TEXAN ARRESTED FOR ATTEMPTING TO JOIN THE TERRORIST GROUP ISIL

FROM:  U.S. JUSTICE DEPARTMENT
Friday, June 5, 2015
Texas Man Sentenced to 82 Months in Prison for Attempting to Travel to Syria to Join ISIL

Michael Todd Wolfe aka Faruq, 24, of Austin, Texas, was sentenced this afternoon by U.S. District Court Judge Sam Sparks of the Western District of Texas to serve 82 months in federal prison for attempting to provide material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization, announced Assistant Attorney General for National Security John Carlin, Acting U.S. Attorney Richard L. Durbin Jr. for the Western District of Texas and Special Agent in Charge Christopher Combs of the FBI’s San Antonio Division.

In June 2014, Wolfe pleaded guilty to the charge, admitting that from August 2013 to June 17, 2014, he planned to travel to the Middle East to provide material support to the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).  Wolfe previously acknowledged that he applied for and acquired a U.S. passport, participated in physical fitness training, practiced military maneuvers and made efforts to conceal his communications about his plans to travel overseas to engage in violent jihad.  Wolfe also purchased airline tickets so that he could travel to Europe to meet an FBI undercover employee, whom the defendant then believed would facilitate travel to Syria through Turkey.  In furtherance of his attempt to provide material support to ISIL, Wolfe travelled to Houston and was apprehended on June 17, 2014, on the jet-way, as he attempted to board a flight to Toronto, Canada.  His ticketed itinerary had him traveling through Iceland and arriving in Copenhagen, Denmark, on June 18, 2014.  He then planned to make his way to Syria to join with ISIL and engage in the armed conflict.  Wolfe has remained in federal custody since his arrest.

The case was investigated by the agencies comprising the Central Texas JTTF, which include the FBI; Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation; U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services; U.S. Army Intelligence; Austin Police Department; Round Rock, Texas, Police Department; Killeen, Texas, Police Department; University of Texas Police Department; Travis County, Texas Sheriff's Office; Texas Department of Public Safety, Office of the Texas Attorney General and the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Gregg N. Sofer and Michael Galdo of the Western District of Texas, and Trial Attorneys Josh Parecki and Michael Dittoe of the National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section.

SEC CHARGES MAN WITH FRAUD INVOLVING MILITARY PERSONNEL

FROM:  U.S. SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
04/14/2015 10:15 AM EDT

The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced fraud charges and an asset freeze against a man living in central Texas accused of telling false tales about his stockbroking experience to lure current and former U.S. military personnel into investing with him.

The SEC alleges that Leroy Brown Jr. touted his own military connection as an Army veteran while soliciting members of the military and other investors through his firm LB Stocks and Trades Advice LLC.  Brown falsely assured investors, including some stationed at nearby Fort Hood, that he had many years of experience in the securities markets.  He specifically claimed to have all the necessary licenses and registrations to conduct securities business.  In reality, Brown is not a licensed securities professional and his firm is not registered with the SEC, Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, or any state regulator.  Brown and his firm have no evident experience with investments.

The SEC further alleges that Brown falsely guaranteed investors that he would double or triple their money within 120 days.

“Trust is a bedrock principle to our military, and we allege that Brown exploited his own military experience and abused that trust for his own personal gain,” said David Woodcock, Director of the SEC’s Fort Worth Regional Office.  “Investment fraud is always wrong, but it’s especially pernicious when perpetrated against those who have sacrificed so much for our freedom.”

The SEC’s complaint, filed yesterday in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas, charges Brown and LB Stocks and Trades Advice with securities fraud and conducting an unregistered securities offering.  The SEC is seeking financial penalties and disgorgement of ill-gotten gains as well as permanent injunctive relief.  The court has issued an order temporarily freezing all assets of Brown and LB Stocks and Trades Advice.

The SEC’s investigation was conducted by Chris Ahart and Melvin Warren of the Fort Worth Regional Office, and the case was supervised by Jim Etri.  The SEC’s litigation is being led by B. David Fraser.  The SEC appreciates the assistance of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Texas, the U.S. Secret Service, and the Texas Department of Public Safety - Criminal Investigations Division.

ORION SPACECRAFT SUIT BEING TESTED AT JOHNSON SPACE CENTER

FROM:  NASA

Engineers and technicians at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston are testing the spacesuit astronauts will wear in the agency’s Orion spacecraft on trips to deep space. On March 17, members of the Johnson team participated in a Vacuum Pressure Integrated Suit Test to verify enhancements to the suit will meet test and design standards for the Orion spacecraft.  During this test, the suit is connected to life support systems and then air is removed from Johnson’s 11-foot thermal vacuum chamber to evaluate the performance of the suits in conditions similar to a spacecraft. The suit, known as the Modified Advanced Crew Escape Suit, is a closed-loop version of the launch and entry suits worn by space shuttle astronauts. The suit will contain all the necessary functions to support life and is being designed to enable spacewalks and sustain the crew in the unlikely event the spacecraft loses pressure. This is the first in a series of four tests with people in the suits to evaluate the performance of the spacesuit systems in an environment similar to a spacecraft.  Image Credit: NASA/ Bill Stafford

GENERAL DEMPSEY SAYS CYBER AMONG TOP THREATS

FROM:  U.S. DEFENSE DEPARTMENT

Right:  Army Gen. Martin E. Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, talks to about 700 attendees during a student conference on national affairs at Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas, Feb. 19, 2015. DoD photo by D. Myles Cullen.  

Dempsey: Russia, Terrorists, Cyber Among Top Threats
By Lisa Ferdinando
DoD News, Defense Media Activity

COLLEGE STATION, Texas, Feb. 19, 2015 – The global security environment contains a host of threats, including Russian aggression that threatens NATO allies, and the violent extremists network from western Pakistan to north Africa, said the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Army Gen. Martin E. Dempsey spoke today at a student conference on national affairs at Texas A&M University, rounding out a two-day visit to the campus.
He outlined his "two, two, two and one" view on national security, which is comprised of two heavyweights, two middleweights, two networks and one domain.

Russia is included as a heavyweight, along with China.
Russia ‘Lit a Fire’

Russia "lit a fire of ethnicity and nationalism that actually threatens to burn out of control," he said. "And in so doing, they are threatening our NATO allies."
Dempsey said it is hard to imagine that in 2015 there would be that kind of conflict and "those kind of instincts" that are coming to the front again in Europe.
The human suffering in Ukraine is "atrocious," he said.

"It's almost unimaginable," the chairman told the audience, which included members of the Texas A&M University Corps of Cadets, other university students and members of the military.

The United States is working with its NATO allies, he said, to reassure the alliance and also try to assist Eastern Europe, including non-NATO countries, in "suppressing this effort to rekindle fires that haven’t burned in Europe" in 70 years.

China Reemerging

On the other heavyweight, China, he said that nation is reemerging on the global scene. It is a very strong economic country that is becoming militarily strong, the chairman said.

The United States will continue to work with China in managing any differences, he said.

"We'll be competitors but it doesn’t mean, I think, we'll have to be enemies," he said. "We're working hard to do that."

Middleweight Powers: Iran, North Korea

The two middleweights are Iran and North Korea.

The United States is working with its partners to try to convince Iran to seek a diplomatic resolution to the Iranian nuclear issue, he said. Western nations contend that Iran is seeking nuclear weapons, while Tehran says its nuclear ambitions are for peaceful purposes.

"We are working hard to reach a negotiated settlement on their nuclear program, but we shouldn’t forget there are other issues which cause us concern about Iran," the chairman said, noting those concerns include Iran being a state sponsor of terrorism.

