February 2010

Cinergy Health, a nationwide provider of health insurance benefit programs for the consumer market, expressed its concern regarding unresolved partisan issues during the healthcare summit on Thursday, February 25th. "President Obama attempted to help bridge the gap between the House and Senate bills by holding a day long healthcare summit, which yielded no new agreement," said Steve Trattner Chief Marketing Officer of Cinergy Health. Full release.

Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis today issued the following statement: "It is essential that Congress extend the unemployment insurance and COBRA safety net programs that are part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act past their current expiration date of Feb. 28. If Emergency Unemployment Compensation and full federal funding of the Extended Benefit program are not extended, 400,000 Americans will lose these vital benefits during the first couple of weeks in March. By May, nearly 3 million people would be left without these benefits. Furthermore, if the Recovery Act COBRA subsidy is not extended, thousands of families will lose access to affordable health care. Full release.

The intense publicity surrounding Toyota's recent recalls seems to be having a pronounced effect on the company's image among its current customers. That's the news from a recent follow-up to the Consumer Reports 2010 Car Brand Perception Survey. Among consumers who drive a Toyota regularly, 60 percent said they would most likely purchase a Toyota the next time they are in the market for a new car. That's down 10 percentage points from the December 2009 survey. As a result, Toyota slipped behind Honda, while loyalty for Chevrolet and Ford changed little among owners. Full release.

A Medicare meltdown now seems certain, as the U.S. Senate has left early for the weekend, abandoning seniors, military families and baby boomers. The Senate failed to repeal the Medicare physician payment formula that will cause a drastic 21 percent payment cut to physicians who care for Medicare and TRICARE patients. On Monday, the 21 percent cut goes into effect, forcing physicians to consider the difficult decision to limit the number of Medicare and TRICARE patients they see in order to keep their practice doors open. Full release.

Speaker Nancy Pelosi released the following statement today on the House passage of the Intelligence Authorization Act, which would strengthen and improve America's intelligence capabilities by increasing funding for human intelligence collection and counterintelligence activities. The bill passed in the House today by a vote of 235 to 168. "The first responsibility of Members of Congress is to protect, defend, and preserve the security of the American people – whether through the might of our military, the power of our diplomacy, or the strength of our values. Central to upholding that duty is our nation's ability to collect, analyze, and disseminate accurate and actionable intelligence in a timely manner." Full release.

Today, at a White House forum hosted by Vice President Joe Biden, the U.S. Department of Labor announced two new rules designed to enhance retirement security and transparency for the millions of workers covered by 401(k), pension and other retirement arrangements. The announcement was part of the White House Middle Class Task Force's year-end report, which the vice president released at this morning's event. Full release.

Kentucky GOP Sen. Jim Bunning's one-man filibuster of a bill that would extend unemployment benefits for millions of jobless Americans is triggering nationwide outrage, including a call for his ouster from baseball's Hall of Fame. More than 1 million people will lose unemployment benefits in March if Congress does not approve legislation to extend the payments, according to an estimate from the National Employment Law Project. Full release.

Of the 2.3 million inmates crowding our nation's prisons and jails, 1.5 million meet the DSM IV medical criteria for substance abuse or addiction, and another 458,000, while not meeting the strict DSM IV criteria, had histories of substance abuse; were under the influence of alcohol or other drugs at the time of their crime; committed their offense to get money to buy drugs; were incarcerated for an alcohol or drug law violation; or shared some combination of these characteristics, according to Behind Bars II: Substance Abuse and America's Prison Population. Combined these two groups constitute 85 percent of the U.S. prison population. Full release.

One year after the historic election of President Obama, a panel of journalists of color view the election as a positive turning point in U.S. race relations; however, an overwhelming majority thought that mainstream media did not contribute to improved race relations, according to the 2010 Journalism in Color Survey on "Race and the Media." The Journalism in Color Survey tracks the views of professional journalists of color on issues of race and media. Full release.

