FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Bay State Council of the Blind President Quoted On "Meet the Press"!
Washington, DC December 17, 2007
Bob Hachey, President of the Bay State Council of the Blind (BSCB) located in Waltham, Massachusetts, an Affiliate of the American Council of the Blind, was quoted by Tim Russert on Meet the Press this past weekend. In an interview with Mitt Romney, Republican candidate for President,Hachey was quoted to say that Romney's name was "Fee-Fee."
Later, when asked to elaborate upon what he meant, Hachey stated that when Romney was Governor of Massachusetts, he increased fees levied on blind citizens and other disadvantaged constituents, rather than increasing taxes on the more affluent citizens of the state. Hachey pointed out the regressive nature of Romney's approach to balancing the budget. BSCB President Hachey stated, at the time, "that perhaps we could send Governor Romney a French poodle in recognition of the new fees and fee increases in this budget." Hachey jokingly suggested that the poodle could be appropriately named "Fee-Fee." Hachey further clarified by expressing concerns about service cuts and proposed increases in fees. He also expressed concerns about a governor who seemed more concerned with tax cuts for the wealthy than providing services to persons with disabilities.
Mitch Pomerantz, President of the American Council of the blind, was quick to point out that ACB does not endorse, support or oppose any particular political canidate, and that they all have their individual strengths and weaknesses.
Bay State Council of the Blind is an affiliate of the American Council of the Blind (ACB). The American Council of the Blind, founded in 1961, is the nation's leading membership organization of blind and visually impaired people. ACB has 51 state and regional affiliates and 20 national special interest and professional affiliates. ACB and its many affiliates strive to improve the well-being of all blind and visually impaired people by: serving as a representative national organization of blind people; elevating the social, economic and cultural levels of blind people; improving educational and rehabilitation facilities and opportunities; cooperating with the public and private institutions and organizations concerned with blind services; encouraging and assisting all blind persons to develop their abilities and conducting a public education program to promote greater understanding of blindness and the capabilities of blind people.
American Council of the Blind,
1155 15th Street, NW, Suite 1004,
Washington, DC 20005
(202) 467-5081 (800) 424-8666 FAX: (202) 467-5085
http://www.acb.org
Melanie Brunson, Executive Director: mbrunson@acb.org
MR. RUSSERT: And we're back with Governor Mitt Romney.
As you campaign around the country, you talk about your record in Massachusetts with budgets and taxes and so forth. The Cato Institute, a conservative think tank, gave you a C as governor of Massachusetts. And they say, "His first budget, presented under the cloud of a $2 billion deficit, balanced the budget with some spending cuts, but $500 million increase in various fees was the largest component of the budget fix." The AP says it this way: "When Romney wanted to balance the Massachusetts budget, the blind, mentally retarded and gun owners were asked to help pay. In all, then-Gov. Romney proposed creating 33 new fees, increasing 57 others." The head of the Bay State Council of the Blind said that your name was "Fee-Fee"; that you just raised fee after fee after fee. That's a tax.
GOV. ROMNEY: Well, let's, let's step back and get all the numbers right. First of all, it was nearly a $3 billion budget gap that we faced as we came into office, my team and I. Secondly, we raised fees, and we generated about $240 million worth of increased revenue. So of a $3 billion budget gap, we raised fees of about $240 million. Now, these were not broad-based fees. I said I'm not going to go after driver's license fees or automobile fees for registration because these apply to everybody, and any...
MR. RUSSERT: Duplicate driver's license fee.
GOV. ROMNEY: Because, because if they're broad, broad-based, they, they have the--they have a sense, a feeling like a tax. But a fee is different than a tax in that it's for a particular service. And we had some fees that hadn't been changed in over a decade. For instance, people who had signs on the interstate pointing out where a gas station was or where McDonald's was, McDonald's might pay us a fee of $200 a year for such a sign. We upped that pretty dramatically. And so, of the roughly $3 billion of shortfall, we raised fees by about $240 million. We were able to balance our budget in a very difficult time without raising taxes...
MR. RUSSERT: A fee's not a tax?
GOV. ROMNEY: A fee--well, a fee--if it were a tax, it'd be called--it'd be called a tax. But...
MR. RUSSERT: Governor, that's, that's gimmick.
GOV. ROMNEY: No, it's, it's reality. It is. But--and I have no--I'm not trying to hide from the fact we raised fees. We raised fees $240 million.
Hello everyone,
On Sunday December 16, I was quoted on NBC's "Meet the Press". This quote originated from two telephone interviews done by the Associated Press.
The first of these took place in late 2003. Governor Mitt Romney's first budget proposal, released in early 2003, featured many fee increases, as well as some new fees, including new fees for certificates of blindness and travel passes issued by the Massachusetts Commission for the blind. Increases in fees for students at state colleges and court costs were also proposed. IN this interview I noted sarcastically that Romney's proposals were regressive in that they would tend to collect from less affluent Massachusetts residents. I said that perhaps we could send Governor Romney a French poodle in recognition of the new fees and fee increases in this budget. I joked that we could name the poodle "Fee-Fee". I was asked if I thought their was any difference in increased fees and increased taxes. I answered no, except that tax is considered a dirty word. I also expressed to the reporter that we of Bay State Council of the Blind, (BSCB), were frustrated by a gag order that Romney had placed upon heads of state agencies such as MCB. This gag order meant that heads of such agencies could not share their thoughts with consumer organizations on where services should be increased.
Back in May or June of 2007, I was again interviewed via telephone by an AP reporter, who asked how I felt about Romney running for president. I said that I had mixed feelings. He then asked if I had been critical of Governor Romney's first budget and I answered that I was concerned about service cuts and proposed increases in fees. I also expressed concerns about a governor who seemed more interested in tax cuts for the wealthy than providing services to persons with disabilities.
I would like to express my appreciation to "Meet the Press" for bringing this issue to the fore. I must admit that it was rather comical to listen to Governor Romney try to explain the difference between a tax and a fee.
Bob HacheyLast updated: 12/18/2007