Saturday, September 28, 2013
EDUCATION AWARDS $14 MILLION IN GRANTS TO 31 NATIVE AMERICAN AND ALASKA NATIVE ENTITIES
FROM: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
U.S. Department of Education Awards $14 Million in Grants to 31 Native American and Alaska Native Entities
SEPTEMBER 25, 2013
The U.S. Department of Education today announced the award of about $14 million in grants to 31 Indian tribes, tribal organizations, and Alaska Native entities to help them improve career and technical education programs.
Under the 2013 Native American Career and Technical Education Program (NACTEP) competition, the Department encouraged applicants to propose projects that included promoting science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM), and the use of technology within career and technical education programs. Career and technical education in the STEM fields is important to providing students with education that can lead to employment in high growth, in-demand industry sectors.
"In today's global and knowledge-based economy, it's critical that we prepare all students for jobs that lead to a success career," said U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan. "These grants will help underrepresented groups attain the necessary resources to earn an industry certification and postsecondary certificate or degree, while also strengthening our country’s global competitiveness."
The NACTEP requires the Secretary to ensure that activities will improve career and technical education for Native American and Alaska Native students. Additionally, NACTEP grants are aligned with other programs under the Carl D. Perkins Career & Technical Education Act of 2006 that require recipients to provide coherent and rigorous content aligned with challenging academic standards. NACTEP projects also include preparing students for the high-skill, high-wage, or high-demand occupations in emerging or established professions.
Below is a list of the 2013 NACTEP Grantees:
Cook Inlet Tribal Council, Inc. (Alaska) $417,543
Council of Athabascan Tribal Governments (Alaska) $470,022
Pascua Yaqui Tribe (Ariz.) $411,460
Hoopa Valley Tribe (Calif.) $470,130
Coeur d’ Alene Tribe (Idaho) $469,362
Keweenaw Bay Ojibwa Community College (Mich.) $341,938
Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians (Mich.) $452,804
Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians (Miss.) $470,689
Aaniiih Nakota College (Mont.) $467,256
Blackfeet Community College (Mont.) $386,966
Blackfeet Tribal Employment Rights Office (Mont.) $464,890
Fort Peck Community College (Mont.) $469,785
Salish Kootenai College (Mont.) $471,559
Stone Child College (Mont.) $473,556
Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska (Neb.) $469,345
Cankdeska Cikana Community College (N.D.) $450,564
Fort Berthold Community College (N.D.) $452,874
Sitting Bull College (N.D.) $415,660
Turtle Mountain Community College (N.D.) $471,466
Alamo Navajo School Board, Inc. (N.M.) $471,937
Coyote Canyon Rehabilitation Center, Inc. (N.M.) $473,912
Cherokee Nation (Okla.) $470,425
Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma (Okla.) $468,923
Shawnee Tribe (Okla.) $434,613
Pawnee Nation College (Okla.) $470,956
Oglala Lakota College (S.D.) $467,835
Sinte Gleska University (S.D.) $466,900
Muckleshoot Indian Tribe (Wash.) $437,674
Northwest Indian College (Wash.) $416,097
The Tulalip Tribes of Washington (Wash.) $451,113
College of Menominee Nation (Wis.) $472,994
U.S. Department of Education Awards $14 Million in Grants to 31 Native American and Alaska Native Entities
SEPTEMBER 25, 2013
The U.S. Department of Education today announced the award of about $14 million in grants to 31 Indian tribes, tribal organizations, and Alaska Native entities to help them improve career and technical education programs.
Under the 2013 Native American Career and Technical Education Program (NACTEP) competition, the Department encouraged applicants to propose projects that included promoting science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM), and the use of technology within career and technical education programs. Career and technical education in the STEM fields is important to providing students with education that can lead to employment in high growth, in-demand industry sectors.
"In today's global and knowledge-based economy, it's critical that we prepare all students for jobs that lead to a success career," said U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan. "These grants will help underrepresented groups attain the necessary resources to earn an industry certification and postsecondary certificate or degree, while also strengthening our country’s global competitiveness."
The NACTEP requires the Secretary to ensure that activities will improve career and technical education for Native American and Alaska Native students. Additionally, NACTEP grants are aligned with other programs under the Carl D. Perkins Career & Technical Education Act of 2006 that require recipients to provide coherent and rigorous content aligned with challenging academic standards. NACTEP projects also include preparing students for the high-skill, high-wage, or high-demand occupations in emerging or established professions.
Below is a list of the 2013 NACTEP Grantees:
Cook Inlet Tribal Council, Inc. (Alaska) $417,543
Council of Athabascan Tribal Governments (Alaska) $470,022
Pascua Yaqui Tribe (Ariz.) $411,460
Hoopa Valley Tribe (Calif.) $470,130
Coeur d’ Alene Tribe (Idaho) $469,362
Keweenaw Bay Ojibwa Community College (Mich.) $341,938
Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians (Mich.) $452,804
Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians (Miss.) $470,689
Aaniiih Nakota College (Mont.) $467,256
Blackfeet Community College (Mont.) $386,966
Blackfeet Tribal Employment Rights Office (Mont.) $464,890
Fort Peck Community College (Mont.) $469,785
Salish Kootenai College (Mont.) $471,559
Stone Child College (Mont.) $473,556
Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska (Neb.) $469,345
Cankdeska Cikana Community College (N.D.) $450,564
Fort Berthold Community College (N.D.) $452,874
Sitting Bull College (N.D.) $415,660
Turtle Mountain Community College (N.D.) $471,466
Alamo Navajo School Board, Inc. (N.M.) $471,937
Coyote Canyon Rehabilitation Center, Inc. (N.M.) $473,912
Cherokee Nation (Okla.) $470,425
Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma (Okla.) $468,923
Shawnee Tribe (Okla.) $434,613
Pawnee Nation College (Okla.) $470,956
Oglala Lakota College (S.D.) $467,835
Sinte Gleska University (S.D.) $466,900
Muckleshoot Indian Tribe (Wash.) $437,674
Northwest Indian College (Wash.) $416,097
The Tulalip Tribes of Washington (Wash.) $451,113
College of Menominee Nation (Wis.) $472,994
OFFICIALS APPEAR BEFORE SENATE COMMITTEE TO DISCUSS INTELLIGENCE PROGRAMS
FROM: U.S. DEFENSE DEPARTMENT
Officials Discuss Intelligence Programs at Senate Hearing
By Cheryl Pellerin
American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, Sept. 27, 2013 - At a hearing yesterday before the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, Army Gen. Keith B. Alexander, commander of U.S. Cyber Command and director of the National Security Agency, and Director of National Intelligence James R. Clapper Jr. discussed a NSA-managed classified intelligence program, one of two made public by a security leak in June.