More than 25 state legislators from across the country will hold their own "virtual" health care summit on Friday, Feb. 26 at 12:30 p.m. to respond to the White House event held on Thursday. Did they hear anything they think will actually work? Is there more bi-partisanship in the states? And what are their suggestions for reform that will actually work without devastating their already shrinking budgets? Full release.

In an effort to continue to encourage Americans to support the relief efforts in Haiti, Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush appear in a new television PSA released by the Ad Council today. In the new spot, the Presidents acknowledge the generosity of Americans following the tragedy and communicate the immediate and long-term needs in Haiti. Viewers are directed to donate to the Clinton Bush Haiti Fund (CBHF), which will help those who are most in need of food, water, shelter, medical care and support. Full release.

Congressman Jim Moran read a letter on the floor of the House of Representatives today from an active duty soldier in Iraq. Congressman Moran stated that the soldier had, "learned that a fellow soldier was also gay, only after he was killed by an IED in Iraq. The partner of the deceased soldier wrote the unit to say how much the victim had loved the military; how they were the only family he had ever known." The soldier originally provided the letter in response to an inquiry for the Pentagon's current study of "don't ask, don't tell." Full release.

Sustainability is the hottest trend in urban planning and real estate development, and now there's a report that explains what it means and what opportunities it presents. The report, which is being offered at no charge, is titled Beyond Green Building: How to Get Deals Done in the New Era of Sustainable Community Planning and Development. It was prepared by Partnership for Sustainable Communities (PSC), a nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting land use reform, including higher density zoning, infill development, and measures to encourage affordable housing. Full release.

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), working in collaboration with the Ad Council and the Stay Strong Foundation, announced today the launch of a national public service advertising (PSA) campaign designed to raise awareness of mental health problems among young adults in the African American community. The new PSAs were unveiled at a Black History Month event at Howard University this morning to coincide with the first annual HBCU National Mental Health Awareness Day. The launch was telecast to colleges and universities nationwide. Full release.

"This vote is an important step towards breaking the monopoly power of some health insurers," responded Dr. Stuart Bussey, President of the Union of American Physicians and Dentists (UAPD), to the news of a vote taken Wednesday by the US House of Representatives. The House passed the Health Insurance Industry Fair Competition Act (HR 4626), which rolls back the anti-trust exemptions that the insurance industry has enjoyed since the passage of the McCarran Ferguson Act in 1945. Representatives voted 406-19 in favor of the bill, which received strong support from the White House earlier in the week. The bill now moves to the Senate for consideration. Full release.

Speaker Nancy Pelosi delivered opening remarks at Blair House this morning during the bipartisan meeting on health insurance reform hosted by President Obama. Below are the Speaker's opening remarks: "As we sit around this table, I think we should be mindful of what they do when they sit around their kitchen table. What we do here must be relevant to their lives. And for them, they don't have time for us to start over. Many of them are at the end of the line with their insurance…I just hope that as we sit around this table, we understand the urgency that the American people have about this issue, how it affects not only their health, but their economic security." Full release.

Does the United States need more college graduates to remain an economic power, or is college just too expensive to benefit many Americans? That will be the focus of a debate that the Miller Center of Public Affairs at the University of Virginia, in partnership with MacNeil/Lehrer Productions, is holding Friday, February 26 at 7:00 p.m. at the National Press Club. It will air on PBS stations across the country. Full release.

Gas money for your tank doesn't grow on trees, but one day you might be filling up with fuel that does. A team of researchers at the University of Maryland, College Park, and Bowie State University is working on ways to turn poplar trees into high-yield crops for biofuels including ethanol, the renewable biofuel used in gasoline blends and flex-fuel vehicles. The hybrid trees would be grown on plantations and harvested without affecting existing woodlands. The study is funded by a $3.2 million, four-year grant from the National Science Foundation's Plant Genome Research Project, which supports research on plants seen as having economic and agricultural importance. Full release.