Networks and Cyber Domain

The two networks Dempsey talked about in his speech are the violent extremist network from western Pakistan to northern Africa, and the transnational criminal network that runs north and south in the Western Hemisphere. The domain is cyber.

The transregional network of al-Qaida, Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, and other terrorists are competing for a radical, anti-Western ideology that is fomenting the internal challenges of Islam's Sunni and Shia, he said.

"That network is transregional,” he said. “It will take a generation or more to be defeated and it will take persistence on our part and working closely and most often through partners and hardening our allies in order to deal with it."

To combat both the extremist and transnational criminal networks, they need to be "pressed" across their entire length, not just "pinched" in a spot, the chairman said.

"You have to interdict the financing; you have to interdict the flow of foreign fighters or criminals. It takes a really broad effort with partners to deal with that," he said.

Finally, on the domain of cyber, he said, "we've got a lot of work to do. We've made some strides, some pretty significant strides, militarily in particular in terms of defending ourselves."

But the general said despite the security in military networks, 90 percent of his administration and logistics functions ride on commercial Internet providers.
"So if they're vulnerable, I'm vulnerable and I don't like being vulnerable," he said.

Action in securing this domain, he said, includes legislation that establishes a common set of standards on Internet security, and allows information sharing between the government and the private sector.

From College Station, Dempsey travels on to Kwajalein Atoll and Australia.

EXPORT-IMPORT BANK GUARANTEES LOAN FOR EXPORTING TRANSMISSION TOWERS TO CANADA

FROM:  U.S. EXPORT-IMPORT BANK 

Ex-Im Bank Guarantees $21 Million Export Loan

Transaction Supports Hundreds of U.S. Jobs in Texas

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Export-Import Bank of the United States (Ex-Im Bank) today announced its guarantee of a $21 million revolving loan facility by Cadence Bank to Jyoti Americas LLC for the export to Canada of lattice transmission towers to be constructed by U.S. workers in Conroe, Texas.

The 220,000 square-foot Jyoti Americas manufacturing plant already employs about 159 workers. As a result of this transaction, an additional shift of skilled workers will be added to the present workforce for this export production.

“We’re pleased to support both Jyoti’s direct investment in America, and the jobs that open up when U.S. manufacturers export,” said Ex-Im Bank Chairman and President Fred P. Hochberg. “This transaction also illustrates how exporters like Jyoti Americas can get fast export credit through one of Ex-Im’s delegated-authority lenders, Cadence Bank. Ex-Im’s guarantee helped clinch the sale, and paved the way for more business and U.S. jobs.”

Jyoti Americas LLC is wholly-owned subsidiary of Jyoti Structures, Ltd., India, which directly invested $41 million to establish a state-of-the-art manufacturing plant in Conroe. The Texas employees will source U.S.-produced steel to fabricate up to 54,000 metric tons annually. Jyoti Americas’ customer in Canada requires electric transmission towers for the Labrador-Island Link LP, an element of the Lower Churchill Project which generates and distributes hydroelectric power to Canada’s Atlantic provinces. Jyoti Americas will design, manufacture, and test eleven different types of high-voltage towers weighing a total 34,000 metric tons.

“We are delighted to receive this support from Ex-Im Bank which paved the way for us to secure and smoothly execute this prestigious export to Canada,” said Ashok Goyal, Joint Managing Director at Jyoti. “With Ex-Im Bank’s guarantee support along with Cadence Bank’s working capital facilities, we look forward to many more such successes globally.”

PRESIDENT OBAMA'S REMARKS ON EBOLA, SHOOTING IN CANADA

FROM:  THE WHITE HOUSE 

October 22, 2014

Remarks by the President on the U.S. Government's Ebola Response and the Shooting Incident in Canada

Oval Office

4:00 P.M. EDT    

THE PRESIDENT:  Well, I wanted to give you an update I just received from the team that’s been working day and night to make sure that the American people are safe and that we’re dealing effectively with not just the Ebola case here, but the outbreak and epidemic that’s taking place in West Africa.

A number of things make us cautiously more optimistic about the situation here in the United States.  First of all, we now have seen dozens of persons who had initial interaction with Mr. Duncan, including his family and friends, and in some cases people who have had fairly significant contact with him, have now been cleared and we’re confident that they do not have Ebola.  And it just gives, I think, people one more sense of how difficult it is to get this disease.  These are people, in some cases, who were living with Mr. Duncan and had fairly significant contact with him.  They, we now know, do not have Ebola.

And so, once again, I want to emphasize to the public:  This is not airborne; you have to have had contact with the bodily fluids of somebody who is actually showing symptoms of Ebola, which is why it makes it so hard to catch, although it obviously is very virulent if, in fact, you do come into contact with such bodily fluids.

Our hearts and thoughts and prayers are still with the two nurses who were affected.  Again, we’re cautiously optimistic.  They seem to be doing better, and we continue to think about them.

I had a chance to talk to a number of their coworkers at Texas Presbyterian today.  Spirits were good.  People were very proud of the work that they’ve done, and understandably so.  Because as I’ve said before, when it comes to taking care of us and our families, nobody is more important than the frontline health workers and nurses in particular who so often are the ones who have immediate and ongoing contact with patients.  And they’re very proud of what they’ve done, and want to make sure that everybody understands how seriously they take their work and how important they consider their jobs to be.

In addition, what we’ve also seen is two American patients, who got Ebola outside but were brought here to be treated, have now been cleared.  They have been cured, and we’re obviously very happy about that.  I know their families are thrilled about that.

And finally, we also received news that, according to the World Health Organization, both Nigeria and Senegal are Ebola-free.  Now, these are countries that are adjoining the three West African countries that are experiencing the most severe aspects of this disease.  And again, it gives you some sense that when it’s caught early, and where the public health infrastructure operates effectively, this outbreak can be stopped.

What we’ve also been talking about then is dealing with the particulars of the situations as it arose in Dallas and what we’re doing to making sure that we don’t see a repeat of some of the problems with the protocols that took place in Dallas.

First of all, with respect to Dallas, working in coordination with Governor Perry, Mayor Rawlings and health officials in Dallas and throughout Texas, we now are very confident that if any additional cases came up in Texas, that there is a plan in place where they would go receive first-class treatment.  And we continue to actively monitor those who remain at risk because they were involved in Mr. Duncan’s treatment -- although a number of them rolled off of the list of people who could possibly get it today.   And each day, more and more folks are cleared and can be confident that they don’t have Ebola.

We surged resources both to Dallas and to Cleveland, making sure that the CDC is on the ground so that if additional cases arise out of the Dallas situation, as well as the second nurse who flew to Cleveland, that we’re on the ground and we don’t repeat any problems with respect to the protocols that have to be followed.

The CDC has refined and put in place guidelines that will make sure that both in terms of protective gear and how it’s disposed, and how we monitor anybody who might have Ebola, that those are tighter.  And our team has spent a lot of time reaching out to hospitals, doctors, nurses’ associations, health care workers.  There were thousands who were trained at the Javits Center just yesterday, I believe.

And so we’re going to systematically and steadily just make sure that every hospital has a plan; that they are displaying CDC information that has currently been provided so that they can step-by-step precautions when they’re dealing with somebody who might have Ebola.

And I’m confident that over the course of several weeks and months, each hospital working in conjunction with public health officials in those states are going to be able to train and develop the kinds of systems that ensure that people are prepared if and when a case like this comes up.  And that ultimately is going to be the most important thing.

