By Sam Wechsler – Talk Radio News Service

Climate change is a real and imminent threat to national security, said a group of senators Thursday during a Senate Environment and Public Works Committee hearing.

During a discussion regarding the value of the American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009 (Waxman-Markey bill), the senators agreed that it is important to decrease dependence on foreign oil.

“We’re not going to say no to importing all foreign oil, but when we look at some of the countries where we rely on for energy, [they are] countries that we would rather not be dealing with, that put us at risk when they cut off our supply,” said Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.).

In addition to foreign oil, climate change may also affect the U.S.’s national security by heightening the intensity of conflicts abroad.

Vice Admiral Dennis McGinn, a witness at the hearing, likened climate change to a magnifying glass on global conflicts. He argued that climate change would create water shortages in some regions, crop failure, and cause environmentally displaced people to cross borders. “[Climate change] will place an avoidable and unacceptable burden on our young men and women in uniform now, and in generations to come,” said McGinn.

“I believe we must heed these warnings to protect our nation’s security,” added Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.).

By Courtney Ann Jackson-Talk Radio News Service

The energy and climate debate is making its way to the Senate, just two legislative days after the House passed the Waxman-Markey energy bill. The Committee on Environment and Public Works heard from White House and other government officials Tuesday. They highlighted the importance of making the U.S. a leader in the clean energy market, reducing the effects of global warming, and creating new jobs in the process.

“Clean energy is to this decade, and the next, what the Space Race was to the 1950s and ‘60s. America is behind,” said EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson. “American businesses need strong incentives and investments now in order for this nation to lead the twenty-first century global economy.”

Other officials present included: Energy Secretary Steven Chu, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and Department of the Interior Secretary Ken Salazar.

Chu said that he applauds the House for passing the clean energy bill and said he looks forward to working with the Senate to pass “comprehensive energy legislation.” He also noted that denial of the climate change problem will not change the outcome but comprehensive legislation that caps and then reduces carbon emissions will.

Committee Chairwoman Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) said, “I expect you will hear fierce words of doubt and fear and worse from the other side of the aisle regarding our legislative efforts to move forward with clean energy jobs legislation. This is consistent with a pattern of “No we can’t.” I believe this Committee, when the votes are eventually taken on our bill, will reflect our President’s attitude, which is “Yes, we can, and yes, we will.”

Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.) agreed that the bill will pass through their committee but he does not believe it will pass on the Senate floor. He said the Senators will have more time to review the many points of the legislation than House members did prior to their June 25 vote.

Gov. Haley Barbour (R-Miss.) also testified Tuesday and stressed the importance of informing the public about the facts of energy policy.

“The gigantic effect of energy policy on American life means Congress should work particularly hard to ensure Americans know the facts about the policies Congress is considering. To the contrary, the House of Representatives added more than 300 pages of its 1200 page energy bill a few hours before it was brought to the floor and passed. That is just the opposite,” said the Governor.

By Celia Canon- Talk Radio News Service

Top Senate Democrats and State Department officials reiterated their intent to help Sudan and the DRC with its rape problem.

According to Melanne Verveer, the U.S. State Department Ambassador-at-Large for Global Women’s Issues, “36 women are raped daily” in Sudan.

“This must stop,” said Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.). “As colleagues we must come together – across all the lines that normally divide us – to end this madness…If raping an infant is not a crime against humanity, I don’t know what is.”

The attention of lawmakers was piqued after the release of reports by Human Rights Watch, which said that “the number of women and girls raped since January has significantly increased in areas of military operations by armed groups and soldiers of the Congolese Army.”

Boxer explained the need to intervene immediately as one representing more than a humanitarian crisis. “If raping an infant is not a rime against humanity, I don’t know what is” she said.

According to Senator Russ Feingold (D-Wis.), “The United States has an important role to play, in helping to facilitate such initiatives and ensure sound policies are implemented”.

DRC-based journalist Chouchou Namegabe Nabintu said that “The rapes are targeted and intentional, and are meant to remove the people from their mineral-rich land through fear, shame, violence, and the intentional spread of HIV throughout entire families and villages.”

