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lame ducks -Friday in Congress

12/09/2010 Nativegrl77

The Senate Convenes: 9:30amET December 10, 2010

Morning business with Senator Sanders recognized to speak at 10:15am.

Unanimous Consent:
Passed S.3817, CAPTA Reauthorization Act of 2010

Passed H.R.2941, a bill to reauthorize and enhance Johanna’s Law to increase public awareness and knowledge with respect to gynecological cancers (with committee reported substitute amendment).

Passed S.372, Whistleblower Protection Enhancement Act of 2009 (with committee reported substitute amendment and Akaka amendment).

Adopted S.Con.Res.77, to provide for the approval of final regulations issued by the Office of Compliance to implement the Veterans Employment Opportunities Act of 1998 that apply to the Senate and employees of the Senate.

Adopted S.Res.700, to provide for the approval of final regulations issued by the Office of Compliance to implement the Veterans Employment Opportunities Act of 1998 that apply to the Senate and employees of the Senate.

The Senate confirmed the following nominations:

– Ripley Rand to be United States Attorney for the Middle District of North Carolina
– Charles Oberly III to be United States Attorney for the District of Delaware
– William Conner Eldridge to be United States Attorney for the District of Arkansas
– Frank Leon-Guerrero to be United States Marshal for the District of the Northern Mariana Islands
– Charles Thomas Weeks II to be United States Marshal for the Western District of Oklahoma
– Kenneth Bohac to be United States Marshal for the Central District of Illinois
– General Claude R. Kehler, to be General, Air Force
– Coast Guard grade – to be Rear Admiral
– All of the nominations on the Secretary’s desk for the Coast Guard and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

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The next meeting in the House is scheduled for 10:00amET December 13, 2010

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Lord of the Rings trilogy and fewer women smokers – what’s the connection?

12/09/2010 Nativegrl77


	What’s the good, bad and ugly of women’s health in the past decade?



	Check out the 2010 edition of Making the Grade on Women’s Health: A National and State-by-State Report Card to find out how healthy women in your state are and how the new health care law will affect women’s health policies and women’s health.

What do The Lord of the Rings trilogy, HBO’s show “The Wire,” Beyonce’s “Crazy in Love,” fewer women smokers, and colorectal cancer screenings for women have in common? They all made it to the top of a “best of the decade” list.

Find out the good, bad, and the ugly of women’s health in the past decade: check out the 2010 edition of Making the Grade on Women’s Health: A National and State-by-State Report Card for a detailed prognosis.

In the years since the National Women’s Law Center and Oregon Science and Health University published the first edition of Making the Grade on Women’s Health: A National and State-by-State Report Card, the nation’s “best of” list for women’s health includes lower death rates from coronary heart disease, stroke, and breast and lung cancer. In addition, fewer women are smoking and more women are being screened for colorectal cancer. Unfortunately, however, there are now greater proportions of women with high blood pressure and who haven’t had a recent Pap test. Our “worst of the decade” list includes increases in rates of diabetes, Chlamydia and binge drinking.

In this fifth edition, the Report Card grades and ranks each state based on 26 health-status benchmarks. It also identifies whether states have met 68 health policy goals, many of which will be affected by the new health care law passed this year.

To find out which policy goals the new health care law will achieve, click on the Report Card policy indicator on any issue you want to learn more about.

For example:

Mammograms — Starting on September 23 of this year, private insurance began covering mammograms because of a provision in the new law requiring all health plans to cover recommended preventive services at no charge to the woman.
Gender rating in the individual health insurance market, or the practice of charging women more than men for health care coverage — Starting in 2014, the new health care law will prohibit insurance companies from using the practice of gender rating in the individual insurance market, a marked improvement from today, when 37 states have no policy related to this issue.

We started this comprehensive examination of women’s health a decade ago, after earlier attempts to enact affordable, accessible, and comprehensive health care reform failed in Congress. This year, the Center went to work and helped achieve a big victory to improve women’s health with the passage of the Affordable Care Act. And we’re confident that, thanks to the new health care law, in another 10 years, the “best of the decade” list for women’s health will be much longer!

Sincerely,

Judy Waxman
Vice President for Health and Reproductive Rights
National Women’s Law Center

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from Change.org

12/09/2010 Nativegrl77

Join the 1 Billion People Fighting Global Hunger

“The defining human tragedy of this century.”

