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Black History

the Senate considers the Farm Bill & Nominees :::::: CONGRESS :::::: the House considers the S.982, Freedom to Fish Act


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The Senate stands in adjournment until 2:00pm on Monday, May 20, 2013.

  • Following any Leader remarks, the Senate will be in a period of morning business until 3:00pm.
  • Following morning business, the Senate will proceed to the consideration of S.954, the Farm bill.
  • At 5:00pm, the Senate will proceed to Executive Session to consider the following items:
  • There will be up to 30 minutes of debate equally divided and controlled by Senators Leahy and Grassley or their designees.
  • Upon the use or yielding back of time (at approximately 5:30pm), there will be up to 2 roll call votes on confirmation of the Chappell and McShane nominations.
  • The following amendments are pending to S.954, the Farm bill:
    • Cantwell amendment #919 (Indian tribes – land and soil conservation programs)

    The following amendments have been considered to S.954, the Farm bill:

  • The Senate has begun consideration of S.954, the Farm bill. Senator Stabenow called up Cantwell amendment #919 (tribal soil and water conservation programs).At 5pm, the Senate will turn to Executive session with 30 minutes for debate prior to votes on confirmation of the below listed nominations.-          Executive Calendar #45, the nomination of Sheri Polster Chappell, of Florida, to be United States District Judge for the Middle District of Florida; and-          Executive Calendar #46, the nomination of Michael J. McShane, of Oregon, to be United States District Judge for the District of Oregon.We may be able to consider one of the nominations by voice vote, but we don’t know which one yet.
  • Senator McCain asked unanimous consent to set aside the pending amendment in order to call up the Feinstein-McCain amendment #923 (tobacco crop insurance). Senator Stabenow objected in order to give the committee time to group additional crop insurance amendments together, but assured Senator McCain a vote on the amendment.
  • 5:32pm The Senate began a roll call vote on confirmation of Executive Calendar #45, the nomination of Sheri Polster Chappell, of Florida, to be United States District Judge for the Middle District of Florida;Confirmed: 90-0
  • Executive Calendar #46, the nomination of Michael J. McShane, of Oregon, to be United States District Judge for the District of Oregon, was confirmed by voice vote.
  • The Senate is in a period of morning business until 7pm, with senators permitted to speak for up to 10 minutes each. There will be no further roll call votes today.
  • WRAP UP
  • ROLL CALL VOTE1)      Confirmation of Executive Calendar #45, the nomination of Sheri Polster Chappell, of Florida, to be United States District Judge for the Middle District of Florida; Confirmed: 90-0LEGISLATIVE ITEMSDischarged the Banking Committee and passed S.309, a bill to award a Congressional Gold Medal to the World War II members of the Civil Air Patrol with a Harkin amendment.

    Adopted S.Res.149, Designating the week of May 19 through May 25, 2013 as “National Public Works Week.”

    EXECUTIVE ITEMS

    Confirmed Executive Calendar #46, the nomination of Michael J. McShane, of Oregon, to be United States District Judge for the District of Oregon by voice vote.

  • At 4pm on Wednesday, May 22, the Senate will proceed to the consideration of Calendar #43, S.Res.65, resolution strongly supporting the full implementation of United States and international sanctions on Iran and urging the President to continue to strengthen enforcement of sanctions legislation.There will be 60 minutes for debate equally divided and controlled in the usual form. Upon the use or yielding back of time, the Senate will proceed to vote in relation to the resolution. If the resolution is agreed to, the preamble will be agreed to. The motions to reconsider will be considered made and laid upon the table, all with no intervening action or debate.
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  • Monday, May 20, 2013

    Watch Most Recent House Floor Activity

  • The next meeting in the House is scheduled for 12:00 p.m. on May 20, 2013.
~ FDA/USDA ~~ Alerts & Safety, ~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA)


04/17/2013 10:44 PM EDT
Prime Food USA, 50st & 1st Ave Building # 57, Brooklyn NY 11232, is recalling Latis Brand Herring Fillet “Matiej”, Salmon Fillet Slices and Herring Fillet “Forelka” in Oil due to contamination with listeria monocytogenes.
 
 
04/17/2013 12:34 PM EDT
Abbott today announced it is initiating a voluntary recall of FreeStyle lnsulinx® Blood Glucose Meters in the United States. The company has determined that at extremely high blood glucose levels of 1024 mg/dL and above, the FreeStyle lnsulinx Meter will display and store in memory an incorrect test result that is 1024 mg/dL below the measured result.
 
 
04/16/2013 09:52 PM EDT
Wegmans Food Markets is recalling approximately 1,100 affected units of Wegmans Food You Feel Good About Roasted Red Pepper Dip, 8 oz. tub, with a best-by date of 5/17/13, because some of the tubs may have an incorrect ingredient label that does not list milk and eggs. People who have an allergy or severe sensitivity to milk or eggs run the risk of serious or life-threatening allergic reaction if they consume these products.
 
