Tag Archives: New York

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

A Better Bargain for Responsible, Middle Class Homeowners


In his weekly address, President Obama notes that while college education has never been more important, it has also never been more expensive — which is why he proposed major new reforms this week to make college more affordable for middle class families and those fighting to get into the middle class.

A Better Bargain for Students: President Obama hit the road on Thursday for a two-day bus tour in New York and Pennsylvania to share his plan to make college more affordable. The President stressed the importance of ensuring that higher education pays off for students and their families:

“Too many students are facing a choice that they should never have to make:  Either they say no to college and pay the price for not getting a degree — and that’s a price that lasts a lifetime — or you do what it takes to go to college, but then you run the risk that you won’t be able to pay it off because you’ve got so much debt.”

President Obama also shared his own story about college loans in an email to White House subscribers. If you didn’t receive it, be sure to sign up for future updates.

Meet Sunny: The Obamas welcomed a new member of their family, a Portuguese water dog named Sunny! The new puppy is settling into the White House and is expected to take on many family projects, just like her big brother Bo.

Administration Officials Answer Your Education Questions: On Thursday, the White House hosted office hours with Deputy Communications Director Katie Beirne-Fallon and Deputy Director of Domestic Policy Council James Kvaal. You can check out many of questions asked on Storify.

On Friday, Secretary of Education Arne Duncan joined Sal Khan, the founder of Khan Academy, to discuss how we can innovate in American education.

“At a time when going to college has never been more important, unfortunately it has never been more expensive,” Duncan said. “And so we have to work together to drive down costs. We have to have much greater transparency and help young people and their families make better choices.”

Mental Health and the Affordable Care Act: On Wednesday, health leaders and mental health advocates came to the White House to talk about how health reform will help Americans gain access to mental health coverage if they need. Because of the Affordable Care Act, 71 million privately insured Americans have gained improved coverage for preventive services.

We the (Immigrant) Geeks: Friday’s edition of We the Geeks highlighted prominent immigrants who are breaking ground in their professional fields. In a Google+ Hangout moderated by Todd Park, U.S. Chief Technology Officer, and Doug Rand, Assistant Director of Entrepreneurship at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, participants discussed why immigration reform is necessary to keep bringing innovators to the United States.

Hosting the 1973 Super Bowl Champion Miami Dolphins: On Tuesday, the undefeated 1972-1973 Miami Dolphins visited the White House. President Obama congratulated the team for their legacy both on the field and in their communities.

“I know that some people may be asking why we’re doing this after all these years. And my answer is simple: I wanted to be the young guy up here for once,” President Obama joked about the team’s visit 40 years after they earned their Super Bowl rings.

One Year of Open Source Code for We The People: One year ago on Friday, the White House published its source code for We the People. To mark this anniversary, we updated readers about our new web development projects and how you can get involved.

Hurricane Sandy Rebuilding Strategy: On Monday, the Hurricane Sandy Rebuilding Task Force released its final report. The Hurricane Sandy Rebuilding Strategy provides recommendations to rebuild and reinvigorate Sandy-impacted areas. Over the past six months, FEMA has provided $12 billion to individuals and communities in need.