Although more lawmakers joined the ranks of "Taxpayers' Friends" for their voting records in 2009, the vast legion of "Big Spenders" who opted to grow government remained overwhelmingly large, according to the National Taxpayers Union's (NTU) 31st annual Rating of Congress. The unique scorecard utilizes every roll call vote affecting fiscal policy, 333 House and 227 Senate votes taken last year. Full release.

In response to President Barack Obama's bipartisan health summit on February 25, Newt Gingrich's Center for Health Transformation (CHT) will host the "American People's Online Health Summit," a LIVE blog to engage the American people in health reform negotiations and give them a voice in Washington. CHT Founder and former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich, in addition to leading health care experts and the American public, will participate throughout the day. CHT will ask critical questions, express desired outcomes, and present the best policy ideas on health reform. Full release.

At a special briefing for Congressional staff today, former Connecticut lieutenant governor Kevin Sullivan testified for the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) on the need for federal action to address the growing mental health crisis in states. "We are facing a trifecta of budget challenges at the state level that is a direct result of America's economic distress," said Sullivan, a member of NAMI's national board of directors. Full release.

Although Republicans will meet with President Obama tomorrow for a health care summit, supposedly to negotiate a bipartisan agreement for health care reform, Institute for Policy Innovation (IPI) health care expert Dr. Merrill Matthews says the president's plan does nothing to appease the other side of the aisle. "Republicans had three fundamental objections to the House and Senate health care reform bills," said Matthews. "Last year's bills cost a trillion dollars or more, cut Medicare by $450 billion to $500 billion and created numerous new taxes and bureaucracies." Full release.

"Hunger by the Numbers among African Americans," a new analysis, released by Bread for the World revealed that hunger and poverty rates are higher among African Americans than the general U.S. population. The analysis examines the latest data on hunger and poverty rates among African Americans living in major metropolitan areas. Full release.

The Military Spouses Residency Relief Act of 2009 could potentially help thousands of active duty service persons and members of the National Guard reduce the complexity of state income tax and personal property tax issues when married, stated Jackson Hewitt Tax Service. The Company reminds military taxpayers of the Relief Act, along with other tax considerations for the men and women who serve our nation. Full release.

It's the biggest shift in enterprise computing in more than a decade, but while cloud computing gains traction in IT departments, it's raising a host of new issues for security professionals. Internet Evolution's latest video tutorial on cloud computing security identifies the challenges and offers checklists to consider and solutions, where available. The tutorial, hosted by security expert and Wikibon founder David Vellante, is divided into 10 questions to allow viewers to dig into the topics they care about most. Full release.

In an unusual move, the U.S. Supreme Court will review three criminal appeals this year challenging the government's prosecution of "honest services" fraud with the most high-profile case, U.S. v. Jeffrey Skilling, set for oral argument March 1. The 1988 law says public officials and executives can be convicted of fraud if they deprive those they represent of the right to honest services. From the questioning of the justices in the first two cases, however, it appears the government may have difficulty defending the statute against charges that it is unconstitutionally vague and overbroad. Full release.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the National Institutes of Health today unveiled an initiative designed to accelerate the process from scientific breakthrough to the availability of new, innovative medical therapies for patients. The initiative involves two interrelated scientific disciplines: translational science, the shaping of basic scientific discoveries into treatments; and regulatory science, the development and use of new tools, standards and approaches, to more efficiently develop products and to more effectively evaluate product safety, efficacy and quality. Full release.

Recent repayment troubles in four rapidly-growing microfinance markets do not stem from the financial crisis, according to a new report by CGAP, a microfinance group based at the World Bank, but from the way that microfinance operates in fast-growth markets. The authors examine recent repayment troubles in four rapidly-growing but disparate microfinance markets, Nicaragua, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Morocco, and Pakistan, and conclude that the problems observed are closely associated with the growth phases each country experienced from 2004 to 2008. Full release.

