PrioritiesThere's not much to be said about this chart - other than ask the question "Just what did 'Medicare Modernization' accomplish?". (Click on the chart to read the accompanying article from the Washington post.)
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Friday, March 25
GOP Priorities
by
Chad Thompson
on Fri 25 Mar 2005 01:12 PM CST
PrioritiesThere's not much to be said about this chart - other than ask the question "Just what did 'Medicare Modernization' accomplish?". (Click on the chart to read the accompanying article from the Washington post.) Monday, March 21
U.S. Cosmetics Industry Fights to Continue Using Toxic Chemicals
by
Linda Thieman
on Mon 21 Mar 2005 05:53 PM CST
 U.S. Cosmetics Industry Fights to Continue Using Toxic ChemicalsBy Kelly Hearn, AlterNet.org Toxic cosmetics ingredients were recently banned in the European Union. Here in the U.S., the $35 billion cosmetics industry is fighting a similar ban tooth and nail. Phthalates, the chemicals used in some cosmetics, may keep your nail polish hard and shiny and your tresses thick and glossy, but in animal tests they cause birth defects, disrupt hormone systems and lead to reproductive problems. Those are just a few of the reasons the European Union recently banned them. Now, despite a huge outcry from the $35 billion cosmetics industry, some California lawmakers are trying to ban phthalates in the U.S. California Assemblywoman Judy Chu has introduced a bill that would ban the same two types of phthalates as the EU did. In part because the FDA does not conduct pre-market health testing of cosmetics ingredients (nor require cosmetics makers to do so), Chu was moved to present a similar bill last year that would have banned phthalates and other chemicals blacklisted by entities like the International Agency for Research on Cancer, the European Union and the Environmental Protection Agency. Those efforts were defeated. But if passed this session, Chu's Phthalates Ban Bill (AB 908), would be the first ever phthalate ban in the United States. "After three decades of extensive studies [on] carcinogens and reproductive toxins, the EU banned two phthalates and those are the two that I am proposing to ban," Chu said in a recent telephone interview. "It is outrageous that American women aren't give the same protections that European women are. How can a whole continent of women be protected yet Americans ignore this?" ...During last year's legislative session, Chu's original bill (AB 2012), would have prohibited phthalates and forced cosmetics manufacturers to disclose to state officials any hazardous chemicals in their products. That bill failed to pass the Assembly Health Committee after intense industry opposition. (Click here to read the complete article.)
Cleaning Up Factory Farms
by
Linda Thieman
on Mon 21 Mar 2005 04:35 AM CST
 Cleaning Up Factory FarmsBy J.R. Pegg, Environment News Service, AlterNet.org The Bush administration thinks it's perfectly OK to let factory farms discharge waste into the nation's waters. A federal appeals court says the policy stinks. The Bush administration's regulations to limit water pollution from factory farms violate the Clean Water Act and must be revised, a federal appeals court ruled [last month]. The court found the regulations failed to ensure that factory farms would be held accountable for discharging animal wastes into the nation's waters. ...The decision continues a long-running battle over how to regulate factory farms – known as concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs). CAFOs have emerged as the dominant force in the modern production of agricultural livestock as the size of livestock operations has grown over the past two decades. These operations produce some 500 million tons of animal waste annually – disposal and storage of this waste presents serious risks to public health and the environment. CAFOs often over-apply liquid waste on land, which runs off into surface water, killing fish, spreading disease, and contaminating drinking water supplies. Waste can leak onto the land and into groundwater and drinking water supplies from the massive waste storage units on the farms. Three decades ago, the U.S. Congress identified CAFOs as point sources of water pollution to be regulated under the Clean Water Act's water pollution permitting program. The 2003 rule aimed to implement that decision – it applies to some 15,500 livestock operations across the country. (Click here to read the complete article.) Friday, March 18
Leaked Transcript Ignites Questions of Vaccine Safety and Research Corruption
by
Linda Thieman
on Fri 18 Mar 2005 04:27 PM CST
