MAYAN CALENDAR NEWS: "FOLLOW THE MONEY" PART THREE - OMAR LOPEZ RESPONDS TO GUTIERREZ'S MONEY TRAIL Wednesday 10/29/08 PRESS RELEASE: OMAR LOPEZ RESPONDS TO GUTIERREZ'S MONEY TRAIL
Media Contacts: Charity Crouse (773-458-6071) Ana Del Rivero (ADR(@aol.com) Omar Lopez, Green Party Candidate for the 4th Congressional District, calls for the immediate resignation of Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-IL) for failing to serve his constituents and engaging in a campaign of recurrent deceptions. Omar Lopez will be featured at a Get Out the Vote Rally of the Mexica Political Organization on Saturday, Nov. 1, at La Casa de Samuel Restaurant, 2834 W. Cermak, at 10:00 a.m. On Wed., Oct. 29, the Chicago Tribune featured and article detailing a federal investigation into Gutierrez's intervention on behalf of Cal Boender—a developer who loaned him $200,000 for a personal real estate deal—for a commercial and residential project that had already been rejected by City Hall. Land that was supposed to be used for industrial development in order to provide jobs for 4th District residents was instead used to build high-priced homes and a movie theater. This is just one instance of Gutierrez supporting endeavors that benefit the wealthy while increasing the misery of working people. His Congressional record shows support of policies that reflect this trend. To understand Rep. Gutierrez's sell out of the 4th District residents, one need only follow the money: • Rep. Luis Gutierrez supported HR 10, the original draft of the Financial Services Act of 1999 (Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act) which proposed the dismantling of barriers set up following the 1929 stock market crash between commercial banks, investment banks, insurance companies and securities firms. This would lead to a wave of mergers and consolidations between different sectors with virtually no regulation or oversight. • On Dec. 5, 2000, Congress with the help of Gutierrez passed the Commodity Futures Modernization Act. In practice the bill completely exempted energy companies—including the now-defunct Enron—and the market controlling the speculation on credit default insurance policies from any regulatory oversight. This behavior, said Michael Greenberger, a former CFTC director, was at "the heart of the sub-prime [mortgage] meltdown" that began in Spring of 2007 and has put Wall Street in the bind it is in today. For many years, Gutierrez has been a senior member on the U.S. House Financial Services Committee. Rather than focusing on reigning in the "free marketers" that have been responsible for the current "economic crisis" in the U.S. and global economy, Gutierrez voted along with the majority of Congress on Feb. 8, 2008 to approve a $168 billion 2-year income and business tax-cut package that was rushed along by Pres. George W. Bush, who said this package was "robust, broad-based, timely, and it will be effective" in recovering the economy. But as Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said to the Financial Services Committee on Feb. 27, 2008, the "the risk to this outlook remain to the downside." That "down side" hit Wall Street hard in September of 2008. In response, Gutierrez joined the majority of Congress in heeding Pres. Bush's call to "stimulate the economy": this time with a $700 billion bailout for Wall Street. Americans have seen the downside all too clearly the last few years: Rising gas costs, higher food prices, spiraling mortgages; high rate of lay-offs and increasing under- or unemployment; credit problems associated with more and more Americans taking out higher-interest loans; declining access to affordable healthcare. Despite all his populist talk, Rep. Luis Gutierrez has done little to offer tangible relief to working people during his 16 years in office. In fact, by the time of the 2000 census his district had exceeded the national average for every major economic indicator of poverty by large margins. The once thriving 26th Street Business district now features more than 80 abandoned storefronts. For immigrant working families, Gutierrez has been particularly detrimental. In addition to supporting bad economic policies that have destabilized working people in general, Gutierrez has also neglected to protect the Mexican immigrant constituents of his district from the wave of anti-Mexican persecution that began in 2001 and which is presently in full stride under the immigration enforcement policies of the Bush administration. As a member of the House Subcommittee on Immigration, Citizenship, Refugees, Border Security, and International Law and Chair of the Democratic Caucus Immigration Task Force, Gutierrez introduced the Security Through Regularized Immigration and Vibrant Economy Act (STRIVE) of 2007 on March 22. The bill was later referred to a House Appropriations committee, where provisions of the bill that criminalized undocumented workers were funded through the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2008, including: • Penalizing employers with sanctions and criminal prosecution for employing undocumented workers (incl. $60,000,000 for E-Verify [employer verification database administration]) • Militarizing the U.S./Mexico border (incl. $1,225,000,000 for "border security fencing, infrastructure and technology") • Federalizing local law enforcement agencies and engaging them in raids on communities (incl. $1,422,528,000 for "domestic investigations"; $2,381,401,000 for "detention and removal operations"; and $7,500,000 for "special operations" related to detention and removal) • Expanding the mandate of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency (ICE) by financing collaboration with federal anti-terror agencies and funding increased surveillance (incl. $2,000,000 to "modernize efforts to identify aliens"; $1,000,000 to reward informants; and $11,216,000 to reimburse federal agencies that assist with detention and removal) In other words, the only legislation that Gutierrez has worked for on behalf of immigrants' rights was obscured in a bill detailing funding allocations for homeland security efforts totaling more than $26 billion. Omar Lopez, Green Party candidate for the 4th Congressional District, has spent more than 40 years organizing on behalf of working people in Chicago and throughout the country. He pressed for tenant's rights in Humboldt Park, advocated for educational reform in Chicago, and helped rally hundreds of thousands of men and women around the country for civil rights as part of the March 10 movement for immigrant rights. As a member of the House of Representatives, Omar will demand that the next Congress pass an Economic Reconstruction Package that focuses on assisting working people instead of bailing out those who gamble on our futures. • Implement a federally-sponsored Public Works Program that would not only focus on repairing our flailing infrastructure but would also provide stable jobs with livable wages to thousands of Americans. • Modify or forgive federally-backed loans, including student loans (FAFSA, FAS), small business loans (SBA) and housing loans (HUD, FHA). • Offer relief for homeowners facing foreclosure, including re-negotiated mortgages and the ability to stay in their homes as either owner or renter. • Reform bankruptcy laws in favor of working people rather than corporations. • Regulate the financial industry that profits from increased individual and household debt. • Promote more democratic and sustainable banking institutions like credit unions, publicly-owned banks and community development banks. • Revise free trade agreements to include universal standards for taxation, wages, worker's rights and the environment. • Advance immigration AND labor policies that protect the rights of all workers. • Support single-payer universal healthcare for all. Gutierrez must resign! The voters of the 4th congressional district should fire Gutierrez for his failure to defend our interests and welfare. Support Omar Lopez for Congress! Fore more information on Omar Lopez, please see the following Chicago Reader article: http://www.chicagoreader.com/features/stories/greenparty/ Go to omarlopez2008.org or contact Charity Crouse at (773) 458-6071 or Ana Del Rivero at [EMAIL PROTECTED] --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ Internet group address: http://groups.google.com/group/ChicagoMayDay To send e-mail: [email protected] To unsuscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