Sen. Harry Reid's claim about male unemployment and domestic violence is misleading and false because it selectively chooses the data, domestic violence experts say. On February 22, Reid claimed on the Senate floor that "women aren't abusive, most of the time. Men, when they're out of work, tend to become abusive." Now, 16 groups are calling on Reid to issue an apology for unfairly stereotyping men. Full release.

State sponsors of the nationwide effort to block a government requirement to purchase health insurance today sent a letter to President Obama decrying their exclusion from tomorrow's bipartisan health reform summit. The letter commends the president for his efforts at bipartisanship but also says "we think you're missing a critical element in this discussion, the ideas of thousands of state legislators." Full release.

A $15 billion package of tax credits and exemptions for employers who create new jobs is expected to gain approval by the Senate this week. However, the bill, intended to help millions of unemployed American workers find jobs, includes no verification mechanism to ensure that newly created jobs will actually be filled by legal U.S. workers. Moreover, it does not prevent employers from claiming tax credits and exemptions if the workers they hire are illegal aliens, charges the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR). Full release.

A draft plan unveiled today proposes to legalize commercial whaling for the first time since a 1986 moratorium made it illegal to hunt whales for commercial purposes. The plan was drafted by member countries of the International Whaling Commission (IWC), an international body which meets annually to set global policy on whaling and whale conservation. Despite the moratorium, three of the IWC's 88 member countries, Japan, Norway, and Iceland, have continued to hunt whales. In recent years, Japan has aggressively recruited votes at the IWC to lift the ban on commercial whaling. This action has split the IWC between pro-conservation and pro-hunting countries. Full release.

The following is a statement by Richard A. Viguerie, Chairman of ConservativeHQ.com, on his editorial "A Fourth Leg For Conservatives' Big Table" at Investor's Business Daily today describing the Tea Party Movement as an historic, independent fourth leg at the conservative movement's big table. "Coming on its one year anniversary, much is being written about the phenomenon called the Tea Party Movement; some accurate, and some fantastical. At its core, it is a revolution of fed-up middle-class Americans, and a response to political arrogance. Full release.

The Red Lake Band of Chippewa Indians has become the 200,000th partner for the 2010 Census, the U.S. Census Bureau announced today. The number of partners supporting the 2010 Census exceeds the 140,000 that signed on to support the 2000 Census. To date, partners have donated 35,088 training locations, saving taxpayers an estimated $338.5 million in rent. The Red Lake Nation, based in Red Lake, Minn., joins a long list of local and national organizations and corporations, as well as other American Indian -- Alaska Native nations, working to promote participation in the 2010 Census. Full release.

The Global AIDS Alliance (GAA) calls on the Obama Administration to fully fund its development priorities and to continue U.S. Leadership in the fight against HIV/AIDS as an integral part of President Obama's Global Health Initiative. GAA submitted questions to the U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations and the U.S. House Committee on Foreign Affairs in preparation for Secretary of State Clinton's testimony on Capitol Hill. Secretary Clinton's testimony is scheduled Wednesday and Thursday, respectfully. Full release.

The Council for Retirement Security (CRS), a program of the nonpartisan, nonprofit grassroots citizens organization Our Generation, has released a survey that found that 82.7 percent of respondents support a presidential veto to prevent Congress from spending money from the Social Security Trust Fund on other government programs. As part of its mission to improve the lives of senior citizens through awareness and advocacy, CRS mailed more than six million questionnaires on a variety of issues noted Rita Smith, the organization's executive director. Full release.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today announced preliminary data suggesting that Invirase (saquinavir) in combination with Norvir (ritonavir) may have potentially important adverse effects on the heart. When used together, the drugs may cause prolongation of the QT and PR intervals on an electrocardiogram. Prolongation of the QT interval may lead to a condition known as torsades de pointes, an abnormal heart rhythm. Prolongation of the PR interval may also lead to an abnormal heart rhythm known as heart block. Full release.

Despite a change of administration in the United States in 2009, significant progress has not been achieved in curbing corruption at the national level in the U.S., a new study of government accountability in counties around the world has found. The report, a major investigative study of 35 countries, was released today by Global Integrity, an award-winning international nonprofit organization that tracks governance and corruption trends globally. Full release.