That’s how a recent Oxfam report described the fact that rapid climate change is exacerbating hunger all around the globe.

It’s a story that’s too often missed. And as world leaders gather at a climate change summit in Cancun this week, we have just a few days to shine a bright light on how climate is intimately connected to hunger.

Stand up for the world’s poor and fight hunger now.

Evidence of the changing climate’s impact on hunger is everywhere.

We saw it in Pakistan, where massive, devastating floods swamped farmland, decimated crops, and left more than 10 million people in dire need of food aid.

We’ve seen it in Russia, where droughts have driven the price of wheat sky-high in some regions, increasing the number of struggling families.

And we see it in Kenya, where farmers no longer know when to expect rain, causing seasons of failed harvests.

The World Food Programme estimates that climate change is expected to add another 10-20% to the total of hungry people by 2050. The poor and malnourished are especially vulnerable to the impacts of extreme weather and climate-related natural disasters. And, as rainfalls become more sporadic and temperatures increase, hundreds of millions of farmers worldwide will have to abandon traditional crops and try to adapt.

Take a stand against hunger now, before the talks in Cancun conclude.

And once you add your name, will you forward this email to friends and family and encourage them to do the same?

Thanks for taking action,

The Change.org team

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All because of You …BraVenew Foundation

12/09/2010 Nativegrl77

All Because Of You!

DONATE TODAY!

Brave New Foundation’s Cuéntame exists because of YOU! We are an independent, non-profit organization with NO corporate sponsors or funding. This has allowed us to fight for the most pressing issues within and throughout our community without any censorship or outside influence.

But this also means we rely completely on the support of members like you to keep producing the hard-hitting, effective videos and actions like those we have done in the past year. We need to raise $25,000 by Christmas Eve. Please contribute $10 today!

During this past year, our work has reached millions of people and we’ve been able to take on critical issues like:

Exposing hateful Tea Party rhetoric.
Fighting the discriminatory Arizona law SB1070.
Pushing to enact a Dream Act.
Helping turn out the highest Latino vote in history.
Exposing racist electoral ads.
A music and film series to educate about the best of Latino culture and much, much more!

We greatly appreciate all of your involvement and helping us to become the flourishing community organization that we are today! With close to 50,000 members and over 30 million impressions on our campaigns, we’ve become the strongest Latino social network activists. We have been able to reach over a hundred million people through our media and press impact and now we are ready to take on even more battles.

Cuéntame was created for you and by you and now we need your support once again to keep fighting! This is the only way that we can keep producing these campaigns, daily videos and continue to get our community’s voice heard loud and clear.

We understand that times are hard for many of us, but it doesn’t take much to help out! A contribution of $10 will help us continue standing up against these injustices!

Can you donate and help Cuéntame stay free of corporate influence and be able to keep producing hard-hitting, informative campaigns that make a real impact for our community? Together we can make a difference. Click HERE to contribute.

Thank you so much for your support! See you on the Cuéntame page!

Yours,

Axel Caballero and Ofelia Yañez
and the Cuéntame team

PS If you haven’t already, please join Cuéntame on Facebook by clicking the LIKE button on top of the page.

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Thursday in Congress -debates & votes with updates when needed

12/09/2010 Nativegrl77

The Senate Convenes: 9:30amET on December 9, 2010

Following any Leader remarks, Senator Durbin will be recognized to speak for up to 10 minutes. Following his remarks, the Senate will resume consideration of S.3992, the DREAM Act, with the time until 11:00am equally divided and controlled between the Leaders or their designees.

At 11:00am, the Senate will proceed to a series of at least 2 and possibly 3 roll call votes. Those votes will be on the following items.

– Cloture on the motion to proceed to Calendar #663, S.3992, the Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors Act of 2010 (DREAM Act); and
– Cloture on the motion to proceed to Calendar #641, H.R.847, the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act of 2010.
– Senator Reid may reconsider the failed cloture vote on the motion to proceed to S.3454, DoD Authorization.

Following the votes, Senator Bennett will be recognized to speak for up to 20 minutes for his farewell speech.
Senator Bunning will be recognized at 1:00pm for up to 30 minutes for his farewell speech.
Senator Dorgan will be recognized at 2:00pm for up to 20 minutes for his farewell speech.

