Politics & Government

Kennedy Explains His NSA Vote and More in Patch Live Chat

Congressman Joe Kennedy III addressed the NSA, immigration reform, student loans and more during a live chat with Attleboro Patch readers July 25.

Written By Brooklyn Lowery:

There was a clear hot topic on readers' minds coming into Thursday's Patch Live Chat with Rep. Joe Kennedy III: The National Security Agency (NSA) amendment and Kennedy's vote on the topic.

Kennedy, who represents Newton as part of the Fourth Congressional District, answered reader questions during a live chat Thursday afternoon. He covered a number of topics including the NSA, immigration reform, student loans and infrastructure reconstruction.

Read below for a recap of the 45-minute live chat, or check out the full transcript of the conversation.

On NSA amendment vote

Patch: Example question (one of several): Jeff H. from Milford asked Why did you choose to vote against the Amash amendment, and in turn allow the NSA to continue its status quo with its spying and phone monitoring of U.S. citizens?

Rep. Kennedy:  First of all, I absolutely understand your concerns, and I share them. The recent revelations about the NSA's phone records program raise serious questions about the scope of our intelligence operations. There is no doubt these programs need better oversight, transparency and accountability, and I hope to work with colleagues on both sides of the aisle to address those issues.

However, I believe these reforms must be pursued deliberately and thoughtfully. We have started a robust public discussion which absolutely should continue here in Congress. But spending just 15 minutes of debate on a six line amdendment [sic] that cuts funding for a program that intelligence officials say has stopped dozens of potential terrorist attacks on U.S. soil seems premature – even dangerous.

Right now, I’m urging the Administration and intelligence officials to release as much information as possible on these programs, so that the American people can make an informed decision about the balance their government must strike between privacy and security. Every American deserves to have a say in this debate.

We've already been in touch with leadership about how to move forward in addressing the serious concerns I have about the continuation of this program.

Patch: What do you think are some viable options to address that tension between security and privacy?

Rep. Kennedy: First, people need to know more about the scope and impact of these programs. The administration is making some progress here, but I'll keep pushing them for more.

Second, there needs to be a serious review of the oversight and auditing procedures to ensure that Congress and other relevant officials get all the information they need to conduct adequate oversight. 

One option there is to give more authority to the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board. There's already some discussions starting around how we could do that.

On Student Loans

Patch: What are your impressions of the Senate vote as compared to the vote the House took previously? Is the compromise a win for American students?

Rep. Kennedy: The Senate bill is certainly a better option than the one I voted against in the House. The Senate bill links loan rates to the market, but puts caps on how high that rate can go. That's an important step.

That being said, I agree with Senator's Warren and Markey that this is not the best policy. I’ve been a supporter of Senator Warren’s bill to give students the same rates we give big banks. 

That being said, the Senate compromise is better than nothing.

So was this a huge win for working families struggling with college tuition? No.

Was it better than keeping rates high? Yes.

Moving forward, the conversation has to move to how we address the spiraling costs of a college education, which is the heart of the problem. 

On Immigration Reform

Patch: The current public perception seems to be that comprehensive immigration reform is dead in the House due to Republican leadership opposition. What are you and your Democratic colleagues doing to pursue this issue?

Rep. Kennedy: Another great question. While immigration reform in the House isn't dead, Republican leadership has certainly taken it in a different direction than their colleagues in the Senate.

We have to keep the momentum going. That means getting out over the days and weeks ahead and continuing to push. Over the past few months, you've seen numerous reports that have come out detailing the economic impact of immigration reform. 

It's a win for our economy, it's a win for our debt and deficit and it's a win for American businesses.

It's a shame that House Republican Leadership has stood in the way of reform. This is something that the American [public] overwhelmingly supports. At the very least, it deserves a vote.

On Infrastructure Reconstruction

Patch: Reader Bill K asked, "Can we focus on local issues, such as transportation infrastructure and the need to replace / modernize / rebuild our bridges & roadways."

Rep. Kennedy: Economists of every stripe will point to the huge infrastructure debt across our country, which is creating a drag on our economy. Investment in infrastructure should be a priority across the country, particularly at a time of low interest rates and the need for jobs in the construction industry.

One initiative that I'm supporting here is a bill authored by a freshman colleague, John Delaney, who has an innovative take on an infrastructure bank. His idea centers on providing incentives big businesses to invest in a bank that would then lend to local projects, at little to no cost to taxpayers.

Patch: Reader Carol Bragg asked, "Any way of utilizing the military to help rebuild infrastructure -- returning vets?"

Rep. Kennedy: Absolutely. Retraining our returning vets, many of whom return from their service with needed skills and capabilities, is a great idea and is something that is being discussed both in Washington and back in the Commonwealth.

They can be an enormous resource to our local economies. We need to focus on the needs of local businesses so we can match skills to jobs and work to fill that skills gap where it exists. 

There's also more that can be done to cut through the red tape. We hear about vets who have certifications to perform operations in the military, but those certificates aren't valid in some states. Rather than redoing all the training, a quick course would be enough to get them in a new job fast.

That's another area we need to be looking at.

On Staying in Touch with Constituents

Patch: Reader Nancy asked, "What do you plan on doing to stay in touch with locals and have their voice being heard on the 'big stage.' It seems most elected officials just go in with their own agenda and forget what their 'real' job is."

Rep. Kennedy: Thanks for the question, Nancy. I've said time and again that by far the most important job for any member of congress is to work for their constituents back home.

That is certainly my priority and number one focus. One way we've been keeping in touch is through out Tour 34, where I've promised to hold office hours in every community across the 4th District this year. That's in addition to our regular office hours at our offices in Newton, Attleboro and Fall River.

You can get all the information about when and where off our website at kennedy.house.gov. I hope you'll come by and talk whenever is easy for you.

To read the word-for-word transcript, check out the Live Chat article.



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