell.
Source: MS-NBC report on debate in Manhattan
Oct 8, 2000
Increase spending for libraries
We live in an information age when every New Yorker’s future depends on his command of that ever growing store of knowledge. This is a time to strengthen, to modernize, and to invest in our libraries.
As Senator, I would fight for new initiatives that increase funding for construction, technology, and updating critical resources of our public and school libraries.
Source: Speech before NY Library Association, Albany
Mar 15, 2000
Equal opportunity will bridge the digital divide
America faces a capital, educational & digital divide that needs to be bridged, especially to help minorities move forward in the 21st century. The lack of equal opportunity for access to capital and jobs is one of the unfinished pieces of business from
the last century. We should support tax credits & incentives and government guaranteed loans to leverage billions in new private investment and reduce the initial risk for businesses that agree to hang out their shingles in areas of high unemployment.
Source: (X-ref Welfare) Paul Hirschkorn, CNN.com
Jan 12, 2000
We can do more for New York’s biotechnology industry
All the elements are here, but much needs to be done to translate the state’s leadership in research to leadership in commercial applications. We need to promote the partnerships
needed between business and research, between business and government to keep the fruits of New York’s innovations in-state.
Source: Biotechnology conference in Manhattan
Nov 8, 1999
Train teachers to use technology in classrooms
The federal government [should] expand resources for high quality professional development opportunities, including more specialized training to use technology in the classrooms. There are so many of my friends who are teachers that are the
first to admit, like so many of us who are parents, that we cannot keep up with the technology that our children are able to master. And so our teachers need more support and opportunities to do that.
Source: Remarks to NEA in Orlando, Florida
Jul 5, 1999
Voted NO on restoring $550M in funding for Amtrak for 2007.
An amendment to provide an additional $550,000,000 for Amtrak for fiscal year 2007. Voting YEA would increase Amtrak funding from $900 million to $1.45 billion. Voting NAY would keep Amtrak funding at $900 million.
Proponents of the bill say to vote YEA because:
[In my state], Philadelphia's 30th Street station is the second busiest train station nationally, with over 3.7 million boarding a year. And 3,000 people are employed by Amtrak in Pennsylvania. Amtrak and the health of Amtrak is important.
Last year the Senate transportation bill had $1.45 billion for Amtrak, which is obviously more than the $900 million in the current budget proposal. I am offering an amendment to increase that funding from the $900 million which is in the bill right now to the $1.45 billion level and adding $550 million.
I support funding through the section 920 account [without a tax increase]. We have seen that without raising the cap or without raising taxes, the Senate has been able to
come up with a robust number for Amtrak which I will support within the context of a responsible budget.
We have spent less money on Amtrak in the last 35 years than we will on highways in this year alone. And highways don't pay for themselves, even with the gas tax. Neither does mass transit, either in this country or anywhere else in the world. But we subsidize them because they improve the quality of our lives.
We have never provided the kind of commitment to Amtrak that we have for other modes of transportation, and this amendment will be an important step to getting Amtrak off the starvation budgets that it has subsisted on for far too long.
Opponents of the bill say to vote NAY because:
The problem with that is there is no money in the section 920 account. If we want to talk about "funny money" financing, that is it--taking money from an account that has no money. This whole budget takes money we don't have. The result is we keep running up the debt.
Voted YES on disallowing FCC approval of larger media conglomerates.
Vote to pass a joint resolution expressing congressional disapproval of the rule submitted by the Federal Communications Commission. The rule would therefore have no force or effect. The rule in question deals with broadcast media ownership and would allow media conglomerates to own more television stations and newspapers.
Clinton sponsored the 21st Century Nanotechnology Research and Development Act
Requires the President to implement a National Nanotechnology Program to:
establish the goals, priorities, and metrics for evaluation for Federal nanotechnology research, development, and other activities;
invest in Federal research and development programs in nanotechnology and related sciences to achieve those goals; and
provide for interagency coordination of Federal nanotechnology activities undertaken pursuant to the Program.
H.R.766 is the corresponding House bill. Became Public Law No: 108-153.
Source: Bill sponsored by 18 Senators and 27 Reps 03-S189 on Jan 16, 2003
Facilitate nationwide 2-1-1 phone line for human services.
Clinton sponsored facilitating nationwide 2-1-1 phone line for human services
A bill to facilitate nationwide availability of 2-1-1 telephone service for information and referral on human services & volunteer services. Congress makes the following findings:
The FCC has assigned 2-1-1 as the national telephone number for information and referral on human services.
2-1-1 facilitates critical connections between families seeking services, including community-based and faith-based organizations.
There are approximately 1,500,000 nonprofit organizations in the US [which would be listed in the 2-1-1 service].
Government funding supports well-intentioned programs that are not fully utilized because of a lack of access to such programs.
A national cost-benefit analysis estimates a net value to society of a national 2-1-1 system approaching $130,000,000 in the first year alone.
While 69% of the population has access to 2-1-1 telephone service from a land line in
41 States, inadequate funding prevents access to that telephone service throughout each of the States.
2-1-1 telephone service facilitates the availability of a single repository where comprehensive data on all community services is collected & maintained.
Introductory statement by Sponsor:
Sen. CLINTON: In the immediate aftermath of the devastation of September 11, most people did not know where to turn for information about their loved ones. Fortunately for those who knew about it, 2-1-1 was already operating in Connecticut, and it was critical in helping identify the whereabouts of victims, connecting frightened children with their parents, providing information on terrorist suspects, and linking ready volunteers with victims.
Every single American should have a number they can call to cut through the chaos of an emergency. That number is 2-1-1. It's time to make our citizens and our country safer by making this resource available nationwide.
Source: Calling for 2-1-1 Act (S.211 and H.R.211) 07-HR211 on Jan 9, 2007