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

~~ Fact Sheet ~~ ObamaCares


 Obamahealthcaresig
GET THE FACTS ON HOW OBAMACARE IS ALREADY WORKING:
1.
THE 80/20 REBATE RULE:
If insurance companies
aren’t spending your premium dollars on your health
care — at least 80% – they’ve got to give you money
back. Insurance companies returned $1.1 billion last year,
benefiting 13 million Americans.
2.
YOUNG ADULTS STAY COVERED:
Children can
stay on their parent’s insurance plans until the age of
26. Already, 3.1 million previously uninsured young
adults have gained coverage.
.
Good health care is a vital piece of every American’s
daily life, and decisions about health are some of the
most personal and individual decisions anyone makes.
But too many Americans are left to struggle each
and every day with a system that works better for the
health insurance companies than it does for them.
The Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare, builds on
what works in our health care system, and it fixes
what is broken, so that Americans can have access to
insurance plans that fit their budgets and are there
when they need them. It is a key piece of strengthening
the middle class in this country.
Obamacare is already making America’s health care
system work better for everyone. And that’s even for
those who have health insurance, because if you like
your plan, you can keep your plan. Over 70 million
children and adults with private insurance have been
able to receive preventive care – like annual checkups,
blood pressure screenings, and mammograms – for
free. When insurance companies overcharged for
care, Americans received a total of $1.1 billion in
direct rebates.
Lifetime limits are banned: no longer will Americans
go bankrupt because they fall seriously ill. More than
3 million young adults continued to have health care
coverage because they can stay on their parents’
insurance until the age of 26 and children with
pre-existing conditions can no longer be locked out
by insurance companies. States like New York,
California and Oregon have announced that monthly
premiums for their residents buying plans on their
own are set to decrease once the health insurance
Marketplace opens in October.
This is the kind of security that Americans deserve
and need to build a future for themselves and their
children. But there remains a concerted effort to
dismantle the law and move our country backwards.
Some members of the House have voted nearly 40
times to repeal the legislation – and have promised
to continue – while conservative groups have funded
$385 million in misleading advertising since 2010 –
outspending proponents 5 to 1. In the name of petty
politics, these groups are threatening the stability of
hard-working families.
OFA and its volunteers are taking action now to
combat these attacks. We will inform and empower
Americans to receive better care at a lower cost.
Starting October 1, millions more Americans can see
the benefits of Obamacare – and it’s our job to show
them how.
OBAMACARE FACT SHEET
BETTER COVERAGE, LOWER COSTS
PRINTED BY VOLUNTEERS
3.
ELIMINATING LIFETIME LIMITS:
Insurance
companies are no longer allowed to place an arbitrary
lifetime cap on your coverage, so if you or a family
member gets sick you won’t be billed into bankruptcy.
Already, 105 million Americans have seen this benefit.t
4.
RECEIVE FREE PREVENTIVE CARE:
Obamacare
ensures that you can receive preventive care services,
like vaccinations, mammograms, cancer screenings,
annual checkups, blood pressure and cholesterol tests
at no cost to you. Already, over 70 million Americans
have received free preventive care
Black History

the Senate S.1243 ~~ Congress ~~ the House


capitol14

The Senate stands in adjournment until 2:00pm on Monday, July 29, 2013.  Following any Leader remarks, the Senate will be in morning business until 4:30pm with Senators permitted to speak therein for up to 10 minutes each.

Following morning business, the Senate will resume consideration of S.1243, the Transportation, Housing and Urban Development and Related Agencies Appropriations bill.

At 4:30pm, the Senate will proceed to Executive Session to consider Executive Calendar #208, the nomination of James B. Comey, Jr., of Connecticut, to be Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigations with the time until 5:30pm equally divided and controlled between Senators Leahy and Grassley or their designees.

At 5:30pm, there will be a roll call vote on the motion to invoke cloture on the Comey nomination.

During Thursday’s session of the Senate cloture was filed on the following items in the following order:

–          Executive Calendar #208, the nomination of James B. Comey, Jr., of Connecticut, to be Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigations,

–          Executive Calendar #223, the nomination of Kent Yoshiho Hirozawa, of New York, to be a Member of the National Labor Relations Board,

–          Executive Calendar #224, the nomination of Nancy Jean Schiffer, of Maryland, to be a Member of the National Labor Relations Board, and

–          Executive Calendar #104, the nomination of Mark Gaston Pearce, of New York, to be a Member of the National Labor Relations Board.

If cloture is invoked on any of the nominations, there would be up to 8 hours of post-cloture debate time on each nomination.  Upon disposition of each nomination, the Senate will proceed to a cloture vote on the next nomination in the order listed above.

 

Senator Reid filed cloture on the following nominations:

 

–          Executive Calendar #201, the nomination of Bryan Todd Jones, of Minnesota, to be Director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms; and

–          Executive Calendar #220, the nomination of Samantha Power, of Massachusetts, to be Representative of the United States of America to the United Nations.

 

The cloture vote on the Jones nomination would occur on Wednesday unless a further agreement can be reached. If cloture is invoked on either of the nominations, there will be up to 8 hours for debate prior to a vote on confirmation of the nomination.

Senator Reid withdrew the cloture motion on the Comey nomination. Following Senator Grassley’s remarks, at approximately 5:30/5:35pm, the Senate will proceed to a 15 minute roll call vote on confirmation of Executive Calendar #208, the nomination of James B. Comey, Jr., of Connecticut, to be Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigations.

At 5:30pm the Senate began a 15 minute roll call vote on confirmation of Executive Calendar #208, the nomination of James B. Comey, Jr., of Connecticut, to be Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigations;

Confirmed: 93-1, 2 senators voted present

Senators should expect the next vote to begin as early as 10:00am tomorrow. That vote would be on the motion to invoke cloture on Executive Calendar #223, the nomination of Kent Yoshiho Hirozawa, of New York, to be a Member of the National Labor Relations Board.

WRAP UP

ROLL CALL VOTE

1)      Confirmation of Executive Calendar #208, the nomination of James B. Comey, Jr., of Connecticut, to be Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigations; Confirmed: 93-1-2 (present)

 

LEGISLATIVE ITEMS

Adopted S.Res.167, A resolution reaffirming the strong support of the United States for the peaceful resolution of territorial, sovereignty, and jurisdictional disputes in the Asia-Pacific maritime domains with a Feinstein amendment to the preamble.

