Headline News

Delahunt Statement on Remembrance of 9/11 (09-11-08)

“Today we remember the thousands of innocent men, women and children who lost their lives on that day, and extend our deepest sympathies to their families, friends, and loved ones. Today, we also remember the heroic actions and sacrifices of first responders, firefighters, law enforcement personnel and volunteers who bravely risked and sacrificed their own lives. We honor the memories of those who lost their lives this day by resolving once again to take all necessary steps for ensuring that such a terrible tragedy never happens again.”

Delahunt noted that during the 110th Congress, legislation was enacted into law that completed the adoption of the recommendations of the bipartisan, independent 9/11 Commission into law. This law requires 100 percent screening of cargo on passenger aircraft within three years, requires 100 percent scanning of seaborne cargo before it gets to U.S. ports within five years, better ensures that first responders can communicate with each other in an emergency, and improves rail and mass transit security. We will continue to work hard to ensure that all critical steps are being taken to improve our homeland security and disrupt and defeat terrorist organizations around the world.

Delahunt Supports Renewable Energy Tax Credits (09-10-08)

With renewable energy tax credits about to expire at the end of the year, Congressman Bill Delahunt is optimistic that the House will have another opportunity to approve them before adjourning at the end of the month.
On December 31 of this year, tax credits for renewable energy, such as wind, solar and fuel cell energy technologies, and clean renewable energy bonds, tax credits for energy efficient home appliances and commercial buildings will expire. The extension of these credits is vital in spurring the development of renewable energy technologies. A recent report indicated that renewable of the tax incentives will create 116,000 jobs and more than $19 billion in investments will be created upon To review a report by the Center for American Progress on Clean Energy Jobs in Massachusetts, please click here .

Delahunt Sponsors September Service Academy Forum (09-09-08)

With the nomination application deadline approaching, Congressman Bill Delahunt will sponsor an informational forum for local high school students and their families interested in educational opportunities at U.S. Service Academies. The two-hour forum is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. on Thursday, September 18 at the Martinson Elementary School at 257 Forest Street in Marshfield. For more information, please click here .

Delahunt Announces Federal Housing Funds For Quincy (09-08-08)

Congressman Bill Delahunt today announced $2,857,946 in federal funding from the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to address homelessness and bolster housing programs in the city of Quincy. To read more, please click here .

Delahunt Announces Youth Substance Abuse Prevention Grants (08-18-08)

Congressman Bill Delahunt today announced that the Weymouth Youth Coalition and Plymouth Youth Development Collaborative will be receiving $100,000 each as part of the Office of National Drug Control Policy’s Drug Free Communities Support Program. To read more, please click here .

Delahunt Announces Federal Funds For Barnstable, Yarmouth And Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe (08-07-08)

Congressman Bill Delahunt announced today that the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) will be providing $480,000 to the Towns of Yarmouth and Barnstable and $567,977 to the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe for their housing and community development programs. To read more, please click here .

Delahunt Announces Federal Funding For Plymouth Public Schools (08-07-08)

Congressman Bill Delahunt today announced that the Plymouth Public School System is being awarded a $1,553,640 grant by the United States Department of Education for improving academic achievement. To read more, please click here .

Delahunt Announces Federal Funds For Chatham Water Protection Project (08-07-08)

Congressman Bill Delahunt announced today that the federal government will provide $2.4 million in federal funding to assist with the development and expansion of the Town of Chatham’s wastewater treatment facilities. To read more, please click here .

Delahunt Urges Funding For "Green Collar" Jobs Initiative (08-05-08)

U.S. Rep. Bill Delahunt joined with his colleagues in the House of Representatives to urge that any economic stimulus bill considered this fall include funding that will help to create green jobs. To read more, please click here .

Delahunt Urges Bush To Commute Sentences For Ramos And Compean (07-31-08)

Today, U.S. Rep. Bill Delahunt joined with his colleagues in both parties to urge President Bush to commute the sentences of U.S. Border Patrol agents Jose Compean and Ignacio Ramos. Delahunt believes that the severity of their sentences is unjustified. Earlier this year, he also filed a resolution, which asks for the sentences to be commuted.

Delahunt Hearing Examines Iraqi Opinion On US-Iraq Security Agreement And Timetable For U.S. Withdrawal (07-21-08)

U.S. Rep. Bill Delahunt today announced that the House Foreign Affairs Oversight Subcommittee will hold a hearing on Wednesday July 23rd to further assess the proposed US-Iraq Security Agreement. To read more, please click here .

