April 2009

Global warming legislation that mandates a huge reduction in carbon dioxide emissions would hit Ohio's economy far harder than most other states', according to an analysis by The Heritage Foundation. Full release.

Seven Iranian American refugees have conditionally pled guilty to providing material support to an Iranian opposition group known as the Mujahedin-e Khalq (MEK). The agreement enables them to appeal the ruling on the ground that their prosecution violates the U.S. Constitution, an argument that the trial judge indicated should be decided by a higher court. Their challenge focuses on the fact that the MEK does not threaten U.S. national security, in large part because the U.S. government has itself provided material support to the same group, as court documents obtained in the case revealed. Full release.

Two years ago, a small group of senators emerged from behind closed doors with a bill offering amnesty to illegal aliens, cheap foreign workers to business interests, and vague promises of immigration enforcement. Despite that bill being overwhelmingly opposed by the American public, the U.S. Senate is laying the groundwork yet again. The Senate Judiciary Committee, Subcommittee on Immigration, Border Security and Refugees, chaired by Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.), is today holding a hearing on so-called "comprehensive immigration reform," legislation that would grant amnesty to the estimated 12 million illegal aliens living in America. Full release.

One year after Cyclone Nargis devastated the Ayeyarwaddy Delta in Myanmar, enormous challenges remain in restoring livelihoods and water sources, building shelters and schools, and in providing psychosocial support to traumatized survivors. The Red Cross is supporting 100,000 families in thirteen townships with health education, clean water, improved housing, cash-for-work and emotional support. Full release.

Men's Health Network applauds Representatives Barron Hill (D-IN) and Tim Murphy (R-PA) today for introducing H.R. 2115, the "Men and Families Health Care Act of 2009." This bipartisan legislation would establish an Office of Men's Health within the Department of Health and Human Services for the purpose of improving the health of men and their families. This Office will mirror the existing Office of Women's Health, established in the early 1990s, which has improved the quality of life for women nationwide. Full release

"We are delighted Congressman Steve King, R-Iowa, is speaking at the National Press Club today and unveiling a new Lexington Institute study on the value of English proficiency in the United States," says K.C. McAlpin, executive director of ProEnglish. The Arlington, Va.-based organization advocates making English the official language of the United States. Full release.

A new report from the Center for Immigration Studies finds that immigrants have been harder hit by the recession than natives. Unemployment among immigrants (legal and illegal) was higher in the first quarter of 2009 than at any time since 1994, when immigrant data was first collected separately. This represents a change from the recent past, when native-born Americans had the higher unemployment rate. Full release.

Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced today that the House Democratic Steering Committee has approved recommendations for committee appointments for two new Members, Congressman Mike Quigley of Illinois, who was sworn in last week, and Congressman Scott Murphy of New York, who was sworn in today. The full Democratic Caucus is expected to approve these recommendations at its next meeting. Full release.

Americans United for Life (AUL) today filed a friend of the court brief before the Montana Supreme Court on behalf of a bipartisan group of 28 Montana Senators and Representatives, arguing there is no right to assisted suicide under the State's constitution. Full release.

A potential spread of swine flu to developing countries without adequate means to track the outbreak or to treat those infected could prove disastrous for communities in Central America and elsewhere, humanitarian agency World Vision warned today. Full release.

GovBenefits.gov, a collaborative effort of 17 federal agencies with content on more than 1,000 benefits and assistance programs, today is launching a Twitter account to provide continuous updates about the Web site's resources. In this time of economic uncertainty, it is more important than ever to meet citizen demand for information about available benefits. Full release.

A new foreign assistance reform bill introduced today by Congressman Howard L. Berman (D-CA), Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, and Congressman Mark Kirk (R-IL), takes great strides toward breathing new life into a U.S. foreign assistance system in need of strategy and purpose, said international agency Oxfam America. Full release.

As the United States confronts the possibility of the first flu pandemic in more than 50 years, the Council for American Medical Innovation today commended President Obama for his commitment to medical innovation since taking office 100 days ago. Full release.

Change to Win executive director Chris Chafe issued the following statement regarding the first 100 days of the new Obama presidency: "From investments in energy, education, health care and infrastructure, to repairing our leadership role in the global community, the first 100 days of President Obama's Administration has inspired new optimism and hope, and introduced a new era for America's working families. Through his bold actions he has proven his commitment to restoring the economy, rebuilding the middle class and renewing the American Dream. " Full release.

