June 2009

Motor vehicle drivers in the 13 states that have adopted California's Clean Car Standards approved earlier today by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) would save hundreds of dollars annually at the gas pump while reducing heat-trapping greenhouse gases, according to a report issued today by Environmental Defense Fund (EDF). The states -- Arizona, Connecticut, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington -- represent approximately one quarter of the U.S. vehicle fleet and vehicle miles traveled. Full release.

Change to Win chair and SEIU Secretary-Treasurer Anna Burger issued the following statement on today's decision by the Minnesota Supreme Court that Al Franken is entitled to a certificate of election as Minnesota's next U.S. Senator. Full release.

Cardinal Justin Rigali of Philadelphia, chair of the Committee on Pro-Life Activities for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, wrote to members of the House Appropriations Committee today urging them not to fund abortions in the District of Columbia. Last week the House subcommittee considering the Financial Services appropriations bill for 2010 voted to permit direct public funding of abortion in the nation's capital. Full release.

With just 12 hours left until California begins to default on its obligations to seniors, people with disabilities, students and small businesses, health care workers and community activists are gathering in front of the Governor's San Francisco office to demand that Governor Schwarzenegger stop blocking a compromise budget package that meets his own test of "shared sacrifice." Full release.

A prominent national Islamic civil rights and advocacy organization today announced that it intends to distribute free copies of the Quran, Islam's revealed text, to 100,000 local, state and national leaders. Full release.

The Building Energy Efficient Codes Network (BEECN), a diverse and even unlikely new coalition of utilities, the building and manufacturing industries, regional and national energy efficiency organizations, labor, academia, think tanks, and more today launched an integrated national campaign advocating strengthened codes to greatly reduce energy from America's largest user -- its homes and commercial buildings. Substantial research documents the role strengthened building codes play in bring down energy costs for consumers, businesses, governments and other institutions, BEECN asserted. Full release.

Today, former domestic policy advisor to Vice President Al Gore and U.S. Climate Task Force (CTF) co-founder Dr. Elaine C. Kamarck unveiled a new report that examines lessons learned from past efforts to legislate on climate change and how those precedents can be applied to help pass an emissions policy in the 111th Congress. According to her expert analysis, these lessons fall into five categories. Full release.

Lev L. Dassin, the Acting U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, and Joseph M. Demarest, Jr., the Assistant Director-in-Charge of the New York Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), announced that Bernard L. Madoff was sentenced today in Manhattan federal court to 150 years in prison for perpetrating a Ponzi scheme that resulted in billions of dollars of losses to thousands of investor-victims. Full release.

According to The Wall Street Journal, the Department of Justice (DOJ) has issued guidance to the Obama administration on reviving the military commissions system to try Guantanamo detainees. The Journal reports that the DOJ's Office of Legal Counsel advised the administration that detainees can claim some constitutional rights if they are tried in military commissions within the United States. Full release.

Today in Cuomo v. Clearing House Association, the Supreme Court confirmed that our nation's fair lending laws should be vigorously enforced by all levels of government. The NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc. (LDF) is pleased that the Court rejected the misguided attempt by federal regulators and national banks to prevent states from enforcing their own fair lending laws. The Court's ruling permits states to step up their efforts to curb discrimination in sub-prime lending markets, and is especially timely given that predatory lending has exacerbated the impact of the current economic crisis on minority communities. Full release.

Ante Up for Africa will support Refugees International's efforts for the displaced people of Darfur and all of Sudan as part of its charity celebrity poker tournament in Las Vegas on July 2, 2009. The event is hosted by WSOP Bracelet Winner and Celebrity Apprentice Star Annie Duke and Academy Award nominee Don Cheadle, with Ben Affleck, Matt Damon, and Brad Garrett planning to attend. Professional poker players and Refugees International supporters Howard Lederer, Andy Bloch, and Phil Hellmuth will also be participating. Full release.

A new survey finds that while Americans now recognize the United States will need more energy in the coming years, they continue to underestimate the amount of oil and natural gas that government experts predict will be needed to meet that demand. Conversely, respondents overestimate the role that renewable energy sources will play in meeting future demand, the amount of oil the U.S. imports from the Middle East, and oil and natural gas industry earnings. Full release.

For the second time in the last year, the House of Representatives Small Business Committee has passed legislation that will change the definition of a small business to give some of the nation's wealthiest investors billions of dollars in federal small business contracts. Full release.

The Teamsters Union today praised Congress for supporting a provision in the recently passed Supplemental Appropriations Act that will allow up to 10 percent of funds received by transit systems from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 to be used for operating expenses. Full release.

A new national media study among 614 self-reported Democrats, Republicans and Independents revealed that a majority of all parties indicated that South Carolina Governor, Mark Sanford should resign from office after viewing his apology in which he admitted that he was unfaithful to his wife. Full release.

The Iranian authorities must immediately release dozens of journalists arrested since June 12 and who are at risk of torture in detention, Amnesty International said today as it adopted all of them as prisoners of conscience. Full release.

