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Legislation

Global Warming Debate Gets Strange

Bill Chameides | Posted 11.06.2009 | Green

Read More: Politics, Glaciers, Chewang Norphel, Nepal, Africa, John Kerry, U.S. Chamber of Congress, Maldives, Waxman-Markey Climate Bill, Policy, Global Warming, Kerry-Boxer Climate Bill, Legislation, Green News
Bill Chameides

Someone tell me ... which is the real environmental news and which is fake?

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HuffPost's Ryan Grim Weighs In On Obama's Record Of Change (VIDEO)

The Huffington Post | Posted 10.28.2009 | Politics

Read More: Success, Matt Lewis, White House, President Obama, Change, Public Option, Obama, Obama Administration, Ryan Grim, Legislation, Barack Obama, Climate Change, Politics News

Is Barack Obama succeeding in bringing change? Nine months into his presidency, MSNBC asked that question and invited HuffPost's Senior Congressional ...

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"Too Big To Fail" Legislation Is On The Way

New York Times | STEPHEN LABATON | Posted 10.26.2009 | Politics

Read More: Goldman Saks, Congress, Economy, Bailouts, Obama, Too Big to Fail Bill, Legislation, Ben Bernanke, Aig, White House, Bailout, Federal Reserve, Lehman Brothers, Bofa, Treasury, Gop, Consumer Protection Agency, Financial Crisis, Paul Volcker, Wall Street, Citigroup, Bank of America, Derivatives, Ben Bernanke Federal Reserve, Democrats, Recession, Barney Frank, House, House Financial Services Committee, Senate, Barack Obama, Tim Geithner, Banks, Bonuses, Too Big to Fail, Executive Pay, Politics News

A senior administration official said on Sunday that after extensive consultations with Treasury Department officials, Representative Barney Frank, th...

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Erin Brockovich, Seventh Generation Launch Million Baby Crawl Campaign (VIDEO)

Huffington Post | Posted 10.23.2009 | Green

Read More: Cleaning Products, Children, Million Baby Crawl, Exposure to Chemicals, Organic Cosmetics, Chemicals, Babies, Legislation, Toxic Chemicals, Diapers, Infants, Activism, Seventh Generation, Erin Brockovich, Green Cleaning Products, Kids Safe Chemicals Act, Healthy Families Act, Safer Chemicals Healthy Families, Video, Green News

Oh baby! Seventh Generation has teamed up with Erin Brockovich and Safer Chemicals, Healthy Families in order to overthrow the old chemical legislatio...

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Senate Bill Would Restrict Banks Overdraft Charges

New York Times | ANDREW MARTIN | Posted 10.20.2009 | Politics

Read More: Law, Chase, New Law, Legislation, Wells Fargo, Christopher Dodd, Bill, Bank of America, Bofa, Citibank, Banks, Dodd, Overdraft Charge, Overdraft Fee, Senate, Politics News

In the latest attack on overdraft fees charged by banks, Christopher J. Dodd, the Connecticut Democrat who heads the Senate Banking Committee, introdu...

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Health Care Bill's Winners And Losers: Drug Makers To Benefit, Insurers Brace For Hit

Wall Street Journal | JANET ADAMY and GREG HITT | Posted 10.19.2009 | Politics

Read More: Market, White House, Losers, Obama, Business, Legislation, Pharma, Politics, Scorecard, Negotiations, Baucus, Wellpoint, Aetna, Novartis, Pfizer, Health Care, Wall Street, Reid, United Health, Stocks, Merck, Winners, Insurance Industry, Senate, Profits, Health Care Reform, Health Insurers, Dodd, Medicaid, Bill, Medco Health, Politics News

The drug industry stands to gain in a health-care overhaul by getting tens of millions of newly insured customers, while insurance companies -- especi...