The nation's mayors today applauded the first 100 days of a President who has shown more focus on cities and an urban agenda than mayors have seen in a very long time. Mayors across America believe the Obama Administration's policies have given an economic boost to cities, urban and metropolitan areas. Full release.

Democratic National Committee Chairman Tim Kaine issued the following statement on Senator Arlen Specter's decision to join the Democratic Party and work with Senate Democrats to achieve the President's vision for a strong and growing economy. Full release.

Pennsylvania AFL-CIO President Bill George said today that working men and women of Pennsylvania are pleased with Senator Arlen Specter's decision to re-join the Democratic Party which has traditionally been the party of working Pennsylvanians. Full release.

Today Democratic National Committee Chairman Tim Kaine issued the following statement in recognition of Equal Pay Day: "Today we highlight the important struggle of American women to earn equal pay for equal work. Women first entered the work force en masse during World War II and now comprise almost half of all American workers. They are lawyers and retailers and entrepreneurs - and women are projected to account for 49% of the increase in total labor force growth between 2006 and 2016. Despite this remarkable progress, a woman still earns only 78 cents for every dollar a man earns; a disparity that hurts not only women, but all American families." Full release.

The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) today call on members of the Jewish community to condemn the anti-Islam hate of a speaker who was recently given a standing ovation at a Florida synagogue. CAIR said the speech by Dutch anti-Islam extremist politician Geert Wilders took place at a "large synagogue in Palm Beach." In the speech, Wilders went through his usual laundry list of hate-filled views, including his claim that "Islam is not a religion" and "the right to religious freedom should not apply to this totalitarian ideology called Islam," all to the applause of the audience. Wilders also called for stopping immigration from Muslim countries and urged "voluntary repatriation" to those countries. Full release.

On Thursday, May 7th, Refugees International (RI) will host its 30th Anniversary Dinner, honoring Ted Turner with the 2009 McCall-Pierpaoli Humanitarian Award. Mr. Turner will be recognized for his inspiring commitment to humanitarian issues, including the establishment of the United Nations Foundation and the creation of CNN, which is renowned for bringing humanitarian crises to light. Currently, the United Nations Foundation's Nothing But Nets campaign has teamed up with the UN Refugee Agency to protect refugees from malaria, the number one killer of refugees in Africa. Former RI Board Member, Ambassador Richard Holbrooke will present Mr. Turner with this prestigious award, and Christiane Amanpour, CNN Chief International Correspondent, will interview Mr. Turner during the program. Full release.

A new analysis released by the Institute for Women's Policy Research (IWPR) today on Equal Pay Day shows that men outearn women in nearly every occupation for which data are available. Of the more than 500 occupational categories for which sufficient data are provided by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, in only 5 occupations do women earn the same or more than men. Full release.

President Barack Obama's "first 100 days" have been lacking in constructive policy initiatives for entrepreneurs and small businesses, according to one of the nation's leading organizations representing this sector. The Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council (SBE Council) said small businesses are largely dismayed by the Administration's focus on big business and labor unions while small business gets policy scraps at best. Full release.

As world health leaders work vigorously to consider action to combat the outbreak of swine influenza, the Consumer Specialty Products Association says taking simple precautions can help consumers stay healthy. Full release.

First quarter federal reports show Google lobbied on the electronic medical records provisions of the federal economic stimulus act, contradicting the Internet giant's earlier claims that Consumer Watchdog's report of its effort was "100 percent false." Full release.

Relief Beads for Darfur is a grassroots-campaign raising money and awareness for Relief International's humanitarian efforts in Darfur. Relief Beads for Darfur are handmade African bracelets that have become a national sensation. Full release.

Thousands of civilians have abandoned their homes to avoid clashes between Pakistani security forces and the Taleban in the Lower Dir district of Pakistan's North West Frontier Province (NWFP), Amnesty International said today. Full release.

