October 30, 2009

Speaker Nancy Pelosi issued the following statement today after attending a ceremony at the White House where President Obama signed the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Treatment Extension Act into law. "Today's signing of the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Treatment Extension Act by President Obama offers a lifeline of care, treatment, and support to low-income Americans living with this disease. Every year, this legislation guarantees access to lifesaving medical services, primary care, and medications for more than 500,000 patients, nearly half of all those living with HIV/AIDS in the U.S. Reauthorizing the Ryan White Act allows us to build on this progress, save lives, and help create a healthier America. "As everyone knows, San Francisco was hit early and hard by the devastation of AIDS. But San Franciscans responded to the needs of our neighbors by developing a system of community-based care that became the model for the Ryan White CARE Act when it was first enacted in 1990. As a result, San Francisco produced data that showed the country comprehensive HIV/AIDS care and services not only saves lives, but also saves money by keeping people healthy and productive. Full release.

Admiral Mike Mullen, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the United States Armed Services, was on hand to receive the 2009 Soldier On Award, but the fight to end veteran homelessness was the focus at a gala event held Oct. 29 at the Log Cabin in Holyoke, Massachusetts. Hosted by Soldier On, a Northampton, Massachusetts-based non-profit organization devoted to changing the end of the story for homeless veteran, the award dinner capped a day of activities. The day's events also included a groundbreaking and naming ceremony for a first-of-its-kind limited equity housing project for formerly homeless veterans. The award dinner, which was attended by ABC TV's Bob Woodruff among others, included the rollout of a powerful video in which formerly homeless veterans detail, in their own words, the impact Soldier On has had on their lives. That video can now be viewed on Soldier On's web site, wesoldieron.org. Soldier On, which has been getting homeless veterans off the street since 1994, chose to honor Admiral Mullen as a result of a personal commitment the Chairman made two years ago to support the fight against veteran homelessness. That commitment came following a meeting at the Pentagon with Soldier On President & CEO Jack Downing. In presenting the award to Mullen, Downing noted that he knew leaving that meeting that Mullen's desire to help homeless veterans was sincere; the admiral has backed up that belief since, consistently supporting Soldier On's cause and finding ways to draw public attention to the problem of veteran homelessness. Full release.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today sent a warning letter to Procter & Gamble notifying the company that its Vicks DayQuil Plus Vitamin C and Vicks Nyquil Plus Vitamin C are illegally marketed combinations of drug ingredients and a dietary ingredient. Both of the over-the-counter (OTC) medicines, which contain vitamin C in addition to several drug ingredients, are marketed as treatments for cold and flu symptoms. The FDA took the action against the Cincinnati-based company: * To clarify that these single dosage form combinations of drug ingredients and dietary ingredients legally cannot be marketed because they have not been proven safe and effective, and * Because the agency previously determined that there are insufficient data to show that vitamin C is safe and effective in preventing or treating the common cold. Under its OTC monograph system, the FDA allows some OTC drugs to be marketed without agency approval. Such drugs must comply with applicable monographs, which are regulations that set requirements for the drugs' labeling, formulations and indications. The two Vicks products do not comply with the applicable FDA monograph and must first be evaluated and approved under the FDA's new drug approval process to be legally marketed. Full release.

The injectable, multi-dose H1N1 vaccine contains the mercury-based preservative thimerosol to reduce risks of bacterial contamination. The presence of thimerosol has once again raised concerns whether there are risks posed to children when the tiny amount of mercury contained in thimerosol is included in a vaccine. In a recent issue of the Journal of Pediatrics, however, a team of scientists supported by the National Institutes of Health reported findings that should alleviate those concerns. The researchers, led by author Michael E. Pichichero, MD, Director of the Rochester General Research Institute, Rochester General Hospital, Rochester, NY evaluated levels of mercury in the blood of the smallest children -- prematurely born and low birth weight infants after they received a dose of a childhood vaccine containing thimerosol. They found the levels of mercury were exceedingly low. The issue of administering vaccines containing mercury has been controversial because at very high levels mercury is known to cause organ damage (brain/kidneys). Consequently in 2001, as a precaution, at the prompting of the American Academy of Pediatrics, the Centers for Disease Control, and the Food and Drug Administration, the use of thimerosol in childhood vaccines was reduced or eliminated. Full release.

The National Academy of Education (NAEd) has released a new white paper on teacher quality calling for improvements in teacher recruitment, preparation, and ongoing professional development. "It's clear that good teaching matters and that poor teaching harms students academically," states Susan Fuhrman, current President of NAEd, and member of the project Steering Committee. "We must," she adds, "take steps to improve the quality of teaching in the United States by providing teachers with the preparation and professional development that they need to succeed. It's critical that we recruit the most talented people to the profession and figure out the best ways to retain them." Based on current research evidence, the paper outlines several recommendations for improving teacher quality. According to the paper, the quality of teaching is not simply determined by an individual's knowledge or ability, but also by the preparation teachers receive and the environments in which teachers work. Improving teacher quality thus entails policies concerning recruitment, early preparation, and retention (including attention to working conditions), as well as professional development. Full release.

