January 29, 2009

Amnesty International researchers in Gaza have photographed the remains of a U.S.-made missile that killed three paramedics and a child on Jan. 4. The human rights organization said the paramedics were killed on their way to rescue wounded and the incident was one example among others in which medical teams came under fire while carrying out their duties. Full release.

Today the Democratic National Committee announced that it filed a motion to intervene in the case of the Republican National Committee v. FEC, in which the RNC is seeking to dismantle the soft money provisions of the bi-partisan McCain Feingold campaign reform act (BCRA) of 2002. After a bruising defeat in November 2008, the RNC filed suit in the District of Columbia, challenging the constitutionality of the central tenet of BCRA - the ban on national party soft money. In its suit, the RNC relies on the same arguments that it made and that the Supreme Court previously rejected in McConnell v. FEC in 2003. Full release.

DNC Chairman Governor Tim Kaine issued the following statement following President Barack Obama's signing of his first bill, the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Restoration Act to ensure all American workers are treated fairly under the law: "By signing this historic bill, President Barack Obama made good on his promise to ensure that every American is treated fairly under the law. Women still make only 78 cents for every dollar men earn, creating a disparity that hurts not only women but all of our families." Full release

On February 6 and 7, the American Muslim Taskforce on Civil Rights and Elections (AMT), a coalition of 12 major Islamic organizations, will hold back-to-back conferences focusing on human rights and the media. The February 6 event, "American Muslims in the Mainstream: An Exchange of Notes Between Alternate Media and Muslim Political Organizations," will cover issues such as American Muslim political growth and development, Muslim voting patterns and historical trends in the Islamic community. Full release

Former Clinton Administration Middle East diplomat Dennis Ross is under consideration as US State Department envoy to Iran. Ross is currently the chairman of the Jewish People Policy Planning Institute (JPPPI) in Jerusalem, established by the Jewish Agency in 2002. Ross could face legal challenges under the 1938 Foreign Agents Registration Act, or FARA, if he enters US government service. Full release.

While a broad base of national educators, leaders and policymakers have agreed that the nation's education system requires fundamental operational changes, the federal government is poised to subsidize the systems that have failed American students, allowed them to fall behind their international counterparts and left a yawning achievement gap that sees barely 50 percent of African-American males graduating from high school. Full release.

Federally Employed Women (FEW) salutes Reps. Carolyn Maloney (D-14-NY), Frank Wolf (R-10-VA), Steny Hoyer (D-5-MD), Danny Davis (D-7-IL) and Edolphus Towns (D-10-NY) for introducing HR 626, the Paid Parental Leave Act in the House of Representatives. "We also want to thank Sen. Jim Webb in anticipation of his introduction of a companion bill in the Senate later today. We appreciate the support these legislators have given to federal workers in the past and are very grateful for their introduction of these bills," stated Sue Webster, FEW's National President. Full release.

Bread for the World President Rev. David Beckmann issued the following statement regarding the passage of the $819 billion American Recovery and Reinvestment Act by the U.S. House of Representatives last night: "Roughly half of the funding in the $819 billion American Recovery and Reinvestment Act is for programs that benefit low-income people, such as SNAP (food stamp) benefits, unemployment insurance, and refundable tax credits." Full release

The Congressional Oversight Panel is recommending eight specific reforms that it says are "urgently needed" for a fundamental remapping of the U.S. system of financial regulation, including the designation of a regulatory body to monitor systemic risk, and a single federal regulator for consumer credit products, according to a draft of the report set for release Jan. 29 obtained by BNA's Banking Daily. Full release

Just days before the election, President Barack Obama dropped a comprehensive plan to stimulate the middle class economy by stopping the diversion of federal small business contracts to corporate giants. The plan was drafted over the course of three months by dozens of small business experts around the country who had been invited to serve on President Obama's small business advisory panel. Full release

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