On Wednesday, the United States Supreme Court will hear a constitutional challenge to a core provision of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 in Northwest Austin Municipal Utility District Number One v. Holder. The Legal Defense Fund will present argument to the Court in defense of the law in a case that is widely regarded as one of the most important voting rights cases in recent time. At issue is the Section 5 preclearance provision which requires a select number of jurisdictions with a history of racial discrimination in voting to submit new voting laws to the Department of Justice or a federal court for preapproval -- a process known as preclearance. The Appellant, a small Texas-based utility district, filed the case seeking to end its responsibility for having its voting changes reviewed but more significantly to have the preclearance provision of the Act declared unconstitutional. U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia rejected the suit last spring finding Congress well within its authority to renew this key provision of the Voting Rights Act in light of significant evidence of ongoing voting discrimination in the jurisdictions where the law applies. Full release.

The Democratic National Committee today released a new 60 second television advertisement recognizing the Obama Administration's accomplishments as laying a foundation for the President's bold agenda going forward. The ad highlights the President's efforts to rebuild the economy and create jobs, ensure equal pay for equal work, and provide health care for children. Full release.

A prominent national Muslim civil rights and advocacy group today said that Rep. Adam Hasner, the head of Florida's House Republicans, left the floor of the legislature just prior to an Islamic prayer opening the session and returned to his seat just after the prayer ended. Full release.

Three leaders in the field of national broadband deployment and adoption -- the Alliance for Digital Equality, Connected Nation, and Communications Workers of America -- today announced a groundbreaking partnership designed with a near-term goal of educating the American consumer about the benefits of new broadband technologies, and retraining the workforce for new job opportunities in a variety of tech-related fields. Additionally, the partnership is poised to lead the long-term charge to improve the nation's broadband infrastructure, as detailed in The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA). Full release.

The Minnesota Voters Alliance case against the City of Minneapolis to prevent implementation of Instant Runoff Voting (IRV) is headed for the Minnesota Supreme Court on Wednesday, May 13th. The Alliance filed an appeal of a lower court decision in January. The City filed for expedited appeal to the Supreme Court. Full release.

Today, the White House announced the appointment of Christine K. Cassel, MD, President and CEO of the American Board of Internal Medicine to President Barack Obama's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST). Dr. Cassel joins 19 other scientists and engineers on the council to advise the President's efforts to have science inform the Administration's decisions related to policy and research. Full release.

Volunteers of America, one of the nation's oldest and largest social service organizations, today applauded President Obama for signing the Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act, which greatly expands funding and programs aimed at fostering community service. Congress still must approve funding included in the bill. Full release.

A new report from the Center for Immigration Studies finds immigrant unemployment (legal and illegal) was higher in the first quarter of 2009 than at any time since 1994, when immigrants were first separated out in the monthly data. This represents a change from the recent past when native-born Americans tended to have higher unemployment rates. The findings show that immigrants have been harder hit by the recession than natives. Although data on immigrants is collected, it is generally not published by the government. This report is one of the few to examine this data. Full release.

he Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) revealed today that a speaker for an event next week at American University (AU) in Washington, D.C., will also take part in an upcoming "Eurofacist" conference in Europe. Robert Spencer, publisher of the anti-Islam Internet hate site "Jihad Watch," is scheduled to speak at AU on April 27 about "The Threat of Militant Islam." The event is sponsored by a student group called Youth for Western Civilization (YWC), which describes itself as the "West's right wing youth movement." YWC's mission statement says: "This movement is focused on the support of Western history, identity, high culture, and pride and opposition to radical multiculturalism, political correctness, racial preferences, mass immigration, and socialism." Full release.

Cardinal Rigali, chair of the Committee on Pro-Life Activities for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), wrote to all U.S. Representatives urging them to co-sponsor the Pregnant Women Support Act (PWSA, H.R. 2035) re-introduced in the House by Rep. Lincoln Davis (D-TN) on April 22. The PWSA provides resources and support for pregnant and parenting women and their families. Full release.

Background: The Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA) decision this week to make its airplane bird-strike data public in the wake of the US Air Flight 1549 near-disaster gives the public and researchers access to the government's records of where and when airplanes have struck birds over the last 19 years. The FAA has been collecting data provided voluntarily by airports, commercial and private pilots, the military, and others since 1990. Embry-Riddle has played an instrumental role in helping the industry and the FAA collect this data and manage the Wildlife Mitigation Web site since October 1999. This FAA-contracted Web tool allows airport personnel around the country to file online reports of wildlife strikes that occur at their facilities. It is managed by the university's Prescott, Ariz., wildlife mitigation experts and principal investigator, Archie Dickey. Full release.

