PAGe 4
MORNING STAR • OcTObeR 14 - 20, 2010
Senator Ted Kaufman discusses his role finishing Biden’s term By Lynn R. Parks
Ted Kaufman was not at all sure, when he was offered the Senate seat that had belonged to Joe Biden, that he wanted it. The biggest cause of his hesitation, he said, was knowing that he would have to deal with the media. “When I was chief of staff for [then] Sen. Biden, I always found talking with reporters to be very stressful,” Kaufman said. Yet on Sunday evening, near the end of his two years in the Senate, there he was, appearing on the CBS news show “60 Minutes” and talking about the dangers of high frequency trading, a trading technique in which computers can make thousands of stock trades in less than a second. In an expanded interview on the “60 Minute” website, Kaufman gives a history lesson in high frequency trading. Earlier this month, Kaufman was quoted in the Washington Post in a story on the coming retirement rush. He was mentioned in a Bloomberg story about the May 6 drop in the stock market that has been blamed on high frequency trading. And in March, he was the focus of an article by The Huffington Post’s Arianna Huffington, “Celebrating Sen. Kaufman, Accidental Leader.” “At a time when our political and financial landscapes are littered with villains and those unwilling to take them on, it’s refreshing to find someone in the halls of power that we can unabashedly celebrate,” wrote Huffington, who interviewed Kaufman in his Capitol office. “Enter Sen. Ted Kaufman of Delaware… [who has] emerged as one of the Senate’s fiercest critics of Wall Street and a champion of the need to push for a serious rebooting of our financial system.” Last week, Kaufman, 71, toured southern Delaware, stopping in to talk at Sussex County’s newspaper offices. “Since I’ve been senator, I’ve found talking with reporters to be challenging and interesting,” he said during an interview in the Morning Star office. “I figured out that before, when I was [Biden’s] chief of staff, when I was talking with reporters I was representing Joe. If I made a mistake, it reflected on him. Now, if I make a mistake, it’s just me.”
Kaufman was selected by then Gov. Ruth Ann Minner to fill the Senate seat left vacant when Biden became vice president in January 2009. He said then that he would not seek reelection and he is staying true to his word. He will resign his seat following the Nov. 2 election. “This has been an incredibly satisfying two years,” he said. “Not just for the country but for me. We have passed more legislation than any other Congress since FDR.” The list of legislation includes health care reform, Wall Street reform, credit card reform, the FDA tobacco bill that puts the tobacco industry under the control of the Food and Drug Administration, the small jobs bill, which created a fund to help small businesses, and the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Restoration Act, which extended the time in which an employee can file a claim of pay discrimination. “It’s a long list, an incredible list, and it was really quite an incredible opportunity to be a part of that,” Kaufman said. He is especially proud of the Fraud Enforcement and Recovery Act, legislation he co-sponsored with Sen. Leahy from Vermont and that President Obama signed into law in May 2009. The act enhances criminal enforcement of federal fraud laws, in particular regarding financial institutions, mortgage fraud and securities fraud. There were disappointments, however. Chief among them, Kaufman wrote in a
875-1678
302
(Beside Johnny Janosiks)
Pennsylvania Dutch FooDs RotisseRie BBQ (HealtHy CHoiCe) FResH Meats Deli salaDs - Bulk FooDs - CanDy JaMs BakeD GooDs inCluDinG suGaR FRee Pies
Come and See, DUTCH COUNTRY Feel and Smell Located Next to Dutch Country Market
Farouk Marzouk, MD
Director, Vascular Surgery
dutchcountryfurniture.com
INJURY HOTLINE 302.724.6484
SEAFORD
FOR ACCESS TO GREAT PHYSICIANS CLOSE TO HOME,
The Quality!
ur k Out O S c e h C dINg Delivery n and Come I ragE BuIl & Free Set Up oF oUr tO play SetS Up to 25 mi. NEW S
302.628.9100
“Our Goal — Pain Control” LEWES
NOW SCHEDULING PATIENT APPOINTMENTS
reg BABY SWISS CHEESE ...................... $419lb 6.09 $ 99 reg. SM. CHIppEd turkEY Br. .......... 3 lb 6.59 reg 14-16 MACArONI SALAd ............................ $199lb 2.99
SPECIALS OCTOBER
HEIRLOOM FURNITURE
In his interview at the Star office, Kaufman said that focusing on a greener energy policy is not just a matter of benefiting the environment. It’s also about national security, he said, and about jobs. “The world’s economy is changing and we have to change with it if we’re going to provide new jobs,” he said. “It’s important that Americans start getting involved in green
NEW VASCULAR SURGEON IN SEAFORD
Hrs: Thurs. - Fri. 9-6, Sat. 9-5
WORK INJURY OR AUTO ACCIDENT? We Offer Immediate Appointments • Therapy • Massage • Chiropractic • Acupuncture • Spinal Injections (Under Anesthesia) • Pain Management
DOVER
September article for the environmental news website Grist, was Congress’ failure to pass significant energy reform, including putting a price on carbon to address climate change. “The fact that we did not act to pass such meaningful reform in the 1111th Congress is one of my most significant disappointments in leaving the United States Senate next month,” he wrote.
Dutch country Market
11233 Trussum Pond Rd.
COMPREHENSIVE SPINE CENTER • ADDICTION FREE PAIN MANAGEMENT
NEWARK
Senator Ted Kaufman was a recent visitor at the Seaford Star office where he discussed his recent experiences. Photo by Mike McClure
Ganesh Balu, MD • Eric Ledford, D.C. • Michael Sharkey, D.C. Newark • 1 Centurian Dr. #101 • Near Christiana Hospital Dover • 240 Beiser Blvd. #201 • Near Kraft Foods Lewes • 33664 Savannah Rd. • Near Beebe Hospital Seaford • 8957 Middleford Rd. • Near Nanticoke Hospital
CHOOSE NANTICOKE.
Providing Services In: A Variety of Vascular Diseases Endovascular Descending Thoracic Aneurysm Repair Endovascular Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm Injections for Varicose Veins
Carotid & Renal Artery Stenting Dialysis Access With Endovascular Maintenance Venous Endovascular Thrombectomy for DVT THE
VASCULAR CENTER
801 Middleford Road Seaford, Delaware 19973
302-629-0452
NANTICOKE MEMORIAL HOSPITAL
nanticoke.org
Always Caring. Always Here.
801 Middleford Road, Seaford, DE 19973 • 302-629-0452 • 1-877-NHS4DOCS