Jerry McNerney's website

McNerney keeps up commitment to availability and accessibility

Since he took office, Jerry has worked to be open, available and accessible to his constituents, holding over 40 Congress at Your Corner sessions all across the District.  Now the Congressman has begun another program to connect with constituents: the Telephone Town Hall.

In a recent editorial, The Independent complimented Jerry for his efforts:

McNerney Urges Attorney General Brown to Investigate Potential Gas Price Inaccuracies

As Californians were fueling up their cars and trucks in preparation for travel during the long Independence Day weekend, I sent a letter to California Attorney General Jerry Brown calling for an investigation into potential inaccuracies at gas stations across the Golden State. This letter came after the revelation that a similar investigation conducted by the New Jersey Attorney General found problems and discrepancies at fueling stations in that state.

The report identified stations across New Jersey that charged consumers different prices than those advertised, short-changed consumers by not keeping their gas pumps in proper working order resulting in consumers being charged for a full gallon when often they received less, and failed to provide correct octane ratings.

My concern is that this is not a problem in just one state and that consumers in California may face some of the same inaccuracies and discrepancies at the pump as New Jersyans.

With gas prices here in Northern California some of the most expensive in the nation, consumers should have every confidence that they're paying for what they get at the pump.

I urge Attorney General Brown to immediately begin an investigation of our state's fueling stations to ensure that gas pumps are accurate and dispense the correct volume of gas. As consumers are squeezed by paying record gas prices, Californians at least deserve to get what they pay for at the pump.

UPDATE:

Lisa Vorderbruggen blogs about Jerry's request for a gas price investigation.  Check it out here.

McNerney holds Economic Summit in Brentwood

Recently, Congressman McNerney convened an economic summit in Brentwood with local transportation, education, agriculture and business development leaders to discuss opportunities and ways to spur economic growth there.

Here's what the Contra Costa Times had to say:

East Bay leaders touted eastern Contra Costa County's economic potential — and pondered the challenges that jeopardize the region — during a gathering of political and business officials on Tuesday.

Convened by Democrat Rep. Jerry McNerney, an East Bay congressman, the 2008 Brentwood Economic Summit suggested that the east Contra Costa area's economy has a lot to offer and great prospects for expansion. Some attendees also believe East County can harvest considerable synergy with adjacent regions such as Alameda County and San Joaquin County.

"Hang on to your hats," McNerney, whose district includes portions of all three counties, said during the conference in Brentwood. "This area is going to take off."

"What a great event," McNerney said. “We got some synergy going, got people with good ideas connected to each other. We got the conversation started.”

Read the rest of the Contra Costa Times story here.

Also, check out what the Brentwood Press had to say about the event.

Finding a solution to the housing & foreclosure crisis

Just open up the newspaper or turn on the television anywhere in the country and it’s hard to avoid news of the foreclosure crisis, especially in Stockton and San Joaquin County.  There were nearly 170,000 foreclosure filings in California in the first quarter of this year and over 7,500 in Stockton alone.  Those are staggering numbers.

That's why I’m proud to say that last week we passed legislation to help families in financial difficulty, to aid cities and towns in reclaiming neighborhoods and to stabilize the market. 

To read more about our efforts, you can read this Los Angeles Times story.

Last December, Congressman Cardoza and I hosted a foreclosure assistance workshop at the Stockton Arena.  Families were waiting in line hours before the workshop began and ultimately 500 people passed through the doors.

I heard heartbreaking stories from so many.

When a foreclosure take place, a family loses its homes, a neighborhood becomes destabilized, crime and illicit activity increases.  In fact, studies have found that when a house is foreclosed, the value of every other home in an eighth of a mile declines by one percent and the crime rate climbs two percent.

And the problem has grown to the point where the impact of the foreclosure crisis is rippling throughout all sectors of the economy. 

The bill that passed the House will provide mortgage refinancing assistance to families facing foreclosure, will help cities and towns purchase forecloses properties for affordable housing, and also increases the loan limits for Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and the Federal Housing Administration so  people in high-cost areas will be able to access stable, secure mortgage products.

This is an important step that will provide real assistance to help solve this crisis.

