Unwelcome questions on bill blasts

State Republicans are hammering the Democratically-controlled House for the non-passage of a bill to fund tuition and fee waivers for returning veterans, which lapsed without action in the House as the session ended July 31.

In an item here last week, comments from Barnstable 2nd District state representative candidate Will Crocker, R-Centerville, sparked a reaction from incumbent Demetrius Atsalis, D-Hyannis.

The bill was the funding portion of the tuition waiver law for returning veterans signed by Gov. Mitt Romney on Veterans Day last year. The $8 million set-aside was one of a number of bills the House did not get to before time ran out in its formal session.

That the House didn't get to the funding portion is the point that Crocker said he was trying to make.

He said that the Democratic decision-makers in the House allow votes on things such as the immigrant tuition bill to come to the floor, while bills such as the Welcome Home legislation U.S. Servicemen returning from the middle east, don't.

From Crocker's Aug. 9 press release: "In January of 2006, the Speaker along with 107 Democrats jumped at the opportunity to allow illegal immigrants tuition breaks, today we read that our soldiers returning from Iraq do not get the same treatment – I'm extremely disappointed."

Not understanding just what Crocker meant, Atsalis challenged Crocker's numbers. In his own press statement issued this week, Atsalis said, "I have to say that I am quite surprised that an individual who has made a career as a news reporter on Cape Cod radio would put out a Press Release containing such incorrect statements of the facts. The In-State Tuition bill never made it out of the House of Representatives."

He's right. In January, the House defeated the immigrant tuition bill, 96-57, which would have provided in-state tuition rates to Massachusetts colleges and universities to undocumented immigrants residing in Massachusetts.

Crocker said that the 107 number represented the number of Democrats voting on the tuition bill in January, for and against, not the final outcome. He said the information was provided to him by the state Republican committee

In an e-mail response to a question, Crocker wrote, "What disturbs me is that given a choice between helping and honoring the returning Iraqi War Veterans, the leadership, instead, chose to take a vote on giving in-state tuition to illegal aliens."

Crocker's comments of last week bear similarity to those of other Republican candidates.

Lt. Gov. Kerry Healy, as quoted by the Boston Herald on Aug. 9: "The Legislature has made the appalling decision to vote on things like tuition breaks for illegal immigrants, but they couldn't take the time to take a vote to help our Massachusetts war heroes … I find it deeply disturbing."

From GOP state Rep. Candidate Dick Neitz, running to unseat Democrat Cleon Turner in the 1st Barnstable District, as posted on his capecodtoday.com blog: "It seems like our legislators just don't get it! Where are their priorities? It is appalling that our Legislature found the time to vote on tuition breaks for illegals, but has failed to reward our own veterans."

From Abington GOP state rep. candidate Andy Burbine, as found on his election Web site: "The legislature found time to vote on things like tuition breaks for illegal aliens and a pension benefit for a former crony but can't find the time to vote on legislation that will help men and women who put their lives on the line to protect this country. Once again the legislature has shown a total lack of priorities in doing the people's business."