Verveer said that the problem can not be resolved by attempting to prosecute perpetrators. “The law enforcement personnel and magistrates continue to treat rape and sexual violence in general with a marked lack of seriousness,” she said. But, “a solution must be found to stop the war and restore an order that will have to be completely reshaped in order to reduce the power the soldiers now have,” she said.

”Ending the conflict is the most important direct and certain path to ending the violence. Peace negotiations … should remain our highest priority” said Verveer.

Senator Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) quoting a Refugees International report which states that rape in Darfur is used by the government as a weapon against society. (0:36)

 

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By Suzia van Swol, University of New Mexico-Talk Radio News Service
At an event to unveil the “Faces of the Employee Free Choice Act” campaign, actor Bradley Whitford said that, as the fight for the Employee Free Choice Act enters the legislative, the ugly legislative process, we must never forget the workers. This issue boils down to a simple fact. It is a fundamental right in this country for workers to be able to join unions and to bargain collectively,” said Whitford.

Addressing those who believe the act denies workers their right to a secret ballot, Whitford stated that “The Employee Free Choice Act does nothing of the kind.”

Whitford said that “without the protections provided by the Employee Free Choice Act, workers looking to join unions are subject to harassment, disinformation, and dismissal, because of a system that is exploited by, and stacked in favor of management.” He went on to say that we must not allow lawmakers to put their own job protection ahead of the protection of their working constituents.

Senator Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) stated that “we’re losing the middle class, and when we lose the middle class, we lose America.” The facts are on our side and “if you want to save the middle class, if you want a prosperous America, then you should support the Employee Free Choice Act,” said Boxer.

Congressman Robert Andrews (D-N.J.) said that the difference now is that when a majority of employees sign up for a union, the employer gets to veto that choice. “We are saying the choice belongs not to the employer but to the employee.”

Actor Martin Sheen said that the Employee Free Choice Act will give American workers a fair and direct path to form unions through majority sign up. “It’s no secret that all too often workers are poorly treated when they try to gain a voice in the work place.”

Sheen told a story about a man who was asked to show his scars at the gates of heaven. Unable to reveal any, the man was asked, “was there nothing worth fighting for”? “That’s what this is all about,” said Sheen.

Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) comments about recent news that Sen. Ted Stevens (R-Alaska.) has been indicted for seven counts of making false statements to federal authorities.

 

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Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA) says at a press conference to discuss Sen. Frank Lautenberg’s (D-NJ) new aviation safety bill that America will “have a crisis in the skies” if safety concerns are not met, and says that “if the president wants to go toe-to-toe with us on that, I say fine, let’s do it.” (0:27)

 

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Today Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ) introduced a new bill called the Safety Improvement Act of 2008 to improve airline safety, and was joined by supporters Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA) and Sen. Robert Menendez (D-NJ). Patrick Forrey, president of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association, and Transportation Trades Department President Ed Wytkind joined the senators to voice their support. The bill was described as an effort to improve runway safety and reduce risk of collision during take-off and landing, as well as ensure that airport first-responders are prepared to handle an emergency situation.
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Today the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works held a hearing on the Environmental Protection Agency’s toxic chemical policies. Chairman Barbara Boxer (D-CA) blamed the Bush Administration for changes in EPA’s policies that allow political interference in the scientific risk assessment process. She argued that allowing political entities to interfere in a process that demands only scientific expertise inhibits the acquisition of the most accurate information needed to develop policies that will protect American citizens and children from harmful toxins and chemicals in air and drinking water.

Another concern was the secrecy involved in EPA policy making. The Government Accountability Office report said that the EPA had failed to deliver timely, accurate reports that could be held accountable. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) presented a flow chart that compared the EPA’s risk assessment process prior to 2004 to its most recent model, which displays many more steps and which he says obscures the transparency of the process.

Contrasts were made between the United States’ Toxic Substances Control Act, which makes the government responsible for proving chemical safety, and its European counterpart, REACH, that puts the burden of proving chemical safety on the chemical industry itself, which Chairman Boxer said in her written statement is “where it should be.”

Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA) explains the need for U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services director Dale Hall to abide by US law when making decisions in a timely manner that affect the lives of polar bears at the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee hearing examining the threats and protections for the polar bear this morning.

 

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