February 09, 2010

Speaker Nancy Pelosi released the following statement this afternoon after a meeting at the White House today with President Obama and Congressional leaders on efforts to spur job creation: "I applaud President Obama for bringing together the leaders of Congress, Democrats and Republicans alike, to address the most pressing challenges facing our nation today: creating good-paying jobs for America's workers and reducing our nation's deficit. "Nearly one year after the Recovery Act and other efforts prevented an even greater economic catastrophe, it is up to leaders from both parties to find common ground and work together to get our economy growing again. I look forward to building on today's meeting and working with our partners across the aisle to pass jobs legislation as soon as possible and to create a bipartisan commission to help reduce our deficit." Full release.

The following statement is attributable to J. James Rohack, M.D., President, American Medical Association: "The American Medical Association is pleased to support First Lady Michelle Obama in the Let's Move Campaign. As the nation's largest physician organization, we have long worked to address obesity and are committed to reenergizing our programs and communications this year to focus on children's needs related to obesity prevention and management. "As part of our focus on childhood obesity, we will be expanding the AMA Healthier Life Steps toolkit to include action plans for healthy eating and increased physical activity for children. We have also joined with the California Medical Association Foundation to bring their Obesity Prevention Project nationwide and encourage physicians to become more engaged in preventing and managing childhood obesity. Full release.

While thousands of Iranians are expected to protest in defiance of government threats to violently stop the demonstrations, Amnesty International, the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran, Student World Assembly and Where is My Vote, NY, will convene a press conference and silent vigil in support of the Iranian non-violent protestors. Speakers will challenge the global community to press the United Nations Human Rights Council during its Universal Periodic Review of Iran (February 15) to issue a strong report that insists Iran comply with international human rights laws and permit U.N. human rights experts immediate access to the country. During the vigil, which precedes the press conference, activists will be dressed in black and wearing gags and will condemn the use of detention, torture and execution of nonviolent protestors in Iran. Full release.

As the Senate debates the merits of a Jobs Bill, a new report -- Projects and Paychecks: a One-Year Report on State Transportation Successes under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act -- finds that more than 280,000 jobs were created and more than 12,250 transportation projects are underway as a result of the jobs bill signed into law one year ago. The comprehensive study, released today by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) in conjunction with state transportation departments (DOTs) in Nevada, Michigan, Georgia and Rhode Island, finds that one year after its passage, state DOTs have set an amazing record of speed and efficiency, putting 77 percent of the $34.3 billion provided for highways and transit out to bid on 12,250 transportation projects. The 9,240 projects under construction total $20.6 billion. One hundred-fifty of these projects are profiled on the companion website at: recovery.transportation.org. Full release.

The U.S. hotel industry welcomed the dawn of 2010. Performance measures in the first half of 2009 were particularly troublesome for many companies, and only in the closing months of the year were there glimmers of hope. By December 2009, a number of major markets started to experience increases in occupancy and revenue per available room (revPAR), following what in some cases has been multi-year, record-breaking declines. In particular, steep price discounting appeared to be a less important strategy in filling rooms. As noted in this report, domestic tourism activity is starting to revive for a few select markets, declines in international travel are lessening and business travel remains mostly stagnant. "We are seeing signs of a strengthening tourism, hospitality and leisure sector as the economy begins to rebound," said Weissenberg. "Leisure travel has been on the rise and as confidence in the economy is restored, we should see an uptick in business travel, which is one of the key factors on the road to restoring revPAR to pre-recession levels." Full release.

February is American Heart Month, which means it's time to raise awareness about cardiovascular disease, the leading cause of death in America. When it comes to diet, mixed messages about dietary cholesterol can be confusing for many Americans, especially when it comes to eating eggs. But egg lovers still have a reason to celebrate during American Heart Month, and all year long, because more than 30 years of research shows healthy adults can enjoy eggs without significantly impacting their risk of heart disease.(i) The myth about the link between eating eggs and their effect on blood cholesterol has been a hard shell to crack and a topic registered dietitian Keith Ayoob, Associate Clinical Professor of Pediatrics at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine and the director of the Nutrition Clinic at the Rose F. Kennedy Children's Evaluation and Rehabilitation Center, often addresses with his clients. When it comes to assessing the risk of heart disease, the ratio of "bad" LDL-cholesterol to "good" HDL-cholesterol is one of the best known and proven indicators. Full release.

With tax return filing season in full swing, the National Association of College Stores (NACS) is urging students and their families to remember to take full advantage of a change in the tax code that makes the cost of textbooks and course materials eligible for a tax credit for the first time. Textbooks and other course material expenses, as well as tuition and fees incurred in 2009-10 not covered by scholarships or grants, can now be claimed as a tax credit of up to $2,500 on that year's tax return under the American Opportunity Tax Credit. To help students understand the tax credit, NACS has launched an easy-to-navigate informational web site, www.textbookaid.org, which the association developed as part of a partnership with the Internal Revenue Service. For more detailed information about the American Opportunity Tax Credit visit www.irs.gov/recovery. "NACS and its members work every day to help make textbooks and course materials as affordable as possible, and have long been advocates for the inclusion of course materials in tax credits. Full release.

Answering First Lady Michelle Obama's call for innovative industry initiatives that contribute to her healthy families program, America's non-alcoholic beverage companies are coming together to make the calories in their products even more clear and consumer-friendly by putting the information on the front of all their packages, vending machines and fountain machines. The voluntary commitment contributes to Mrs. Obama's efforts to help families make informed choices as part of a balanced lifestyle. The companies will coordinate with the Food and Drug Administration to implement the calorie initiative, which will go above and beyond what is required by the federal agency's food labeling regulations. The industry will start implementing the initiative across the country this year with completion in 2012. "The beverage industry is taking the extra step of making the calories on its products more clear and useable for consumers so they can make balanced choices wherever they purchase our products," Susan Neely said. Full release.

Toyota officials face a grueling day of testimony before Congress about the company's ongoing recalls and quality problems. Meanwhile, the automaker is preparing a third action, this one to address a serious brake problem with its 2010 Prius hybrid. But if Toyota focuses solely on the current model-year, will it be addressing only part of the problem with the world's most popular hybrid? An investigative report by TheDetroitBureau.com finds evidence to indicate problems with the Prius brakes may not be limited to the 2010 model-year. Owners such as Jeff Zuhlke of Wisconsin, Susan Yonish of North Carolina, and others report numerous occasions when their own Prius hybrids experienced issues similar to unintended brake release. As with the now documented problems with the 2010 Prius, these and others owners have filed a significant number of complaints with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration that appear to identify problems dating back a number of years before the current model-year. Full release.

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