The National Inflation Association today released the following statement to its http://inflation.us members: "While most mainstream economists such as Nouriel Roubini are warning of deflationary threats to the U.S. economy, it is our belief that massive price inflation has already begun. The Federal Reserve's policy of massive monetary inflation in 2009 has caused the Dow Jones to bounce over 50% from its low, oil to rise 100% from its low, and gold to surge to a new all time nominal high. One NIA co-founder just saw his health insurance premium rise 16% over a year ago; and the average tuition for a four-year public college increased this year by 6.5%. Prices are rising all around us, yet agricultural commodities have for the most part been left behind and remain at historically depressed levels. Fundamentals for agriculture are improving on a daily basis. A worldwide shortage of farmers combined with food inventories falling to record lows is setting up the perfect storm for an explosion in agriculture prices. There is a huge opportunity today to invest at the ground-floor into what will likely be one of the biggest boom industries of the next several decades. Full release.

The Center for Democracy in the Americas released the following statement regarding the accord reached between President Zelaya and Mr. Micheletti, the leader of the de facto government. "We applaud the agreement reached in Honduras that holds the promise of a rapid return to democratic order and an end to the political crisis that has hurt the Honduran people these last four months. We applaud the Obama administration for its work in helping both sides reach an agreement, and for standing on the side of democracy throughout the crisis. We urge the administration to be equally vigilant and tough minded as the world monitors the implementation of this accord. "At the same time, the CDA calls for all the human rights violations committed under the coup regime to be fully investigated and resolved. We also call for the undemocratic decrees limiting freedom of speech and freedom of association to be repealed as soon as possible. In the next several weeks leading up to the elections, it is important for the international community to help ensure that conditions truly exist for free and fair elections in Honduras. Following the elections, we hope that a process will be undertaken to address the social, economic and political problems that led to the crisis." Full release.

Following is a Joint Statement on Risk Retention from the Community Mortgage Banking Project and the Community Mortgage Lenders of America: Late Tuesday evening, the House Financial Services Committee released draft legislation to address systemic risks and "too big to fail" concerns. We appreciate the efforts of the Committee to enact reforms that will ensure that the events that led to the current financial market crisis are not repeated. However, we are deeply concerned that one Subtitle of the just-released draft Financial Stability Improvement Act would have a devastatingly, adverse impact on the secondary mortgage market, forcing community-based lenders to reduce lending or go out of business, which will significantly raise the cost of credit for consumers seeking affordable mortgages. We are concerned that the broad risk retention provisions in the draft Financial Stability Improvement Act could jeopardize affordable mortgages for consumers by crippling the ability of community-based lenders to tap the secondary mortgage market for funding. This would further accelerate the consolidation of the mortgage market into just a handful of the largest institutions. The result would be reduced competition and choice for consumers - an ironic and counterproductive result for a bill intended to mitigate "too-big-to-fail" concerns. Full release.

A survey of state health departments regarding their capacity to track produce-related foodborne illnesses found that the response and investigation of outbreaks varies greatly and can lead to delays in public-health response. The survey was commissioned by the Produce Safety Project (PSP), an initiative of The Pew Charitable Trusts at Georgetown University, and conducted by Safe Tables Our Priority (S.T.O.P.). Thirty-nine of the 51 state and District of Columbia health departments responded to the survey, which asked about the types of questions and questionnaires administered to victims of foodborne illness, the time frame in which they were completed, and how states collected and stored the resulting data for calendar year 2007. Despite the increase in the number of multi-state outbreaks of illnesses linked to fresh produce over the past several years, the data show that only 25 of the 39 states responding to the PSP/S.T.O.P. survey asked victims about specific produce items - even if the item was associated with a past outbreak. Full release.

Social Security, the foundation of economic security for millions of America's seniors and working families, can be made more adequate and solvent for the long term, according to a new report released today by the National Academy of Social Insurance (NASI). The report, Fixing Social Security: Adequate Benefits, Adequate Financing, outlines approximately 30 options for putting the program's finances into 75-year balance and more than 10 ways to make Social Security more adequate for those who rely on it. All options have long-range cost estimates from Social Security actuaries. "Fixing Social Security is a manageable job. While Social Security does not need more money now, policymakers could act now to make funds available in the future when the money will be needed," said Virginia Reno, co-author of the report and Vice President for Income Security at NASI. Full release.

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