Joining Alexander and Clapper was Deputy Attorney General James Cole. All were called to testify about both programs leaked to the press by former NSA systems administrator Edward Snowden -- Section 215 of the Patriot Act, also known as NSA's 215 business records program, and Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, or FISA.
In the months since the leaks, media reports have said the programs involve secret surveillance by NSA of phone calls and online activities of U.S. citizens, and revealed unauthorized disclosures of information by NSA, generating distrust of the agency and calls for an end to the programs.
Section 702 of FISA and Section 215 of the Patriot Act both were authorized by the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, first approved by Congress in 1978.
Section 702 authorizes access, under court oversight, to records and other items belonging to foreign targets located outside the United States. Section 215 broadens FISA to allow the FBI director or other high-ranking officials there to apply for orders to examine telephone metadata to help with terrorism investigations.
In 2012, these programs resulted in the examination of fewer than 300 selectors, or phone numbers, in the NSA database, Alexander said during a congressional hearing in July.
In his remarks, Cole described the 215 program, explaining that it involves collecting only metadata from telephone calls.
"What is collected as metadata is quite limited. ... It is the number a telephone calls ... It doesn't include the name of the person called," Cole said. "It doesn't include the location of the person called. It doesn't include any content of that communication. It doesn't include financial information ... It is just the number that was called, the date and the length of the call."
"If you want any additional information beyond that, you would have to go and get other legal processes to find that information and acquire it," he added.
Such metadata can only be looked at when there is a reasonable, articulable suspicion for a specific phone number to be queried in the database, Cole said.
"Otherwise," he said, "we do not and cannot just roam through this database looking for whatever connections we may think are interesting or in any way look at it beyond the restrictions in the court order."
Only a small number of analysts can make such a determination, and that determination must be documented so it can be reviewed by a supervisor and later reviewed for compliance purposes, Cole added. The program is conducted according to authorization by the FISA Court, which must reapprove the program every 90 days.
"Since the court originally authorized this program in 2006, it has been reapproved on 34 separate occasions by 14 individual Article Three judges of the FISA Court," Cole said. "Each reapproval indicates the court's conclusion that the collection was permissible under Section 215 and satisfied all constitutional requirements."
Article Three of the U.S. Constitution establishes the judicial branch of the federal government.
Oversight of the 215 program involves all three branches of government, including the FISA Court and the Intelligence and Judiciary Committees of both houses of Congress, Cole said. Every 90 days, the Department of Justice reviews a sample of NSA's queries to determine whether the reasonable articulable requirement has been met.
DOJ lawyers meet every 90 days with NSA operators and with the NSA inspector general to discuss the program's operation and any compliance issues that may arise, Cole explained.
With respect to Congress, "we have reported any significant compliance problems, such as those uncovered in 2009, to the Intelligence and Judiciary Committees of both houses," he said.
"Those documents have since been declassified and released by the DNI to give the public a better understanding of how the government and the FISA court respond to compliance problems once they're identified," Cole said.
In his testimony, Alexander told the panel that NSA's implementation of Section 215 of the Patriot Act focuses on defending the homeland by linking foreign and domestic threats.
Section 702 of FISA focuses on acquiring foreign intelligence, he said, including critical information concerning international terrorist organizations, by targeting non-U.S. persons who are reasonably believed to be outside the United States.
NSA also operates under other sections of the FISA statute in accordance with the law's provisions, Alexander said.
"To target a U.S. person anywhere in the world, under the FISA statute we are required to obtain a court order based on a probable cause showing that the prospective target of the surveillance is a foreign power or agent of a foreign power," he explained.
"As I have said before, these authorities and capabilities are powerful," Alexander said. "We take our responsibility seriously."
NSA stood up a directorate of compliance in 2009 and regularly trains the entire workforce in privacy protections and the proper use of capabilities, he said.
"We do make mistakes," Alexander noted.
"Compliance incidents, with very rare exceptions, are unintentional and reflect the sorts of errors that occur in any complex system of technical activity," he said.
The press has claimed evidence of thousands of privacy violations but that is false and misleading, Alexander said.
"According to NSA's independent inspector general, there have been only 12 substantiated cases of willful violation over 10 years. Essentially one per year," he said. "Several of these cases were referred to the Department of Justice for potential prosecution, and appropriate disciplinary action in other cases. We hold ourselves accountable every day."
Of 2,776 violations noted in the press, he said, about 75 percent were not violations of court-approved procedures but rather were NSA's detection of valid foreign targets that traveled to the United States. The targets are called roamers and failure to stop collecting on them as soon as they enter the United States from a foreign country is considered a violation that must be reported.
"NSA has a privacy compliance program that any leader of a large, complex organization would be proud of," Alexander said. "We welcome an ongoing discussion about how the public can, going forward, have increased information about NSA's compliance program and its compliance posture, much the same way all three branches of the government have today."
NSA's programs have contributed to understanding and disrupting 54 terrorism-related events, Alexander told the panel, with 25 in Europe, 11 in Asia, five in Africa, and 13 in the United States.
"This was no accident. This was not coincidence. These are the direct results of a dedicated workforce, appropriate policy, and well-scoped authorities created in the wake of 9/11, to make sure 9/11 never happens again," Alexander said.
In the week ending 23 Sept., he said, there were 972 terrorism-related deaths in Kenya, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Syria, Yemen and Iraq. Another 1,030 people were injured in the same countries.
"The programs I've been talking about -- we need these programs to protect this nation, to ensure that we don't have those same statistics here," Alexander said.
With respect to reforms, he said, on Aug. 9 President Barack Obama laid out specific steps to increase the confidence of the American people in the NSA foreign intelligence collection programs.
"We are always looking for ways to better protect privacy and security," Alexander said. "We have improved over time our ability to reconcile our technology with our operations and with the rules and authorities. We will continue to do so as we go forward and strive to improve how we protect the American people, their privacy and their security."
In his remarks to the panel, Clapper said that over past 3 months he's declassified and publicly released a series of documents related to Section 215 Section 702.
"We did that to facilitate informed public debate about the important intelligence collection programs," he said. "We felt in the light of the unauthorized disclosures, the public interest in these documents far outweigh the potential additional damage to national security. These documents [allow them to] see the seriousness, thoroughness and rigor with which the FISA Court exercises its responsibilities."
Even in these documents, Clapper said, officials had to redact some information to protect sensitive sources and methods such as particular targets of surveillance.
"We'll continue to declassify more documents. It's what the American people want," he said. "It's what the president has asked us to do. And I personally believe it's the only way we can reassure our citizens that the intelligence community is using its tools and authorities appropriately."
But, Clapper said, "we also have to remain mindful of potentially negative long-term impact of over-correcting to the authorizations granted to the intelligence community."
