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Para ver esta página en español, oprima aquí. P.R. Officials To Lobby Bush For Section 30APDP Reps Endorse Bill Prohibiting Hiring Of Defeated LegislatorsNew WIPR Board Head No 'Rubber Stamp'Inserni ResignsCalderon Meets With Private SectorFerdinand Mercado Confirmed***** P.R. Officials To Lobby Bush For Section 30A February 8, 2001 WASHINGTON (AP) - Puerto Rican Republican leaders will meet today with President George W. Bush at the White House and will lobby for improvements to the Section 30A wage credit in the U.S. Internal Revenue Code, according to published reports. Puerto Rico Republican Party Executive Director Cesar Cabrera and former Justice Secretary Jose Fuentes Agostini are part of the group that will meet with Bush. Also invited to the meeting is ousted WIPR Board of Directors Chairman Arturo Guzman, who is related to U.S. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Mel Martinez. Cabrera said the meeting will include about 80 Puerto Rican businessmen, who will try to discuss Medicaid, Medicare, and the Nutritional Assistance Program (PAN by its Spanish acronym), among other topics. He said they agreed not to bring up the issue of Vieques "to give the governor an opportunity to raise it herself." ***** PDP Reps Endorse Bill Prohibiting Hiring Of Defeated Legislators By Proviana Colon Diaz February 8, 2001 Nineteen Popular Democratic Party (PDP) representatives endorsed on Thursday a bill filed by Rep. Jorge De Castro Font aimed at prohibiting elected members from hiring defeated legislators until one year after they ended their tenure in the Legislature. By limiting the time of prohibition for hiring a defeated legislator to one year, De Castro Font is aiming the bill directly at preventing a situation such as the hiring of three former legislators by the NPP. The PDP has several former legislators as advisers, but all of them were defeated more than a year ago. Former PDP Rep. Gladys Nieves, who has been hired as an adviser, wouldn't be affected by the bill either, because she did not seek re-election in the past general election process. However, House Minority Leader Edison Misla Aldarondo does not have a problem with the bill since under the Commonwealth Constitution a new law cannot be implemented retroactively, but only to future circumstances. He noted that the law would also apply to former PDP legislators. ***** New WIPR Board Head Says He Won't Be `Rubber Stamp' February 7, 2001 SAN JUAN (AP) - Prof. Luis Agrait, appointed Wednesday as new president of the Puerto Rico Public Broadcasting Corp. Board of Directors said he won't be a "rubber stamp" of Gov. Sila Calderon. Agrait is a former president of the Institute of Puerto Rican Culture Board of Directors, who also has worked at the University of Puerto Rico. He said the law clearly defines the breadth of the corporation's autonomy, which he promised to defend. ***** Inserni Resigns As WIPR President February 7, 2001 SAN JUAN (AP) - Puerto Rico Public Broadcasting Corp. President Jorge Inserni resigned Wednesday during a press conference held with his family and producers and artists affected by the cancellation of contracts at the government station. "My resignation is irrevocable. I'm not going to engage in arguments," said Inserni, adding that he was not asked to resign and that Gov. Sila Calderon knows of his decision. The resignation, which is effective Friday, arose a day after Calderon fired the corporation's Board of Directors President Arturo Guzman for failing to comply with her order to consult her administration prior to granting contracts. The disagreement between officials at WIPR, as the station is known, and La Fortaleza results from an interpretation of a law that station officials say gives them autonomy from the government. ***** Calderon Meets With Private Sector On Economic Measures By Marialba Martinez of Caribbean Business February 6, 2001 Gov. Sila Calderon met with members of the manufacturing, tourism, and business sectors to discuss legislative measures and other proposals that will be made by her administration to improve Puerto Rico's economy. "Our intent is to expand and create more jobs in the manufacturing, tourism, and business sectors of Puerto Rico. By meeting with leaders in the industry, the private sector, associations, professional groups and with members of the different economic sectors, we are looking for their input and ideas. This is the beginning of a continuous dialogue that will take place during the coming four years," said Calderon. ***** Ferdinand Mercado Confirmed As Secretary Of State By Proviana Colon Diaz February 6, 2001 With the votes of some New Progressive Party (NPP) lawmakers, Ferdinand Mercado was confirmed Monday as Secretary of State by both the House and the Senate. While most NPP representatives voted against Mercado, most NPP senators voted in his favor, excepting Sen. Lucy Arce, who abstained. The nomination produced heated debate while it was discussed on the floor. NPP Sen. Miriam Ramirez de Ferrer spoke against his nomination. "The gentleman [Mercado] hadn't quit his post as Superior Court judge when he took the post as his party's Secretary General, and now he is yet to be confirmed to the post of Secretary of State and is already announcing that he would be interested in becoming a [Puerto Rico] Supreme Court justice," Ramirez de Ferrer said, adding that Mercado engaged in mudslinging during the past political campaign by calling all NPP followers corrupt.
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