Monserrate Seeks ID Card For City Residents

Following the lead of other major cities, City Councilmember Hiram Monserrate has filed a bill calling for the creation and issuance of an identification card for all New York City residents.

The Corona lawmaker was backed by several council colleagues and immigrant and civil rights leaders, including Councilmembers John Liu and James Sanders of Queens.

However, Councilmember Peter Vallone Jr. (D- Astoria) came out against the measure on the grounds that it violates federal law and sends the wrong message about this nation's immigration policy.

In announcing his bill, Monserrate stated, "This legislation will close a loophole that has done nothing but drive people underground out of fear of our city health and safety officials."

Monserrate, who was a leading force in getting approval of the city's first confidentiality policy, said the ID card would be useful for people who cannot get a driver's license and would help ensure that all residents would have access to necessary city services and would be a benefit to everyone's public safety.

Liu stated, "For many New Yorkers, the lack of government-issued photo identification is a substantial barrier to employment and other necessities. Not only will a city ID card enhance individual opportunities, but it will also help ensure equal access to municipal services."

But Vallone sees Monserrate's proposal as a clear attempt to circumvent United States immigration laws.

Noting that the state Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) already issues a non-driver's license ID for which applicants must provide their Social Security number, Vallone said he believes Monserrate's new card is aimed specifically at those who are in this country illegally.

ACKERMAN ON IRAQ OIL CONTROL: There has been much speculation that President George W. Bush got us into the Iraq war because of our interest in that country's oil reserves, said to be among the largest in the world.

Now, as the Iraqi parliament is in the process of passing a law that would determine the role of foreign countries in developing those oil fields, Congressmember Gary Ackerman (D- Bayside) has brought to the floor a bill which was passed by the House that bans permanent U.S. bases in Iraq and prohibits U.S. control over Iraqi oil. It passed by a 399- 24 vote, indicating both Democrats and Republicans supported the measure. Ackerman said in a release that his legislation is designed to combat the perception among Iraqis that the United States intends to permanently occupy their country, a perception that aids extremists and insurgent groups in recruiting supporters and fueling violence.

His bill, Ackerman says, signals that the U.S. "fully supports... full national sovereignty" for the Iraqis, "particularly in the wake of recent statements by the Bush administration suggesting a long-term [U.S.] presence in Iraq".

In comments on the House floor during debate on the bill, Ackerman stated that among the many reasons speculating about why we went to war in Iraq, "The one reason that was never offered was that we were invading Iraq to occupy their land, establish permanent bases and control their oil."

Ackerman said several laws dealing with control of Iraqi oil have previously been enacted which bar the U.S. from doing so. Yet, the Bush administration continues to give the world mixed messages of long-range U.S. intentions.

"Instead of standing down when the Iraqis stand up, the president seems intent on putting down roots in Iraq," Ackerman declared.

"It's the wrong policy yet again," the veteran Queens lawmaker added.

Ackerman says he hopes the most recent bill on the subject of Iraq's oil will send an important message again that the United States has no interest in permanent bases. "I urge my colleagues to support it," he said.

WEINER BLASTS U.S.- SAUDI ARMS

DEAL: Congressmember Anthony Weiner (D- Queens/Brooklyn), who consistently opposes U.S. military aid to Saudi Arabia, declared at a Sunday press conference that he will fight to block the latest U.S. plan to sell arms to the Saudi government.

Weiner said the oil-rich country's "tacit approval of terrorism" should not go unpunished. He said the Saudi government "should not get an ounce of military support" from the U.S.

Weiner and Congressmember Jerrold Nadler (D- Manhattan) plan to introduce legislation to block the deal, noting that 15 of the 19 participants in the 911 attacks were Saudi citizens.

SCHUMER CONFLICTED: U.S. Senator Charles Schumer (D- New York) one of the leading Democrats in the upper house, finds himself in an uncomfortable position these days.

Schumer is chairman of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, in charge of raising campaign funds to help Dem senate candidates get elected. One of the major contributors to this cause has been the hedge fund industry, which includes many of the highest earning investment advisers in the U.S.

At this moment, however, Schumer's Democ- ratic colleagues are pushing a plan to sharply increase the taxes on profits earned by hedge fund executives. Some leaders in this movement, which includes Congressmember Charles Rangel, powerful chairman of the House Ways and Means (tax-writing) Committee, are talking of perhaps doubling that tax.

Ordinarily, Schumer would be expected to favor a tax on such a fat cat group, which most of his constituents would find easy to support, but he's opposing the proposed levy.

The popular and powerful lawmaker is in a bind because the hedge fund industry, as part of the vast Wall Street investment community whose taxes heavily support the city government, is a major part of his constituency.

That presidential candidates/Senators Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, and John Edwards are backing the hedge fund tax proposal doesn't resolve Schumer's quandary.

PROLONGING THE AGONY: In the latest developments in the feud between Governor Eliot Spitzer and State Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno, we've been promised new investigations by the state Ethics Commission and the Republican-controlled senate Investigation's Committee.

Neither looks promising. Attorney General Andrew Cuomo's probe has already found that two of Spitzer's top aides hatched a scheme to try to embarrass Bruno. The two new probes will try to show that aides to the governor may have something further to tell which might provide some further embarrassment for the governor, who has maintained he had no knowledge of any scheme involving Bruno.

The Ethics Commission's probing may not face the impediments standing in the way of the senate investigation, but we think there is nothing substantive that either can uncover.

PLAN ANOTHER RAP AT HIP-HOP ARTISTS: State Senate Minority Leader Malcolm Smith (D- Jamaica) and Senator Antoine Thompson (D- Manhattan) are not great fans of hip-hop entertainers that insult ethnic groups and women. The lawmakers are considering a plan to remove a source of financial support which accrues to this segment of the entertainment industry.

The two lawmakers investigated and learned that the state's pension fund invests about $3 billion in the entertainment industry. Too much, the lawmakers feel, so they're working up a plan to cut off some of those state investments.

BETSY HITS MINORITY BIZ AID: Public Advocate Betsy Gotbaum released a report yesterday which found that a program aimed at helping women-owned and minorityowned businesses to compete for city contracts is falling short of its objective.

Gotbaum released figures which showed that the city signed contracts worth $11.2 billion in Fiscal Year 2006, but only a minute portion ($55 million) went to minority- and women-owned businesses.