Thursday, June 6, 2002
By MALIA RULON, Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON - C-Span is looking more like "Entertainment Tonight" these
days.
Check out the glitterati who have shown up at congressional hearings
recently: Julia Roberts. Christie Brinkley. Michael J. Fox. And now
Kevin Richardson of the pop group Backstreet Boys (news - web sites).
Sen. George Voinovich (news, bio, voting record), R-Ohio, says enough
is enough. He boycotted Thursday's hearing of the Senate Environment
and Public Works clean air subcommittee to protest Richardson's
appearance.
The singer testified about mountaintop mining, a practice in which the
top of a ridge or mountain is sheared off to expose a coal seam. Dirt
and rock waste then is pushed into nearby valleys and waterways.
"It's just a joke to think that this witness can provide members of
the United States Senate with information on important geological and
water quality issues," Voinovich said Wednesday. "We're either serious
about the issues or we're running a sideshow."
Sen. Joe Lieberman (news - web sites), D-Conn., opened Thursday's
hearing by defending his invitation to Richardson.
"Mr. Richardson is here as more than a well-known celebrity,"
Lieberman said. "He is knowledgeable on this issue and has in fact
worked to protect the environment in his home state. I believe his
voice will add to our understanding of the issue."
Richardson has an environmental group called Just Within Reach. It has
been active on mountaintop mining, which is used in Richardson's home
state of Kentucky.
Richardson sat in the back of the hearing room while waiting to
testify. His prepared remarks did not include any reference to
Voinovich.
`I am not a scientist but I do know what I've seen in flights over the
coal fields," Richardson said in the remarks, which included an
invitation to senators to join him on such a flight so they could see
the areas themselves.
Political analysts agree there's a fine line between celebrities with
legitimate expertise and those who have been invited to appear before
Congress just to draw media attention.
Fox and former heavyweight boxing champion Muhammad Ali told members
of Congress last month that more money is needed to turn scientific
findings into a cure for Parkinson's disease (news - web sites), which
they both have.
Last year, pop singers Alanis Morissette and Don Henley told a
congressional panel that artists' concerns have been ignored during
legal battles between recording labels and Internet companies like
Napster.
Earlier this year, the Senate Environment committee heard from
Brinkley on nuclear energy. Roberts spoke about Rett Syndrome during
tearful testimony last month before the House Appropriations
Committee.
Ross K. Baker, a political science professor at Rutgers University,
said celebrities bring notoriety to issues that might not otherwise
draw much attention.
"If they get a celebrity in there, the cameras will follow and what
might have been a hidden or invisible issue will suddenly become a
matter of public discussion," he said.
Kevin's Reply:
The Senator Vs. The Backstreet Boy
Sen. George Voinovich (R-Ohio) may have stuck his nose into a hornet's nest yesterday with his announcement that he's boycotting today's Senate Environment and Public Works Clean Air Subcomittee hearing because Backstreet Boy Kevin Richardson is on the witness list. Voinovich said of Richardson's appearance at the hearing on the impact of coal-mining mountaintop removal on water quality: "It's just a joke to think that this witness can provide members of the United States Senate with information on important geological and water quality issues."
The 30-year-old rock star, phoning in on his way to Washington, answered the senator with a blistering tirade. "It's pretty sad. I am personally insulted. I hope I see him tomorrow. I would like to have a discussion with him, man to man. It's insulting for someone to assume ignorance of the issue because of my occupation. I'm an educated human being. I am a man of 30 years. I probably know more about the issue than he does. I have every right to be at tomorrow's hearing."
Richardson seethed: "My home state is Kentucky. I was born in Lexington and raised on the edge of the Daniel Boone Forest. I have taken two flights over the coal fields in Kentucky, West Virginia and Tennessee, and I have seen first-hand the damage of mountaintop removal. I have seen the lakes of coal sludge that sometimes burst open without warning. I have friends and family that live in the Appalachian Mountains. This is a very important issue to me."
Senator, may we suggest a helmet?
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