The Washington Bureau will be covering the following:
-Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano makes remarks to the Veterans of Foreign Wars.
-The Center for Community Change holds a news conference to express discontent with the escalation of deportations by the Obama administration.
-Health Care for America Now (HCAN) holds a briefing on the urgent need for health insurance reform.
By Benny Martinez
University of New Mexico/Talk Radio News Service
The newly-unveiled jobs bill includes legislation that would extend funding of the states’ Federal Medical Assistance Percentage (FMAP) by six months, said Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-W.V.).
FMAP legislation is next in line in a series of initiatives for the Senate jobs agenda. According to a press release, the legislation will help states with the cost of Medicaid programs to help preserve critical health care assistance for millions of Americans.
In a conference call with reporters on Friday, Rockefeller, along with Senators Carl Levin (D-Mich.), Jack Reed (D-R.I.) and Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm (D), said that passing the FMAP extension is necessary to preserve jobs and it must be done quickly.
“We have to act swiftly to pass this because if we don’t, it’ll cost the economy up to 900 thousand jobs lost and we can’t have that,” he said. “It’s the right thing to do.”
Levin said that he doesn’t believe a filibuster will be able to stop the bill from passing.
“There was a lesson learned [with] Senator Bunning,” Levin said. “It was clear that the public outcry was strong [then], and I think that kind of outcry will also be strong here, so I will be optimistic that we’re going to be able to get this bill passed with its FMAP provisions.”
Rockefeller said the six-month extension of FMAP is the second of its kind. The first was included in the legislation of the original stimulus package in 2009.
White House correspondent Victoria Jones will be covering the White House press briefing with Press Secretary Robert Gibbs.
The Washington Bureau will also be covering the following:
-Joint Economic Committee hearing on the employment situation for February 2010.
-Labor Department, Bureau of Labor releases statistics on employment situation for February 2010.
-Former Gov. Mitt Romney (R-Mass.) makes remarks on “The Case for American Greatness.”
-Senators Carl Levin, Jay Rockefeller and Jack Reed will join Governor Jennifer Granholm of Michigan on a conference call to discuss the additional support for state health programs in the American Workers, State and Business Relief Act.
-HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius and Assistant HHS Secretary for Health Howard Koh hold a conference call briefing to discuss Recovery Act funding for prevention and wellness.
By Chingyu Wang-Talk Radio News Service
House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) stated Thursday that the ongoing debate over health care reform is “far from over,” despite indications that Democrats intend to move forward with legislation in the coming weeks.
“This debate is far from over. Republicans are going to continue to stand with the American people against this job killing, massive government takeover of our health care system,” said Boehner. “This does not have to become law; They are not there yet.”
The Minority Leader also expressed concern over the jobs bill, saying that it was “outrageous” for Democrats to bring the legislation to the floor without proper time for review. He added that he assumes the health care bill might be handled in a similar manner.
The Ohio Democrat also raised the issue of the rising deficit, and charged Obama with not listening to Republican solutions for spending.
“The president has not responded [to the proposal,]” said Boehner. “America is broke. The Democrats’ spending binge is mortgaging the future of our kids and grand-kids.”
By Antonia Aguilar – University of New Mexico/ Talk Radio News Service
Rep. Harry Teague (D-NM) held a press conference Thursday to rally support behind “Katie’s Law,” a piece of legislation that will require all states to collect and maintain a DNA profile for every violent crime offender upon arrest.
“We have the power through advance DNA collection to make one less parent grieve for a child, to make one less husband grieve for a wife or one less child lose a parent and i intend to work in congress to make sure that we are doing everything we can to prevent this kind of violent crime from happening,” said Teague.
Katie’s Law is a named after Katie Sepich, a 22 year old woman who was raped and brutally murdered in 2003 in southern New Mexico. Through DNA comparison Katie’s murderer was brought to justice. Her parents sought legislation throughout the state of New Mexico for felony DNA collection in hopes of preventing future crimes and bringing criminals to justice.
“[Katie’s Law] will do so much to bring justice to grieving families and victims of heinous crimes, but it will do so much more; it would prevent any of these crimes from taking place in the first place. It would very simply same lives,” said Katie’s mother Jayann Sepich, who appeared alongside Teague Thursday.
By Sofia Sanchez University of New Mexico/ Talk Radio News Service
Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) introduced legislation Wednesday that will effectively repeal Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, a controversial policy that has prevented gay men and women from openly serving in the military.
“In sum, it is time for Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell to go,” said Lieberman during a press conference Wednesday.
The bill, titled the Military Readiness Enhancement Act, has also found backing from Senators Carl Levin (D-Mich.), Sen. Roland Burris (D-Ill.), Sen. Mark Udall (D-Colo.), Sen. Kristen Gillibrand (D-N.Y.).
“When people are not allowed to serve simply because of their sexual orientation, it diminishes our readiness, it diminishes our strength, it denies us … men and women who can contribute to the defense of their country,” said Levin, who chairs the Senate Armed Services Committee, during an appearance alongside Lieberman.
Levin went on to dismiss concerns that allowing openly gay soldiers to serve in the military would damper morale, and pointed to several other nations that have allowed gay men and women to serve without any impact on unit cohesion or morale.
“We have asked about this in hearings,” said Levin. “We have been assured that there is no diminution of readiness or morale.”
The United Nations commemorated International Women’s Day (celebrated annually on March 8th) today with activities spanning from human rights of women in Palestine to panels which featured indigenous women and ministers for gender equality. Behind the curtain, the UN spokesperson remained hush-hush with a “no comment” about the high profile sexual harassment case between Mr. Rudd Lubbers, former Chief of the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) and his employee, American Cynthia Brzak.
