A Visit From The Congressman

By Tanjua Damon

Congressman James Maloney spoke to St Rose School students in grades four through eight Monday about the election process and political issues. The school was randomly picked for the congressional visit by the League of Woman Voters from among schools who had special programs participating in the 2000 election.

Congressman Maloney started off his discussion by telling the students that his wife once attended St Rose and was a teacher at the school for a few years. When he found out St Rose was picked for his speaking engagement, he knew it was luck.

“When you won this contest, I was delighted,” Mr Maloney said. “It has always been good luck to me.”

Mr Maloney drew a parallel for the students about how their student council is similar to the job he does in Washington. He told the students that he represents the people just like student council representatives do for their particular classrooms.

Students had prepared questions for the congressman. Questions ranged from what is the hardest part of your job and the congressman’s view on school vouchers to how he felt the election went and who he wanted to win the Super Bowl.

Mr Maloney told the students he did not feel anything went wrong with the Electoral College process, but there were issues of who actually won those votes.

“Nothing went wrong with the Electoral College. What went wrong was inside the state of Florida,” Mr Maloney said. “There is a dispute whether the right result was reached. The Electoral College count was accurate, it is mathematically correct. The question is, these 27 votes cast for Mr Bush, did he really win those?”

Mr Maloney suggested that the process of how Electoral College votes are counted could be changed to a more proportional system instead of the state-by-state winner-takes-all system.

“Mr Gore got more votes than Mr Bush nationwide. Most people believe the person who gets the most votes should win,” he said. “Presidents are representing the people, but they also represent the states. I wouldn’t get rid of the Electoral College, I would fix it.”

Congressman Maloney also explained to the students that the technology some states use during national elections needs to be updated.

“I think what we will see is an upgrade in technology, where those kinds of mistakes can’t happen,” he said. “I think that’s a fairer way, and we’ll eliminate some of these problems.”

Although there are many issues, education is the most important issue, according to Mr Maloney.

“There are so many. The most important issue for the long term of the country is education,” he said. “There are lots of things there are concerns about. The most important thing is that every young person has the best education they can get.”

When Mr Maloney told the group of students he was rooting for the New York Giants for the Super Bowl, the students cheered.

On the question of school vouchers, he told the students he was not in favor of them, but would rather provide parents with a bigger tax break.

“There is no such thing as federal money without strings,” Mr Maloney said. “I propose to give parents a tax break. I would rather help the families and students directly and let them decide what is best for their education.”

Mr Maloney would like to see the current $500 tax break be increased to $2,000 for parents who send their children to private school to be educated.

He also talked with the students about the role congressmen play in local government. Mr Maloney explained to the students that federal money can also go to towns to help them. The example he used was Fairfield Hills.

“Newtown has a great opportunity with Fairfield Hills,” Mr Maloney said. “But it is probably going to take some federal help. So I’m working with your First Selectman Herb Rosenthal to try to do that.”

The students wanted to know what Mr Maloney wanted to be when he was growing up.

“A rocket scientist,” Mr Maloney said. “Go after what your heart tells you, you want to do. At the same time don’t be afraid to keep your eyes open.”

Mr Maloney told the students that he holds question/answer type discussions to learn what his constituents want him to do. He also spends some Saturdays outside of businesses talking to people or he can be reached by e-mail at his Web site at www.house.gov/jimmaloney.