March 2007

Since 2003, the conflict in the Darfur region of western Sudan has worsened and shows no signs of improvement. More than 2 million people have been displaced by the violence and some 450,000 have lost their lives. Although Sudanese President Omar al- Bashir initially agreed to a joint African Union-UN
force in Darfur, he has recently written to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon, arguing that such a hybrid force violates the Darfur peace agreement. Full release

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid made the following statement upon receipt of a Congressional Research Service (CRS) analysis of the Army's ability to finance its operational needs with existing funds well beyond the April 15th date asserted by President Bush. Full release

New research by political scientists concludes that available data does not appear to support the claim that Hispanic immigration poses a threat to American identity. Among the key findings of this study are that Hispanics acquire English and lose Spanish rapidly beginning in the 2nd generation; appear to be as religious and at least as committed to the work ethic as native-born whites; and largely reject a purely ethnic identification and exhibit levels of patriotism equal to native-born whites by the 3rd generation. Full release

You might have to say good-bye to lower taxes. The House narrowly passed a budget bill on Thursday that would allow the Bush tax cuts to expire, while creating a surplus by 2012. The following statement is from IPI Senior Research Fellow Peter Ferrara on the House bill. Full release

Sarah Brady today asked Americans who want to note the 26th anniversary of the terrible March 30, 1981 shooting that wounded four, including the President and Jim Brady, to call Congress urging support of legislation to combat illegal gun trafficking. Full release

Legal Momentum and the National Organization for Women (NOW) today filed complaints with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) alleging sex discrimination in 34 of the first 100 programs funded by the Bush Administration under its new "Responsible Fatherhood" initiative. According to the program summaries on the HHS web site, the 34 programs are providing job-training services to
men but not to women. Full release

Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid today sent the following letter to President Bush objecting to delaying the needed funding for our troops by vetoing the emergency supplemental spending bill, and urging him to work with Congress to ensure our troops receive the support they deserve. Full release

Focus on the Family welcomed news today that its April 14 Love Won Out conference at Trinity Church in Omaha will be protested by gay activists, saying it looks forward to adding its voice to a community-wide dialogue on homosexuality. Full release

The Hamilton Project at the Brookings Institution was launched last year to advance an economic strategy to restore America's promise of opportunity, prosperity and growth- and inject new policy options from leading thinkers across the country into the national economic debate. To further this mission the
project has commissioned significant work in the area of health policy and will release two sets of papers this year. Full release

The National Commander of The American Legion criticized an amendment narrowly passed by the U.S. Senate that would add a timeline of withdrawal to an Iraq spending bill. "You don't have to be a military strategist to understand the advantage a withdrawal date gives to the enemy," Paul A. Morin said. "First the House passed a blueprint for disaster and now the Senate passes a recipe for surrender." Full release

Singer-songwriter and breast cancer survivor Sheryl Crow will join Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada and other chief sponsors at a news conference today to promote their legislation creating a national strategy to research the links between breast cancer and the environment, the Breast Cancer and Environmental Research Act (S.579, H.R.1157). Full release

Speaker Nancy Pelosi released the following statement this evening on H.R. 1401, the Rail and Mass Transit Security Act of 2007, which passed by a vote of 299 to 124:

"With today's bipartisan vote, the House took the next step toward a new direction for America's security." Full release

The Ronald Reagan Presidential Library Foundation will host the final GOP presidential debate before the 2008 "Super-Tuesday" primary in California and several other key states. Mrs. Ronald Reagan will extend invitations to the front-runner GOP Presidential candidates to return to the Reagan Library for this final debate, which will be held on Wednesday, January 30, 2008. Full release

Today marks a bittersweet anniversary for Republican presidential candidate John McCain's "do-anything- to-win campaign." On March 27, 2002, President Bush signed one of his signature legislative accomplishments -- the McCain-Feingold campaign finance reform act -- into law. Five years later, discontent with the law among conservative activists threatens to derail his campaign. Full release

Presidential candidates Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY) and Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) met today with the International Brotherhood of Teamsters General Executive Board during its quarterly meetings in Washington. John Edwards and DNC Chairman Howard Dean are scheduled to meet with Executive Board members later in the week. Full release

The U.S. Census Bureau revised its 2005 data on the uninsured this week, after discovering the initial data was off by 1.8 million people. The new numbers show 44.8 million people were uninsured as of 2005, and not 46.6 million as previously reported. While the error was blamed on a software glitch, experts with the National Center for Policy Analysis (NCPA) said the mistake points to bigger issues with the census data. Full release

Speaker Nancy Pelosi released the following statement this evening on H.R. 580, Restoring Checks and Balances in the Confirmation Process of U.S. Attorneys, which passed by a vote of 329 to 78:

