November 2006

Welcome to the November edition of my Washington Report. I hope this newsletter keeps you informed about some of the important matters facing our State, our Nation, and the U.S. Senate.

During the month of October, I spent some time traveling throughout California to visit with constituents and discuss some of our nation's most important priorities, including:

• Visiting Taft: Returning to My Family's Roots
• Gang Violence: An Environment of Fear
• Global Warming: The Time to Act is Now
• Preserving the San Francisco Old Mint

If you have any comments or questions on these or any other issues, please don't hesitate to let me know. Please send any comments you have through my website.

Best wishes,

U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein



Visiting Taft: Returning to My Family's Roots
On October 19, I had the opportunity to visit the town of Taft, the childhood home of my father, Leon Goldman. My grandfather, Sam Goldman, moved to the area after the 1906 San Francisco earthquake. He and his family were there at the birth of Taft in 1910. So, it was really a "roots visit" for me.

During my visit to Taft, I took a tour of Taft Union High School, my father's alma mater.

It was a treat for me to walk the same hallways that he walked, to see the same classrooms where he sat, and to look out at the fields and basketball courts where he played.

I also toured historic Fort Taft and met with a group of Taft community leaders. We talked about the importance of bipartisanship, fiscal responsibility, and higher education.

My father graduated and left Taft in 1922, but in a real sense the values he learned there shaped his life – and in many ways shaped my life as well.

"Feinstein Visits 'Roots'" in the Bakersfield Californian (October 19, 2006)

Gang Violence: An Environment of Fear
Passing legislation to provide a strong federal response to gang violence has been a top priority of mine for more than a decade.

On October 23, I delivered the keynote address at the Northern California Gang Prevention Summit, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Justice.

The Summit brought together approximately 200 federal, state, and local law enforcement officers, and representatives from community-based and faith-based prevention organizations.

I spoke to them about my legislation, which is a balanced approach allowing prosecutors to target gangs, tougher penalties for gang offenders, additional resources for investigations and prosecutions, and funding for successful witness protection programs and community prevention programs.

There are now at least 30,000 gangs nationwide, with 800,000 members. And the latest FBI statistics report violent crime – including murder, robbery, and aggravated assault – is on the rise in every region in the country.

The increases in violent crime are greater than any year since 1991, and appear to be a result of gangs spreading from the big cities like Los Angeles and Chicago to the medium and small ones like Milwaukee, Birmingham, Cleveland, and St. Louis.

Gang violence is an attack not only on individuals, but also on our communities. And I believe it is well past time for the federal government to provide a hand of assistance to state and local law enforcement.

Read Senator Feinstein’s prepared remarks to the Gang Summit (October 23, 2006)

"State leaders converge in San Francisco for anti-gang summit" in the Fog City Journal (October 24, 2006)

"Federal Legislation Would Help Battle The Scourge of Gang Violence," an op-ed from the Stockton Record (March 21, 2006)

Global Warming: The Time to Act is Now
On October 24, I spoke about my number one environment priority – global warming – at an event sponsored by Town Hall Los Angeles.

It's urgent that we act now to reduce our emissions sufficiently to stabilize the Earth’s climate, to minimize warming, and slow global temperature increases to 1-2 degrees Fahrenheit by the middle of the century to avoid catastrophic climate change.

The bottom line is that the fuel we use to power our homes, our cars, and our businesses is causing the earth to warm faster than anyone expected.

I believe the U.S. must make addressing global warming a top priority and join the European Union and other nations in reducing emissions. We can, and we must lead. But this won’t solve the problem.

There is no silver bullet. There is no one thing that we can do to solve the problem. Every business, home, and industry must do its share. So, early on in the 110th Congress, I plan to introduce a series of bills to meet these goals.

To learn more, please read Senator Feinstein's speech to Town Hall Los Angeles: "Global Warming: a Time to Act" (October 25, 2006)

"Fight Warming By Emitting Less Carbon Dioxide," an op-ed in the San Jose Mercury News (July 2, 2006)

Preserving the San Francisco Old Mint
The San Francisco Old Mint Commemorative Coins are on sale now. They can be enjoyed by everyone – including coin collectors, Californians, and the millions of Americans who hold the San Francisco Old Mint in the highest regard as a national treasure.

On October 28, I attended a ceremonial striking at the U.S. Mint in San Francisco for the one dollar, silver commemorative coin. The five dollar, gold commemorative coins are already in production.

Along with Senators Boxer and Ensign, I introduced legislation in the Senate authorizing these commemorative coins to be minted in honor of San Francisco’s Old Mint. The companion legislation was introduced by Representatives Pelosi and Castle in the House of Representatives.

I was so pleased to see these coins coming into production because the proceeds from their sale will go toward the restoration of the beautiful Old Mint building in downtown San Francisco.

The Old Mint building will be transformed into a city museum, and will also house the American Money and Gold Rush Museum, and related retail and restaurant spaces.

The U.S. Mint is only striking 100,000 gold coins and up to 500,000 silver coins as part of this commemorative coin program. The coins are only on sale until the end of the year.

Senator Feinstein Strikes San Francisco Old Mint Commemorative Coin (October 28, 2006)

"Dawn of shiny new life for Old Mint: Feinstein, Pelosi preside over ceremonial minting of coins to fund its reincarnation" in the San Francisco Chronicle (October 29, 2006)

President Signs into Law Feinstein-Boxer-Ensign Legislation Authorizing Commemorative Coin to Honor San Francisco Old Mint (June 16, 2006)

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