 
04/16/2013 02:51 PM EDT
April 15, 2013 – Cedarlane Natural Foods, Inc., is voluntarily recalling one specific lot of O Organics Black Bean Enchiladas because they contain undeclared milk. People with an allergy or severe sensitivity to milk run the risk of serious or life-threatening allergic reactions if they consume this product
 
 
04/15/2013 12:51 PM EDT
Winn-Dixie today announced an immediate voluntary recall of 64 FL OZ Winn-Dixie Organic 100% Apple Juice. The product is being recalled as a precaution because it could have levels of “patulin” that exceeds FDA limits.
~ FDA/USDA ~~ Alerts & Safety, ~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA)


03/30/2013 12:29 AM EDT Natura Pet Products is voluntarily expanding its recall of dry pet food because it has the potential to be contaminated with Salmonella. No Salmonella-related illnesses have been confirmed to date
 
03/29/2013 08:46 PM EDT Hospira, Inc. (NYSE: HSP), announced today it is initiating a voluntary nationwide user-level recall of one lot of 0.9% Sodium Chloride Injection, USP, 1000 mL, Flexible Container, NDC 0409-7983-09. This action is due to one confirmed customer report where brass particulate was identified in the primary container in the form of several small grey/brown particles.
 
 
03/29/2013 01:59 PM EDT
Rich Products Corporation of Buffalo, New York, is announcing a voluntary recall of Farm Rich® Mini Quesadillas (PC 35635), Farm Rich® Mini Pizza Slices (PC 35643 and PC 37690), Farm Rich® Philly Cheese Steaks (PC 35634), Farm Rich® Mozzarella Bites (PC 37443 and PC 37691) and Market Day® Mozzarella Bites (PC 80435), produced from November 12, 2012 to November 19, 2012 due to possible contamination with Escherichia coli O121 bacteria (“E. Coli O121”).
 
03/29/2013 02:49 PM EDT
Lifestyle Evolution Inc announces the voluntary recall of NuGO FREE, NuGO Dark and NuGO Slim Non Dairy bars Made BEFORE October 2012 because of the potential for undeclared milk.
 

 Lisy Corporation Issues Voluntary Recall on Undeclared Soy in 5 Seasoning Blends

03/29/2013 02:15 PM EDT
Lisy Corporation of Miami, FL is voluntarily recalling select seasoning blends because they contain the ingredient soy that is not declared on the label. People who have an allergy or severe sensitivity to soy run the risk of serious or life-threatening allergic reaction if they consume these products.
 
 
 
 
~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

14-y-o Morgan needs this treatment to live


                          BlueCross BlueShield NC should cover the life-saving treatment for Amy’s daughter they promised to pay for                                               
                      
      Sign the Petition

BlueCross BlueShield North Carolina: Keep your end of the deal and pay the claims

Started by: Amy, Wesley Chapel, Florida

My daughter needs IV treatment each month to fight a debilitating and life threatening auto-immune disease called Dermatomyositis. BlueCross BlueShield of North Carolina is denying claims for vital treatment. When you pay your insurance premiums and do what you are supposed to do, the insurance company should do their part and pay for the appropriate treatment. Instead, when we called the BlueCross BlueShield to get approval for her life-saving treatment, BlueCross told me and the hospital that that we didn’t need pre-authorization. Then, they changed their mind and now want my family to pay a bill of $240,000.

Since the CEO just got a $1.6 MILLION bonus for 2012 from revenues of $5.7 Billion, it doesn’t appear that costs are a concern. Patrick Getson, a VP, got a $232,788 BONUS for 2012. Please sign my petition to tell BlueCross that they need to do their part and live up to their responsibilities to us as subscribers to their policy. We did what we were supposed to do, and they need to do what they are supposed to do and pay for these claims.

Here is what happened…

My daughter Morgan has been fighting a rare autoimmune disease for almost 3 years. She was diagnosed at age 11, and she went from being a tremendous athlete to being unable to ride her bike, walk up the stairs, or play sports. After over a year of trying to find an answer to the problems, we finally got a diagnosis of Juvenile Dermatomyositis, a rare auto-immune disease that affects the skin, muscles, and the vascular system which causes problems all over the body like joint pain, severe headaches, GI issues, and sometimes heart and lung issues as well. Since she was diagnosed, we have known several children who have died from this disease, and we have done everything we can to make sure that she is getting the correct treatment.