Clapper added, "As Americans we face an unending array of threats to our way of life -- more than I've seen in my 50 years in intelligence. We need to sustain our ability to detect these threats. We welcome a balanced discussion about civil liberties but it's not an either-or situation. We need to continue to protect both."
Officials Discuss Intelligence Programs at Senate Hearing
By Cheryl Pellerin
American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, Sept. 27, 2013 - At a hearing yesterday before the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, Army Gen. Keith B. Alexander, commander of U.S. Cyber Command and director of the National Security Agency, and Director of National Intelligence James R. Clapper Jr. discussed a NSA-managed classified intelligence program, one of two made public by a security leak in June.
Joining Alexander and Clapper was Deputy Attorney General James Cole. All were called to testify about both programs leaked to the press by former NSA systems administrator Edward Snowden -- Section 215 of the Patriot Act, also known as NSA's 215 business records program, and Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, or FISA.
In the months since the leaks, media reports have said the programs involve secret surveillance by NSA of phone calls and online activities of U.S. citizens, and revealed unauthorized disclosures of information by NSA, generating distrust of the agency and calls for an end to the programs.
Section 702 of FISA and Section 215 of the Patriot Act both were authorized by the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, first approved by Congress in 1978.
Section 702 authorizes access, under court oversight, to records and other items belonging to foreign targets located outside the United States. Section 215 broadens FISA to allow the FBI director or other high-ranking officials there to apply for orders to examine telephone metadata to help with terrorism investigations.
In 2012, these programs resulted in the examination of fewer than 300 selectors, or phone numbers, in the NSA database, Alexander said during a congressional hearing in July.
In his remarks, Cole described the 215 program, explaining that it involves collecting only metadata from telephone calls.
"What is collected as metadata is quite limited. ... It is the number a telephone calls ... It doesn't include the name of the person called," Cole said. "It doesn't include the location of the person called. It doesn't include any content of that communication. It doesn't include financial information ... It is just the number that was called, the date and the length of the call."
"If you want any additional information beyond that, you would have to go and get other legal processes to find that information and acquire it," he added.
Such metadata can only be looked at when there is a reasonable, articulable suspicion for a specific phone number to be queried in the database, Cole said.
"Otherwise," he said, "we do not and cannot just roam through this database looking for whatever connections we may think are interesting or in any way look at it beyond the restrictions in the court order."
Only a small number of analysts can make such a determination, and that determination must be documented so it can be reviewed by a supervisor and later reviewed for compliance purposes, Cole added. The program is conducted according to authorization by the FISA Court, which must reapprove the program every 90 days.
"Since the court originally authorized this program in 2006, it has been reapproved on 34 separate occasions by 14 individual Article Three judges of the FISA Court," Cole said. "Each reapproval indicates the court's conclusion that the collection was permissible under Section 215 and satisfied all constitutional requirements."
Article Three of the U.S. Constitution establishes the judicial branch of the federal government.
Oversight of the 215 program involves all three branches of government, including the FISA Court and the Intelligence and Judiciary Committees of both houses of Congress, Cole said. Every 90 days, the Department of Justice reviews a sample of NSA's queries to determine whether the reasonable articulable requirement has been met.
DOJ lawyers meet every 90 days with NSA operators and with the NSA inspector general to discuss the program's operation and any compliance issues that may arise, Cole explained.
With respect to Congress, "we have reported any significant compliance problems, such as those uncovered in 2009, to the Intelligence and Judiciary Committees of both houses," he said.
"Those documents have since been declassified and released by the DNI to give the public a better understanding of how the government and the FISA court respond to compliance problems once they're identified," Cole said.
In his testimony, Alexander told the panel that NSA's implementation of Section 215 of the Patriot Act focuses on defending the homeland by linking foreign and domestic threats.
Section 702 of FISA focuses on acquiring foreign intelligence, he said, including critical information concerning international terrorist organizations, by targeting non-U.S. persons who are reasonably believed to be outside the United States.
NSA also operates under other sections of the FISA statute in accordance with the law's provisions, Alexander said.
"To target a U.S. person anywhere in the world, under the FISA statute we are required to obtain a court order based on a probable cause showing that the prospective target of the surveillance is a foreign power or agent of a foreign power," he explained.
"As I have said before, these authorities and capabilities are powerful," Alexander said. "We take our responsibility seriously."
NSA stood up a directorate of compliance in 2009 and regularly trains the entire workforce in privacy protections and the proper use of capabilities, he said.
"We do make mistakes," Alexander noted.
"Compliance incidents, with very rare exceptions, are unintentional and reflect the sorts of errors that occur in any complex system of technical activity," he said.
The press has claimed evidence of thousands of privacy violations but that is false and misleading, Alexander said.
"According to NSA's independent inspector general, there have been only 12 substantiated cases of willful violation over 10 years. Essentially one per year," he said. "Several of these cases were referred to the Department of Justice for potential prosecution, and appropriate disciplinary action in other cases. We hold ourselves accountable every day."
Of 2,776 violations noted in the press, he said, about 75 percent were not violations of court-approved procedures but rather were NSA's detection of valid foreign targets that traveled to the United States. The targets are called roamers and failure to stop collecting on them as soon as they enter the United States from a foreign country is considered a violation that must be reported.
"NSA has a privacy compliance program that any leader of a large, complex organization would be proud of," Alexander said. "We welcome an ongoing discussion about how the public can, going forward, have increased information about NSA's compliance program and its compliance posture, much the same way all three branches of the government have today."
NSA's programs have contributed to understanding and disrupting 54 terrorism-related events, Alexander told the panel, with 25 in Europe, 11 in Asia, five in Africa, and 13 in the United States.
"This was no accident. This was not coincidence. These are the direct results of a dedicated workforce, appropriate policy, and well-scoped authorities created in the wake of 9/11, to make sure 9/11 never happens again," Alexander said.
In the week ending 23 Sept., he said, there were 972 terrorism-related deaths in Kenya, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Syria, Yemen and Iraq. Another 1,030 people were injured in the same countries.
"The programs I've been talking about -- we need these programs to protect this nation, to ensure that we don't have those same statistics here," Alexander said.
With respect to reforms, he said, on Aug. 9 President Barack Obama laid out specific steps to increase the confidence of the American people in the NSA foreign intelligence collection programs.
"We are always looking for ways to better protect privacy and security," Alexander said. "We have improved over time our ability to reconcile our technology with our operations and with the rules and authorities. We will continue to do so as we go forward and strive to improve how we protect the American people, their privacy and their security."
In his remarks to the panel, Clapper said that over past 3 months he's declassified and publicly released a series of documents related to Section 215 Section 702.