Votes:
268: Motion to table the motion to proceed to Calendar #663, S.3992, the Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors Act of 2010 (DREAM Act);
Not Invoked: 59-40

269: Cloture on the motion to proceed to Calendar #641, H.R.847, the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act of 2010;
Not Invoked: 58-42

270: Motion to invoke cloture on the motion to proceed to S.3454, DoD Authorization;
Not Invoked 58-40.

271: Reid motion to table the motion to refer with respect to HR4853, Middle Class Tax Relief;
Tabled: 65-11

There will be no further roll call votes during Thursday’s session of the Senate.

Unanimous Consent:
Passed H.R.5591, a bill to designate the airport traffic control tower located at Spokane Airport in Spokane, Washington, as the “Ray Daves Airport Traffic Control Tower”.

Passed S.841, the Pedestrian Safety Enhancement Act (with Kerry substitute amendment).

Passed S.1275, the National Foundation on Fitness, Sports, and Nutrition Establishment Act (with committee-reported substitute amendment).

Adopted S.Res.699, a resolution to authorize testimony and legal representation in City of St. Paul v. Irene Victoria Andrews, Bruce Jerome Berry, John Joseph Brau, David EugeneLuce, and Elizabeth Ann McKenzie.

Passed S.2925, Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking Deterrence and Victims Support Act of 2010 (with committee-reported substitute amendment and two Wyden amendments)

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The next meeting in the House is scheduled for December 9, 2010 10:00amET

CURRENT HOUSE FLOOR PROCEEDINGS
LEGISLATIVE DAY OF DECEMBER 9, 2010
111TH CONGRESS – SECOND SESSION

1:38 P.M. –

Mr. Jackson (IL) asked unanimous consent That, when the House adjourns on Thursday, December 9, 2010, it adjourn to meet at 10:00 a.m. on Monday, December 13, 2010. Agreed to without objection.

H.R. 6412:

to amend title 28, United States Code, to require the Attorney General to share criminal records with State sentencing commissions, and for other purposes

1:37 P.M. –

On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill Agreed to by the Yeas and Nays (2/3 required): (Roll No. 627).

Motion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without objection.

1:18 P.M. –

Considered as unfinished business.

1:10 P.M. –

The Chair announced that it had been made aware of a valid basis for recognition, and accordingly recognized Ms. Waters to proceed for one hour.

H.R. 4994:

to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to reduce taxpayer burdens and enhance taxpayer protections, and for other purposes

1:09 P.M. –

Motion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without objection.

On motion that the House suspend the rules and agree to the Senate amendments Agreed to by the Yeas and Nays (2/3 required): (Roll No. 626).

12:45 P.M. –

UNFINISHED BUSINESS – The Chair announced that the unfinished business was the question on adoption of motions to suspend the rules which had been debated earlier and on which further proceedings had been postponed.

The House convened, returning from a recess continuing the legislative day of December 9.

10:41 A.M. –

The Speaker announced that the House do now recess. The next meeting is subject to the call of the Chair.

H.R. 4994:

to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to reduce taxpayer burdens and enhance taxpayer protections, and for other purposes

10:40 A.M. –

At the conclusion of debate, the Yeas and Nays were demanded and ordered. Pursuant to the provisions of clause 8, rule XX, the chair announced that further proceedings on the motion would be postponed.

10:14 A.M. –

DEBATE – The House proceeded with forty minutes of debate on the motion to suspend the rules and agree to the Senate amendments to H.R. 4994.

Mr. Stark moved that the House suspend the rules and agree to the Senate amendments.

10:13 A.M. –

The Speaker announced that votes on suspensions, if ordered, will be postponed until later in the legislative day.

10:02 A.M. –

ONE MINUTE SPEECHES – The House proceeded with one minute speeches which by direction of the Chair, would be limited to 5 per side of the aisle.

10:01 A.M. –

The House received a message from the Senate. The Senate passed H.R. 4337, with amendment, and S. 3167.

PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE – The Chair designated Mr. Buchanan to lead the Members in reciting the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag.

The Speaker announced approval of the Journal. Pursuant to clause 1, rule I, the Journal stands approved.

10:00 A.M. –