January 12, 2009

Age: 71.

Family: Wife Nancy and daughter Nancy.

Grew up: Born and raised in Nanticoke.

Little known fact: Kanjorski is dyslexic. "I always thought it was a blessing. It forced me to develop my memory." Kanjorski took few notes in college and instead relied on his memory.

Education: The early years were public school. Kanjorski finished high school at the Capitol Page School in Washington, D.C. He became a congressional page at 15. He was appointed by Republicans but ended up working on the Democratic side of the House. Later, he attended Temple University and Dickinson School of Law. Kanjorski served in the U.S. Army in the 1960s.

Before Congress: Trial attorney in northeastern Pennsylvania.

First elected: 1984.
What would he be doing if you were not a Congressman? Practicing law or creating a startup company.

Favorite president: A toss-up between Theodore Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln.

Proudest achievement in Congress: Taking on special projects like getting Cherry Valley designated as a National Wildlife Refuge. In another project 15 years ago, Kanjorski was instrumental in creating a charitable organization, Earth Conservancy, which is working on the reclamation and return of 16,000 acres of former coal company-owned land in the Wyoming Valley.
What is his next big local project? "Out of this economic disaster we're in now, there is some great hope. We are in a position to reexamine transportation issues in the Poconos."

THE 11TH DISTRICT Democrat said that instead of putting in a traditional commuter rail, which has been promised for 20 years, perhaps a high-speed or a maglev train should be considered. Using magnetic forces, a maglev train could make Wilkes-Barre/Scranton a 20-minute commute from New York City.
He predicts 4 million people will be looking for homes in the suburbs of New York City in the next 15 years.
"New York has to pick an area to grow to. It can't go to New Jersey or Connecticut, those places are already built out. They can't go into the ocean, they can only grow west. The closest suburb to New York City is not only distance, but time. Twenty minutes would be the closest suburb to New York City." A swift train would help attract better paying jobs.
Kanjorski had a feasibility study done on locating a cargo airport somewhere in the district. The effects of combining a high-speed train with a cargo airport would be more jobs.
"That's why Cherry Valley was so very important," Kanjorski said. With Monroe County's population expanding, there won't be any Cherry Valleys left unless the growth is carefully balanced with preservation.
"We must encourage growth and prosperity and preserve quality of life. They can exist together," he said.
Kanjorski said he is encouraging formation of a tri-state commission to bring a commuter train to the Poconos. "Right now we are under the control of the New Jersey Transit Authority and their culture. It doesn't infuse an entrepreneurial spirit."
KANJORSKI OPENED A congressional inquiry this month into the $50 billion Ponzi scheme allegedly devised by disgraced financier Bernard Madoff.
Kanjorski is determined to uncover how Madoff was able to commit such a massive fraud and find out why it went undetected for so long.
"The scandal represented to me, an opportunity, a case study how we will reform regulation in our markets. Before this, we didn't have a way for people to understand what needed to be done."
Kanjorski's inquiry will explore greed and the motivation of investors and help develop a model for reform.
"This is the nearest thing to the 1930s Depression we will have experienced in our lifetime. We can get out of it if we get out of the attitude that this will happen from on high. It will only happen if all of us are willing to assume our roles and do our part. Why are so many people asking to be bailed out? They did not understand they had to do due diligence - be responsible for their own decision making.
"We're in a free market system, or a modified free market. People have to get out of the bailout mentality and that government is the responsible party for everything, In reality, we are individually responsible.
"We have a cleansing system and it's harsh. It hasn't happened to this extent for years. It's the price you pay to have unfettered opportunity to have success."
WHAT NEEDS TO happen for investors to gain confidence in the markets again?
"Madoff happened as we were trying to rebuild. Our economic system doesn't prosper without people having confidence in the market place. One element is to have good fair regulation that is why we are getting into a examination of what is needed in the market place."
Kanjorski said that current regulatory laws were developed and adopted in the 1930s - and some are out of date. "The financial services subcommittee will have to attend to the current banking and market problems."
Other issues Kanjorski would like to tackle include national health care, and developing a national industrial policy. "The U.S. must decide what kind of country we should be."
WHAT KEEPS HIM up at night?
"I worry most that we don't appreciate how tenuous our existence is as a nation and we could lose it so quickly if we don't pay attention to some of these problems.
"Our freedoms and rights were not given to us from God. They started in the thought process of man kind. That is why I'm convinced it is important to have a strong middle class. We need many people to share in the success."
Greed and selfishness threaten the very existence of the United States - and could cause the U.S to slip into chaos. That, said Kanjorski, was the motivation behind the bank bailout. "We had to save the economy to save the nation."
HE IS PROUD to be participating in Barack Obama's inauguration, one of the few times when all three branches of government come together.
"There has never been a bullet fired to pass power in 44 presidents. That has never been equaled in mankind."
This will be the seventh inauguration Kanjorski has attended.
- By Beth Brelje
Pocono Record Writer