This is a disease where if it’s caught early and the hospital knows what to do early, it doesn’t present a massive risk of spreading.  But we have to make sure that everybody is aware of it.  And obviously, given all the attention that this situation has received, as you might expect, hospital workers and the CEOs of hospitals, and dentists, and anybody who has contact with potential patients is paying a lot more attention and is much more open to making sure that they’ve got a sound plan in place.  And we’re going to be helping everybody to make sure that they put that plan in place.

In addition, I know that there’s been a lot of concern around the issue of individuals traveling from the three nations in West Africa that are most affected.  So, as has already been announced, what’s now happening is all flights from those nations are being funneled into three airports -- or five airports, rather.  Each of those airports have systems in place so that all the passengers getting off those flights will be monitored.

The CDC announced today that it’s going to take some additional steps to provide information to states so that they can actively monitor what’s taking place with those persons for a period of 21 days in order to protect the citizens of their various states, and will continue to put in place additional measures as they make sense in order to assure that we don’t see a continuing spread of this disease.

And on the international front, the good news is, is that along with the billion dollars that we are putting in, we’ve now seen an additional billion dollars from the world community to start building isolation units in Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone.  Health workers are beginning to surge there.  We’ve got 100 CDC personnel on the ground, as well as more than 500 military personnel.

I should emphasize that our military personnel is not treating patients.  But what we’re doing, which nobody else really has the capacity to do, is to build the infrastructure -- the logistical systems, the air transport, the construction -- so that, as other countries start making contributions, they can be  confident that it’s going to get in where it’s most needed, and it’s going to be coordinated effectively.  And we just want to thanks, as always, our men and women in uniform who are doing an outstanding job there.

We’re already starting to see some very modest signs of progress in Liberia.  We’re concerned about some spike in cases in Guinea.  One of the good things that has come out of all the attention that this has received over the last several months -- and, frankly, the coordination of the United States with the international community -- is that people understand if we are going to protect all of our citizens globally, we have to do a better job of getting into these countries quicker and providing more help faster.  And American leadership has been vital in that entire process.

So the top line, I think the key message I want to deliver is that although, obviously, people had concerns with Mr. Duncan -- and our hearts still go out to his family as well as the two nurses that were infected -- in fact, what we’re seeing is that the public health infrastructure and systems that we are now putting in place across the board around the country should give the American people confidence that we’re going to be in a position to deal with any additional cases of Ebola that might crop up without it turning into an outbreak.

And I want to emphasize again:  This is a very hard disease to get.  And in a country like the United States that has a strong public health infrastructure and outstanding health workers and hospitals and systems, the prospect of an outbreak here is extremely low.  If people want to make sure that as we go into the holiday season their families are safe, the very best thing they can do is make sure that everybody in the family is getting a flu shot.  Because we know that tens of thousands of people will be affected by the flu this season, as is true every season.

I’ll say one other thing about this.  If there’s a silver lining in all the attention that the Ebola situation has received over the last several weeks, it’s a reminder of how important our public health systems are.  And in many ways, what this has done is elevated that importance.  There may come a time, sometime in the future, where we are dealing with an airborne disease that is much easier to catch and is deadly.  And in some ways, this has created a trial run for federal, state and local public health officials and health care providers, as well as the American people, to understand the nature of that and why it’s so important that we’re continually building out our public health systems but we’re also practicing them and keeping them in tip-top shape, and investing in them, because oftentimes the best cures to prevent getting diseases in the first place -- and that’s true for individuals, it’s true for the country as a whole.

Thank you very much, everybody.

Q    Can you say something about Canada?

THE PRESIDENT:  Oh, thank you very much.  I appreciate -- thank you.  I had a chance to talk with Prime Minister Harper this afternoon.  Obviously, the situation there is tragic.  Just two days ago, a Canadian soldier had been killed in an attack.  We now know that another young man was killed today.  And I expressed on behalf of the American people our condolences to the family and to the Canadian people as a whole.

We don’t yet have all the information about what motivated the shooting.  We don’t yet have all the information about whether this was part of a broader network or plan, or whether this was an individual or series of individuals who decided to take these actions.  But it emphasizes the degree to which we have to remain vigilant when it comes to dealing with these kinds of acts of senseless violence or terrorism.  And I pledged, as always, to make sure that our national security teams are coordinating very closely, given not only is Canada one of our closest allies in the world but they’re our neighbors and our friends, and obviously there’s a lot of interaction between Canadians and the United States, where we have such a long border.

And it’s very important I think for us to recognize that when it comes to dealing with terrorist activity, that Canada and the United States has to be entirely in sync.  We have in the past; I’m confident we will continue to do so in the future.  And Prime Minister Harper was very appreciative of the expressions of concern by the American people.

I had a chance to travel to the Parliament in Ottawa.  I’m very familiar with that area and am reminded of how warmly I was received and how wonderful the people there were.  And so obviously we’re all shaken by it, but we’re going to do everything we can to make sure that we’re standing side by side with Canada during this difficult time.

Q    What does the Canadian attack mean to U.S. security, Mr. President?

THE PRESIDENT:  Well, we don’t have enough information yet.  So as we understand better exactly what happened, this obviously is something that we’ll make sure to factor in, in the ongoing efforts that we have to counter terrorist attacks in our country.

Every single day we have a whole lot of really smart, really dedicated, really hardworking people -- including a couple in this room -- who are monitoring risks and making sure that we’re doing everything we need to do to protect the American people.  And they don’t get a lot of fanfare, they don’t get a lot of attention.  There are a lot of possible threats that are foiled or disrupted that don’t always get reported on.  And the work of our military, our intelligence teams, the Central Intelligence Agency, the intelligence community more broadly, our local law enforcement and state law enforcement officials who coordinate closely with us -- we owe them all a great deal of thanks.

Thank you, guys.  Appreciate you.

END

HOUSTON HOSPITAL PRESIDENT CONVICTED FRO ROLE IN $158 MILLION MEDICARE FRAUD

FROM:  U.S. JUSTICE DEPARTMENT 

Monday, October 20, 2014

President of Houston Hospital and Three Others Convicted in $158 Million Medicare Fraud Scheme

A federal jury in Houston today convicted the president of Riverside General Hospital (Riverside), his son, and two others for their participation in a $158 million Medicare fraud scheme involving false claims for mental health treatment.  Ten defendants have now been convicted in connection with the Riverside fraud scheme.

Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Kenneth Magidson of the Southern District of Texas, Special Agent in Charge Perrye K. Turner of the FBI’s Houston Field Office, Special Agent in Charge Lucy R. Cruz of the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation’s (IRS-CI) Houston Field Office and the Texas Attorney General’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit (MFCU) made the announcement.  U.S. District Judge Lee H. Rosenthal of the Southern District of Texas presided over the trial.

“The former president of Riverside hospital, his son, and their co-conspirators systematically defrauded Medicare, treating mentally ill and disabled Americans like chits to be traded and cashed out to pad their own pockets,” said Assistant Attorney General Caldwell.  “For over six years, the Gibsons and their co-conspirators stuck taxpayers with millions in hospital bills, purportedly for intensive psychiatric treatment. But the ‘treatment’ was a sham – some patients just watched television all day, others had dementia and couldn’t understand the therapy they supposedly received, and other patients never even went to the hospital at all.  Today’s verdict sends another powerful message that the department will hold accountable anyone who seeks personal profits at the expense of America’s most vulnerable citizens.”

Earnest Gibson III, 70, the former president of Riverside, Earnest Gibson IV, 37, the operator of one of Riverside’s satellite locations, and Regina Askew, 49, a group home owner, were each convicted of conspiracy to commit health care fraud and conspiracy to pay kickbacks, as well as related counts of paying and receiving illegal kickbacks.  Robert Crane, 58, a patient recruiter, was convicted of conspiracy to pay and receive kickbacks.  Gibson III and Gibson IV were also convicted of conspiracy to commit money laundering.  Gibson III was acquitted of two substantive counts of paying and receiving illegal kickbacks.

