October 27, 2009

Today, speaking before a crowd of 5,000 people assembled in front of the American Bankers Association convention in Chicago, SEIU Secretary-Treasurer Anna Burger called for a widespread investigation, and if necessary, prosecution of big bank CEOs: "The big bankers came here to Chicago to celebrate because they think they've won again. They got their bailouts, they are raking in profits, and they think they can continue to use taxpayers as their personal ATM. "That's why, this week, we are launching a national call to action. "We cannot rest until we begin to break the power that big banks and corporations have over our economy. They have spent decades rigging a system so that no matter what they do, they will always win at our expense. Full release.

Southern Company today announced that it has been awarded a $165 million in stimulus funds as part of President Obama's plan to invest $3.4 billion to spur transition to a smarter energy grid. "As an industry leader in developing and deploying new technologies, Southern Company is pleased to be among those selected to advance this critical investment in our nation's electric infrastructure," said Southern Company Chairman, President and CEO David Ratcliffe. "These funds will be used to augment the company's robust investment in grid reliability, already among the nation's best, and make it more efficient and secure." Southern Company received the grant to integrate smart-grid technology into its transmission and distribution system that can: * Reduce the loss of electricity as it moves from the generating plant to homes and businesses; reducing delivery losses can have a direct environmental and economic impact by increasing efficiency and reducing carbon emissions * Better locate the area of an outage before dispatching crews, reducing outage time for customers. Full release.

Ford has secured its position as the only Detroit automaker with world-class reliability. About 90 percent (46 of 51) of Ford, Mercury, and Lincoln products were found to have average or better reliability, according to Consumer Reports' 2009 Annual Car Reliability Survey. The results were announced today at an Automotive Press Association luncheon in Detroit. Ford's sustained production of vehicles that are as dependable--or better than--some of the industry's best dispels the notion that only Japanese manufacturers make reliable cars. Other than the Toyota Prius, the reliability of the 4-cylinder Fusion and Milan ranks higher than that of any other family sedan. Both of those Ford Motor Company products continue to beat the Honda Accord and Toyota Camry, while the upscale Lincoln MKZ tops its rivals, the Acura TL and Lexus ES. "It's rare for Consumer Reports to see family sedans from domestic carmakers continue to beat the reliability scores of such highly regarded Japanese models as the Camry and Accord," said David Champion, senior director of Consumer Reports' Automotive Test Center. The last domestic sedan that had better reliability than the Camry and Accord was the Buick Regal in 2004, he noted. Full release.

Save Flexible Spending Plans in partnership with the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union (UFCW) launched a new advertising campaign today encouraging Congress to honor President Obama's pledge not to raise taxes on middle-class Americans by preserving, rather than restricting, the use of flexible spending accounts (FSAs) in health care reform legislation. The ads further promote the advantages FSAs provide to nearly 35 million working Americans by enabling them to set aside pre-tax dollars to pay for out-of-pocket health expenses not covered by insurance, such as prescription drug costs, vision and dental expenses and office visit co-payments. "As Congress moves rapidly closer to having health care reform legislation reach the floors of the Senate and House, there are no guarantees as to the fate of flexible spending accounts," said Joe Jackson, chairman of Save Flexible Spending Plans and CEO of WageWorks, a benefits company based in San Mateo, California. "Despite the success of flexible spending accounts in holding down health care costs for millions of primarily middle-class Americans, poorly-conceived proposals are still pending that would severely restrict access to the benefit in order to help fund some of the costs for health reform. Raising taxes on the middle-class by restricting the use of FSAs is simply a bad idea." Full release.

Robert J. Cabelly, 61, of Washington, D.C., has been indicted in the District of Columbia in an eight-count indictment charging him with conspiracy to violate the Sudanese sanctions regulations and to act as an unregistered agent of a foreign power, four counts of violating the Sudanese sanctions regulations, as well as one count apiece of money laundering, passport fraud and making false statements. The unsealing of the indictment against Cabelly was announced today by David Kris, Assistant Attorney General for National Security; Channing D. Phillips, Acting U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia; Joseph Persichini, Jr., Assistant Director for the FBI's Washington Field Office, and Adam J. Szubin, Director of the Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control. Cabelly, who was the principal and managing director of a Washington, D.C. consulting firm and a former State Department employee, is scheduled to appear in federal court today in the District of Columbia at 1:30 p.m. before U.S. Magistrate Judge Deborah Robinson. If convicted, he faces up 20 years in prison on each of the substantive Sudanese Sanctions Regulations counts, 20 years for the money laundering count, 10 years for the passport fraud, and five years each for the conspiracy and false statement counts. Full release.