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Exceptions To Derivatives Trading Rule Dilute Regulation

New York Times | GRETCHEN MORGENSON | Posted 10.17.2009 | Business

Read More: The Federal Reserve, Larry Summers, Clinton, Lehman Brothers, Derivatives Regulation, Aig, Obama Administration, Regulation, Obama, Legislation, House, Senate, White House, Economic Policy, Fed, Financial Services Committee, Treasury, Banks, Derivatives, Gary Gensler, Wall Street, Timothy Gueithner, Bill, Business News

Derivatives regulation has been on the nation's financial reform agenda for months. Undoing the Clinton-era law that exempted swaps from oversight is ...

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Shahien Nasiripour

Congressional Committees Quietly Kill Portion Of Derivatives Bill; No One Watching For Systemic Risk

HuffingtonPost.com | Shahien Nasiripour | Posted 10.17.2009 | Business

Read More: President, White House, Bankruptcy, Cftc, Derivatives, Bernanke, House Ag Committee, Federal Reserve, Regulation, Obama, Commodity Futures Trading Commission, Legislation, Aig, Lehman Brothers, Tim Geithner, House Agriculture Committee, Treasury, Ben Bernanke, Bear Stearns, House Bill, Bill, Otc Derivatives, House Financial Services Committee, Business News

Two congressional committees in charge of drafting legislation to regulate derivatives have quietly killed a provision that would allow the Federal Re...

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A Faith Declaration for Health Care Reform

Jim Wallis | Posted 10.07.2009 | Politics

Read More: Health Care Bill, Dialogue, Public Policy, Social Justice, Debate, Religious Beliefs, Misinformation, Dignity, Abolition, Religious, Biblical, Community, Health-Care Debate, Healing, Biblical Principles, Legislation, America, Civil Rights, Ten Commandments, Moral Values, Insurance Company, Abortion, Profits, Common Good, Principle, Civil Rights Movement, Faith Community, Health Insurance, Health Care Reform, Gospel, Health Care, Politics News
Jim Wallis

There is no one "right" religious position on how health care should look; but I believe there are some fundamental moral and even biblical principles on which to evaluate any final legislative agreement.

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Are 44,000 Deaths a Year More Or Less Important Than 7.6 Million Lost Jobs?

Stephen Herrington | Posted 10.07.2009 | Politics

Read More: Taxes, U.S. Economy, Congress, Senate, Human Rights, Unemployment, Economy, Health, Health Care Reform, Jobs, Health Care, Legislation, 000 Health Care Deaths, 44, Politics News
Stephen Herrington

44,000 deaths is the equivalent of 14.6 of Al Qaeda's 9/11s per year. It's 24 Katrina-scale disasters per year. It is a pandemic of omission and exclusion.

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Health Care, Immigrants, and the Character of Our Country

Jim Wallis | Posted 09.29.2009 | Politics

Read More: White House, Law, Allison Johnson, Debate, Undocumented Immigrants, President Obama, Scripture, Media, Health Care Plan, Immigration, Immigrants, Christians for Comprehensive Immigration Reform, Legislation, Immigration Status, Faith Groups, Fact Checkers, Moral Obligation, Public Policies, Immigrant, Immigrant Children, Christian Scriptures, Members of Congress, Values, Pregnant Women, Policy Debate, Health Care Coverage, Moral Priorities, Teaching, Stranger, Safety Net, Health Care, Christians, Public Policy, Fear, Lying, Subsidies, Politics, Community, Basic Human Needs, Medicaid, Congress, Faith Communities, Migrants, Moral Issue, Reform Legislation, Moral Consideration, Compassion, Jewish, Moral Values, Moral Issues, Moral Mandate, Inclusion, Faith Community, Political Feasibility, Health Care Reform, Hospitals, Undocumented Immigrant, Legal Immigrants, Christian, Health Care System, Politics News
Jim Wallis

With an issue like health, the faith community has a unique and important role to play -- to define and raise the moral issues beneath the policy debate.

