May 08, 2008

Speaker Nancy Pelosi released the following statement on news that the House-Senate conference committee on the Farm Bill has reached a final agreement: "The bipartisan Farm Bill will ease the strain of rising food prices for American families, begin much-needed reforms to farm payments, and make a substantial commitment to land conservation and to fruits and vegetables." Full release

On the Today Show this morning, Cindy McCain defended the McCain campaign's decision to withhold her tax returns, saying they would never make her tax returns public--not even if she becomes First Lady. [See it here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iXDV2kZX_MU] Despite the accountability Americans expect from their elected officials and McCain's own calls for openness and transparency in government, John McCain has only released two years of his tax returns. No nominee from either party since Ronald Reagan in 1980 has disclosed that little information.
Full release

On the campaign trail John McCain likes to call himself a maverick Republican who bucks the Party line whenever possible. But the fact is, McCain is far from a moderate. In the same week that we found out that McCain has never voted against a Republican judicial nominee during his entire time in the Senate, the Arizona Republic reported that he rarely bucks his party on close votes. According to the paper's analysis of his Senate votes, McCain's "voting pattern seems at odds with the popular narrative that McCain's maverick tendencies make him an unreliable conservative" and a political scientist who analyzes Senate votes said, "He is a conservative who votes conservative on most issues...[b]y no means is he a liberal or even a moderate." [Arizona Republic, 5/7/08]
Full release

Today, Amnesty International USA (AIUSA) launched its national tour of a life-size Guantanamo prison cell replica in Miami to increase public awareness and mount pressure on the Bush administration to close down the U.S.-controlled detention facility in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Full release.

The U.S. Department of Labor will hold a public hearing on May 28 at 10:30 a.m. EDT to collect information on the use of child labor and forced labor worldwide in the production of goods. The hearing will take place at the department's headquarters at 200 Constitution Ave. N.W. in Washington. The department is accepting requests to attend from all interested parties. Full release

Will John McCain receive the enthusiastic support from conservatives that he needs to win in November? Or will conservatives give him only grudging support... or vote for someone else? Full release.

Seniors have lost 51 percent of their buying power since the beginning of the decade, according to a new study released today by The Senior Citizens League, one of the nation's largest nonpartisan seniors groups. Full release

Yesterday marked the fifth anniversary of the first congressional hearing on the diversion of billions of dollars in federal contracts intended for small businesses to Fortune 1000 corporations. To date, no legislation has been passed to stop large firms from dominating federal programs designed for small businesses. Full release.

As the death toll from Cyclone Nargis climbs steeply, UNICEF is gravely concerned that the lack of shelter and safe drinking water, coupled with poor sanitary conditions, could significantly increase the death toll among children and other vulnerable populations, leading to a second wave of deaths. Full releases.

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