"This legislation restores Constitutional checks and balances in the appointment process of interim U.S. Attorneys. It removes a loophole inserted by the prior Republican Congress that permits the indefinite appointment of interim U.S. Attorneys without Senate confirmation." Full release

In nearly half of the states with an income tax, a family of four owes the tax even if its income falls below the poverty line, according to a new report from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. In 19 of the 42 states that levy an income tax, the "tax threshold" (the income level at which families begin owing taxes) for a two-parent family of four for tax year 2006 is below $20,615, the poverty line for such a family. Full release

Today, the New Yorker Magazine published an article by Jeffrey Goldberg which exposes the brutal truth behind Wal-Mart's multi-million dollar spin machine. The article explains how Wal-Mart and Edelman, the company's public relations firm, have used a series of cynical strategies and tactics, including manufactured front groups and empty new initiatives, to try and address the company's faltering public image. Full release

The following was released today by the Democratic National Committee:

Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney brings his campaign to smooth talk primary voters into ignoring his real record to Texas today, where he will join former Swift Boat Veterans for Truth backer Bob Perry for a fundraiser in Dallas. Today's visit comes on the same day the Associated Press highlighted Romney's "checklist" approach to winning the Republican nomination by hiding his complete lack of "national and international political experience." Full release

Criticizing union bosses for working to end secret ballot elections in the workplace, the Center for Union Facts (CUF) today launched an advertising blitz in Washington, D.C. The quarter million dollar campaign consists of local broadcast and cable advertising that will run through Thursday. Full release

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada released the following statement following Senate passage of the budget resolution.

"The Senate today passed a balanced budget that embodies the common values of the American people. Our budget cuts middle-class taxes and increases funding for education, children's health care and our veterans, all with no tax increases." Full release

Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean issued the following statement on the passage of the Iraq supplemental spending bill in the House of Representatives:

"Last November the American people demanded a new direction in Iraq, and that is exactly what the Democrats offered today. President Bush's open-ended commitment to a failed Iraq policy is not good enough for our brave men and women fighting in Iraq." Full release

Congressional Democrats claim at every turn they "support the Second Amendment," but the truth came out Thursday when they pulled a coveted District of Columbia voting rights bill because of an amendment that would have ended the long-standing handgun ban. Full release

House Republican Whip Roy Blunt (Mo.) issued the following statement this afternoon in reaction to House passage of the majority's accelerated schedule of troop retreat in Iraq:

"In voting to tie the hands of our commanders in the field, Democrats today voted themselves capable of managing the affairs of war -- not from the theatre of battle, but from the confines of their Capitol Hill offices more than 6,000 miles away." Full release

The U.S. Department of Justice together with the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children(R) (NCMEC) and the Ad Council today announced a new phase of their Online Sexual Exploitation public service advertising (PSA) campaign designed to educate teenage girls about the potential dangers of posting and sharing personal information online. Full release

for its latest Lifetime Women's Pulse Poll*, Lifetime Television brought together two of the industry's most respected pollsters, Kellyanne Conway and Celinda Lake, with results painting a surprising picture of Gen Y women's political views and aspirations that could have significant ramifications for the 2008 election cycle and beyond. Full release

The Ohio State Medical Association (OSMA) today announced its support of new legislation, dubbed the Healthcare Simplification Act, which would provide remedies for many of the excessive administrative demands doctors face in their interactions with health plans. The Act was introduced on the House and Senate floors today by Representatives Hoffman, DeGeeter and Seitz, and Senators Coughlin, Gardner and Boccieri. Full release

Speaker Nancy Pelosi released the following statement today on the introduction of the Bipartisan Immigration Reform Bill, Security Through Regularized Immigration and a Vibrant Economy Act of 2007 (STRIVE Act of 2007):

"I applaud today's introduction of the STRIVE Act of 2007. It is a significant step forward." Full release

As he swoops in to the Garden State for a fundraiser tonight, John McCain is making it clear that he's willing to do anything to win the Republican presidential primary. Full release

WakeUpWalMart.com, America's Campaign to Change Wal-Mart, launched a new nationwide media and grassroots initiative to pressure Wal-Mart, America's #1 importer of port containers, to "help stop the next 9/11" and reverse its lobbying efforts against 100% scanning of port containers, leaving America's ports and cities vulnerable to a terrorist nuclear attack. Full release

With jumper cables and a 12-volt battery, a Saddam era radio station roared to life last week and now four Iraqis are doing what has never been done as they launch independent radio and television in war-torn Iraq. Full release

Amnesty International today released a new report, Justice Delayed and Justice Denied?, calling on the U.S. government to abandon its proposed military commissions and try any charged Guantanamo detainees in the federal courts. Full release