According to evidence presented at trial, Gibson III, Gibson IV, and Askew operated a scheme to defraud Medicare beginning in 2005 and continuing until June 2012.  The defendants caused the submission of false and fraudulent claims for partial hospitalization program (PHP) services to Medicare through the hospital.  A PHP is a form of intensive outpatient treatment for severe mental illness.

Specifically, evidence at trial demonstrated that the Medicare beneficiaries for whom Riverside and its satellite locations billed Medicare for PHP services did not qualify for or need PHP services.  Moreover, the Medicare beneficiaries rarely saw a psychiatrist and did not receive intensive psychiatric treatment.  In fact, some of the Medicare beneficiaries were suffering from Alzheimer’s and could not actively participate in any treatment even if they actually qualified to receive PHP services.  Nevertheless, Gibson III, Gibson IV and Askew submitted claims for reimbursement to Medicare claiming that PHP services were provided to the Medicare beneficiaries.

Evidence presented at trial also showed that Earnest Gibson III paid kickbacks to patient recruiters and to owners and operators of group care homes, including Askew, in exchange for those individuals delivering ineligible Medicare beneficiaries to the hospital’s PHPs.  Gibson IV also paid patient recruiters, including Crane and others, in exchange for those individuals delivering ineligible Medicare beneficiaries to the specific PHP operated by Gibson IV.

Approximately $158 million in claims to Medicare were submitted for PHP services purportedly provided by the hospital to the recruited beneficiaries, when in fact, the PHP services were medically unnecessary or never provided.  The proceeds from the health care fraud were used to promote the fraud scheme by paying kickbacks to patient recruiters and group home owners in exchange for their sending Medicare beneficiaries to the hospital’s PHPs.

Gibson III, Gibson IV, Askew and Crane are scheduled to be sentenced on Feb. 17, 2015.

Others involved in the fraudulent scheme have already pleaded guilty and are awaiting sentencing.  Mohammad Khan, an assistant administrator at the hospital, who managed many of the hospital’s PHPs, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit health care fraud, conspiracy to defraud the United States and to pay illegal kickbacks, and five counts of paying illegal kickbacks.  William Bullock, an operator of a Riverside satellite location, as well as Leslie Clark, Robert Ferguson, Waddie McDuffie, and Sharonda Holmes, who were all involved in paying or receiving kickbacks, have also pleaded guilty to their roles in the scheme.

The case was investigated by the FBI, IRS-CI, and Texas MFCU, with assistance from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General’s (HHS-OIG) Dallas Regional Office, the Railroad Retirement Board, Office of Inspector General’s Chicago Field Office and the Office of Personnel Management’s Office of Inspector General, and was brought as part of the Medicare Fraud Strike Force, under the supervision of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Texas.  The case is being prosecuted by Assistant Chiefs Laura M.K. Cordova and Jennifer L. Saulino and Trial Attorney Ashlee C. McFarlane of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section.

Since its inception in March 2007, the Medicare Fraud Strike Force, now operating in nine cities across the country, has charged nearly 2,000 defendants who have collectively billed the Medicare program for more than $6 billion.  In addition, the HHS Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, working in conjunction with the HHS-OIG, are taking steps to increase accountability and decrease the presence of fraudulent providers.

PRESIDENT MAKES REMARKS ON U.S. ECONOMY IN AUSTIN, TEXAS

FROM:  THE WHITE HOUSE 

Remarks by the President on the Economy -- Austin, TX

Paramount Theatre
Austin, Texas

12:48 P.M. CDT

 
THE PRESIDENT:  Hello, Austin!  (Applause.)  Hey!  Hello, Austin!  (Applause.)  All right, everybody have a seat, have a seat. 
 
It’s good to be in Austin, Texas.  (Applause.)  Can everybody please give Kinsey a big round of applause for the great introduction?  (Applause.) 
 
AUDIENCE MEMBER:  We love you!
 
THE PRESIDENT:  That's because I love you.  (Applause.)  Everybody knows I love Austin, Texas.  (Applause.)  Every time I come here I tell you how much I love you.  I love Austin.  I love the people.  I love the barbecue -- which I will get right after this.  (Laughter.)  I like the music.  (Applause.)  I've got good memories here, I've got good friends. 
 
I was telling somebody the last time I walked a real walk where I was kind of left alone was in Austin, Texas.  (Applause.) Right before the debate here during the primary in 2007?  2008?  It must have been 2008.  And I was walking along the river and nobody noticed me, and I felt great.  (Laughter.)  And then on the way back somebody did notice me and Secret Service started coming around and -- (laughter) -- but that first walk was really good.  So let’s face it, I just love Austin.  (Applause.)  Love the people of Austin. 
 
I want to thank a proud Texan, Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee, for being here today.  We appreciate her.  (Applause.) 
 
It is great to play at the Paramount.  I think I finally made it.  I finally arrived.  (Applause.)  I've enjoyed the last couple of days, just getting out of Washington.  And we started in Colorado, in Denver, and then went to Dallas and then came down here.  And at each stop I've been able to just meet people and talk about people’s lives -- their hopes, their dreams.
 
I just had some coffee, as Kinsey may have mentioned, at the Magnolia Café, which is very nice.  (Applause.)  It was fun, too, because I had a chance to -- there were a bunch of folks there and some EMT folks were there on their break after the shift, and there were a group of high school kids who were getting together -- they were about to go on a two-weeklong service trip to Peru  -- which, by the way, reminds you, you should be optimistic whenever you meet young people because they’re full of energy and idealism.  And so they were going to do this service trip and they were going to go for two days, then, to Machu Picchu -- the old Inca ruins in Peru.  And I said, I always wanted to go there. And they said, well, you can come with us if you want.  (Laughter.)  And I said, I'm really tempted, but I think there are some things I've got to do.  (Laughter.) 
 
But I got them -- in exchange for a selfie with them, they promised that they would send me a picture of them when they get there.  So I'm going to hold them to it.  We got their email and if I don't get it I'll be upset.  (Laughter.) 
 
Anyway, so I was talking to Kinsey because she wrote me a letter and I wanted to reply in person.  Because, as some of you may know, every day, we get tens of thousands of letters or correspondence, emails at the White House.  And ever since the first day I was in office, what I've asked our Correspondence Office to do is to select 10 of them for me to read every night. And in these letters, people tell me their stories.  They talk about losing a job, or finding a job.  They talk about trying to finance a college education.  They talk about challenges because maybe they’re the children of immigrants and they’re worried about their status.  They talk about the hardships they’re going through, successes they’ve had, things they hope for, things that they’re afraid of when it comes to the future and their lives.  
 
Sometimes people say thank you for something I've done or a position I've taken, and some people say, “You're an idiot.”  (Laughter.)  And that’s how I know that I’m getting a good representative sampling because -- (laughter) -- half the letters are less than impressed with me.   
 
So Kinsey wrote me to tell me about her family.  Her mom was a preschool teacher, her dad was an engineer.  Together, obviously, they worked really hard, raised a family.  They were responsible, did all the right things, were able to put their kids through college.  Then they lost their jobs.  And because they lost their jobs as mid-career persons, a lot of their resumes didn’t get answered.  And their savings started to dwindle.  And Kinsey works to pay for school, but it’s not enough. 
 