Contra Costa Times: Law would help veterans homeowners

Lisa Vorderbrueggen wrote about Congressman McNerney’s efforts to help veterans who face exploding monthly payments on adjustable rate mortgages or the prospect of foreclosure keep their homes.

From the Contra Costa Times:

Military veteran homeowners struggling under the weight of rising subprime mortgage payments could see a rise in the federally backed refinance loan cap in legislation that passed out of a congressional committee this week.

Rep. Jerry McNerney, D-Pleasanton, wrote an amendment to the Helping Our Veterans Keep Their Homes Act of 2008 that would increase the existing $144,000 loan cap to $729,750.

The lower figure is useless in Northern California, especially in the Bay Area where housing prices are among the highest in the nation.

"We have heard complaints about the low, $144,00 figure in the past, but now, it's a crisis," McNerney said. "We had bipartisan support for the legislation in the subcommittee, and I can't imagine why anyone would oppose it."

Click here to read the full story from the Contra Costa Times.

In-depth profile captures McNerney's widespread appeal; A Lodi Republican: "Oh, I'll vote for Jerry, you betcha"

Lisa Vorderbrueggen, lead political reporter for the Contra Costa Times, has written an in-depth profile of Congressman Jerry McNerney's first six months in office.

Titled "New Politician Finds His Way," this revealing piece explores how McNerney has confounded the expectations of those who would assume he might not appeal to a wide spectrum of voters in the 11th Congressional District.

The reality, as Vorderbrueggen has found, has undermined those would-be detractors, with McNerney continuing to connect with constituents of all ideological stripes:

"Oh, I'll vote for Jerry, you betcha," said Lodi Republican Deborah Kafton after McNerney's office helped restore her Social Security disability payments. "The fact that he helped me, a small person in the world, I would back him all the way. My opinion (on other political issues) might be different, but that would be the case with any politician."

McNerney has won particular acclaim for his "Congress on the Corner" (NOTE: it's actually "Congress At Your Corner"), a regular series of small gatherings held throughout the district where McNerney talks personally with constituents.

Even staunch Republican leaders praise McNerney's first six months in office.

"(McNerney) has been very, very accessible," said San Ramon Mayor H. Abram Wilson, a GOP candidate for the state Assembly. "He realizes that he has a huge learning curve, and he has been in the community as much as possible to try to get to know the community, its residents and leaders. For that, I really give him a lot of kudos."

Perhaps one reason for this widespread praise from Republicans, Democrats and independents across the district is the Congressman's enthusiastic embrace of public service:

"Being out in the community and meeting people, being here for the residents, is more important than anything I could do on the campaign trail," McNerney said.

[...]

Asked whether he's still happy voters sent him to Washington, McNerney answers without hesitation.

"Absolutely. It's so exciting to be a part of what's happening in our nation right now," he said last week, between bites of a tuna salad at Vic's, a diner in his hometown of Pleasanton. "The decisions we make in the next 10 years will impact our society and the world for the next 200 years."

McNerney's decisions, and those of his colleagues, are already making an impact from Washington to California:

McNerney has helped Democrats pass the party's first 100 hours of priority legislation, including ethics reform, a reduction in student loan costs, a minimum wage increase and support for stem cell research.

[...]

With help from Democratic Party leaders anxious to cement McNerney's hold on the seat, he secured coveted spots on the House transportation, veterans affairs and science committees. He also was appointed to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's select committee on global warming.

The congressman has sponsored four bills of his own, starting with a small water conservation grant program. His other bills include the creation of a program to monitor veterans with traumatic brain injury and one to expand geothermal energy research.

[...]

He formed citizen advisory panels on agriculture, health care, small business and, soon, education.

And, as many of you know by reading this blog (click here for several similar articles), that's just scratching the surface.

You can read the rest of Lisa Vorderbrueggen's profile of the Congressman here, including pulled quotes from McNerney on both the war in Iraq and immigration.

On June 23rd and 24th, Jerry and Mary McNerney invite you to...

Jerry and Mary McNerney would like to invite you to join them in sampling some of the best wines in America from wonderful wineries located in the 11th Congressional District.

On Saturday, June 23rd, you can join Jerry and Mary for lunch at Lockeford's own Vino Piazza, fast becoming one of the most popular wine spots in Northern California.