California's and the nation's economy and environment will reap significant benefits - and avoid costly impacts - if proposed federal standards to establish national vehicle greenhouse gas and fuel economy standards for new cars and trucks sold in the United States "are rigorous and well-designed." That was the testimony by a policy specialist from Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) today at the third and final hearing on the proposed rulemaking for the standards held by EPA and the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT). "The fundamental promise of the presidential accord - and the bedrock responsibility for the Environmental Protection Agency and Department of Transportation in finalizing the proposed standards - is to achieve profound and lasting progress in national security, climate stability and economic opportunity," testified Erica Fick, clean energy fellow for Environmental Defense Fund. "Consumers should save an estimated $3,000 over the life of each of these cleaner vehicles. We respectfully request that federal policy-makers finalize rigorous and protective standards to ensure the promise of the president's compact is realized." Full release.

Today the Lightfoot Endowment Foundation announced that several non-profit partners have joined the Independence Project as a means to deliver essential services to communities in need. These newly announced partners will receive funds raised by the Independence Project in order to service said communities. The Independence Project of 2009 is a fundraising campaign with two signature events that are at the heart of this project's mission and objectives. Non-profit organizations chosen to benefit from the Independence Project include: The DC National Guard's Youth Programs, The Michael Baisden Foundation, The National Military Family Association, Rebuilding Together, Inc., and Bob Woodruff Foundation (ReMind.org). "The Independence Project started as a vision to improve the human condition by supporting independent communities. That vision is now well on its way to creating meaningful impact as we work in partnership with this select group of smart and effective non-profit organizations," said Porsha Jones, Executive Director of the Lightfoot Endowment Foundation. Full release.

AARP's LifeTuner initiative released a survey today that demonstrates how financial concerns are pervasive in every aspect of young adults' lives and suggests that a general reluctance to discuss money with friends and family could have a negative impact on their financial futures. The report, entitled "Personal Finances: The Final Frontier of Social Media," is based on a national survey of 1,002 young adults (aged 18-34). Specifically, the report revealed: * 57% of young Americans consider their financial situation to be the biggest concern in their lives. * 66% rate their own financial situation as fair to poor, and almost half (43%) expressed concerns about their ability to make sound financial decisions. Full release.

Consumer Watchdog sent a letter to Treasury Secretary Geithner, House Financial Services Committee Chair Barney Frank, and Financial Services Subcommittee Chair Paul Kanjorski today, arguing that legislation intended to undermine state insurance protections (H.R. 2609) is inconsistent with the re-regulatory promise of the financial reform package. The bill will be marked up in the House Financial Services committee today. "We are at a loss to understand why you have proposed a measure to deregulate the insurance industry by preempting state laws as part of the financial re-regulation package," wrote Consumer Watchdog. "Each version of the bill would restrict the ability of state lawmakers and regulators to protect insurance consumers by granting the Treasury Department and a new Federal Insurance Office the authority to preempt state laws and regulations on prudential matters on behalf of foreign insurance firms." Full release.

Small business owners' cybersecurity policies and actions are not adequate enough to ensure the safety of their employees, intellectual property and customer data, according to the 2009 National Small Business Cybersecurity Study. The study, co-sponsored by the National Cyber Security Alliance (NCSA) and Symantec [Nasdaq: SYMC], as part of this year's National Cyber Security Awareness Month, surveyed nearly 1,500 small business owners across the United States about their cybersecurity awareness policies and practices. The survey confirmed that small businesses today are handling valuable information - 65 percent store customer data, 43 percent store financial records, 33 percent store credit card information, and 20 percent have intellectual property and other sensitive corporate content online. 65 percent of the business survey claimed that the Internet was critical to their businesses success yet they are doing very little to ensure that their employees and systems are not victims of a data breach. Full release.

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