"We did that to facilitate informed public debate about the important intelligence collection programs," he said. "We felt in the light of the unauthorized disclosures, the public interest in these documents far outweigh the potential additional damage to national security. These documents [allow them to] see the seriousness, thoroughness and rigor with which the FISA Court exercises its responsibilities."
Even in these documents, Clapper said, officials had to redact some information to protect sensitive sources and methods such as particular targets of surveillance.
"We'll continue to declassify more documents. It's what the American people want," he said. "It's what the president has asked us to do. And I personally believe it's the only way we can reassure our citizens that the intelligence community is using its tools and authorities appropriately."
But, Clapper said, "we also have to remain mindful of potentially negative long-term impact of over-correcting to the authorizations granted to the intelligence community."
Clapper added, "As Americans we face an unending array of threats to our way of life -- more than I've seen in my 50 years in intelligence. We need to sustain our ability to detect these threats. We welcome a balanced discussion about civil liberties but it's not an either-or situation. We need to continue to protect both."
PRESIDENT OBAMA'S WEEKLY ADDRESS FOR SEPTER 28, 2013
FROM: THE WHITE HOUSE
SEPTEMBER 28, 2013
Weekly Address: Averting a Government Shutdown and Expanding Access to Affordable Healthcare
WASHINGTON, DC— In this week’s address, President Obama said that on October 1st, a big part of the Affordable Care Act will go live and give uninsured Americans the same chance to buy quality, affordable health care as everyone else. It is also the day when some Republicans in Congress might shut down the government just because they don’t like the law. The President urged Congress to both pass a budget by Monday and raise the nation’s debt ceiling so that we can keep growing the economy. He also said that those without health insurance and those who buy it on the individual market should visit HealthCare.gov to find out how to get covered on Tuesday.
The audio of the address and video of the address will be available online at www.whitehouse.gov at 6:00 a.m. ET, September 28, 2013.
Remarks of President Barack Obama
Weekly Address
The White House
September 28, 2013
Hi, everybody. This Tuesday is an important day for families, businesses, and our economy.
It’s the day a big part of the Affordable Care Act kicks in, and tens of millions of Americans will finally have the same chance to buy quality, affordable health care as everyone else.
It’s also the day that a group of far-right Republicans in Congress might choose to shut down the government and potentially damage the economy just because they don’t like this law.
I’ll get to that in a second. But first – here’s what the Affordable Care Act means for you.
If you’re one of the vast majority of Americans who already have health care, you already have new benefits you didn’t before, like free mammograms and contraceptive care with no copay, and discounts on prescription medicine for seniors. You’ve already got new protections in place too, like no more lifetime limits on your care, no more discriminating against children with preexisting conditions like asthma, or being able to stay on your parents’ plan until you turn 26.
That’s all in place and available to Americans with health insurance right now.
If you don’t have health insurance, or if you buy it on the individual market, then starting this Tuesday, October 1st, you can visit HealthCare.gov to find what’s called the health insurance marketplace in your state.
This is a website where you can compare insurance plans, side-by-side, the same way you’d shop for a TV or a plane ticket. You’ll see new choices and new competition. Many of you will see cheaper prices, and many of you will be eligible for tax credits that bring down your costs even more. Nearly 6 in 10 uninsured Americans will be able to get coverage for $100 or less.
If you’re one of the up to half of Americans with a preexisting condition, these new plans mean your insurer can no longer charge you more than anyone else. They can’t charge women more than men for the same coverage. And they take effect January 1st.
So get covered at HealthCare.gov. And spread the word. These marketplaces will be open for business on Tuesday, no matter what. The Affordable Care Act is one of the most important things we’ve done as a country in decades to strengthen economic security for the middle class and all who strive to join the middle class. And it is going to work.
That’s also one of the reasons it’s so disturbing that Republicans in Congress are threatening to shut down the government – or worse – if I don’t agree to gut this law.
Congress has two responsibilities right now: pass a budget on time, and pay our bills on time.
If Congress doesn’t pass a budget by Monday – the end of the fiscal year – the government shuts down, along with many vital services the American people depend on. On Friday, the Senate passed a bill to keep the government open. But Republicans in the House have been more concerned with appeasing an extreme faction of their party than working to pass a budget that creates new jobs or strengthens the middle class. And in the next couple days, these Republicans will have to decide whether to join the Senate and keep the government open, or create a crisis that will hurt people for the sole purpose of advancing their ideological agenda.
Past government shutdowns have disrupted the economy. This shutdown would, too. At a moment when our economy has steadily gained traction, and our deficits have been falling faster than at any time in 60 years, a shutdown would be a purely self-inflicted wound. And that’s why many Republican Senators and Republican governors have urged Republicans in the House of Representatives to knock it off, pass a budget, and move on.
This brings me to the second responsibility Congress has. Once they vote to keep the government open, they must also vote within the next couple weeks to allow the Treasury to pay the bills for the money that Congress has already spent. Failure to meet this responsibility would be far more dangerous than a government shutdown – it would be an economic shutdown, with impacts not just here, but around the world.
Unfortunately some Republicans have suggested that unless I agree to an even longer list of demands – not just gutting the health care law, but things like cutting taxes for millionaires or rolling back rules on big banks and polluters– they’ll push the button, throwing America into default for the first time in history and risk throwing us back into recession.
I will work with anyone who wants to have a serious conservation about our economic future. But I will not negotiate over Congress’ responsibility to pay the bills it has already racked up. I don’t know how to be more clear about this: no one gets to threaten the full faith and credit of the United States of America just to extract ideological concessions. No one gets to hurt our economy and millions of innocent people just because there are a couple laws you don’t like. It hasn’t been done in the past, and we’re not going to start doing it now.
The American people have worked too hard to recover from crisis to see extremists in their Congress cause another one. And every day this goes on is another day that we can’t continue the work of rebuilding the great American middle class. Congress needs to pass a budget in time, pay its bills on time, and refocus on the everyday concerns of the people who sent them there.
That’s what I’m focused on. That’s what I’ll keep fighting for.
Thank you.
SEPTEMBER 28, 2013
Weekly Address: Averting a Government Shutdown and Expanding Access to Affordable Healthcare
WASHINGTON, DC— In this week’s address, President Obama said that on October 1st, a big part of the Affordable Care Act will go live and give uninsured Americans the same chance to buy quality, affordable health care as everyone else. It is also the day when some Republicans in Congress might shut down the government just because they don’t like the law. The President urged Congress to both pass a budget by Monday and raise the nation’s debt ceiling so that we can keep growing the economy. He also said that those without health insurance and those who buy it on the individual market should visit HealthCare.gov to find out how to get covered on Tuesday.
The audio of the address and video of the address will be available online at www.whitehouse.gov at 6:00 a.m. ET, September 28, 2013.