Vino Piazza

For more details and to RSVP for the Vino Piazza event, please click here:

http://www.jerrymcnerney.org/wineweekend

On Sunday, June 24th, you can take a scenic train tour through Niles Canyon with Jerry and Mary while wine tasting, enjoying tasty appetizers, and catching up with friends and fellow supporters.

Niles Canyon Railway

For more details and to RSVP for the Niles Canyon Railway Tour, please click here:

http://www.jerrymcnerney.org/wineweekend2

If you enjoy good wine and good people, please join Jerry and Mary for these unique events. With the all-important June 30th Federal Election Commission campaign finance reporting deadline fast approaching, these are great opportunities to support Jerry's re-election campaign and have fun while doing it.

We are looking forward to seeing you!

Sincerely,

Nicholas Hatten
Finance Director
McNerney For Congress

Have you heard the new attacks on me?

"Jerry McNerney (is) a Goliath-slaying changer who has sprinted since arriving in Washington, D.C. He's already in the Republican Party cross hairs, so it remains to be seen if the Democratic representative from Pleasanton becomes a political Halley's Comet." ~ Mike Klocke, Editor, Stockton Record, May 27, 2007

A few days after those positive words were printed in the Stockton Record, Karl Rove and his Republican cronies unleashed their latest unprecedented negative attack on me.   

When a Congressional investigation a few months ago revealed that I was #3 on Karl Rove’s “hit list,” we could only imagine what that meant Rove’s political hacks in Washington were planning. Well, an incredible 17 months before the election, the National Republican Congressional Committee has launched a new multimedia misinformation campaign to smear me and our people-powered movement.

Last week, just as a “longtime friend” of Richard Pombo was announcing his candidacy to defeat me, the NRCC started airing attack ads on local radio stations grossly distorting my voting record. As if that wasn’t enough, the NRCC is now following up these radio ads with automated “robo-calls” to people’s homes. Both the radio ads and the robo-calls direct listeners to a slick Swift Boat-style web site that smears my record of service in Congress, including my votes to stand up to President Bush on the war in Iraq.

We need to show Karl Rove and the NRCC today that every single time they attack, we will fight back. Please help me respond right now by clicking here:

http://www.jerrymcnerney.org/fightback

Washington Republicans are attacking me for saying “No” to Bush on the war? That’s right. On the NRCC’s slick attack web site, under a section titled “Out of Touch with California,” the NRCC says that I “voted to defy military commanders on the ground and cut off funds for the troops in harm's way.”

Of course, you and I both know that is absolutely ridiculous. From my first days in office, I have honored our soldiers by supporting a strong framework to end the violence and bring our troops home as soon and as responsibly as possible. Just last week, I voted against the Iraq supplemental funding bill because it did not include enforceable benchmarks, a reasonable timetable for withdrawal, a diplomatic strategy, or provisions to protect our soldiers and veterans. I could not, in good conscience, give Bush another blank check.

So, who is actually “out of touch” with Californians on the war? President Bush, Karl Rove and their hatchet men in Washington? Or you?

I said “No” to President Bush. Now it’s time for you to say “No” to Karl Rove. Can you send a powerful message right now to the pundits and power-brokers that our movement will not be intimidated by the NRCC’s fear-and-smear campaign?

http://www.jerrymcnerney.org/fightback

Rove and his cronies will stop at nothing to take back this seat.  And now they’ve got a candidate to carry out those attacks against me.

This radio attack ad, the robo-calls and the smear web site are running just as the NRCC has given its unofficial rubber-stamp of approval to a Republican candidate praised by a GOP consultant who knows him as "one of the most conservative members who ever served in the (California) state legislature.”

We don’t know what this “longtime friend” of Richard Pombo is planning, but if it’s anything like the campaign currently being waged from Washington, we will need to stand strong together. The Federal Election Commission’s second quarter deadline is June 30 -- the first to include this Republican opponent –- and the media will be scrutinizing the strength of both of our campaigns.

No matter what Rove’s hit men have in store for us, our people-powered campaign needs to stand strong together before June 30. Can you contribute $50, $100, $250, $500 (or any amount up to the federal maximum of $2,300) today?

http://www.jerrymcnerney.org/fightback

You sent me to Congress to work every day on issues long ignored by the Bush Administration, from enacting ethics reform to fixing the Medicare prescription drug bill to making our nation energy independent and stopping global warming.