Discharged the Judiciary committee and adopted S.Res.153, Recognizing the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Lake Erie.

Began the Rule 14 process of H.R.2218, Coal Residuals Reuse and Management Act of 2013.

 

No additional EXECUTIVE ITEMS

*****************************************************************************

July 2013
S M T W T F S
1 2 3 4 5 6
7 8 9 10 11 12 13
14 15 16 17 18 19 20
21 22 23 24 25 26 27
28 29 30 31

*****************************************************************************

Last Floor Action: 6/26
10:02:55 A.M. – The Speaker announced
that the House do now adjourn pursuant to a previous special order.

The next meeting is scheduled for 12:00 p.m. on July 30, 2013.

—————————————————————————————-

Black History

the Senate breaks until 7/29 ~~ CONGRESS the House breaks until 7/30


EmptyhouseChamber

The Senate stands in adjournment until 2:00pm on Monday, July 29, 2013. 

Following any Leader remarks, the Senate will be in morning business until 4:30pm with Senators permitted to speak therein for up to 10 minutes each.

Following morning business, the Senate will resume consideration of S.1243, the Transportation, Housing and Urban Development and Related Agencies Appropriations bill.

At 4:30pm, the Senate will proceed to Executive Session to consider Executive Calendar #208, the nomination of James B. Comey, Jr., of Connecticut, to be Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigations with the time until 5:30pm equally divided and controlled between Senators Leahy and Grassley or their designees.

At 5:30pm, there will be a roll call vote on the motion to invoke cloture on the Comey nomination.

During Thursday’s session of the Senate cloture was filed on the following items in the following order:

–          Executive Calendar #208, the nomination of James B. Comey, Jr., of Connecticut, to be Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigations,

–          Executive Calendar #223, the nomination of Kent Yoshiho Hirozawa, of New York, to be a Member of the National Labor Relations Board,

–          Executive Calendar #224, the nomination of Nancy Jean Schiffer, of Maryland, to be a Member of the National Labor Relations Board, and

–          Executive Calendar #104, the nomination of Mark Gaston Pearce, of New York, to be a Member of the National Labor Relations Board.

If cloture is invoked on any of the nominations, there would be up to 8 hours of post-cloture debate time on each nomination.  Upon disposition of each nomination, the Senate will proceed to a cloture vote on the next nomination in the order listed above.

***********************************************************************

July 2013
S M T W T F S
1 2 3 4 5 6
7 8 9 10 11 12 13
14 15 16 17 18 19 20
21 22 23 24 25 26 27
28 29 30 31

***********************************************************************

Last Floor Action:
2:08:27 P.M. – The House adjourned
pursuant to a previous special order.

The next meeting is scheduled for 10:00
a.m. on July 26, 2013.

——————————————————————————————————————

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

What happened to Kelli


National Women's Law Center
We all have a health care story to tell. Just stand next to the office water cooler and you’ll hear the stories flow.
My co-worker Kelli shared this one with me:
“My older sister was diagnosed with lupus as a child. She spent much of her life in and out of hospitals and taking handfuls of expensive medications. Once diagnosed, no insurance plan would take her on. My family was stuck with our ‘major medical’ insurance, which only covered a percentage of hospitalizations but nothing else — none of her numerous prescription drugs or doctors’ visits were covered. This affected our whole family. It made it impossible for my parents to save money for our educations, their retirement, or anything else. We were always one illness away from financial disaster. If we’d had the health care law then, my family could’ve gotten better health insurance — because, under the new law, insurance companies can no longer deny coverage to children who have pre-existing conditions.”
Kelli told us her story. Will you share yours?
Maybe you have private insurance that fails to cover the services you need such as mental health care, maternity care, or prescription drug coverage. Maybe high co-payments and deductibles keep you from getting the health care you need. Maybe you’re uninsured simply because you can’t afford it or you’ve been turned down for health coverage after you got sick. Whatever your story may be, it matters.
Thanks to the health care law, change is on the way. Under the law, you won’t be denied health coverage because of a pre-existing condition. You won’t lose your health insurance when you get sick. You’ll soon have affordable insurance options through a new health care marketplace.
But right now, many women and their families are still struggling to pay for health coverage and get the care they need. Sadly, there are still families like Kelli’s. Please share your story today.
I love hearing from you. Thank you for fighting with us to advance the rights of women and their families.
Sincerely,
Judy Waxman Judy Waxman Vice President for Health and Reproductive Rights National