And she told me that she’s always been passionate about politics and the issues of the day, but after last year’s government shutdown, all this stuff that's happened with her family, it doesn’t seem like anybody in Washington is thinking about them.  She wrote, “I became a disgruntled citizen.  I felt as if my government, my beloved government that’s supposed to look out for the needs of all Americans had failed me.  My parents have always supported my siblings and me,” she wrote, “now it’s my turn to help them.  I want to be involved.  President Obama, what can I do?”
 
So I wanted to meet with Kinsey to let her know that I had heard her, that I listened to what was happening with her family, and I was thinking about her parents and I was thinking about her and her sisters.  And I’m here today because of Kinsey.  And I’m here today because of every American who is working their tail off and does everything right and who believes in the American Dream and just wants a chance to build a decent life for themselves and their families. 
 
And you and folks like Kinsey are the reason I ran for President in the first place -- (applause) -- because your lives are the lives that I lived.  When I listen to Kinsey I think about me and Michelle trying to finance our college education.  When I think about somebody who didn't have health care, I think about my mom when she had cancer that would ultimately end her life at about the age I am now.  When I think about equal pay, I think about my grandmother working her way up at a bank with nothing but a high school education and becoming the vice president of the bank, but always being kind of passed over for the next stage by men who were less qualified than she was. 
 
So the stories that I hear in these letters, they're my story, and they're Michelle’s story, and they're the story that we had before I became senator -- worrying about child care, trying to figure out how to have a balanced life so that if Malia or Sasha got sick we could take time off, and how do you manage all that. 
 
So that's why these letters are so important to me.  And that's why whenever I’m out of Washington, part of what I want to do is just to remember and to connect with your stories so that you know that what I’m trying to do every single day is based on that experience.
 
AUDIENCE MEMBER:  Thank you!  (Applause.)
 
THE PRESIDENT:  And when you see the trajectory of Kinsey’s family, in some ways, it’s a little bit a story of what’s happened to America. 
 
The crisis in 2008 hurt us all badly -- worse financial crisis since the Great Depression.  But you think about the progress we’ve made.  Today, our businesses have added nearly 10 million new jobs over the past 52 months.  (Applause.)  Our housing is rebounding.  Our auto industry is booming.  Manufacturing is adding more jobs than any time since the 1990s. The unemployment rate is the lowest point it’s been since September of 2008.  (Applause.)  Kinsey’s dad found a new job that he loves in the field he was trained for.  (Applause.)  So a lot of this was because of the resilience and hard work of the American people.  That's what happens -- Americans bounce back.
 
But some of it had to do with decisions we made to build our economy on a new foundation.  And those decisions are paying off. We’re more energy independent.  For the first time in nearly 20 years, we produce more oil here at home than we buy from abroad. (Applause.)  The world’s largest oil and gas producer isn’t Russia; it’s not Saudi Arabia -- it’s the United States of America.  (Applause.)
 
At the same time, we’ve reduced our total carbon pollution over the past eight years more than any country on Earth.  (Applause.)  We’ve tripled the amount of electricity we generate from wind.  We’ve increased the amount of solar energy we have by 10 times.  We’re creating jobs across the country in clean energy.  (Applause.) 
 
In education, our high school graduation rate is at a record high; the Latino dropout rate has been cut in half since 2000.  (Applause.)  More young people are graduating from college than ever before.
 
AUDIENCE MEMBER:  Si se puede!
 
THE PRESIDENT:  Si se peude.  (Laughter.) 
 
The Affordable Care Act has given millions more families peace of mind.  They won’t go broke just because they get sick.  (Applause.)  Our deficits have been cut by more than half. 
 
We have come farther and recovered faster, thanks to you, than just about any other nation on Earth.  (Applause.)  And so we’ve got a lot to be encouraged by, just as the story of Kinsey’s family makes us feel more encouraged.  For the first time in a decade, business leaders around the world have said the number-one place to invest is not China, it’s the United States of America.  So we’re actually seeing companies bring jobs back. (Applause.)  So there’s no doubt that we are making progress.  By almost every measure, we are better off now than we were when I took office.  (Applause.) 
 
But the fact is we’ve still got a long way to go.  We’ve still got a long way to go, because while we’re creating more jobs faster these first six months of this year than any time since 1999, we know there are still a lot of folks out there who are looking for work or looking for more full-time work or looking for a better-paying job.  Corporate profits are higher than ever.  CEOs make more than ever.  But you’re working harder than ever just to get by and pay the bills. 
 
So, as a whole, the country is doing better.  But the problem is, is that so much of the improved productivity and profits have gone to the folks at the very top, and the average person, their wages and incomes haven’t really gone up at all, and in some cases, haven’t kept up with the rising cost of health care or college or all the basic necessities that people need. 
 
And so, Austin, I’m here to say that this country is not going to succeed if just a few are doing well.  This country succeeds when everybody has got a shot.  (Applause.)  The country does better when the middle class does better, and when there are more ladders of opportunity into the middle class.  (Applause.) That’s the kind of economy that works here in America.  And that’s what’s at stake right now. 
 
Now, that’s why we’re fighting for an opportunity agenda that creates more good jobs and creates more good wages -- jobs in American manufacturing, jobs in construction.  We should be rebuilding infrastructure all across America, putting people back to work rebuilding roads and bridges and schools, creating a smart grid to transmit clean energy across the country more efficiently.  (Applause.)   
 
We can create good jobs in American energy -- (sneezes) -- bless me -- and innovation.  (Laughter.)  I’m okay, just haven’t had enough sleep.  (Laughter.) 
 
We’re fighting for an opportunity agenda that trains more workers with the skills to fill the jobs that are being created. I was talking to some folks from a community college before I came out here.  We’ve learned that if we reach out to businesses and help them design the training programs in the community colleges, then when somebody finishes that training, they know they can get a job right away.  (Applause.)
 
We’re fighting for an opportunity agenda that guarantees every child a world-class education from the time that they are three until the time that they graduate from college.
 
We’re fighting for an opportunity agenda that makes sure your hard work pays off with higher wages and equal pay for equal work, and workplace flexibility, and the overtime pay you’ve earned.  (Applause.)
 
We’re fighting for opportunity for all and the idea that no matter who you are and what you look like and where you come from and who you love, if you work hard in America, if you work hard in Austin, if you work hard in Texas, you can make it here.  (Applause.)  You can make it.  (Applause.)
 
So that's what we’re working for.  And the good news is, is that the things that we need to do are well within our capabilities, our grasp.  We know we can -- we know how to build roads.  We know how to put people back to work on infrastructure. We know that if we invest in early childhood education, every dollar we put in, we get seven dollars back, and fewer dropouts and fewer teen pregnancies, and fewer folks going into the criminal justice system.  (Applause.) 
 
We know that if we do some basic things, if we make some basic changes, we’ll see more jobs, faster economic growth, lift more incomes, strengthen the middle class.  They are common-sense things.  They're not that radical.  We know it’s what we should be doing.  And what drives me nuts -- and I know drives you nuts -- is Washington isn’t doing it.  (Applause.)
 
And let me be clear about why Washington is broken, because sometimes everybody says, well, you know what, all politicians are the same, he parties -- the Democrats, Republicans, it doesn't matter.  Look, Democrats are not perfect, I promise you. I know a lot of them.  (Laughter.)  And, yes, every member of Congress, they're thinking about, I’d like to be reelected and I’d like to keep my job.  That's human nature.  We all understand that.  But let me be clear.  On the common-sense agenda that would help middle-class families, the overwhelming number of Democrats are in favor of these things. 
 
