Howard Shanker for Congress 2008

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Planned Economic Policy vs. Political Economic Stimulus
Sedona, AZ - The bi-partisan stimulus package that President Bush signed with much fanfare yesterday says more about what is wrong with our political process than what it is wrong with our economy. The $168 billion package is a triumph of political expediency over economic basics and common sense. We are faced with a unique situation. After seven years of reckless government spending and a protracted war, our economy should be booming. Instead, consumer confidence in our economic future is at an all time low...
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Save the Peaks...Again!
Forest Service Appeals Legal Victory to Stop the Use of Treated Sewage Effluent on Sacred Peaks
PASADENA, Calif.-On Tuesday, Dec. 11, a coalition of Native American nations and environmental justice groups worked together to defend their precedent-setting victory for religious freedom and public health. The Federal Appeals Court in Pasadena heard oral arguments concerning religious freedom violations, environmental destruction and human health dangers associated with the use of treated sewage effluent for snowmaking in proposed ski area development on Arizona's San Francisco Peaks.
The case was argued before 11 judges with arguments focused on Forest Service violations of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and substantial burden placed upon Native American religious freedom. This case is viewed as precedent-setting in establishing an interpretation for the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA), which was passed in 1993.
"We are hopeful that we get a majority of the judges to understand that this is an important religious rights issue," said Jack Trope of DNA Legal Services, representing the Hualapai Tribe, Navajo medicine practitioner Norris Nez and Hopi spiritual practitioner Bill Preston.
"This law was enacted by Congress to protect religious freedoms and should apply to Native Americans who have land-based religions and sacred sites in the same way that it applies to everyone else," Trope said.
Howard Shanker, who argued the case on behalf of the Navajo Nation, the Yavapai-Apache Nation, the White Mountain Apache Tribe, the Havasupai Tribe, the Sierra Club, Center for Biological Diversity and others, urged the court to adopt legal principles that would help protect the San Francisco Peaks and other sacred/holy sites across the country.
"The case is now in the hands of the court. The bigger question that needs to be addressed is why we are forced to go to court to stop the federal government from defiling holy sites in the first place," Shanker said. "This is an untenable situation that needs to be addressed in Congress."
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Dealing With Uranium Contamination
Many of you have read about the testimony in recent Congressional hearings presented to Rep. Henry Waxman, Chairman of the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, regarding the legacy of uranium contamination on Navajo land. For decades, the Navajo Nation and many grass roots organizations have been trying to address this human tragedy in real terms -- with only marginal success.
Hopefully, one of the defining moments of this struggle took place last week. As one of the attorneys representing the Navajo Nation on the uranium contamination issue, I had the privilege of working with the Navajo delegation to help prepare them for this hearing. I was also honored to attend the hearing in Washington, D.C. and to monitor the testimony and questions first hand. In spite of ongoing discussions with the Bureau of Indian Affairs ("BIA"), the Department of Energy ("DOE"), and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency ("EPA"), and limited clean up of specific areas, this was the first sense I had that something meaningful may actually be accomplished – that this tragic legacy of contamination may eventually be addressed on a large scale.
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A Change We Can Truly Afford to Have
Attending a Green Sedona meeting a few months back, I sat in back next to a young man (I'm 76, I can say that) to whom I kept turning to ask what the speakers were saying. He had a friendly smile, was patient, and gently told me what I was not able to hear. We also had a few laughs about a few humorous incidents-- I liked him!!
We seemed to connect on a human level, and then he was the last to speak. He was Howard Shanker! I am happy not to have known, because I observed a kind and gentlemanly person, with a sense of humor. AND he was environmentally informed and active-- I had helped save over 200 open space acres and the historic Dvoor Farm in and around Flemington NJ (and that's about all there is left in Flemington now), so I felt encouraged. His abilities seem quite humane and decent--a change we can truly afford to have.
Beverly Smith
Shanker on Water
Arizonans deserve a sustainable, clean, water supply that is derived from a local source. We currently do not have this.