Delahunt Urges Congress To Boost Fuel Assistance Funding (07-16-08)

U.S. Rep. Bill Delahunt and the New England delegation is working to boost funding for the home heating oil assistance, energy assistance and weatherization programs as skyrocketing energy prices threaten to leave thousands in the cold during the upcoming winter season. To read more, please click here . To read coverage from the Associated Press, please click here.

Delahunt Says GAO Report On Cuba Broadcasts Is "Troubling" (07-15-08)

Congressman Bill Delahunt expressed serious concerns about the conclusions of a report prepared for him by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) and released today, regarding the contracting practices of the International Broadcasting Bureau’s Office of Cuba Broadcasting (IBB), which operates the Miami-based Radio and Television Martí stations that broadcast to Cuba. For more information, please click here. To read the report, please click here.

Delahunt Joins EPA In Designating Cape Cod Bay As "No Discharge" Zone (07-14-08)

Today, Congressman Bill Delahunt joined with the EPA and local officials in designating Cape Cod Bay as a “No Discharge” area. This status means that discharges of treated and untreated boat sewage are prohibited within these Massachusetts state waters, including the Towns of Provincetown, Truro, Wellfleet, Eastham, Orleans, Brewster, Dennis, Yarmouth, Barnstable, Sandwich and Bourne. The designation is for the single largest area of protected coastal waters in the Northeast.

Delahunt Demands Special Counsel In Arar Case (07-10-08)

Today, Congressman Bill Delahunt joined with House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers and Congressman Jerry Nadler to call on Attorney General Michael Mukasey to appoint a special counsel to investigate the rendition of a Canadian citizen, Maher Arar, to Syria. To read coverage from the Associated Press, please click here.To read the letter, please click here.

Delahunt Hails Passage Of Massachusetts Biofuels Bill (07-10-08)

Today, U.S. Representative Bill Delahunt hailed passage of legislation in the Massachusetts House of Representatives yesterday that would make the Commonwealth the first state in the nation to promote advanced biofuels such as cellulosic ethanol and clean fuels such as biodiesel. To read more, please click here.

Delahunt Urges Interim Agreement with Vietnam on Adoptions (07-10-08)

Delahunt joined with 149 members of Congress urging Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to negotiate an interim Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Vietnam, allowing adoptions by Americans to continue while reforms in the adoption system are underway. In a letter to Ms. Rice, they stated that signing an interim agreement with Vietnam is critical in helping children who remain homeless during this transition period. To read the letter, please click here.

Delahunt Writes Washington Post Op-Ed on US-Iraq Security Agreement (07-08-08)

Today, Delahunt and Rosa DeLauro write in the Washington Post calling for a brief extension of the United Nations Security Council resolutions and defer action on a long-term security agreement with Iraq until the next Congress and President take office. To read the op-ed please click here. To read the legislation filed by Delahunt and DeLauro, please click here.

Delahunt Sponsors Landmark Renewable Energy Initiatives (06-26-08)

Congressman Bill Delahunt (D-Mass.) joined today with Reps. Jay Inslee (D-Wash.), Jim McDermott (D-Wash.) and Mike Honda (D-Calif.) to file legislation that would provide much-needed investment security in the renewable-energy sector. The Renewable Energy Jobs and Security Act, would provide guaranteed renewable-energy payments to small and mid-sized clean-energy suppliers up to 20 MW in size, which is the amount of power produced by about 10 wind turbines. For more information, please click here.

Congressional Majority Now Supports Delahunt-Blunt Travel Bill (06-25-08)

Legislation sponsored by US Rep. Bill Delahunt and Minority Whip Roy Blunt to address the steep decline in overseas visitors to the United States now has the support of more than half the members of the House of Representatives. To read more, please click here.

Delahunt And Rohrabacher Ask For Uighurs To Be Paroled Into United States (06-24-08)

This week, Congressman Bill Delahunt, the Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on International Organizations, Human Rights, and Oversight, and Republican Ranking Member Dana Rohrabacher wrote to Secretary of Defense Robert Gates asking that the Uighur detainees at Guantanamo Bay "promptly be paroled into the United States." To read the letter, please click here. To read the latest coverage from the Associated Press, please click here. And here from McClatchy Newspapers.

House Approves Iraq War Funds, Delahunt Votes No (06-20-08)

This week the House voted to approve President Bush's request for $162 billion to fund U.S. operations in Iraq and Afghanistan well into next year by a 268-155 vote. Delahunt voted no. To see a news article explaining the vote, please click here.