Remarks of President Barack Obama
Weekly Address
The White House
September 28, 2013
Hi, everybody. This Tuesday is an important day for families, businesses, and our economy.
It’s the day a big part of the Affordable Care Act kicks in, and tens of millions of Americans will finally have the same chance to buy quality, affordable health care as everyone else.
It’s also the day that a group of far-right Republicans in Congress might choose to shut down the government and potentially damage the economy just because they don’t like this law.
I’ll get to that in a second. But first – here’s what the Affordable Care Act means for you.
If you’re one of the vast majority of Americans who already have health care, you already have new benefits you didn’t before, like free mammograms and contraceptive care with no copay, and discounts on prescription medicine for seniors. You’ve already got new protections in place too, like no more lifetime limits on your care, no more discriminating against children with preexisting conditions like asthma, or being able to stay on your parents’ plan until you turn 26.
That’s all in place and available to Americans with health insurance right now.
If you don’t have health insurance, or if you buy it on the individual market, then starting this Tuesday, October 1st, you can visit HealthCare.gov to find what’s called the health insurance marketplace in your state.
This is a website where you can compare insurance plans, side-by-side, the same way you’d shop for a TV or a plane ticket. You’ll see new choices and new competition. Many of you will see cheaper prices, and many of you will be eligible for tax credits that bring down your costs even more. Nearly 6 in 10 uninsured Americans will be able to get coverage for $100 or less.
If you’re one of the up to half of Americans with a preexisting condition, these new plans mean your insurer can no longer charge you more than anyone else. They can’t charge women more than men for the same coverage. And they take effect January 1st.
So get covered at HealthCare.gov. And spread the word. These marketplaces will be open for business on Tuesday, no matter what. The Affordable Care Act is one of the most important things we’ve done as a country in decades to strengthen economic security for the middle class and all who strive to join the middle class. And it is going to work.
That’s also one of the reasons it’s so disturbing that Republicans in Congress are threatening to shut down the government – or worse – if I don’t agree to gut this law.
Congress has two responsibilities right now: pass a budget on time, and pay our bills on time.
If Congress doesn’t pass a budget by Monday – the end of the fiscal year – the government shuts down, along with many vital services the American people depend on. On Friday, the Senate passed a bill to keep the government open. But Republicans in the House have been more concerned with appeasing an extreme faction of their party than working to pass a budget that creates new jobs or strengthens the middle class. And in the next couple days, these Republicans will have to decide whether to join the Senate and keep the government open, or create a crisis that will hurt people for the sole purpose of advancing their ideological agenda.
Past government shutdowns have disrupted the economy. This shutdown would, too. At a moment when our economy has steadily gained traction, and our deficits have been falling faster than at any time in 60 years, a shutdown would be a purely self-inflicted wound. And that’s why many Republican Senators and Republican governors have urged Republicans in the House of Representatives to knock it off, pass a budget, and move on.
This brings me to the second responsibility Congress has. Once they vote to keep the government open, they must also vote within the next couple weeks to allow the Treasury to pay the bills for the money that Congress has already spent. Failure to meet this responsibility would be far more dangerous than a government shutdown – it would be an economic shutdown, with impacts not just here, but around the world.
Unfortunately some Republicans have suggested that unless I agree to an even longer list of demands – not just gutting the health care law, but things like cutting taxes for millionaires or rolling back rules on big banks and polluters– they’ll push the button, throwing America into default for the first time in history and risk throwing us back into recession.
I will work with anyone who wants to have a serious conservation about our economic future. But I will not negotiate over Congress’ responsibility to pay the bills it has already racked up. I don’t know how to be more clear about this: no one gets to threaten the full faith and credit of the United States of America just to extract ideological concessions. No one gets to hurt our economy and millions of innocent people just because there are a couple laws you don’t like. It hasn’t been done in the past, and we’re not going to start doing it now.
The American people have worked too hard to recover from crisis to see extremists in their Congress cause another one. And every day this goes on is another day that we can’t continue the work of rebuilding the great American middle class. Congress needs to pass a budget in time, pay its bills on time, and refocus on the everyday concerns of the people who sent them there.
That’s what I’m focused on. That’s what I’ll keep fighting for.
Thank you.
PATIENT-CENTERED CARE FOR VETERANS
FROM: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS
VA Announces Award of Patient-Centered Community Care Contracts
September 19, 2013
Contracts Provide Expanded Access to Community-based Care
WASHINGTON -- The Department of Veterans Affairs announced today that Veterans will have greater access to quality health care through a new initiative: Patient-Centered Community Care (PCCC).
“PCCC is an innovative solution that helps VA medical centers continue to provide quality care efficiently,” said Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric K. Shinseki. “This will be a valuable option for VA medical centers to use to expand our Veterans’ access to care.”
Under PCCC, VA medical centers will have the ability to purchase non-VA medical care for Veterans through contracted medical providers when they cannot readily provide the needed care due to geographic inaccessibility or limited capacity. Eligible Veterans will have access to inpatient specialty care, outpatient specialty care, mental health care, limited emergency care, and limited newborn care for enrolled female Veterans following the birth of a child.
“PCCC provides a regional contracting vehicle for VA to work with local community providers to give Veterans access to high quality care,” said Dr. Robert Petzel, VA’s Under Secretary for Health. “It will also help VA in our continued efforts to ensure timely and accessible services are provided to Veterans for non-VA medical care.”
In total, VA has awarded two contracts under PCCC, one to Health Net Federal Services LLC and another to TriWest Healthcare Alliance Corp. These companies will set up networks in six regions covering the entire country. VA expects to have these regional contract networks available to its medical centers by the spring of 2014. The awarded contracts, estimated at $9.4 billion, include one base year and four option years.
PCCC is part of the overall Non-VA Medical Care Program. It will provide all VA facilities with an additional option to purchase non-VA medical care when required Veteran care services are unavailable within the VA medical facility or when the Veterans benefit from receiving the needed care nearer to their homes.
Among the many benefits to the Veterans and VA under these new contracts, VA will enjoy standardized health care quality metrics, timely return of medical documentation, cost avoidance with fixed rates for services across the board, guaranteed access to care, and enhanced tracking and reporting of non-VA medical care expenditures over traditional non-VA medical care services.
VA Announces Award of Patient-Centered Community Care Contracts
September 19, 2013
Contracts Provide Expanded Access to Community-based Care
WASHINGTON -- The Department of Veterans Affairs announced today that Veterans will have greater access to quality health care through a new initiative: Patient-Centered Community Care (PCCC).
“PCCC is an innovative solution that helps VA medical centers continue to provide quality care efficiently,” said Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric K. Shinseki. “This will be a valuable option for VA medical centers to use to expand our Veterans’ access to care.”