They're in favor of minimum wage.  They're in favor of equal pay.  (Applause.)  They're in favor of extending unemployment benefits.  They're in favor of infrastructure.  They're in favor of investing in research and development.  They're in favor of making college more affordable.  They’ve got specific proposals. They're willing to compromise.  They're prepared to go forward. 
 
So when folks say they're frustrated with Congress, let’s be clear about what the problem is.  (Applause.)  I’m just telling the truth now.  I don't have to run for office again, so I can just let her rip.  (Applause.)  And I want to assure you, I’m really not that partisan of a guy.  My favorite President is the first Republican President, a guy named Abraham Lincoln.  You look at our history, and we had great Republican Presidents who  -- like Teddy Roosevelt started the National Park System, and Dwight Eisenhower built the Interstate Highway System, and Richard Nixon started the EPA. 
 
The statement I’m making is not a partisan statement, it is a statement of fact.  (Applause.)  So far this year, Republicans in Congress have blocked or voted down every serious idea to strengthen the middle class.  They have said no --
 
AUDIENCE:  Booo!
 
THE PRESIDENT:  Don't boo now, because what I want you to do is vote.  (Applause.)
 
They’ve said no to raising the minimum wage.  They’ve said no to fair pay.  They said no to unemployment insurance for hardworking folks like Kinsey’s parents who have paid taxes all their lives and never depended on anything and just needed a little help to get over a hump.  They said no to fixing our broken immigration system that we know would strengthen our borders and our businesses and help families.  (Applause.)
 
Instead of investing in education that helps working families, they voted to give another massive tax cut to the wealthiest Americans.  Instead of creating jobs by rebuilding our infrastructure, our roads, our bridges, our ports that help every business, they’ve decided to protect tax loopholes for companies that are shifting jobs overseas and profits overseas. 
 
The best thing you can say about this Congress -- the Republicans in Congress, and particularly the House of Representatives -- the best you can say for them this year is that so far they have not shut down the government -- (laughter) -- or threatened to have America welch on our obligations and ruin our credit rating.  That's the best you can say.  But of course, it’s only July -- (laughter) -- so who knows what they may cook up in the next few months.
 
So even as they’re blocking policies that would help middle-class families, they keep on offering these theories of the economy that have failed over and over again.  They say, well, if we give more tax breaks to folks at the top that's going to be good.  If we make fewer investments in things like education, everything will work out.  If we loosen the rules for big banks and credit card companies and polluters and insurers, somehow that's going to make the economy better.  If we shrink the safety net and cut Medicaid and cut food stamps, and make sure that folks who are vulnerable and trying to get back on their suffer more hardship, somehow that's going to improve the economy.
 
Now, they believe these things -- sincerely, I assume -- that if they -- if we do these things, if we just take care of folks at the top, or at least if we don't empower our government to be able to help anybody, that somehow jobs and prosperity will trickle down and we’ll all be better off.
 
And that may work just fine for folks at the top.  It worked fine for me.  I don't need government.  (Laughter.)  Michelle and I now are in a position where we can pretty much finance Malia and Sasha’s college education.  But I remember when Michelle’s parents couldn’t, they needed help.  And I don't know about you, but I don't believe in pulling up the ladder once I’m up.  I believe in extending it down and making sure that everybody has a chance to climb up.  (Applause.)
 
The status quo certainly works for the special interests in Washington who like things just as they are.  They’ll be fine whether Congress ever passes a bill again or not.  But it doesn’t help you.  It doesn't help your neighbors.  It doesn't help your friends.  It doesn't help your communities.
 
And what it does, is it just feeds people’s cynicism about Washington.  It just makes people think, well, nothing can happen, and people start feeling hopeless.  And we have to understand, in the face of all evidence to the contrary in Washington, we can do better than we’re doing right now.  (Applause.)  We can do better than what we’re doing right now.
 
We know from our history, our economy does not grow from the top down, it grows from the middle up.  It grows from a rising, thriving middle class.  It grows when we got ladders of opportunity for everybody, and every young person in America is feeling hopeful and has a chance to do what they can with the God-given talents that they have.  That’s what we’re fighting for.  That is what you should be fighting for.  (Applause.)
 
And I will always look -- I’ll always look for ways to get Republicans and Democrats together in this effort.  But I’m not  -- I can't stand by with partisan gridlock that's the result of cynical political games that threaten the hard work of millions of Americans.  I’m not just going to stand by and say, okay, that's -- I guess that's the way it is.  Whenever and wherever I have the power, the legal authority to help families like yours, even if Congress is not doing anything, I will take that opportunity.  I will try to make something happen.  (Applause.)
And that’s the reason -- that's the reason why my administration has taken more than 40 different actions just this year to help working Americans -- because Congress won’t.
 
Congress won’t act to make sure a woman gets equal pay for equal work.  So I made sure more women have the protections they need to fight for fair pay in the workplace -- because I think when women succeed America succeeds.   So we went ahead and did that.  (Applause.)
 
Congress won’t act to create jobs in manufacturing or construction.  Well, I went ahead and speeded up permits for big projects.  We launched a new hub to attract more high-tech manufacturing jobs to America.  I want to make sure the next revolution in manufacturing is right here in America; it’s an American revolution, not a German or a Chinese revolution.  I want it happening right here in Austin, Texas.  (Applause.)
 
Congress so far hasn’t acted to help more young people manage their student loan debt.  So I acted with my lawful authority to give nearly 5 million Americans the chance to cap their student loan payments at 10 percent of their income so they can manage it better, so that if they go into teaching, or they go into social work, or they're doing something at a non-for-profit, that they're not encumbered by mountains of debt.  I don’t want our future leaders saddled with debt before they start out in life.  (Applause.)
 
And Republicans in Congress so far have refused to raise workers’ wages with a higher minimum wage.  So I acted to require that federal contractors pay their employees a fair wage of at least $10.10 an hour -- (applause) -- which would give hundreds of thousands of workers a raise.  I asked business owners and governors and mayors and state legislators -- anybody I could work with -- do what you can on your own, I told them. 
 
Since the first time I asked Congress to raise the minimum wage, Congress hasn’t done anything, but 13 states have gone ahead and raised theirs.  (Applause.)  And, by the way -- this is important to remember just because folks are always trying to run the okey doke on you -- (laughter) -- the states that have increased their minimum wages this year have seen higher job growth than the states that have not increased their minimum wage.  (Applause.)  And more and more business owners are choosing to lift the wages for their workers because they understand that it’s going to be good to have productive workers, loyal workers, invested workers. 
 
Just yesterday, before I came down to Texas, when I was in Denver, I met with Carolyn Reed.  She owns six Silver Mine sub shops.  She started her own business.  She was working at UPS and decided she wanted to be a business owner, got her first franchise.  Her and her husband mortgaged their house.  Eventually, they got an SBA loan.  Now, she’s got six stores.  A wonderful woman.  And today, she decided to raise her hourly employees’ wages to a minimum of $10.10 an hour.  (Applause.)  She just went ahead and did it on her own, because she realized that she’ll have less turnover and she’s going to have more productive workers. 
 
As long as Congress will not increase wages for workers, I will go and talk to every business in America if I have to.  (Applause.)  There’s no denying a simple truth:  America deserves a raise, and if you work full-time in this country, you shouldn’t live in poverty.  That’s something that we all believe. (Applause.)   
 
Now, here’s where it gets interesting.  There are a number of Republicans, including a number in the Texas delegation, who are mad at me for taking these actions.  They actually plan to sue me.  (Laughter.)  Now, I don’t know which things they find most offensive -- me helping to create jobs, or me raising wages, or me easing the student loan burdens, or me making sure women can find out whether they’re getting paid the same as men for doing the same job.  I don’t know which of these actions really bug them.  (Laughter.) 
 