The latest Kaiser Tracking Poll finds the public still split on health care reform legislation, with 43 percent in favor and 43 percent opposed. However, the poll also finds that majorities of Americans of all political leanings support several provisions in the health reform proposals in Congress and most attribute delays in passing the legislation to political gamesmanship rather than policy disagreements. As Democratic and GOP lawmakers prepare for the upcoming health reform summit, the February Kaiser Health Tracking Poll finds that at least six of every ten Republicans, Democrats and independents back at least some of the key provisions in the reform bills that have passed the House and Senate. Full release.

Speaker Nancy Pelosi released the following statement on new reforms to the credit card industry that take effect today under the Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility, and Disclosure Act of 2009 (Credit CARD): "Today most of the Credit Cardholders' Bill of Rights will take effect, helping to end the era of unfair penalties and abusive practices by the credit card industry. No longer will America's consumers face credit card industry practices dominated by incomprehensible fine print and hidden fees. No longer will confusing agreements and arbitrary rate increases unfairly punish responsible families and small businesses. "This bill's commonsense reforms will restore fairness when consumers conduct their day-to-day credit transactions. The legislation holds credit card companies accountable and provides meaningful new protections to consumers. Full release.

A trial beginning today targeting the nation's largest health insurer, WellPoint Inc., and its California subsidiary, Anthem Blue Cross, illustrates how difficult, and how necessary, President Obama's call to curb insurance company abuses will be, said Consumer Watchdog. The Los Angeles trial alleges that Blue Cross has automatically denied requests for out-of-network liver transplants, no matter what a doctor says is necessary, often without even reviewing all patient records. The trial will shed light on the delay and denial of life-saving treatment in cases that might cut into insurance company profits, the consumer advocacy group said. Consumer Watchdog urged President Obama, White House representatives, and the national news media to follow the trial. "Denials of life-saving, medically necessary care, is the MO of an industry that puts profits before patients and yet another example of why Americans need a public option to the private insurance market," said Jerry Flanagan, Health Care Policy Director for Consumer Watchdog. Full release.

The Bipartisan Policy Center (BPC) will host a panel discussion, "Difficult Choices: Transportation Spending in An Age of Fiscal Crisis," with leading transportation stakeholders and experts on Thursday, February 25, 2010. The discussion will focus on how to make wise transportation investments given the current fiscal condition of the federal government. Panelists will discuss the impacts these investments have on jobs, as well as their broader economic, energy, and environmental effects. The conversation will directly address how to make transportation investments more strategic, accountable, and able to demonstrate positive impacts rather than just associated costs. A series presented by the BPC, Bridge-Builder Breakfasts highlight institutions and individuals who are reaching across political lines to solve critical challenges facing the country. At a time when partisan conflicts often attract the most attention, the BPC is committed to creating a forum for those who, despite differing views, are willing to collaborate in order to advance the common good. Full release.

We commend President Obama for including the Community Living Assistance Services and Supports (CLASS) provisions in his health care reform proposal. The CLASS provisions were carefully crafted to ensure affordability, accessibility and fiscal solvency for long-term services and supports. Despite the heated rhetoric around health reform, the need for transforming how we pay for long-term services and supports still exists. We need leadership now to bring health reform that will ensure choice and quality for older adults and people with disabilities. These provisions reinforce strong pieces from both the House and Senate bills that, when combined, can move us to a system with better access, more choice and lower costs. There is a human right to basic and compassionate long-term services and supports regardless of age, income, illness or condition of life, and a morally responsible society has an obligation to assure that it is provided. We urge Congress to work together and pass health reform legislation. Full release.