Under PCCC, VA medical centers will have the ability to purchase non-VA medical care for Veterans through contracted medical providers when they cannot readily provide the needed care due to geographic inaccessibility or limited capacity. Eligible Veterans will have access to inpatient specialty care, outpatient specialty care, mental health care, limited emergency care, and limited newborn care for enrolled female Veterans following the birth of a child.
“PCCC provides a regional contracting vehicle for VA to work with local community providers to give Veterans access to high quality care,” said Dr. Robert Petzel, VA’s Under Secretary for Health. “It will also help VA in our continued efforts to ensure timely and accessible services are provided to Veterans for non-VA medical care.”
In total, VA has awarded two contracts under PCCC, one to Health Net Federal Services LLC and another to TriWest Healthcare Alliance Corp. These companies will set up networks in six regions covering the entire country. VA expects to have these regional contract networks available to its medical centers by the spring of 2014. The awarded contracts, estimated at $9.4 billion, include one base year and four option years.
PCCC is part of the overall Non-VA Medical Care Program. It will provide all VA facilities with an additional option to purchase non-VA medical care when required Veteran care services are unavailable within the VA medical facility or when the Veterans benefit from receiving the needed care nearer to their homes.
Among the many benefits to the Veterans and VA under these new contracts, VA will enjoy standardized health care quality metrics, timely return of medical documentation, cost avoidance with fixed rates for services across the board, guaranteed access to care, and enhanced tracking and reporting of non-VA medical care expenditures over traditional non-VA medical care services.
NASA ANNOUNCES PARTNERSHIP TO ADVANCE COMPOSITE MATERIALS RESEARCH
FROM: NASA
NASA Announces Advanced Composite Research Partnership
NASA has selected six companies from five U.S. states to participate in a government-and-industry partnership to advance composite materials research and certification.
The companies are:
• Bell Helicopter Textron Inc. of Fort Worth, Texas
• GE Aviation of Cincinnati
• Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Company of Palmdale, Calif.
• Northrop Grumman Aerospace Systems of Redondo Beach, Calif.
• Boeing Research & Technology of St. Louis
• United Technologies Corporation and subsidiary Pratt & Whitney of Hartford, Conn.
They were selected from 20 proposals submitted by teams from industry and academia in response to a call from the Advanced Composites Project, which is part of NASA's Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate's Integrated Systems Research Program. The project sought proposals to reduce the time for development, verification and regulatory acceptance of new composite materials and structures.
A panel of experts from NASA, the Federal Aviation Administration and the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory reviewed the submissions and assessed them according to specific criteria. The six firms were chosen for their technical expertise, willingness and ability to share in costs, certification experience with government agencies, focused technology areas and partnership histories.
The first task for the partners is to develop articles of collaboration and establish how the alliance will work and how companies may be added in the future.
NASA Announces Advanced Composite Research Partnership
NASA has selected six companies from five U.S. states to participate in a government-and-industry partnership to advance composite materials research and certification.
The companies are:
• Bell Helicopter Textron Inc. of Fort Worth, Texas
• GE Aviation of Cincinnati
• Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Company of Palmdale, Calif.
• Northrop Grumman Aerospace Systems of Redondo Beach, Calif.
• Boeing Research & Technology of St. Louis
• United Technologies Corporation and subsidiary Pratt & Whitney of Hartford, Conn.
They were selected from 20 proposals submitted by teams from industry and academia in response to a call from the Advanced Composites Project, which is part of NASA's Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate's Integrated Systems Research Program. The project sought proposals to reduce the time for development, verification and regulatory acceptance of new composite materials and structures.
A panel of experts from NASA, the Federal Aviation Administration and the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory reviewed the submissions and assessed them according to specific criteria. The six firms were chosen for their technical expertise, willingness and ability to share in costs, certification experience with government agencies, focused technology areas and partnership histories.
The first task for the partners is to develop articles of collaboration and establish how the alliance will work and how companies may be added in the future.
Friday, September 27, 2013
SECRETARY OF STATE KERRY'S REMARKS AT FRIENDS OF SYRIAN PEOPLE MINISTERIAL
FROM: U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT
Remarks at the Friends of the Syrian People Ministerial
Remarks
John Kerry
Secretary of State
New York City
September 26, 2013
SECRETARY KERRY: (In progress) We’re deeply grateful, all of us, for your having played a critical role – the critical role in inviting us here, in bringing us here. And I’m very pleased that President Jarba of the Syrian Opposition Council is here with us in New York. I think it’s very fitting that President Jarba was raised in Al-Hasakah, because that’s a part of Syria where Arabs, Kurds, the Syrians, and Armenians learned from one another for centuries. That foundation for pluralism and partnership has tragically been torn apart by the conflict that is now ravaging the country, a conflict which even as we have moved to try to separate the chemical weapons, must imperatively demand all of our attention.
We have, all of us, come to know too well an Assad who kills indiscriminately, who bombs women and children, Scud missiles on hospitals, artillery destroying students in a university. Millions of people displaced, millions of people refugeed, huge tensions on the surrounding countries, all of it for Assad to stay in power – a man who has lost any legitimacy to govern.
President Jarba understands that Syria can have a different future. And he understands that Syria can be a nation defined not by this kind of chaos and personal ambition and recklessness, but defined by its rich history of diversity – not by the forces that are content to destroy them. And through our close partnership with the Syrian Opposition Coalition, the legitimate representative, we believe, of the Syrian people, we can lay the foundation for a peaceful Syria where all Syrians have a say and a shape in a shared future.
The Syrian Opposition Coalition’s recent endorsement of Geneva 2 is a critical part of that effort, and I want to commend them for their support. I think almost everybody here has decided there is no military victory. Syria will implode long before any side could claim a military victory. And the fact is there is a process already in place, called Geneva 1, which our friends the Russians have signed on to, which calls for a transition government with quite detailed procedures about how you would have a constitutional process and election, and how Syrians would be able then to choose for the future of Syria. This is a transitional government that must be chosen by mutual consent. And there isn’t anybody in the world who believes that Assad would ever get the consent to be part of such a government.
So we need to move rapidly to put this process in place – a process which already calls for credible elections through that Geneva communique. So we intend to push very hard. We will have a meeting with Lakhdar Brahimi this Friday. I hope we will get this Geneva conference moving. Not that we have an illusion that it may resolve itself in days or even weeks, or perhaps months, but that process must begin so that the world knows we’re paying attention to the crisis of Syria, that it’s unacceptable that it continue in its current status, and that there is a road forward providing that Assad and the people who support him are willing to embrace what the international community has already adopted.
As we invest in the political track, the United States of America will remain steadfast in our efforts to have an impact on the balance on the ground. And we will continue to support the opposition, hopefully thereby moving us closer to a negotiated settlement.