As the U.S. Senate considers funding to support Iraqi refugees and internally displaced persons, Larry Cox, Amnesty International USA executive director, issued the following statement:

"As the Iraq conflict enters its fifth year, we cannot ignore the consequences of war including the massive refugee crisis in the region." Full release

The 110th Congress is working to make progress for the American people on the toughest challenges we face. Challenges that have gone unaddressed for years in Washington. Now there's a new direction. From the first 100 hours to the coming months, our agenda includes action to defend our country, grow our economy, care for our children and families, preserve our planet, and restore accountability. Full release

Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, Senate Finance Subcommittee on Health Care Chairman Jay Rockefeller, Senate HELP Committee Chairman Ted Kennedy and Senators Stabenow, Menendez, Brown and Casey today called on the Senate to continue providing millions of our nation's children with the health care they desperately need by voting to extend the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP). Full release

The Illinois Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence (ICPGV), a project of Legal Community Against Violence, today announced in press events in both Chicago and Springfield the results of the largest and first-ever publicly released bi-partisan poll commissioned to gauge voters' attitudes about proposed changes to state gun laws. Full release

The leaders of three national Catholic organizations have called on Congress to strengthen and expand a federal health program that provides health insurance coverage for children. Full release

Tomorrow, Members of House Democratic Leadership will join Members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus to discuss the Iraq war and the U.S. Troop Readiness, Veterans' Health and Iraq Accountability Act that will be debated in the House of Representative later this week. Full release

The following is a statement released today by Betsy Loyless, senior vice president of the National Audubon Society:

"Rep. Henry Waxman's Safe Climate Act is the plan that gives the U.S. its best chance at successfully addressing the global warming problem. I believe it is the gold standard that will define the debate in Congress, and I hope it is enacted this year." Full release

House Republican Whip Roy Blunt (Mo.) released the following statement this afternoon after signing a discharge petition to H.R. 511 -- instructing Democratic leaders to bring to the House floor legislation written by Rep. Sam Johnson, R-Texas, pledging Congress's full and faithful support of our troops in harm's way. Full release

Thirty-five percent of seniors - including 62 percent of low-income seniors - enrolled in Medicare Advantage say they would skip some of the health care treatments they currently receive if the option of choosing a Medicare health plan is taken away, while three-fourths of physicians believe that seniors will be harmed if Congress cuts the Medicare Advantage program. Full release

Groups representing millions of voters applauded the introduction Tuesday of landmark bipartisan federal campaign finance legislation that would create a voluntary system of public funding for qualifying congressional candidates. Reform advocates hailed the bill as a step toward making elections about people and ideas -- not special interest money. Full release

The Idaho House of Representatives voted 46-20 last night to make English the official language of the state, sending the bill to Gov. C.L. "Butch" Otter for his signature. If signed into law, Idaho will be the 29th state to enact official English legislation. Full release

Activists from 47 states will gather on the West Front Lawn of the U.S. Capitol today for the largest U.S. global warming event, urging Congress to act promptly to slow global warming. The event, sponsored by more than 45 organizations, is also the first ever "carbon-neutral" event of its kind. All emissions from the event will be offset through the purchase of renewable energy credits. Full release

In an online survey over the weekend, 85% of MoveOn members directed the organization to support the House Democratic Leadership measure that sets a date certain for redeploying American troops out of Iraq. Full release

Environmental injustice in minority communities is as much or more prevalent today than 20 years ago, according to a follow-up study to the landmark "Toxic Waste and Race in the United States" report that put the environmental justice movement on the map two decades ago. Both studies were commissioned by the United Church of Christ. The new study commemorates the 20th anniversary of the ground-breaking first study. Full release

On the fourth anniversary of the Iraq war, Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean issued the following statement:

"Four years ago, President Bush and his Administration misled our nation into a war of choice that has led to the loss of 3,200 American lives and tens of thousands more wounded." Full release

The following is a statement by President Bush on the 4th anniversary of the invasion of Iraq...

"Good morning. Four years ago today, coalition forces launched Operation Iraqi Freedom to remove Saddam Hussein from power. They did so to eliminate the threat his regime posed to the Middle East and to the world. Coalition forces carried out that mission with great courage and skill. Today the world is rid of Saddam Hussein and a tyrant has been held to account for his crimes by his own people." Full release

In a formal invitation sent to former Vice-President Al Gore's Tennessee address and released to the public, Lord Monckton has thrown down the gauntlet to challenge Gore to what he terms "the Second Great Debate," an internationally televised, head-to-head, nation-unto-nation confrontation on the question, "That our effect on climate is not dangerous." Full release

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