Brzak charged Lubbers with sexual harassment by alleging he groped her during a meeting in his Geneva office in 2003. Lubbers also served as Prime Minister of the Netherlands.
The case has taken years to get to a US appeals court which upheld a previous ruling that the United Nations has full immunity from such lawsuits. The ruling this week, shocked many women’s rights advocates who repeatedly called for action against Lubbers and demanded the set up of preventive measures to avoid future sexual harassment cases.
Lubbers was forced to resign from his post after weeks of bad press and allegations that retaining his post may damage UNHCR’s credibility.
Brzak is a US citizen and former UN employee. Her attorney has pledged to appeal in a written statement.
“As the retaliation against (her) by officials within both UNHCR and the UN…(she has) no choice but to seek vindication of (her) constitutional and other rights before the US Supreme Court. The aim is to end the impunity exercised by UN officials everywhere who are placed beyond the reach of national laws by the UN’s outdated immunity… and on behalf of the many UN staff who have suffered and continue to suffer illegal and/or criminal acts in the workplace…”
“If there was sexual harassment, we know this is widespread, then the UN should be a role model. Peacekeeping forces should be better behaved than other groups. It is unacceptable to me the UN should be exempt from this type of violence against women.” said Tarcila Rivera Zea, Enlance Intercontinental de Mujeres Indigenas, at a briefing this afternoon during the Commission on the Status of Women.
This case has brought attention to the slew of UN staff and personnel who have been raped and harassed by UN peacekeepers in refugee camps in Liberia, the Democratic Republic of Congo, the Occupied Territories (Gaza) and Sri Lanka–to name a few. Critics of the sexual harassment monitoring system at the UN say the organizational bureaucracy is just too thick to be able to accurately represent these cases. The UN office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS) is tasked with ensuring transparency and accountability, but to avoid scandal and embarrassment, pushes the accused out of the system through retirement or reassignment–before justice is served.
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has acknowledged the troubled system for investigating these cases and plans to set up a new internal structure this summer to deal with all employee vs. employee actions. Among those agencies recently accused of sexual harassment: UNDP, UNICEF, UNHCR, DPKO (Department of Peacekeeping Operations), and UNRWA (UN Relief and Works Agency in Palestine)–and those are just the cases that have been reported. Many women remain silenced for fear of losing their jobs or suffering the same fate as Brzak.
By Laurel Brishel Prichard University of New Mexico/ Talk Radio News Service
A new rebate program for home retrofits proposed by the Obama administration could save homeowners hundreds of dollars a year and create new jobs, according to Labor Secretary Hilda Solis.
“The single act of retrofitting these home to make them more energy efficient is one of the fastest and easiest things that we can do to put Americans back to work while saving families money and reducing harmful emissions,” Solis said during a conference call with reporters Tuesday. “In short, this is a triple win. We are meeting the needs of workers, employers and home owners.”
Solis added that the administration will offer training programs to instruct workers in retrofitting. The secretary contended that the program is an important step in recovering the hard-hit construction industry.
The $6 billion program would be divided into two rebates, the gold and the silver star, which would be added to the current energy tax rebate program that was enacted under the Recovery Act, according to Assistant to the President for Energy and Climate Change Carol Browner.
The silver star program would issue a 50 precent rebate for point of sale purchases on energy saving equipment up to $1,000 and cap the credit amount to $3,000 per home. The gold star program would be an overall rebate of $3,000 on whole home energy retrofits.
Browning estimates that around 2-3 million homes would be affected and homeowners could stand to save around $200- $500 per year in energy costs.
By Benny Martinez – University of New Mexico/Talk Radio News Service
House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) said Monday that following the rules of PAYGO is crucial to keeping the U.S. from falling even further into debt.
In a speech given at the Brookings Institute in Washington, D.C., Hoyer discussed various fiscal responsibilities of the Obama administration, and said programs like PAYGO “are essential, but they are not enough.”
The Majority Leader applauded President Barack Obama for creating a bipartisan fiscal commission and appointing former White House Chief of Staff Erksine Bowles and ex-Senator Alan Simpson (R-Wyo.) to chair it.
“Given the seriousness of our situation, the commission must come to a consensus, and Congress must act on its proposals at the end of the year,” Hoyer said.
Hoyer attributed the success of PAYGO to its role in creating a projected economic surplus during the Clinton administration. Hoyer also recognized that the decision by the Bush administration to abandon PAYGO “paved the way for record borrowing and threw us back in the red.”
Hoyer said that he remains confident that the character of the U.S. will serve as the backbone of economic recovery, but reminded those in attendance that it will not happen overnight.
“It will take bipartisan trust, presidential leadership and public spirit,” Hoyer said. “If we are unable to raise our heads even for a moment above the daily partisan fight, if the collapse comes, we will deserve it.”
By Antonia Aguilar – University of New Mexico/Talk Radio News Service
Officials with the Independent Petroleum Association of America (IPAA) met with Members of Congress on Monday to persuade them that investing in oil and natural gas drilling could lead to economic growth.
“Our industry cannot only develop America’s resources and provide a better and secure energy strategy for the country, but also can provide jobs that are high paying and help improve the current economic condition across the country,” said IPAA Chairman Bruce Vincent.
Based in Washington, D.C., the IPPA is a trade organization that represents independent oil and natural gas producers and service companies across the United States.
According to Vincent 85% of offshore reserves within the United States are restricted, yet hold enough natural gas material to power homes for decades. Proper investment would reduce our nation’s dependence on foreign countries while stimulating the economy, he added.
Vincent also noted that the petroleum and natural gas industry supports 9 million jobs in the U.S., and with better access and more investment in domestic reserves, even more jobs could be created.
“We, in fact, have more natural gas in the United states then Saudi Arabia has, and we believe the industry has the ability to develop that and to power America for many years to come,” said Vincent.
