March 12, 2010

We are deeply troubled by the action of the Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday refusing to eliminate the unjustified, discriminatory sentencing disparity between the powder and crack forms of cocaine. Acknowledging that (1) there is no justification whatsoever for the disparity in sentencing between powder and crack cocaine adopted by Congress twenty-four years ago and (2) the disparity has a devastating disparate impact on African Americans, the Committee chose to merely reduce the problem -- not solve it. There is no serious dispute that the crack/powder disparity needs to be eliminated. There is equally powerful political support for fixing the problem now. Full release.

The following is a statement by Steve Millard, President & Executive Director, Council of Smaller Enterprises (COSE): As Congress and President Obama continue to discuss opportunities to overhaul health care, we wanted to take a moment to reiterate the need to address key components of this issue: cost reduction, expanding coverage, and creating basic, affordable plans. Over the past year, we as a nation have come further with the prospect of heath care reform than we have in quite some time. Full release.

The American Legion is tackling a problem suffered by an alarming number of military veterans: unemployment. A report just released by the Dept. of Labor says that last year's unemployment rate for young veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars as 21.1 percent. Meanwhile, the jobless rate among non-veterans in the same 18-to-24 age range was 16.6 percent. "The American Legion has been aware of this situation for some time," said Joe Sharpe, director of The American Legion's Economic Division in Washington, "and we are addressing it with frequent, well-attended job fairs and business workshops for veterans. Full release.

As part of the final phase of its transparency initiative, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration is seeking comment from the public and other interested stakeholders on how the agency can increase transparency in its interactions with regulated industry. The FDA regulates products responsible for about 25 percent of the gross national product of the United States and the industries responsible for these products. Products regulated by the agency, biologics and blood products, human drugs, foods, medical devices, radiation-emitting devices, and veterinary medicines, are integral to public health and to the U.S. economy. Full release.

The American Red Cross today issued a two-month progress report describing its efforts since the January 12 earthquake and sharing its plans to address longer-term needs such as emergency and longer-term shelter. "While there is still massive need everywhere you look, I have seen signs of resilience, recovery and renewal in Haiti," said David Meltzer, senior vice president of international services with the American Red Cross, one day after returning from his second trip to the country since the earthquake. Full release.

Monthly retail sales figures released today by the Department of Commerce show strong gains despite foul weather conditions that plagued much of the east coast in February, noted the Retail Industry Leaders Association (RILA). Retail sales outside auto dealers increased by a healthy 0.8 percent in February following a solid 0.5-percent gain in January; non-auto retail sales are up by 4.2 percent from last February. Overall retail sales including autos were up by 0.3 percent in February and are 3.9 percent higher than a year ago. Full release.

he State Highway Safety Alliance and the International Association of Chiefs of Police have joined forces to call for an aggressive plan to prevent hundreds of thousands of highway fatalities over the next twenty years through the upcoming surface transportation authorization bill. In a letter sent today to key House and Senate committees, the coalition, which is made up of organizations from the areas of highway construction and safety, public health and law enforcement, called for greater funding of state highway safety programs, long-term strategic planning and research. Full release.

Faced with staggering rates of bias in the workplace, transgender people and their families are convening on Capitol Hill on Tuesday, March 16 to advocate for the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA). This legislation would extend protections against discrimination on the job based on sexual orientation and gender identity. A near-universal 97% of transgender people who responded to a survey on discrimination had experienced some level of harassment on the job, according to the National Center for Transgender Equality, organizers of the lobbying effort. Full release.

Amnesty International called on President Obama today to quickly establish an Office of Maternal Health to lead government action to reduce soaring pregnancy-related complications and maternal deaths nationwide. The human rights organization said the government must take immediate steps to stop the loss of two to three women every day and reduce the risk of complications that now affect one-third of all pregnant women, 1.7 million women a year. Full release.

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