 Leaked Transcript Ignites Questions of Vaccine Safety and Research Corruptionby Lisa Reagan, Byronchild.com A Byronchild World Exclusive Report On the eve of an historic, billion-dollar world vaccination campaign, a leaked transcript ignites questions of vaccine safety and research corruption. Meanwhile, US senators fast-track a bill to protect vaccine manufacturers from litigation. With millions of lives at stake, and billions of dollars to loose, will a merger of philanthropy, big business and compromised science win an epic race between corporate agendas and medical ethics? In this world exclusive report, byronchild exposes how the most powerful medical research bodies in the United States compromise their vaccine safety research for vested interests, as they assist in a global vaccine policy, while a bill looms in the background to protect it all. On January 24, 2005 -- the same day the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization (GAVI) announced the receipt of $750 million for its historic world vaccination campaign -- seven US Senators introduced Senate Bill 3. The bill is an unprecedented act giving comprehensive liability protections to vaccine manufacturers , restricting Freedom of Information Acts on drug/vaccine safety, and pre-empting states' rights to ban mercury from children's vaccines, all under the bill's official title: ‘‘Protecting America in the War on Terror Act of 2005''. Meanwhile in Texas, after receiving an internal transcript that allegedly proves the Institutes of Medicine's report denying a link between childhood vaccines and autism last year was “predetermined”, a US District Court judge has ordered the worlds' “big five” vaccine manufacturers to “produce any and all documents relating to payments made to, or stock ownership” by the seventeen members of the IOM's Immunization and Safety Review Committee. A court document submitting the IOM's leaked transcript as an exhibit in the first civil juried lawsuit against the vaccine manufacturers states the transcript proves the IOM committee, “predetermined the necessity of not finding causality between vaccines and autism and/or neurological injury” in its official reports on the issue. (Click here to read the complete article.) Byronchild: The Magazine for Progressive Families was created to support and give voice to the embryonic but powerfully essential movement towards conscious parenting and conscious living happening all around the world. Submitted by Larry Hanus of Waterloo. Wednesday, March 16
Support Our Troops? Not if You're Republican
by
Linda Thieman
on Wed 16 Mar 2005 04:44 PM CST
 Support Our Troops? Not if You're Republicanby Randall Rolph, Nashua, Iowa The U.S. House of Representatives voted yesterday, March 15, 220 to 195, to block any debate or vote on amendments to provide additional funding for veterans' health care and mental health care in the War Supplemental bill. Rep. DeLauro (D-CT) and Rep. Hooley (D-OR) were prepared to offer amendments to provide better veterans' health care. The DeLauro amendment would have added $238 million to the VA for post-deployment mental health care. The GAO has reported that 6 out of 7 VA medical officials believe they may not have the capacity for increased demand for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder treatment. The Hooley amendment would have provided $1.2 billion for FY 2005 for veterans' health care. This would have helped facilities with operating deficits and hiring freezes, and it would have reduced wait times for veterans to access high quality VA provided health care. The House voted 220 to 195 to refuse to allow any debate or vote on these amendments. The 220 lawmakers who voted not to have debate or a vote on the DeLauro or Hooley amendments were all Republicans. The 195 lawmakers who wanted to debate and vote on the DeLauro and Hooley amendments were all Democratic members and Rep. Heather Wilson (R-NM). Let all give a big round of applause to Iowa's Republican Representatives for their unyielding support of our young men and women in uniform fighting in Iraq. Come to think of it, I bet every single one of them has a "Support Our Troops" sticker on his car. Monday, March 14
WE CAN PREVENT CUTS TO MEDICAID: Call Grassley Now!
by
Linda Thieman
on Mon 14 Mar 2005 04:27 PM CST
 WE CAN PREVENT CUTS TO MEDICAID: Call Grassley Now!Iowa Citizen Action Network Last week, both the Senate and House passed Budget Resolutions out of committee with huge cuts to Medicaid. In the Senate, the cut is $15 billion over 5 years, and in the House, its $20 billion. WHAT NOW? We have one last chance to eliminate the Medicaid cuts from the Senate Budget Resolution. When the bill goes to the floor for a vote this week (we're hearing it's likely to happen tomorrow, on Tuesday, March 15), Senator Smith (R-OR) and Senator Bingaman (D-NM) will offer an amendment to strike the Medicaid cuts in the budget resolution. The amendment will offer the Bipartisan Medicaid Reform Commission instead of the cuts. This bipartisan commission would consider the future efficient and effective operation of the Medicaid program. There's more information about the Senate and House cuts here. CALL GRASSLEY BY NOON TOMORROW Call Senator Grassley by noon on Tuesday and ask him to support the Smith/Bingaman amendment to strike the Medicaid cuts in the Senate budget resolution. Use this toll free number: 1-800-828-0498. [Really, it takes just one minute - give your name, your Iowa town, and ask for his support of the above amendment.] Many of you have already contacted Senator Grassley. Those calls have made a difference. In this new round of calls we are asking Senator Grassley for a specific action: supporting the Smith/Bingaman amendment. Even if you've already called Senator Grassley about preventing cuts, please call again with this specific request. And as always, let us know that you made the call by e-mailing or calling us. Contact Matt Russell 515-277-5077 ext. 15 or mrussell@iowacan.org. We need a tremendous outpouring of support for that amendment! It's our only hope to stop the cuts. Families USA is providing the following toll free number 1-800-828-0498. This numbers goes directly to the Capitol switchboard, and from there you can ask for Senator Grassley. The number will remain available through the vote. Please forward this alert as widely as possible. We need to generate as many calls as we can by Tuesday! Thousands of people will be calling Washington, DC, so don't give up if the number is busy. Thank you for your activism! Matt Russell, Organizer Iowa Citizen Action Network Sunday, March 13