The truth is, even with all the actions I’ve taken this year, I’m issuing executive orders at the lowest rate in more than 100 years.  So it’s not clear how it is that Republicans didn’t seem to mind when President Bush took more executive actions than I did.  (Applause.)  Maybe it’s just me they don’t like.  I don’t know.  Maybe there’s some principle out there that I haven’t discerned, that I haven’t figure out.  (Laughter.)  You hear some of them -- “sue him,” “impeach him.”  Really?  (Laughter.)  Really?  For what?  (Applause.)  You’re going to sue me for doing my job?  Okay.  (Applause.)   
 
I mean, think about that.  You’re going to use taxpayer money to sue me for doing my job -- (laughter) -- while you don’t do your job.  (Applause.) 
 
There’s a great movie called “The Departed” -- a little violent for kids.  But there’s a scene in the movie where Mark Wahlberg -- they’re on a stakeout and somehow the guy loses the guy that they’re tracking.   And Wahlberg is all upset and yelling at the guy.  And the guy looks up and he says, “Well, who are you?”  And Wahlberg says, “I’m the guy doing my job.  You must be the other guy.”  (Laughter and applause.)  Sometimes, I feel like saying to these guys, I’m the guy doing my job, you must be the other guy.  (Applause.) 
 
So rather than wage another political stunt that wastes time, wastes taxpayers’ money, I’ve got a better idea:  Do something.  (Applause.)  If you’re mad at me for helping people on my own, let’s team up.  Let’s pass some bills.  Let’s help America together.  (Applause.)   
 
It is lonely, me just doing stuff.  I’d love if the Republicans did stuff, too.  (Laughter.)  On immigration issues, we’ve got -- and to their credit, there are some Republicans in the Senate who actually worked with Democrats, passed a bill, would strengthen the borders, would help make the system more fair and more just.  But the House Republicans, they haven’t even called the bill.  They won’t even take a vote on the bill.  They don’t have enough energy or organization or I don’t know what to just even vote no on the bill.  (Laughter.)  And then they’re made at me for trying to do some things to make the immigration system work better.  So it doesn’t make sense.
 
AUDIENCE MEMBER:  (Inaudible.)
 
THE PRESIDENT:  I’m sorry, what are you yelling about now?  Sit down, guys.  I’m almost done.  Come on, sit down.  I’ll talk to you afterwards, I promise.  I’ll bring you back.  I’m wrapping things up here.
 
AUDIENCE MEMBER:  (Inaudible.)
 
THE PRESIDENT:  I understand.  See, everybody is going to start -- I’m on your side, man.  Sit down, guys, we’ll talk about it later, I promise.
 
So, look, here’s what we could do.  We could do so much more -- you don’t have to escort them out.  They’ll sit down.  I promise, I’ll talk to you afterwards. 
 
We could do so much more if Republicans in Congress would focus less on stacking the deck for those on the top and focus more on creating opportunity for everybody.  And I want to work with them.  I don’t expect them to agree with me on everything, but at least agree with me on the things that you used to say you were for before I was for them.  (Applause.) 
 
You used to be for building roads and infrastructure.  Nothing has changed.  Let’s go ahead and do it.  (Applause.)  Ronald Reagan passed immigration reform, and you love Ronald Reagan.  Let’s go ahead and do it.  (Applause.)   
 
I mean, what changed?  I’m just saying.  (Laughter.)  That’s what made our country great, a sense of common purpose, a sense we’re all in it together as one nation, as one people.  We can debate the issues, we can have our differences, but let’s do something.  (Applause.)  Let’s rally around an economic patriotism that says, instead of giving more tax breaks to millionaires, let’s give tax breaks to working families to help pay for child care or college. 
 
Instead of protecting tax loopholes that let corporations keep their profits overseas,  let’s put some of that money to work right here in the United States rebuilding America.  (Applause.)  We can rebuild our airports, create the next generation of good manufacturing jobs, make sure those are made in America. 
 
Let’s rally around a patriotism that says we’re stronger as a nation when we cultivate the ingenuity and talent of every American, and give every 4-year-old in America access to high-quality education -- good-quality preschool.  (Applause.)  Let’s redesign our high schools to make them more relevant to the 21st century economy.  Let’s make college more affordable.  Let’s  make sure every worker, if you lose your job, you can get a good job training that gives you an even better job.  (Applause.) 
 
Let’s embrace the patriotism that says it’s a good thing when our fellow citizens have health care.  It’s not a bad thing. (Applause.)  That’s not a bad thing.  It’s a good thing when women earn what men do for the same work.  That’s an all-American principle.  (Applause.)  Everybody has got a mom out there or a wife out there or a daughter out there.  They don’t want them to not get treated fairly.  Why would you be against that? 
 
It’s a good thing when parents can take a day off to care for a sick child without losing their job or losing pay and they can’t pay their bills at the end of the month.  It’s a good thing when nobody who works full-time is living in poverty.  That is not radical.  It’s not un-American.  It’s not socialist.  That’s how we built this country.  It’s what America is all about, us working together.  (Applause.)   
 
So let me just wrap up by saying this:  The hardest thing to change in politics is a stubborn status quo.  Our democracy is designed where folks who have power, who have clout -- they can block stuff, they can keep things as they are.  It’s hard.  It’s even harder when Washington seems focused on everything but your concerns, Kinsey’s concerns. 
 
There are plenty of people who count on you getting cynical and count on you not getting involved so that you don’t vote, so you give up.  And you can’t give into that.  America is making progress, despite what the cynics say.  (Applause.)  Despite unyielding opposition and a Congress that can’t seem to do anything, there are workers with jobs who didn’t have them before; there are families with health insurance who didn’t have them before; there are students in college who couldn’t afford it before; there are troops who served tour after tour who are home with their families today.  (Applause.)   
 
Cynicism is popular.  Cynicism is popular these days.  It’s what passes off as wisdom.  But cynics didn’t put a man on the moon.  Cynics never won a war.  Cynics didn’t cure a disease, or start a business, or feed a young mind.  Cynicism didn’t bring about the right for women to vote, or the right for African Americans to be full citizens.  Cynicism is a choice. 
 
Hope is a better choice.  Hope is what gave young soldiers the courage to storm a beach.  Hope is what gave young people the strength to march for women’s rights and civil rights and voting rights and gay rights and immigrant rights.  (Applause.) 
 
Hope is what compelled Kinsey to sit down and pick up a pen, and ask “what can I do,” and actually think maybe the President might read that story and it might make a difference.  (Applause.)  And her voice rang out here in the Paramount Theatre.  And it’s her voice and your voice that’s going to change this country.  That’s how we’re going to make sure that we remain the greatest nation on Earth -- not by asking what we can do for ourselves, but what we can do for each other and what we can do for our country. 
 
And so, as President, I’m going to keep a promise that I made when I first ran:  Every day, I will keep asking the same question, and that is, how can I help you?  And I’ll keep treating your cares and your concerns as my own.  And I will keep fighting to restore the American Dream for everybody who’s willing to work for it. 
 
And I am going to need you to be right there with me.  (Applause.)  Do not get cynical.  Hope is the better choice. 
 
Thank you, Texas.  Thank you, Austin.  God bless you.  (Applause.) 
 
END
1:28 P.M. CDT

CITY OF AUSTIN SETTLES EMPLOYMENT DISCRIMINATION ALLEGATIONS WITH DOJ

FROM:  U.S. JUSTICE DEPARTMENT 

Monday, June 9, 2014

Justice Department Settles Employment Discrimination Allegations Against City of Austin

The Department of Justice announced today that it has entered into and filed a consent decree that, if approved by the court, will resolve the department’s allegations that the city of Austin violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 by discriminating against African-American and Hispanic applicants for entry-level firefighter positions at the Austin Fire Department (AFD).