We’ve seen what we’re up against, and we understand the urgency of our working together. There is no way to turn our backs on the nature of the attack that took place on August 21st, an attack that took so many lives in the dead of night because Assad was prepared to use a weapon that has been outlawed and not used in time of war since 1925. That death toll is added to the death toll of already 100,000, and unless all of us make clear our determination to assist the Syrian Opposition Coalition and to help move towards Geneva, that death toll will be added to, with grim figures that could even reach to 200,000, before the international community has applied the lessons that we’ve learned.
After Rwanda, we said never again. After World War II, we said never again. I think the words “never again” need to have meaning. So as we go forward, I’m glad to say to you that this afternoon, Foreign Minister Lavrov and I reached an agreement, which we need to run by our colleagues, with respect to the potential of a resolution. And our hope is that the Security Council will pass a resolution that will make binding and enforceable the removal of the chemical weapons.
But none of us can approach this with an understanding or a belief that just removing the chemical weapons absolves us of our responsibility to deal with the humanitarian crisis, and frankly, a crisis of multilateralism, a crisis of international institutions. We must help bring about a negotiated solution.
We believe we have a strong partner in President Jarba as we pursue these efforts, and it’s our great hope that the pluralism and the partnership that once defined his homeland, the secularity that defines his homeland, will define Syria for all of its citizens in the years to come. And we will do everything in our power to help provide that foundation.
Thank you, Mr. Foreign Minister.
Remarks at the Friends of the Syrian People Ministerial
Remarks
John Kerry
Secretary of State
New York City
September 26, 2013
SECRETARY KERRY: (In progress) We’re deeply grateful, all of us, for your having played a critical role – the critical role in inviting us here, in bringing us here. And I’m very pleased that President Jarba of the Syrian Opposition Council is here with us in New York. I think it’s very fitting that President Jarba was raised in Al-Hasakah, because that’s a part of Syria where Arabs, Kurds, the Syrians, and Armenians learned from one another for centuries. That foundation for pluralism and partnership has tragically been torn apart by the conflict that is now ravaging the country, a conflict which even as we have moved to try to separate the chemical weapons, must imperatively demand all of our attention.
We have, all of us, come to know too well an Assad who kills indiscriminately, who bombs women and children, Scud missiles on hospitals, artillery destroying students in a university. Millions of people displaced, millions of people refugeed, huge tensions on the surrounding countries, all of it for Assad to stay in power – a man who has lost any legitimacy to govern.
President Jarba understands that Syria can have a different future. And he understands that Syria can be a nation defined not by this kind of chaos and personal ambition and recklessness, but defined by its rich history of diversity – not by the forces that are content to destroy them. And through our close partnership with the Syrian Opposition Coalition, the legitimate representative, we believe, of the Syrian people, we can lay the foundation for a peaceful Syria where all Syrians have a say and a shape in a shared future.
The Syrian Opposition Coalition’s recent endorsement of Geneva 2 is a critical part of that effort, and I want to commend them for their support. I think almost everybody here has decided there is no military victory. Syria will implode long before any side could claim a military victory. And the fact is there is a process already in place, called Geneva 1, which our friends the Russians have signed on to, which calls for a transition government with quite detailed procedures about how you would have a constitutional process and election, and how Syrians would be able then to choose for the future of Syria. This is a transitional government that must be chosen by mutual consent. And there isn’t anybody in the world who believes that Assad would ever get the consent to be part of such a government.
So we need to move rapidly to put this process in place – a process which already calls for credible elections through that Geneva communique. So we intend to push very hard. We will have a meeting with Lakhdar Brahimi this Friday. I hope we will get this Geneva conference moving. Not that we have an illusion that it may resolve itself in days or even weeks, or perhaps months, but that process must begin so that the world knows we’re paying attention to the crisis of Syria, that it’s unacceptable that it continue in its current status, and that there is a road forward providing that Assad and the people who support him are willing to embrace what the international community has already adopted.
As we invest in the political track, the United States of America will remain steadfast in our efforts to have an impact on the balance on the ground. And we will continue to support the opposition, hopefully thereby moving us closer to a negotiated settlement.
We’ve seen what we’re up against, and we understand the urgency of our working together. There is no way to turn our backs on the nature of the attack that took place on August 21st, an attack that took so many lives in the dead of night because Assad was prepared to use a weapon that has been outlawed and not used in time of war since 1925. That death toll is added to the death toll of already 100,000, and unless all of us make clear our determination to assist the Syrian Opposition Coalition and to help move towards Geneva, that death toll will be added to, with grim figures that could even reach to 200,000, before the international community has applied the lessons that we’ve learned.
After Rwanda, we said never again. After World War II, we said never again. I think the words “never again” need to have meaning. So as we go forward, I’m glad to say to you that this afternoon, Foreign Minister Lavrov and I reached an agreement, which we need to run by our colleagues, with respect to the potential of a resolution. And our hope is that the Security Council will pass a resolution that will make binding and enforceable the removal of the chemical weapons.
But none of us can approach this with an understanding or a belief that just removing the chemical weapons absolves us of our responsibility to deal with the humanitarian crisis, and frankly, a crisis of multilateralism, a crisis of international institutions. We must help bring about a negotiated solution.
We believe we have a strong partner in President Jarba as we pursue these efforts, and it’s our great hope that the pluralism and the partnership that once defined his homeland, the secularity that defines his homeland, will define Syria for all of its citizens in the years to come. And we will do everything in our power to help provide that foundation.
Thank you, Mr. Foreign Minister.
EPA EVALUATES SAFER, ALTERNATIVE FLAME RETARDANT CHEMICALS
FROM: ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
September 24, 2013
EPA Evaluates Flame Retardants Including a Safer Substitute for HBCD
WASHINGTON — As part of its ongoing efforts to promote the design and use of safer chemicals, today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has released a draft report on alternatives to a flame retardant chemical, hexabromocyclododecane (HBCD), which has persistent, bioaccumulative and toxic characteristics. The findings in the report can help manufacturers identify safer alternatives to the use of HBCD in polystyrene building insulation.
“While EPA continues to support much needed reform of the Toxics Substances Control Act (TSCA), EPA is taking steps now to address the public’s concern with certain flame retardant chemicals, including making information available to companies to help them make decisions on safer chemicals,” said Jim Jones, EPA's assistant administrator for the Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention. “The conclusions in this report are enabling companies who choose to move away from HBCD to do so with confidence that the potential for unintended consequences is minimized.”
