Cox treads into security mix-up

Alicia Robinson

U.S. Atty. Gen. John Ashcroft and Homeland Security Director Tom

Ridge need to get their acts together, Rep. Chris Cox charged last

week after a May 26 press conference caused public confusion over the

nation’s terrorist threat level.

Cox chairs the House Homeland Security Committee. He criticized

the lack of coordination between Ashcroft, who held the press

conference to warn Americans to be on the lookout for seven people

wanted for questioning by the FBI, and Ridge, who was not at the

press conference.

The press conference appeared to some people like a new warning or

that the nation’s threat level had been raised, Cox wrote in a

statement.

“Dissemination by our government of sensitive terrorism warnings

must be closely coordinated across our intelligence and law

enforcement communities,” Cox’s statement said. “The absence of

Secretary Ridge from [the May 26] news conference held by the

attorney general and the FBI director, and the conflicting public

messages their separate public appearances delivered to the nation,

suggests that the broad and close interagency consultation we expect

-- and which the law requires -- did not take place in this case.”

Rohrabacher bill gets

second life of sorts

Despite overwhelming opposition to Rep. Dana Rohrabacher’s bill

that would require hospitals to check the immigration status of

noncitizens they treat, the congressman may get his way after all.

The controversial bill was voted down by 331 of 419 House members May

18, but Rohrabacher’s spokesman Aaron Lewis said Wednesday that the

General Accounting Office is likely to recommend that hospitals

collect immigration data anyway.

Rohrabacher’s bill was an attempt to cut the flow of illegal

immigrants by lopping benefits they can receive. It also would have

addressed how to disburse the $1 billion over four years that a

federal Medicare bill earmarked to pay back hospitals offering care

to illegal immigrants who can’t pay.

The GAO issued a report Friday that recommends the secretary of

health and human services “develop appropriate internal controls to

ensure payments are made only for unreimbursed emergency services for

undocumented or certain other aliens.”

When hospitals want to request reimbursement, Lewis said, “you

have to determine the legality or illegality of the patient.”

Critics of Rohrabacher’s bill included some hospital groups, which

said it could create public health risks because fear of deportation

might deter immigrants from seeking medical care. Critics also said

hospital workers can’t be expected to act as immigration officials.

Cox hires new spokesman

After a search that began in February, Cox has a new

communications director for his office and the House Policy

Committee, which he chairs. Last week Capitol Hill veteran Bailey

Wood took over the post vacated in late January by Kate Whitman, the

daughter of former New Jersey Gov. Christine Todd Whitman.

Kate Whitman was Cox’s communications director for about a year

and left to start her own event planning company in New Jersey.

With six years’ experience as a beltway insider, Wood has served

as press secretary to GOP Reps. Mike Ferguson of New Jersey and Paul

Gillmor of Ohio. He also has worked as an intern for Sens. Bob Dole

and Rick Santorum, and in 2002 and 2003 he held the illustrious

position of White House Easter bunny.

“Congressman Cox is a member that I’ve admired since I came to

Washington years ago,” Wood said. “The congressman has, of course, a

much higher profile than the previous members that I’ve worked for,

so it’s kind of a much bigger ball game for me.... This is my first

real step into the House leadership.”

Cox, Democrat team on Tiananmen remembrance

In a bipartisan effort to ensure the remembrance of the 1989

Tiananmen Square massacre, Cox and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi

teamed up Tuesday to introduce legislation commemorating the 15th

anniversary of the event.

The June 3 and 4, 1989 event brought world attention to the human

rights violations of China’s Communist government, which has recently

increased efforts to control dissent in anticipation of the Tiananmen

Square anniversary, the resolution states. The legislation calls on

the Chinese government to investigate the massacre and release all

political prisoners, including Dr. Yang Jianli, who helped organize

the protests that led to the government crackdown.

Gray says he’d like to be

people’s ‘someone else’

Libertarian U.S. Senate candidate Judge Jim Gray believes 2%

counts -- at least when it’s the 2% of registered voters who might

vote for him because they don’t like Democratic Sen. Barbara Boxer or

her GOP challenger, Bill Jones.

A press release from the Gray campaign cited results of a poll

taken in May by the Field Research Corp. that showed 54% of

registered voters prefer Boxer, 31% would vote for Jones, 13% are

undecided and 2% would select someone else.

“For voters who are tired of Senator Boxer not taking a stand and

who see Bill Jones as an extremist, I am definitely the ‘someone

else’ they’re looking for,” Gray said in the release.