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Women Lawmakers are Top Dogs on Animal Welfare

Michael Markarian | Posted 09.18.2009 | Politics

Read More: Women, Congress, Politico, Animals, Animal Protection, Legislation, Politics News
Michael Markarian

You might say that female legislators are more likely to stand up for the underdogs, so it's no surprise that there's a gender gap on animal protection, with women more likely to be involved in animal advocacy.

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Pray for Glenn Beck

Jim Wallis | Posted 09.18.2009 | Politics

Read More: Birth, Debate, Stories, Family, Children, Media, Campaign, Bureaucrats, Miracle, Reform, Pray, Prayer, Legislation, America, Government, Miracles, Abortion, Cerebral Palsy, Government Takeover, Personal Story, Health Care, Pro-Life, Fears, Pregnancies, System, Fear, Families, Healthcare, Choice, Insurance Coverage, Reform Proposals, Anger, Mother, Unborn Baby, Glenn Beck, Rhetoric, Quality of Life, Politics News
Jim Wallis

Beck's predictions that health care reform would lead to government bureaucrats euthanizing people like his daughter are dead wrong, but we at Sojournors agree with Glenn on this point: God is the giver of life.

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OpenCongress: Congressional Data Is Defective By Design

Sunlight Foundation. | Sunlight Foundation | Posted 09.16.2009 | Home

Read More: Transparency, Congress, Legislation, Data, Government Data, Home News

Today’s launch of the “Baucus Bill”— aka “America’s Healthy Future Act”, aka the “mark” version ...

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Support Current Legislation to Improve Farm Animal Conditions in New York State

Paula Crossfield | Posted 11.11.2009 | Green

Read More: Humane Society, AB 8163, New York State, Farm Animals, Animal Welfare, Legislation, New York, Green News
Paula Crossfield

Very few people know that a bill similar to California's Prop 2 to protect hens, sows and calves has been proposed in New York State's Assembly, where it is currently stuck in the Agriculture Committee.

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Did Obama's Speech Change The Game?

Chris Weigant | Posted 11.09.2009 | Politics

Read More: Left, Joint Session, John McCain, Debate, Congress, Public Option, Speech, President Obama, Seriousness, Democrat, Mccain, Democratic, Obama, Reform, Democrats, Heckle, Game Changer, Barack Obama, Legislation, Republican, Chris Weigant, Health, Right, Heckler, Health Care, Healthcare, Politics News
Chris Weigant

Stylistically, the speech was reminiscent of Obama on the campaign trail. But the bar for him is so high that this was only remarkable because it has been so absent of late from Obama.

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Busting the Health Care Trusts, One Way or Another

Stephen Herrington | Posted 11.08.2009 | Politics

Read More: Bill Clinton, Congress, Trust-Busting, Monopoly, Health Insurance, Democrats, Obama Health Care, Legislation, Barack Obama, Senate, Health, Health Care Reform, Antitrust, Universal Health Care, Health Care, Republicans, Politics News
Stephen Herrington

Politically, economically and socially, it is not worth passing a bill that does not reduce health care costs, except to temporarily mitigate the ER as primary care status quo for 50 million people.

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Taking Things Off the Table

Chris Weigant | Posted 10.23.2009 | Politics

Read More: Axelrod, White House, Lead, Leadership, Tort Reform, Table, Speech, President Obama, Democratic, Reform, Obama, Seat at the Table, Address, Legislation, Republican, Clinton, Insurance, Bipartisan Bipartisanship, Single Payer, On the Table, Health Care, Trigger, Joint Session, Everything's on the Table, Public Option, Olympia Snowe, Democrat, Congress, Democrats, Lines in the Sand, Barack Obama, Off the Table, Chris Weigant, Health, Political Capital, Line in the Sand, Healthcare, Politics News
Chris Weigant

Obama absolutely loves the phrase "everything's on the table." But the time for piling "everything" on "the table" is over. Everything being on the table means that no decisions have been made.

