September 28, 2009

Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis today announced nearly $59 million in grants awarded by the U.S. Department of Labor in fiscal year 2009 to combat exploitive child labor in 19 countries. The grants will help rescue more than 85,000 children from exploitive labor, and offer them hope for the future through education and training. The grants will also help improve collection and analysis of child labor data and support for the development and implementation of national action plans to address the problem. "Protecting children from exploitation and ensuring that their education and healthy development is not compromised is our moral duty," said Secretary of Labor, Hilda L. Solis. "With these new funds, we are furthering our commitment to working with the international community to find effective and lasting solutions to this global challenge." Full release.

Preet Bharara, the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Michele M. Leonhart, the Acting Administrator of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), and Michael J. Folmar, the Acting Special Agent-in-Charge of the Miami Division of the FBI, announced today the unsealing of two indictments charging a total of 12 members and associates of the 57th Front of the Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia (FARC), a Colombian terrorist group, with conspiracy to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization and taking a U.S. citizen hostage. The first indictment unsealed today (the "material support indictment") charges Luis Fernando Mora-Pestana, aka "Virgilio Antonio Vidal Mora," aka "Silver" and Julio Enrique Lemos-Moreno, aka "Andres," who are leaders of the FARC's 57(th) Front, along with Front associates Harold Ruben Segura Alvarez, aka "John Jairo," aka "Cientifico;" Juanito Cordoba-Bermudez, aka "Juanito," aka "Chechere;" and Cecilio Costa, aka "Cesar Perea," aka "Costa;" with conspiracy to provide material support to the FARC. Juanito Cordoba-Bermudez is in custody in the Southern District of New York. The material support indictment has been assigned to U.S. District Judge Denny Chin. Full release.

Speaker Nancy Pelosi issued the following statement today on the announcement by Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric Shinseki that the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has authorized checks for up to $3,000 to be given to students who have applied for educational benefits and who have not yet received their government payment. The checks will be distributed later this week to eligible students at VA regional benefits offices across the country. ''The decision by Secretary Shinseki and the VA to issue emergency payments for veterans who have not yet received their education benefits under the newly enacted GI Bill for the 21st Century will address an unacceptable situation many of our nation's heroes were facing due to outdated technology. Full release.

More than 100 patient, academic and industry organizations representing millions of Americans have joined the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation to support legislation that enables individuals with rare diseases to participate in clinical trials without losing eligibility for public healthcare benefits. The bill is sponsored by Senators Ron Wyden (D-OR), Christopher Dodd (D-CT), Richard Durbin (D-IL), James Inhofe (R-OK), and Richard Shelby (R-AL), and Representatives Edward Markey (D-MA) and Cliff Stearns (R-FL). Current law prevents many people who receive Supplemental Security Income from accepting research compensation because it makes them ineligible to receive government medical benefits. This penalty stops significant numbers of people with rare diseases from participating in clinical studies. Full release.

President Bill Clinton was joined today by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to close the Fifth Annual Meeting of the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI). In his remarks, President Clinton announced that by the end of the meeting, which has been underway since Tuesday, CGI members in 2009 have made 284 new commitments valued at more than $9.4 billion dollars. In total, these commitments are projected to improve more than 200 million lives. Since 2005, members of the Clinton Global Initiative have made nearly 1,700 commitments valued at $57 billion dollars. "I think we can say with some certainty that this model actually does work," President Clinton said. "People don't have to have the same politics, the same religion, or speak the same language to work together and to have an impact. We all have things to learn from each other. What we need is a shared mechanism to achieve common goals." Full release.

Today the American Health Care Association (AHCA) and the Alliance for Quality Nursing Home Care (Alliance) publicly released the nursing, post-acute, short term and rehabilitative sector's first comprehensive report examining quality trends in the nation's nursing homes. The report highlights the positive evolution of skilled nursing and rehabilitation facilities along with the subsequent benefit to cost-effective seniors' care; consumer and workforce satisfaction; and other key, quantifiable measures of quality, including public policy recommendations for moving quality forward. AHCA and the Alliance stated that this is the first independent report that sets a framework for evaluating quality and provides recommendations for policy changes that will make quality metrics more reliable. AHCA and Alliance leaders also stated that improvements in quality, as highlighted in the report, could not be achieved without a stable economic environment, an important relationship essential to maintaining these positive trends. The organizations urged Congress to recognize the quality improvements that have been achieved in recent years and to understand the crucial role stable Medicare financing plays in ensuring continued enhancements to quality of care and quality of life for millions of seniors being cared for in America's nursing and rehabilitation facilities. Full release.

The U.S. Department of Labor today announced $164.5 million to 49 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands to make technology upgrades that will improve the operation and security of unemployment insurance systems. "Unemployment insurance programs play a key role in supporting dislocated workers," said Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis. "I am pleased that these grants will help states improve their technology infrastructure and better serve those in need. Making sure that claims and benefits are processed and paid in a timely, consistent and secure manner is critical to providing workers with the income security needed to actively seek re-employment." Funds will be used for a variety of projects designed to improve services for both unemployment insurance claimants and employers, including: modernizing systems to improve and speed unemployment insurance benefit payments, tax collections and appeals processing; helping consumers avoid debit card fees when collecting benefits; improvements in information technology contingency and security plans; and strategies to improve overall program integrity. Full release.

CARE, a leading humanitarian organization that fights global poverty by empowering women and girls, applauds the Obama administration's new food security strategy outlined by Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton. The new plan aims to make farming practices more productive and profitable in developing countries while addressing the needs of small-scale farmers, the majority of whom are women. "CARE stands ready to work with the Obama administration and other partners on this critically important effort," says Dr. Helene Gayle, president and CEO of CARE. "We urge the U.S. to continue to take a leadership role in this global effort and encourage Congress to take two actions: pass the Global Food Security Act and pass the FY2010 State and Foreign Operations bill, which includes over $1 billion in international agriculture development which is essential to this effort," says Gayle. Full release.

Three out of four U.S. adults say the "current economic climate" has affected their charitable giving and one in three is giving less to charities, according to a new Child Sponsorship Survey just released by World Vision, an international Christian relief and development organization. Most polled say faith-based organizations (67%) and non-profit foundations (63%) should bear responsibility for helping the world's poor. According to the study, one in five adults (21%) say they're now less likely to sponsor a child because of the economy and more than half (54%) say they would be more likely to sponsor a child if they had more money. Ten percent say they're actually giving more this year, despite the recession. Still, World Vision Child Sponsorship numbers show a modest increase (3%). Revenue forecast is for 8 percent growth in 2009 but private cash donations are expected to be down 3% from 2008. Full release.

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