RICARDO TOLLIVER, 33, formerly of Cincinnati, Ohio was sentenced in federal court in Detroit to 32 years in prison after having admitted to being the leader of a network which acquired, obliterated, and smuggled firearms from the United States into Canada in exchange for Canadian drugs, announced United States Attorney Terrence Berg. Full release.

First Student school bus drivers and monitors in Brooklyn Park, Minnesota, have voted overwhelmingly, 102-33, in favor of representation by the Teamsters Union, seeking fair pay, affordable health insurance, respect and a voice in their workplace. The 167 workers are now members of Teamsters Local 638 in Minneapolis, and the first of more than 2,000 First Student workers who have the potential to become Teamsters in Minnesota. Full release.

The following is a statement from U.S. Malaria Coordinator, Admiral Tim Ziemer on World Malaria Day: Across Africa, young boys and girls wake up each morning just like children here in the Washington D.C. area. The children are no different; they do chores, eat, play sports, and go to school. That is, if they can survive the mosquito bites that transmit the deadly malaria parasites. Those parasites kill an estimated 3,000 children each day in Africa. Full release.

By 2015, governments at all levels will need to more than double their spending on highways and bridges to keep up with increased traffic, freight congestion, the demands of aging highways and bridges, and the growth of the nation's population. Transit spending would need to triple to serve increased ridership. Full release.

Attorney General Eric Holder will swear in Assistant Attorneys General Christine A. Varney of the Antitrust Division, Tony West of the Civil Division, Lanny A. Breuer of the Criminal Division and David Kris of the National Security Division on FRIDAY, APRIL 24, 2009, at 11:00 A.M. ET. Full release

On Tuesday, April 28, the Kaiser Family Foundation is hosting a briefing to release the 2009 Survey of Americans on HIV/AIDS. The new survey of the American public is the seventh major survey conducted by the Foundation on the issue since 1995. As Foundation President Drew Altman noted in his recent Pulling It Together column on the Foundation's website, the survey finds that the public's attention to and sense of urgency about the HIV/AIDS epidemic in the U.S. has fallen considerably, with the share naming HIV/AIDS as the nation's most urgent health problem down precipitously since 1995, and the share saying they have heard a lot about HIV/AIDS in the U.S. now less than half of what it was five years ago. Full release

AJC has released a hard-hitting new 4-minute video about the Iranian nuclear threat entitled "Point of No Return? Iran's Drive for Nuclear Weapons." Full release

As President Obama marks 100 days in office, Amnesty International USA and Witness Against Torture members, along with other activists, will push for accountability for past detainee abuses as they march from the U.S. Capitol to the White House on Thursday, April 30, 2009 beginning at 10 a.m. Full release

In conjunction with National Volunteer Week (April 19th--April 25th), the U.S. Fund for UNICEF today announced it has awarded 67 volunteers with the President's Volunteer Service Award, a national honor offered in recognition of volunteer service. Full release

Health workforce reform is a crucial element of health system reform, the Association of Academic Health Centers (AAHC) told the White House this week. "We must change health workforce policy now to ensure we are ready to meet the numerous workforce challenges presented by system reforms when they take effect," said AAHC President Dr. Steven Wartman in a letter to the Administration's health policy advisors. Full release

Today, the Democratic National Committee released the following statement and a new video marking nearly 100 days of the 'Party of No.' While the President and Democrats in Congress have spent the first 100 days working to save or create 3.5 million jobs, provide working Americans the largest tax cut in history, extend unemployment benefits to those hit hardest by the recession, make health care more affordable, reduce our dependence on foreign sources of oil and invest in our nation's schools, the Republicans have chosen the same partisan politics that voters roundly rejected last November. Full release

As economic conditions remain poor, a majority of the public continues to say that they or a member of their household have delayed or skipped health care in the past year, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation's April health tracking poll. Full release

Americans United for Life (AUL) today held a Capitol Hill briefing in conjunction with the release of their annually-updated legal guide, Defending Life 2009: A State-by-State Legal Guide to Abortion, Bioethics, and the End of Life. Full release.

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