House Approves FISA Bill, Delahunt Votes No (06-20-08)

This week the House voted to pass the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Amendments Act of 2008 by a vote of 293 to 129. Delahunt voted against the measure. To see the most recent coverage, please click here.

Delahunt Urges "Use it or Lose it" on Oil Leases (06-19-08)

With oil supplies tightening and prices rising, U.S. Rep Bill Delahunt is joining a national effort to compel the oil and gas companies to develop energy on 68 million acres of land that are currently being stockpiled and currently unused. Developing these sources of energy could double domestic production and bring down fuel prices. To read more, please click here.

Delahunt Urges Comments On Saltwater Fishing Licenses (06-12-08)

Congressman Bill Delahunt is urging constituents to comment on a draft proposal by National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to require recreational fishermen to register annually with the federal government starting next year. Also, NOAA may charge an annual fee of $15 to $25 starting in 2011.

“While I applaud the goal of getting better information on our fishing stocks, I don’t believe the establishment of a saltwater license will really accomplish anything – other than annoy those who love to fish.” Delahunt said today. Delahunt is urging residents to send comments to John Boreman, Director, Office of Science and Technology, NMFS, 1315 East-West Highway, Silver Spring, MD 20910 Attn.: Gordon Colvin, or by email to – Gordon.colvin@noaa.gov. Also send copies of these comments to Delahunt’s nearest local office. To read more about the proposed rule by NOAA, please click here.

Delahunt Releases Committee Report On Declining U.S. Image (06-11-08)

On Wednesday, U.S. Rep. Bill Delahunt, Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on International Organizations, Human Rights, and Oversight will release a new report -- The Decline in America’s Reputation: Why? To read the report, please click here. To read Delahunt's opening statement, please click here.

Iraqi Parliament Members Express Opposition To U.S. Iraq Security Agreement (06-04-08)

Congressman Bill Delahunt released a letter today from Iraq legislators expressing widespread disapproval of the proposed U.S.-Iraq security agreement if it does not include a specific timetable for the withdrawal of U.S. military troops. To read more please click here. To review the English translation of the letter, please click here. To read Delahunt's opening statement at today's hearing with Iraqi Parliamentarians, please click here. To read coverage from Reuters, please click here. and here from the Associated Press.

House Panel Says Oil Dependency Leads To Higher Gas Prices And Risk To National Security (05-22-08)

At a House Foreign Affairs hearing today, Congressman Bill Delahunt said that America's addiction to foreign oil has helped to boost gasoline prices and has weakened our national security.

The Committee heard from a panel of experts who echoed Delahunt’s concerns. David B. Sandalow, a fellow at the Brookings Institution, testified that "the overwhelming dependence of the global transportation system on this one commodity (oil) creates national security threats we ignore at our peril,” while citing as an example the enrichment of oil-producing nations that oppose U.S. interests.

Anne Korin, co-director of the Institute for the Analysis of Global Security urged greater use of flex fuel vehicles -- which are capable of running on combinations of gasoline and other fuels -- and would create fuel competition at the pump that tends to drive gas prices down. The witnesses urged Congress to promote the use of flex-fuel vehicles, plug-in hybrids, and aggressive efforts to develop advanced non-petroleum fuel sources. Experts also confirmed that Delahunt’s contention that a “risk premium” of $15-30 caused by instability in the Middle East and terrorist attacks on oil infrastructure is also a major factor.

House Passes Housing Package To Provide Relief For Foreclosure Crisis (05-08-08)

Today, Congressman Bill Delahunt joined with his colleagues in the House of Representatives to pass a comprehensive housing package designed to stabilize home values and assist thousands of homeowners on the South Shore, Cape Cod and the Islands who find themselves in danger of losing their homes. Click here for more information.

Delahunt Urges Action On GPO/WEP (05-08-08)

Recently, Congressman Bill Delahunt called on his collegues to address the Government Pension Offsett and Windfall Elmination Provision which unfairly penalizes public service retirees and their spouses. To read his remarks, please click here.

Delahunt Urges Congressional Support For H-2B Program (04-16-08)

At a Capitol Hill hearing today, Delahunt urged legislators to support the H-2B program, saying it was critical to small businesses and the New England tourism industry. He also invited Bill Zammer, a local restaurant owner to provide testimony. For more information and a copy of Zammer’s testimony please click here.