In the first of a series of planned nationwide Mortgage Help Centers, Fannie Mae (NYSE: FNM) announced the opening of a new Help Center in Miami that will accelerate the response time for struggling borrowers in South Florida with loans owned by Fannie Mae. At the center, borrowers will meet directly with dedicated on-site staff and experienced housing advisors who speak English and Spanish, to discuss their mortgage situation. These face-to-face meetings will help borrowers better understand the entire range of foreclosure prevention options and work closely with servicers to achieve a prompt response. Fannie Mae is partnering on this initiative with civic and community leaders from Miami-Dade County, Neighborhood Housing Services of South Florida and major mortgage servicers. Full release.

In some states women ages 40 to 49 have less access to mammograms since the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) released its recommendations to change breast cancer screening guidelines last November, according to a recent survey conducted by the Avon Foundation for Women. The USPSTF recommended changing the current mammography screening guidelines for average risk women to begin biennial screening at age 50 instead of annual mammograms starting at age 40. At its annual Avon Foundation Breast Cancer Forum, the Avon Foundation for Women released data from an online survey of more than 150 breast cancer health educators and providers from 48 states and the District of Columbia, all of which are Avon Foundation grant recipients. Full release.

The consumer group that pioneered the most successful insurance premium regulation law in the nation, California's Proposition 103, today said only the extension of such "prior approval" regulation to health insurance can begin to make insurance affordable in the wake of double digit premium increases that have dramatically out-paced wages. Today, President Obama is expected to announce a health insurance premium rate regulation proposal in the wake of Anthem Blue Cross's recently announced 39% rate hike. Anthem Blue Cross is the California subsidiary of the nation's largest insurer, WellPoint Inc. The President's proposal would create a Health Insurance Rate Authority which will "provide needed oversight at the Federal level and help States determine how rate review will be enforced and monitor insurance market behavior." Full release.

Speaker Nancy Pelosi released the following statement today on President Obama's health insurance reform proposal, which was released this morning in advance of Thursday's bipartisan meeting on health reform: "The President today made available to all Americans the Administration's health insurance reform proposal, which contains positive elements from the House and Senate-passed bills. I look forward to reviewing it with House Members and then joining the President and the Republican leadership at the Blair House meeting on Thursday. This discussion will continue a year-long historic level of transparency and open debate of this crucial reform effort. Full release.

HSA Bank reported today that the average Health Savings Account (HSA) balance carried into 2010 grew by 7.6 percent over the balance carried into 2009. The average balance of these accounts grew even though the nation faced the uncertainty of a recovering global economy, ailing retirement accounts, unemployment and healthcare reform. "The percentage growth of accountholder balances was lower than we have seen in recent years," said Kirk Hoewisch, president of HSA Bank. "However, the fact remains that balances grew despite all the uncertainty we faced as a country in 2009, especially in the economy and the healthcare industry." Full release.

Today, thousands of prisoners around the country will be mailing letters to numerous death penalty abolitionist groups asking them to stop advocating for life without the possibility of parole as a supposedly humane alternative to lethal injection. The Other Death Penalty Project, a group comprised solely of prisoners serving life without possibility of parole, the other death penalty, categorically rejects this hypocritical position taken by too many death penalty abolitionists. Death at the hands of the state, whether by lethal injection or lethal imprisonment, is the death penalty. The Other Death Penalty Project, similarly, rejects the proposition that life without the possibility of parole is a necessary first step toward ultimate abolition of the death penalty. Full release.

Late Friday, the Department of Justice issued it's long awaited report on the actions of the DOJ lawyers who authored the infamous legal memos authorizing torture. The report consists of two parts: the first is a 300-page report from the DOJ's Office of Professional Responsibility finding that the attorneys, specifically John Yoo and Jay Bybee, engaged in "professional misconduct." The second is a 69-page cover letter from career DOJ staffer David Margolis finding that the lawyers exercised "poor judgment." The OPR finding would under normal circumstances require transmittal to the state bar for disciplinary proceedings. However, Mr. Margolis, a 17-year employee of the DOJ who was in a supervisory position when the legal memos were written, has specifically refused to allow the OPR report to be transmitted. Full release.

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