July 28, 2008

Deputy Attorney General Mark R. Filip and U.S. Attorney Patrick J. Fitzgerald will deliver remarks at the Department of Justice Project Safe Neighborhoods Anti-Gang Training on TUESDAY, JULY 29, at 8:30 A.M. CDT. Full release

On Friday, Miles Rapoport, President of the national public policy center Demos, sent a letter of support to Senators Feinstein, Kerry, Clinton, Leahy, Schumer, Wyden, Reid, Murray and Obama for their sponsorship of S. 3308, introduced in the Senate on July 22, 2008. A House companion bill is expected to be introduced tomorrow. This legislation would require the Secretary of Veterans Affairs (VA) to permit facilities of the Department of Veterans Affairs to be designated as voter registration agencies, in accordance with the National Voter Registration Act. Full release

Speaker Nancy Pelosi issued the following statement today after news reports indicated that the federal budget deficit will reach a record high of nearly $490 billion. The Bush Administration is expected to announce the exact figure later this afternoon. "President Bush has mortgaged our future with record deficit spending on the wrong priorities. An unnecessary and extraordinarily costly war in Iraq has turned record surpluses into record deficits. Meanwhile, our economy is in a severe economic slump as a result of this President's mismanagement." Full release

As CNN explores many of the aspects of the African-American experience in its "Black in America" series, a new report shows that the vast majority of African-American and Latino families who have entered the middle class are either borderline or at high risk of falling out of the middle class altogether. The 2008 study by the policy center Demos and the Institute for Assets and Social Policy (IASP) at Brandeis University shows that one in four African-American and fewer than one in five Latino middle-class families in America are financially secure. Full release

The following was issued today by the U.S. Department of Justice: "Even as I commend the hard work and collaboration of the Justice Department's Offices of Inspector General and Professional Responsibility on today's report, I am of course disturbed by their findings that improper political considerations were used in hiring decisions relating to some career employees." Full release

The Justice Department announced today the settlement of a lawsuit against Salem County and the borough of Penns Grove, N.J., alleging violations of the rights of Puerto Rican voters under the Voting Rights Act. The settlement agreement requires the county and borough to ensure that elections are equally open to Latino voters, that Spanish language assistance and materials be available at the polls, and that Spanish-speaking voters be allowed to select the assistor of their choice. Full release

A Web site and media campaign exposing the vast number of liability expanding provisions slipped into key legislation by the plaintiffs' trial bar was launched today by the U.S. Chamber Institute for Legal Reform (ILR). The site, http://www.TrialLawyerEarmarks.com, illustrates the breadth and scope of the trial lawyer agenda through a tangle of vines overtaking the U.S. Capitol Building. The vines, rooted in areas of law the plaintiffs' trial bar is working to revise in order to bring more lawsuits, highlight and monitor the 48 trial lawyer provisions currently pending in the 110th Congress. Full release

"As President of The U.S. Conference of Mayors, and on behalf of the American people and America's cities, we commend the Senate, specifically Senators Harry Reid and Christopher Dodd, for their courage and action today in the passage of this most urgent and landmark housing bill. We also commend House Speaker Nancy Pelosi for standing with us, and we urge President Bush to sign this act immediately." Full release

The following is a transcript of the radio address by President Bush to the Nation: THE PRESIDENT: Good morning. This week, Congress voted to expand a vital program that is saving lives across the developing world -- the Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, also known as PEPFAR. I thank members of Congress from both sides of the aisle for working with my Administration to pass this important bill, and I will be honored to sign it into law next week. Full release

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