July 17, 2009

The Family Research Council today expressed disappointment with the House of Representatives for approving the financial services legislation to allow taxpayer money to pay for abortions. In addition, the House Ways and Means Committee rejected amendments that would have prevented taxpayers from being forced to subsidize abortions within the Democrats' massive health care reform bill. Full release.

Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Charles Rangel, House Education and Labor Committee Chairman George Miller, and other House Democrats held a news conference in the Capitol this afternoon to mark the successful passage of the America's Affordable Health Choices Act by Rangel and Miller's committees this morning. Speaker Pelosi Opening Remarks: "Good morning, and a good morning it is indeed. Our Chairmen have been up very late and have produced historic results for us. The Congress indeed has made stark progress of health insurance reform that will put patients and doctors back in charge and ensure quality, affordable, and accessible health care for America's middle class. Full release.

As the July 20 fortieth anniversary of earthlings' first moon landing approaches, former White House Spokesman Bob Weiner and Policy Analyst Zoe Pagonis urge NASA, "Focus on the dream of traveling to other planets and reverse NASA's satisfaction with the mundane." Weiner and Pagonis assert, "The news for NASA now is a pale comparison to 1969." "Forty years later, we have to ask, what happened to man and woman on Mars and Venus? By now we thought we'd even reach Pluto. Yet after a few repeat moon missions, we just stopped leaving earth. The man-on-the-moon July 20th 40th Anniversary drives home that NASA's dream has been weak for the forty years since the landing. No one then thought we wouldn't be on Mars, Venus, and even Pluto by now." Full release.

On the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), the National Association of Black Journalists, (NABJ) extends its congratulations and appreciation for the great work the organization has done to achieve a shared mission. "Few organizations can achieve a centenarian milestone, fewer still can make such a broad and wide-ranging impact on the livelihood of African Americans and other people of color as the NAACP has," said NABJ President Barbara Ciara. "One hundred years of fighting oppression is a long time; though the journey is not over, we praise the vitality and commitment of the NAACP leadership to confront a new era and new challenges facing people of color in America." Full release.

The Employment Policies Institute (EPI) draws the attention of policy makers to the impending federal minimum wage increase as they 'Countdown to Job Loss' in D.C. newspapers Politico and Roll Call next week. The print and online advertising campaign offers '5 Things You Don't Know About the Minimum Wage' and asks readers to 'Find Out Whose Job is at Risk' by visiting www.minimumwage.com. The national unemployment rate rose to 9.5 percent in June 2009 from 5.6 percent in June 2008, a 69 percent increase in one year. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, thirty-eight states reported job losses today, contributing to a national unemployment rate that's at a 25-year high. Minority teens and young adults have been hit especially hard. The unemployment rate for black teens is at 38 percent, more than four times the national rate. Full release.

Insurance trade associations representing the overwhelming share of US primary insurance and reinsurance markets today applauded Congressman Bennie Thompson, Chairman of the Committee on Homeland Security, for his leadership in introducing three pieces of legislation recently that will go a long way towards making America a more disaster resistant nation. The legislation was endorsed by the: American Insurance Association, the Association of Bermuda Insurers and Reinsurers, the Property Casualty Insurers Association of America and the Reinsurance Association of America. Full release.

The Pennsylvania Insurance Department will conduct examinations of the state's four Blue Cross and Blue Shield insurance companies, Blue Cross of Northeastern Pennsylvania, Capital BlueCross, Highmark, Inc. and Independence Blue Cross, to determine if any of them were engaged in anti-competitive or unfair trade practices in violation of the law, Insurance Commissioner Joel Ario announced today. "When Highmark Blue Shield and Independence Blue Cross withdrew their consolidation proposal earlier this year, it was good news for consumers," said Commissioner Ario. "But it did not improve the anti-competitive dynamics that remain at play in Pennsylvania's health insurance marketplace. Full release.

A United States Tax Court has denied gay rights activist, author and artist Charles Merrill his joint filing status, effective July 2009. The determination concludes that Merrill owes the federal government nearly a million dollars for not paying taxes in 2004 and 2005, a time during which he and his partner were publicly committed and residing in North Carolina. While living in that state, Merrill was prohibited from filing jointly due to the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), yet he couldn't legally marry due to North Carolina law. Full release.

Lev L. Dassin, the Acting U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, and Michele M. Leonhart, the Acting Administrator of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), today announced that Gerardo Aguilar Ramirez, aka "Cesar," a former front commander in the Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia (Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC), has been extradited from Colombia to the United States to face cocaine importation conspiracy charges. Full release.

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