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Friday Talking Points [92] -- The End Of Silly Season

Chris Weigant | Posted 10.20.2009 | Politics

Read More: Blue Dog, Floor, Children, Al Franken, Reform, Casey at the Bat, Town Hall, Midotw, Nancy Pelosi, Brown, Vetoes, Most Impressive Democrat of the Week, West Wing, Budget Reconciliation, Health Care, Schoolchildren, Reid, Reconciliation, Lincoln, President Bartlet, Signs, Joint Session, Conference Committee, Committee, Public Option, Democrat, Congress, Address to Congress, Floor Vote, School, Democrats, Silly Season, Barack Obama, Progressive, Mddotw, Health, Harry Reid, Bill, Senate, Healthcare, Law, Senator Brown, President Obama, Speech, Sherrod Brown, Obama, Democratic, Friday Talking Points, Legislation, Pelosi, Senator, Insurance, Kids, Schoolkids, Ohio, Most Disappointing Democrat of the Week, Speaker, Baseball, House, Franken, Blanche Lincoln, The West Wing, Chris Weigant, Health Insurance, Indoctrination, Veto, Politics News
Chris Weigant

Sadly, Obama's speech to school children has become mired in manufactured controversy from the right, with typical sky-is-falling rhetoric about the evil, evil man who occupies the Oval Office.

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Remembering a Fighter for Freedom

Michelle Pilecki | Posted 10.17.2009 | Politics

Read More: Obituary, Aclu, Lobbyists, Civil Liberties, Civil Rights, Bipartisanship, Frankel, Legislation, Politics News
Michelle Pilecki

Larry Frankel spent his professional life as a legislative lobbyist for the ACLU. That means that Larry worked behind the scenes with both "left" and "right" legislators to protect the civil rights.

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Send Us Your Bill

Michael Markarian | Posted 10.17.2009 | Green

Read More: There Oughta Be a Law, Contest, Animals, Legislation, Humane Society Legislative Fund, Green News
Michael Markarian

The Humane Society Legislative Fund has launched its first-ever "There Oughta Be a Law" contest, and we're asking animal lovers like you to submit your concept for a federal animal protection bill.

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107 and Counting

Michael Markarian | Posted 09.30.2009 | Green

Read More: Factory Farming, Animals, Puppy Mills, Dogfighting, Cockfighting, Legislation, State Legislature, Green News
Michael Markarian

The Pennsylvania bill to prohibit large-scale puppy mill operators from crudely performing certain surgeries on dogs without anesthesia was the 107th new animal protection law passed by state legislatures in 2009.

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Why Jim Marshall Won't Read H.R. 3200?

Terry Humphrey | Posted 09.28.2009 | Politics

Read More: Legislation, Marshall Health Care, H.R. 3200, Politics, Blue Dogs, Jim Marshall, Health Care Reform, Blue Dog Democrats, Politics News
Terry Humphrey

I thought it was important to find out how Jim Marshall could justify voting against H.R. 3200 without reading it.

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Only Four Percent Of Bills Become Law

Sunlight Foundation. | Sunlight Foundation | Posted 09.25.2009 | Home

Read More: Transparency, Congress, House of Representatives, Senate, Legislation, Home News

Every once in a while we get an email from someone concerned about some obscure bill they have found on OpenCongress that they think poses a direct th...

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Healthcare Reformers: Dance With The Ones Who Brung Ya

Christine Pelosi | Posted 09.18.2009 | Politics

Read More: Tom Delay, Too Big to Fail, Universal Healthcare, Democrats, Legislation, Wellness, Universal Health Coverage, Insurance, Prevention, Prescription Drugs, Transformers, Universal Health Care, Dance, Medicare, Health Coverage, Dancing With the Stars, Healthcare Reform, Pre-Existing-Condition, Health Care, Politics News
Christine Pelosi

While the dance of legislation can be painful to watch, I still like the Democrats' chances for healthcare reform better than Tom DeLay's on Dancing with the Stars.

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