Congress should not confuse lowering health care costs with limiting patient safety, said a letter from consumer and patient advocates sent to Congress today. The groups urged a focus on reducing medical errors in health reform legislation, not limits on liability for negligent medical providers, as a means to both save lives and lower the costs of medical mistakes. Full release.

Good morning. I'm delighted to be welcoming a great stateswoman to the Capitol of the United States -- I should say welcoming back. Chancellor Merkel, by dent of her personal story, her political strength, and her great leadership as Chancellor of Germany, and as former head of the EU, has made women throughout the world very, very proud -- not only women, all who love democracy. Full release.

The National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials (NALEO) issued the following statement regarding yesterday's White House meeting among President Obama and congressional leaders on comprehensive immigration reform. Full release.

On Monday, June 29th at 9:30AM in the Murrow Room of the National Press Club, three prominent D.C. lawyers, including a former Associate Deputy Attorney General under President Reagan, will discuss the legal case against the lawyer architects of a program of torture and cruel and inhumane treatment of detainees held in the custody of the U.S. Government. Full release.

On Tuesday, June 30, the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) will hold a news conference in Washington, D.C., to announce the launch of a major campaign to distribute free copies of the Quran, Islam's revealed text, to 100,000 local, state and national leaders. Full release.

Who's hogging our antibiotics? That's the question a new advertising campaign is posing to area commuters and people visiting Capitol Hill. Full release.

The Smithsonian's Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum today announced First Lady Michelle Obama will celebrate the 10th annual National Design Awards Friday, July 24, with education programs in Washington, D.C., followed by a White House ceremony for the winners and finalists of the 2009 awards. Mrs. Obama will serve as honorary patron for the awards program. Full release.

Today FRC Action PAC endorses Congressman Todd Tiahrt for U.S. Senate representing Kansas. Full release.

The U.S. Supreme Court today ruled that school officials violated the constitutional rights of a 13-year-old Arizona girl when they strip searched her based on a classmate's uncorroborated accusation that she previously possessed ibuprofen. The American Civil Liberties Union represents April Redding, the plaintiff in the lawsuit, whose daughter, Savana Redding, was strip searched by Safford Middle School officials six years ago. Full release.

76% of African-Americans want Congress to make economic recovery, not climate change, its top priority, says a newly released nationwide poll of African-Americans conducted by the National Center for Public Policy Research. Full release.

Parents, pediatricians and health and human rights activists today announced the launch of INTACT AMERICA and its website -- www.intactamerica.org -- to change how America thinks about male circumcision. The national campaign argues that painful and medically unnecessary surgery to remove healthy genital tissue from non-consenting baby boys violates medical ethics and human rights. Full release.

Hal Turner, an intermittent Internet radio talk show host and blogger, was arrested today by FBI agents at his home in North Bergen, N.J., on a federal complaint filed in Chicago alleging that he made Internet postings threatening to assault and murder three federal appeals court judges in Chicago in retaliation for their recent ruling upholding handgun bans in Chicago and a suburb. Full release.

Six in 10 Americans approve of having an international convention saying that "governments should never use physical torture" as a means of trying to get information, while 39 percent say such a ban is too restrictive, according to a new WorldPublicOpinion.org/Knowledge Networks poll. Full release.

Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers is scheduled to keynote an unprecedented conference about political prosecutions by the Bush DOJ on June 26 from 8am-11am at the National Press Club. Full release.

Nick Jonas, Mary Tyler Moore, Sugar Ray Leonard and kids with type 1 diabetes testified this morning before the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Government Affairs on the need for funding for type 1 diabetes research. Full release.

The following is a statement by Reza Pahlavi, in response to President Obama's statement on Iran on June 23: "President Obama's strong support for human rights in Iran is greatly appreciated. But so is the dilemma of his policy of engagement. Obviously, it cannot succeed in an atmosphere when the clerical regime is revealing its insecurity by forcing arrested demonstrators to admit to Western plots. Full release.

Speaker Nancy Pelosi released the following statement today in response to reports from China's official Xinhua news agency that human rights leader Liu Xiaobo has been formally arrested on the criminal charge of "inciting subversion of state power." Liu Xiaobo was one of the original signers of Charter 08, an online petition calling for new policies to improve human rights and democracy in China. It now has more than 8,000 signatories, a number of whom have been harassed and intimidated by Chinese authorities. Speaker Pelosi had previously written a letter to Chinese President Hu Jintao calling for the release of Liu Xiaobo and certain individuals detained or imprisoned solely for exercising internationally-recognized rights guaranteed to them under Chinese law. Full release.

Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG) applauded lawmakers today for introducing an inclusive Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) which would protect lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender employees from workplace discrimination. The bill, which enjoys bi-partisan support in Congress, would add sexual orientation and gender identity or expression to existing federal employment non-discrimination laws. Full release.

The Committee for Economic Development (CED) has released a Zogby International survey of 300 business leaders in companies that provide healthcare for their employees. Over 60% of business leaders surveyed believe that the employer-based healthcare system is not sustainable in the long-term. Full release.