Title VII’s prohibitions of discrimination in employment forbid not only intentional discrimination, but also the use of employment practices, such as written tests, that result in disparate impact against any group based on the race, color, sex, national origin or religion of that group’s members, unless an employer can prove that such practices are job related and consistent with business necessity.  Absent such proof, those practices do not identify the best qualified candidates and violate the law.  The complaint, filed along with the consent decree in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas in Austin, alleges that in 2012, the city used a written test that disproportionately eliminated African-Americans and Hispanics from the hiring process, and that Austin cannot demonstrate that its use of the test was job related and consistent with business necessity.  Similarly, the complaint alleges that Austin’s method of weighting the 2012 assessments and processing candidates in descending rank order by composite score had an adverse impact on individuals in these protected groups who passed the written test, and that this practice was also not job related or consistent with business necessity.  The United States has challenged the hiring process Austin planned to use for these positions in 2013 as well.

The Justice Department, along with the city of Austin, filed a joint motion today requesting that the court provisionally approve the consent decree executed by the parties and schedule an initial fairness hearing regarding the terms of the consent decree.

The consent decree requires that Austin no longer use the selection practices challenged by the United States in screening and selecting candidates for the AFD’s entry-level firefighter positions.  The decree requires that Austin develop a new, lawful selection procedure that complies with Title VII, and also requires that the city pay $780,000 in back pay to entry-level firefighter applicants who were harmed by the 2012 hiring practice challenged by the United States and who are determined to be eligible for relief.  Additionally, African-American and Hispanic applicants determined to be eligible for relief under the decree will be eligible for one of 30 priority appointments to an entry-level firefighter position with the AFD.  All applicants must pass the new, lawful selection procedure and other lawful selection procedures in order to be considered for priority hire relief.  African-American and Hispanic applicants who are offered priority hire relief are also eligible for retroactive seniority.

“The Department of Justice will not permit employers to use screening and selection devices that adversely affect any protected group unless those devices are shown to properly distinguish between qualified and unqualified applicants,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Jocelyn Samuels for the Civil Rights Division.  “The department commends Austin for its efforts to address these issues and to ensure that effective, Title VII-compliant selection practices are put into place.”

The department and the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) each investigated the AFD’s hiring practices.  Today’s proposed resolution was made possible in part through collaboration between the department and the San Antonio Field Office of the EEOC.

More information about Title VII and other federal employment laws is available on the Department of Justice website.

CDC SAYS DENGUE VIRUS INFECTION MAY BE UNDER REPORTED IN U.S..

FROM:  CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL AND PREVENTION 

Fatal Hemophagocytic Lymphohistiocytosis Associated with Locally Acquired Dengue Virus Infection — New Mexico and Texas, 2012

Dengue may be under recognized in the United States; clinicians should request diagnostic testing of suspected dengue cases and report confirmed cases to state and local health departments. This report describes a woman who was infected with dengue virus in the southern United States and died from a rare complication of dengue called hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis. The woman was initially diagnosed with West Nile fever and was not suspected of having dengue because the symptoms are sometimes associated with bleeding. Most people with dengue will not have severe bleeding, which is diagnostically linked with the disease. This case may suggest that there are more unrecognized cases of dengue in the United States. Although dengue outbreaks have recently occurred in Florida, Texas and Hawaii, the largest disease burden in the 50 United States will continue to be in travelers. Individuals who travel to areas where dengue is common should protect themselves from mosquito bites to reduce their risk of infection.

VIEW OF TEXAS CITIES FROM SPACE

FROM: NASA

Nighttime Image of Texas Cities

One of the Expedition 36 crew members aboard the International Space Station, some 240 miles above Earth, used a 50mm lens to record this oblique nighttime image of a large part of the nation’s second largest state in area, including the four largest metropolitan areas in population. The extent of the metropolitan areas is easily visible at night due to city and highway lights.

The largest metro area, Dallas-Fort Worth, often referred to informally as the Metroplex, is the heavily cloud-covered area at the top center of the photo. Neighboring Oklahoma, on the north side of the Red River, less than 100 miles to the north of the Metroplex, appears to be experiencing thunderstorms. The Houston metropolitan area, including the coastal city of Galveston, is at lower right. To the east near the Texas border with Louisiana, the metropolitan area of Beaumont-Port Arthur appears as a smaller blotch of light, also hugging the coast of the Texas Gulf. Moving inland to the left side of the picture one can delineate the San Antonio metro area. The capital city of Austin can be seen to the northeast of San Antonio.

Image Credit: NASA

U.S. ,MARSHALS SERVICE REPORTS ABDUCTED TEXAS CHILD FOUND

FROM: U.S. MARSHALS SERVICE
Child Abducted from Robertson County Recovered in New Mexico
 Waco, TX
– The United States Marshals Service’s Lone Star Fugitive Task Force is pleased to announce that on April 2, 2013, an abducted child from Robertson County, TX, was found near Silver City, New Mexico.

In August 2012, Brian Keith Moore, 29, and Madeline McCartney-Moore, 26, abducted their biological child, 6, during a court ordered week long visitation. When the Moore’s failed to return the child to the legal guardians, Timothy and Tracey Moore, the guardians contacted the Robertson County Sheriff’s Office. The investigation by the Sheriff’s Office revealed that the Brian and Madeline Moore had moved out of their home near Hearne, TX; turned their livestock loose on the streets; turned off utilities and closed bank accounts. It was suspected that the family was being assisted by Michael McCartney, Madeline McCartney-Moore’s father and grandfather to the child.

The Robertson County Sheriff’s Office sought and received felony arrest warrants for Brian Moore and Madeline McCartney-Moore for Violation of Court Order. The Sheriff’s Office also requested the assistance from the U.S. Marshals Service because it was believed that the Moore’s had left the state. The Sheriff’s Office also registered the child as an abducted child with NCMEC, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.

In February 2013, the Robertson County Sheriff’s Office received information that Michael McCartney had contacted a friend or family member by phone. The person passed on the information to the investigator. This break allowed investigators to focus on the western New Mexico and eastern Arizona area. On February 1, 2013, the investigators discovered that the family had shopped at a local grocery store in Show Low, Arizona. Video surveillance footage showed that Michael McCartney and the abducted child were together along with all the other family members. With that information, the Robertson County Sheriff’s Office sought and received a felony arrest warrant for Michael McCartney charging him with Interference with Child Custody.

On April 2, 2013, investigators received information that the Moore’s may be staying in an area between Silver City, NM and Santa Clara, NM. Investigators located vehicles owned and utilized by the family on Camino Oro Road in rural Grant County, NM. After hours of surveillance, Grant County Sheriff’s Office deputies and U.S. Marshal’s Service deputies approached the trailer where Brian Moore was seen coming and going earlier in the evening. When investigators made entry into the trailer, investigators found the abducted child along with Brian Moore, Madeline McCartney-Moore and Michael McCartney. The child was unharmed and was taken into protective custody. Brian, Madeline and Michael were all arrested and taken to the Grant County Jail, Silver City, NM, where they await extradition back to Central Texas. Brian and Madeline Moore’s two other children were turned over to Child Protective Services.

"Crimes against children will not be tolerated at any level, and we will continue to utilize our state, local and federal partners and all of our national resources to protect our children", U.S. Marshal for the Western District of Texas, Robert Almonte said.