State Reps. Rants and Horbach Soft on Meth
by
Linda Thieman
on Sun 13 Mar 2005 01:59 PM CST
 State Reps. Rants and Horbach Soft on Methby Jon Gaskell, Pointblank Des Moines Iowa House Speaker Christopher Rants (R-Woodbury) and Rep. Lance Horbach (R-Tama) worry that meth makers' civil liberties will be violated if Iowa requires ID to purchase the main ingredient used to make the devastating drug. In Iowa, where...80 percent of all state residents support moving all sales of meth's main ingredient into pharmacies and under the microscope, it's meeting some resistance with a handful of lawmakers. Their chief concern, they insist, is our civil liberties being trashed. They find the idea of making people who are purchasing something that has helped to addict and imprison tens of thousands of individuals show I.D. or fill out a form to be, of all things, unlawful. Never mind that debates at the capitol so far this session have included discussions regarding the designation of special habitual drunk-driver license plates and a proposal to ban gay marriage, the last thing these lawmakers would ever want to happen is our civil liberties being messed with. Arkansas and Oklahoma cut off the supply to anyone who wasn't interested in jumping through a few hoops. It worked wonders. They are obviously grasping at straws. And it's pathetically transparent. I mean how can one not be on board regarding legislation that will essentially force people to kick the habit or move elsewhere, begin the process of clearing some space in our prisons and jails and go a long way toward nipping in the bud what is slowly but surely becoming a major public health issue as more and more infants are born addicted to this dangerous drug? If you have half a brain and are not merely bowing to the people who line your campaign war chest, you cannot. Still we're forced to listen to the likes of State Rep. Lance Horbach [R-Tama], who points out that meth heads will still find pseudoephedrine at pharmacies and on the Internet (Essentially making his argument: "Why fight it?"), as well as Speaker of the House Chris Rants [R-Woodbury], an allergy sufferer who also happily picks up checks from pseudoephedrine manufacturers and grocery store and convenience store representatives. Rants remains undecided on whether or not he will get behind the push to cut off pseudoephedrine, as he doesn't want the state to go "overboard." (Click here to read the complete article.) Visit KCI: The Anti-meth Site (formerly known as Koch Crime Institute) Monday, March 7
Social Security Saves Iowans from Poverty
by
Linda Thieman
on Mon 07 Mar 2005 04:05 PM CST
 Social Security Saves Iowans from PovertyIowa Policy Project Facts Can Help Public, Policymakers in Current Debate MOUNT VERNON, Iowa (March 7, 2005) – Almost 1 in 5 Iowans receives benefits from Social Security, according to a new publication that shows the New Deal program to be a critical tool that not only keeps Iowa seniors out of poverty but also helps children and disabled workers. Using information from two respected, independent Washington think tanks, the Economic Policy Institute and the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, the Iowa Policy Project (IPP) released a Social Security fact sheet for Iowa for use by policymakers, the media and the public. “We are circulating this information because the Iowa Policy Project is focused on encouraging better policy debate in our state. Our leaders should make decisions based on true information. Decisions on Social Security are important to Iowans,” said David Osterberg, executive director of the IPP, a nonprofit, nonpartisan policy analysis organization based in Mount Vernon. “Some numbers really stand out from this fact sheet,” Osterberg continued. “I’m not sure how many Iowans realize that 19 percent of people in the state receive Social Security benefits of some sort. “I think some might be surprised as well to learn that without Social Security, more than half of Iowa seniors – 53 percent – would be in poverty. With it, that drops to just over 7 percent.” Osterberg said those figures alone carry great implications for the current debate over Social Security. “Surely with that many people in Iowa who rely on Social Security, our leaders must be extremely careful not to risk their economic security,” Osterberg said. “Any policy choices must be made on facts, not just ideological guesswork. Too many futures are at stake.” The Social Security fact sheet and more information about the impact of federal and state policy choices on Iowans is available at the IPP website, www.iowapolicyproject.org, and the Iowa Fiscal Partnership website, www.iowafiscal.org. |
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