The very first thing we did is to make sure we had adequate insurance coverage. We already had great insurance, and we backed that up by increasing the amount we put into HSA accounts. We found the right health care experts as this is a rare disease and not many peopole know much about it or how to treat it. We followed treatment recommendations to the letter and we learned as much as we could about the disease. We modified our entire life behavior to help reduce the chances of her disease getting worse by doing things like staying out of the sun and skipping pool and beach trips because the sun makes her disease worse.  As she was treated, the first line treatments weren’t helping and she was getting worse. The doctors said that she needed to be admitted to get the second line treatment. Once again, we did what we were supposed to do, and we made sure the hospital called the insurance for authorization. Each and every month, the hospital called and spoke to BlueCross of North Carolina on the phone. Each month, they told the hospital that authorization was not required.

The second line treatment is an infusion called Introvenous Immunoglobin (IVIG). This medication has been like a gift from God and it has made a HUGE impact on her disease. She gets it every four weeks, and we can always tell when it is close to the time to go back as she starts getting worse again. As soon as she gets the treatment, we see improvement again. It is not a fun treatment for her to get. She has to be in the hospital, has to get an IV inserted, is woken up ever hour during the night to be sure her vitals are stable, and she suffers extreme headaches after it. But, she gladly goes without complaining because she knows it helps her.

BlueCross paid some of the claims for her treatment and denied others. The hopsital was confused as they had followed the same authorization process and billed them exactly the same way. They tried appealing them first without even telling me what was going on. By the time I knew they were appealing these odd ones, BC had then denied many, many more items. I called them thinking it was just some weird mistake since it was approved one month, denied the next, approved the following. They said that a person had reviewed the ones that were denied and a machine had approved the ones that had been approved.

I have formally appealed their decision based on the fact that the hospital called for authorization each time and was told it wasn’t required. They have denied the appeal saying that it has been their policy since 2010 that it requires authorization and that the fact that we didn’t know that isn’t their fault as it was buried in their policies. This makes absolutely NO sense since we DID try to get authorization. How do you get authorization if you are told you don’t need it when you ask for it?

I have already spent countless hours on this appeals process and many sleepless nights worrying about being bankrupted by this $240,000 bill. Additionally, I worry about how she is going to get the treatment in the future as I am still having some issues with approvals even now that we DID finally get them to write an authorization for a year. Just getting that letter required talking to many people and demanding it as they kept telling us it wasn’t required.

Thanks for your support, and I wish you and your family good health. All of the sudden, we were thrown into this health care mess the day she was diagnosied. We need to hold insurance companies accountable. Unfortunately, from talking to others, this type of experience is far too common.

Click here to sign Amy’s petition, “BlueCross BlueShield North Carolina: Keep your end of the deal and pay the claims”.

You can also check out other popular petitions on Change.org by clicking here.
~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Not on my campus


Change.org
                          A horribly abusive private prison company wants to put its name on a stadium on my college campus — Florida Atlantic University. I don’t think my school should help a notorious company whitewash its name.                       
      Sign Gonzalo’s Petition

Gonzalo Vizcardo via Change.org

The private prison company the GEO Group has been found to run some of the most disgusting prisons in America. One judge called a GEO prison a “cesspool of unconstitutional and inhuman acts and conditions” — places where children were placed in solitary confinement, guards sexually assaulted inmates, and prisoners regularly attempted suicide.

The GEO Group makes $1 billion a year running private prisons like these — and now they want to spend some of that money to put their name on a stadium on my college campus, Florida Atlantic University.

This is not okay with me. I’m a student at FAU, and I will not see my university help a notorious prison corporation whitewash its name on the side of the tallest and most prominent building on my campus, which can be seen from the highly-trafficked I-95 highway and from the many office buildings and residential neighborhoods near my university.

I started a petition on Change.org calling on FAU’s President and Board of Trustees to reverse their deal with the GEO Group to license naming rights for a stadium on campus — will you click here to sign?

Private prisons are hugely problematic, because they run prisons based on profits, not what’s best for prisoners or for society. For example, an NPR investigation in 2011 found that GEO Group prisons have far fewer guards than government-run prisons. Prisoners have even died waiting for medical attention.

In fact, the GEO Group’s prisons are so bad that the state of Mississippi kicked them out of the state entirely, as did Australia in 2003. I don’t want their name on my university’s stadium if an entire state and country kicked them out.

Students and professors on campus are angry — we’ve staged protests at the university president’s office, and she’s even agreed to meet with us this Friday. I know that if enough people sign my petition, she and the Board of Trustees will see that giving the GEO Group good PR isn’t worth all the bad PR they’ll get for making this deal.

Click here to sign my petition calling on FAU’s President and Board of Trustees to reverse their deal with the GEO Group to put their name on the side of a stadium on campus.

Thank you,

Gonzalo Vizcardo Lake Worth, Florida