Interviews with former Bagram detainees by the BBC are a timely reminder of the continuing need for accountability, transparency and for the human rights of those held by the United States in Afghanistan to be fully protected, said Amnesty International today. The organization reiterated its call on the U.S. authorities to establish a full independent commission of inquiry into all aspects of the United States' detention and interrogation regime in what the Bush administration dubbed the "war on terror." Full release.

Robert H. Frank, author of The Economic Naturalist and professor of economics and management at Cornell University, will provide a practical economic view on carbon offsets, how they can facilitate cap-and-trade of greenhouse gas emissions and their role in solving climate change at a National Press Club Newsmakers press conference at 10 a.m. on Tuesday, June 30, in the Zenger Room, 13th floor, National Press Building, 529 14th St., N.W., Washington, DC. Full release.

Attorney General Eric Holder, Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius and FBI Director Robert S. Mueller, III will announce a law enforcement action related to the Health Care Fraud Prevention and Enforcement Action Team (HEAT) task force on WEDNESDAY, JUNE 24, at 12:30 P.M. ET. Full release.

Patients and representatives from the Patient Advocate Foundation (PAF) -- a national non-profit organization that seeks to safeguard patients through effective mediation assuring access to care, maintenance of employment and preservation of their financial stability relative to their diagnosis of life threatening or debilitating diseases -- are in Washington, D.C. this week for the organization's 10th Annual Patient Congress. The gathering is aimed at addressing the needs of patients suffering from life threatening or debilitating diseases. Full release.

Congressman Chaka Fattah (D-PA), a longtime supporter of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) civil rights, is advocating for two new Congressional initiatives that challenge discrimination against homosexuals in employment and in the military. Full release.

The United Nations, the International Advertising Association (IAA), and a coalition of the world's leading advertising, marketing and media agencies today launched Hopenhagen -- a movement that empowers global citizens to engage in the December United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP15) -- at the Cannes Lions International Advertising Festival. Hopenhagen, hopenhagen.org, is a global marketing and communications initiative that will inspire and generate mass activation around the world. Full release.

The American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI), the Committee on Pipe and Tube Imports (CPTI), the Steel Manufacturers Association (SMA), the Specialty Steel Institute of North America (SSINA) and the United Steelworkers (USW) today indicated their strong support for a new World Trade Organization (WTO) dispute filed by the United States and European Union. The case challenges China's export restrictions on key raw materials and minerals used in manufacturing. Full release.

The Department of Justice today announced research findings showing that the Project Safe Neighborhoods program (PSN) has been successful in reducing violent crime. An evaluation of the nation-wide program found a statistically significant decline in violent crime in cities where PSN existed or where the program -- which targets gun crime, in particular -- is vigorously implemented. Full release.

A new report released today by the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW -- www.ifaw.org) documents massive growth in the global whale watching industry over the past decade. The new report, Whale Watching Worldwide, comes as more than 80 countries debate the future of whaling and whale conservation at the 61st annual meeting of the International Whaling Commission (IWC) in Madeira, Portugal. Full release.

A new report predicts that defective General Motors and Chrysler vehicles sold before the bankruptcies will continue to cause deaths and injuries long after the companies emerge as new entities. Based on data provided by both automakers to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), more than 3,400 Americans will be injured or killed by a defective Chrysler or GM vehicle during the first year of the post-bankruptcy era. The report, "Public Safety at Risk: Bankruptcies Leave Legacy of Defects, Injuries and Deaths," also forecasts fewer recalls for vehicles built by the old companies, decreasing public safety. Full release.

President Obama today struck an historic blow against the greatest public health menace of our time by signing into law bipartisan legislation that grants the U.S. Food and Drug Administration authority to regulate tobacco products. Coming 45 years after the first Surgeon General's report linking cigarette smoking to lung cancer, this long-overdue law is the strongest action the federal government has ever taken to reduce tobacco use, the leading preventable cause of death in the United States. This new law will protect our children from the tobacco industry's predatory marketing, save countless lives and reduce the enormous health and financial burden that tobacco use imposes on our nation. Today is a great day for America's kids and health. Full release.

Legislation introduced today by veteran anti-gun New Jersey Senator Frank Lautenberg is designed to expand his gun prohibition agenda under the cloak of national security, the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms said. Full release.

In light of the presidential election and the thirty-year anniversary of the founding of the Khomeinist revolution in Iran, the eighth volume of Hudson Institute's Current Trends in Islamist Ideology looks at contemporary Shiite Islamism. Full release.

Today, the Supreme Court in Northwest Austin Municipal Utility District Number One v. Holder rejected a challenge to the constitutionality of Section 5, the core provision of the Voting Rights Act. Full release.

Congress passed the Automotive Stimulus bill "Cash For Clunkers" on Thursday, marking the first real legislative stride towards an auto industry recovery, and announced www.CashForClunkersHeadquarters.com, an organization that is leading the campaign to educate the public about the bill. Cash For Clunkers provides up to $4,500 to car owners who trade in their present car for a more fuel efficient and environment friendly alternative. The bill is being called a legislative "trifecta" since its passage stands to ignite a much needed recovery in the auto industry, save car-owning households money, and improve the environment on a national scale. Full release.

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