We live in the desert during a period of prolonged drought. In Arizona, demands on surface and groundwater have already resulted in a significant loss of riparian area and habitat. According to the Bureau of Reclamation, Arizona could face a potential water supply crisis by 2025. Notwithstanding the foregoing, in about 80% of the state, including large swaths of Congressional District 1, developers can build massive subdivisions without any assurance of a sufficient water supply. Our state legislature and agencies are failing miserably in the face of an identifiable and acknowledged crisis. The state needs to pass a law, in part, requiring that subdivisions of a certain size have a 100 year assured water supply -- without which they cannot build. If our state legislators are unwilling to do this, we need to explore the possibility of taking that authority from them and either placing it in the hands of a regional authority or under the rubric of the federal Clean Water Act. Either way something must be done quickly to stop the irresponsible behavior of our state legislators and state agencies in allowing uncontrolled, unsustainable growth.
Many people on the reservations in Congressional District 1 don't have running water. On the Navajo reservation, for example, approximately 40 percent of the population lacks a potable domestic water supply. This is not a luxury, it is a necessity that most of us off of the reservations take for granted. Congress needs to find funding for the development of community public water supply facilities on the reservations. It is also essential that outstanding questions of water rights are resolved expeditiously in a fair and meaningful way -- whether through adjudication or negotiation. Delay in the quantification of tribal water rights under the Winters Doctrine and its progeny increases the possibility of an unfair result or foregone conclusion.
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CD 1 Candidate Howard Shanker Receives Resolution of Support from Navajo Medicine Men and Women
Flagstaff, Arizona August 20, 2007– Last week the Dine Hataalii Association, a prestigious association of more than 300 Navajo medicine men and women, issued a unanimous resolution of support for Howard Shanker’s bid for Congress in Arizona’s Congressional District 1. Importantly, this is the first time that the Dine Hataalii Association has ever endorsed a congressional candidate and signals the success Shanker has gained in attracting bipartisan support from many facets of the Navajo Nation.
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An Interview with Howard Shanker
Howard Shanker: On Running for Congress
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Shanker Pays Respect to Code Talkers and Participates in Walking the Healing Path Event
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Navajo Chapters Throw Bipartisan Support Behind Shanker's Run for Congress
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Shanker Honored and Endorsed by Indigenous Elders from Around the Western Hemisphere
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Shanker Calls for More Federal Funding For Renewables
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The 1st District needs a Congressman who has the interests of the people at heart. Howard Shanker has a proven track record of fighting for the rights of all Arizonans. As co-founders of the Shanker Law Firm, Howard and his wife Tamera have been advocates for Arizona's veterans, children, Native Americans and the environment.
Howard's priorities are clear:
“Development and growth must be sustainable, economically viable, environmentally responsible, and good for all Arizonans.”
“Arizona should be the solar and wind energy capital of the world. We should be working to develop renewable energy sources to end our reliance on foreign oil, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and promote economic growth in the District.”
“The character of our involvement in Iraq must change. We need to develop a responsible exit-plan that will bring our troops home safely. We must replace our current military posture with an international effort to rebuild their war torn country. We need to negotiate a political solution to the current morass.”
“It is essential that our veterans are treated with dignity and respect, and provided with comprehensive healthcare and social services.”
“Governmental fraud, waste, and abuse have become commonplace. It is time to elect responsible lawmakers. The wholesale privatization of essential governmental functions must stop.”
Howard Shanker is the son of a decorated WWII veteran, a family man, and a small business owner. Howard, his wife Tamera, their teenage daughters Rachel and Samara, and their 5 year old son Ethan are long-time Arizonans. Together, Howard and Tamera run The Shanker Law Firm with offices in Flagstaff and Tempe.
Howard graduated from the Georgetown University Law Center in Washington, D.C. in 1989. He also holds a Master's Degree in Public Administration from Pace University in New York (1984). He began practicing law in Arizona in 1993. Howard is admitted to practice in state and federal courts in Arizona, Washington, D.C. and Pennsylvania (inactive). He is also admitted in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, the U.S. Court of Federal Claims, the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals, and the U.S. Supreme Court.
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