Just as I said I would, I am also working to make sure our veterans receive the highest quality of care when they return home from Iraq and Afghanistan. That means doing everything in my power to keep the Livermore VA hospital open and expand its services to treat veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder.

I couldn’t do this important work without your support. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to represent you in the People’s House. I will continue to do everything I can to make you proud.

P.S. You sent me to Washington to give our country a new direction, but I need your ongoing support to actualize that change. Please contribute whatever you can afford right now to prevent Rove’s right-wing attack machine from stopping our people-powered movement before it actually changes Washington:

http://www.jerrymcnerney.org/fightback

Tracy Press backs McNerney on Livermore VA and French Camp clinic

The Tracy Press has joined the list of major newspapers serving residents of the 11th Congressional District in praising Congressman Jerry McNerney's effort to save the Livermore VA from closure and expand its services to veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder:

... the Pleasanton Democrat has set himself apart by continuing a crusade to provide the best medical and psychological care for servicemen and -women returning from battle. One aspect is keeping the Livermore Veterans Affairs Medical Center open; it’s proposed to be closed with a new VA medical clinic built in French Camp or Stanislaus County.

[...]

The pastoral setting of the campus in southern Livermore is picture-perfect for medical and psychological treatment for veterans shocked by the horrors of war. It has a 120-bed hospital for long-term care and 30 beds for sub-acute inpatients.

The Press also expresses support for expanding services at the French Camp clinic.

This opportunity for PTSD care should not preclude the VA from maintaining clinical services at its quarter-century-old hospital/clinic in Livermore. Also deserving of similar services is the Central Valley where, because of home prices, more returning soldiers, Marines, sailors and airmen are living. It makes sense to expand the French Camp VA clinic that is a neighbor to San Joaquin General Hospital so northern San Joaquin Valley veterans can have comprehensive treatment without driving over the Altamont Pass. This care should include nursing home beds.

Are there enough medical and mental health patients and enough budgetary patience from the government panel considering realignment of VA facilities to have VA hospitals in Livermore and French Camp? There are if Livermore becomes the western mental health center for veterans who return with PTSD and French Camp assumes more of the Livermore VA hospital’s traditional role.

This editorial follows other supportive editorials in the Contra Costa Times, Stockton Record, The Argus, and the San Jose Mercury News.

As support grows for Congressman McNerney's proposals, veterans are watching to see if Secretary James Nicholson will do the right thing. Stay tuned to this blog for the news or read previous posts about Veterans Affairs issues here.

Mercury News joins Record, Times and Argus in supporting McNerney on Livermore VA

Four regional newspapers have now gone on record supporting Congressman Jerry McNerney's proposal to save the Livermore VA hospital by expanding its services to veterans suffering from post-traumatic disorder.

First, the Contra Costa Times took the lead. Then the Stockton Record went on the record. The Argus (of Fremont) chimed in with their support late last week.

And now the latest paper to get behind the Congressman's plan is the San Jose Mercury News, which serves readers in Morgan Hill and has the largest circulation in Northern California. The Merc laid out the case for why keeping the Livermore VA open is the right thing to do:

The open-ended nature of our two Middle East wars, not to mention the longer-term war on terror, means the VA must re-evaluate its needs for the next several decades, including a careful re-examination of the notion of closing Livermore's 115-acre VA hospital.

Four years ago, we concurred with the VA report urging the closure of seven VA hospitals, including Livermore, believing that unusually high costs of operating those facilities should be redirected into building more outpatient clinics throughout the region. We remain alarmed that a General Accounting Office report found the VA spends one out of every four dollars on maintaining and operating outdated medical buildings and grounds.

But the Iraq and Afghanistan wars have gone on far longer and produced far more casualties than expected. The influx of 420,000 PTSD patients will put servere strains on the VA system without a corresponding increase in budget, staff and facilities to meet injured veterans' needs.

The chorus of mainstream media opinion leadership is getting louder. So, when will Veterans Affairs Secretary James Nicholson do the right thing? Stay tuned...