The Design for the Environment (DfE) Alternatives Assessment draft report, developed with stakeholder and public participation, describes the uses of HBCD with an overview of life cycle and exposure information. The report identifies two viable chemical alternatives for use in polystyrene building insulation, in addition to a list of substances that are not currently expected to be viable. One of the alternatives, a butadiene styrene brominated copolymer, is anticipated to be safer than HBCD and is currently in commercial production in the U.S. Alternative materials are also identified in the report.
In March 2013, as part of a broader effort to address flame retardant chemicals, EPA identified 20 flame retardants for risk assessment under the TSCA work plan. This includes developing full risk assessments on four of these chemicals, including HBCD. EPA will use the information from these full assessments to better understand chemicals with similar structures and characteristics. If EPA identifies potential risks, the agency will evaluate and pursue appropriate risk reduction actions. EPA will begin development of these risk assessments later this year and anticipates making the draft risk assessments available for public comment and peer review in 2014.
To further assist companies in selecting safer chemicals, EPA recently launched ChemView, a web-based tool designed to provide the public and decision-makers with a single access point to a wide array of chemical data, like the results of the HBCD alternatives assessment, that can help companies make decisions on developing and using safer chemicals in the products they manufacture.
September 24, 2013
EPA Evaluates Flame Retardants Including a Safer Substitute for HBCD
WASHINGTON — As part of its ongoing efforts to promote the design and use of safer chemicals, today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has released a draft report on alternatives to a flame retardant chemical, hexabromocyclododecane (HBCD), which has persistent, bioaccumulative and toxic characteristics. The findings in the report can help manufacturers identify safer alternatives to the use of HBCD in polystyrene building insulation.
“While EPA continues to support much needed reform of the Toxics Substances Control Act (TSCA), EPA is taking steps now to address the public’s concern with certain flame retardant chemicals, including making information available to companies to help them make decisions on safer chemicals,” said Jim Jones, EPA's assistant administrator for the Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention. “The conclusions in this report are enabling companies who choose to move away from HBCD to do so with confidence that the potential for unintended consequences is minimized.”
The Design for the Environment (DfE) Alternatives Assessment draft report, developed with stakeholder and public participation, describes the uses of HBCD with an overview of life cycle and exposure information. The report identifies two viable chemical alternatives for use in polystyrene building insulation, in addition to a list of substances that are not currently expected to be viable. One of the alternatives, a butadiene styrene brominated copolymer, is anticipated to be safer than HBCD and is currently in commercial production in the U.S. Alternative materials are also identified in the report.
In March 2013, as part of a broader effort to address flame retardant chemicals, EPA identified 20 flame retardants for risk assessment under the TSCA work plan. This includes developing full risk assessments on four of these chemicals, including HBCD. EPA will use the information from these full assessments to better understand chemicals with similar structures and characteristics. If EPA identifies potential risks, the agency will evaluate and pursue appropriate risk reduction actions. EPA will begin development of these risk assessments later this year and anticipates making the draft risk assessments available for public comment and peer review in 2014.
To further assist companies in selecting safer chemicals, EPA recently launched ChemView, a web-based tool designed to provide the public and decision-makers with a single access point to a wide array of chemical data, like the results of the HBCD alternatives assessment, that can help companies make decisions on developing and using safer chemicals in the products they manufacture.
UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE WEEKLY CLAIMS REPORT FOR WEEK ENDING SEPTEMBER 21, 2013
FROM: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
SEASONALLY ADJUSTED DATA
In the week ending September 21, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 305,000, a decrease of 5,000 from the previous week's revised figure of 310,000. The 4-week moving average was 308,000, a decrease of 7,000 from the previous week's revised average of 315,000.
The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 2.2 percent for the week ending September 14, an increase of 0.1 percentage point from the prior week's unrevised rate. The advance number for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment during the week ending September 14 was 2,823,000, an increase of 35,000 from the preceding week's revised level of 2,788,000. The 4-week moving average was 2,842,500, a decrease of 42,750 from the preceding week's revised average of 2,885,250.
UNADJUSTED DATA
The advance number of actual initial claims under state programs, unadjusted, totaled 253,668 in the week ending September 21, a decrease of 19,250 from the previous week. There were 303,685 initial claims in the comparable week in 2012.
The advance unadjusted insured unemployment rate was 1.9 percent during the week ending September 14, unchanged from the prior week's unrevised rate. The advance unadjusted number for persons claiming UI benefits in state programs totaled 2,464,570, a decrease of 41,762 from the preceding week's revised level of 2,506,332. A year earlier, the rate was 2.2 percent and the volume was 2,841,521.
The total number of people claiming benefits in all programs for the week ending September 7 was 3,921,399, an increase of 22,769 from the previous week. There were 5,173,998 persons claiming benefits in all programs in the comparable week in 2012.
No state was triggered "on" the Extended Benefits program during the week ending September 7.
Initial claims for UI benefits filed by former Federal civilian employees totaled 1,133 in the week ending September 14, an increase of 206 from the prior week. There were 2,155 initial claims filed by newly discharged veterans, an increase of 82 from the preceding week.
There were 19,020 former Federal civilian employees claiming UI benefits for the week ending September 7, an increase of 369 from the previous week. Newly discharged veterans claiming benefits totaled 31,341, an increase of 45 from the prior week.
States reported 1,348,526 persons claiming Emergency Unemployment Compensation (EUC) benefits for the week ending September 7, an increase of 32,563 from the prior week. There were 2,160,448 persons claiming EUC in the comparable week in 2012. EUC weekly claims include first, second, third, and fourth tier activity.
The highest insured unemployment rates in the week ending September 14 were in Puerto Rico (4.2), New Jersey (3.4), Alaska (3.3), Virgin Islands (3.1), Connecticut (2.9), New Mexico (2.9), Pennsylvania (2.8), Nevada (2.6), New York (2.6), and Illinois (2.5).
The largest increases in initial claims for the week ending September 14 were in California (+22,611), Florida (+3,946), Georgia (+2,690), Nevada (+2,504), and New York (+1,871), while the largest decreases were in Oklahoma (-439), Tennessee (-404), Kansas (-351), Massachusetts (-304), and Idaho (-294).
SEASONALLY ADJUSTED DATA
In the week ending September 21, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 305,000, a decrease of 5,000 from the previous week's revised figure of 310,000. The 4-week moving average was 308,000, a decrease of 7,000 from the previous week's revised average of 315,000.
The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 2.2 percent for the week ending September 14, an increase of 0.1 percentage point from the prior week's unrevised rate. The advance number for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment during the week ending September 14 was 2,823,000, an increase of 35,000 from the preceding week's revised level of 2,788,000. The 4-week moving average was 2,842,500, a decrease of 42,750 from the preceding week's revised average of 2,885,250.
UNADJUSTED DATA
The advance number of actual initial claims under state programs, unadjusted, totaled 253,668 in the week ending September 21, a decrease of 19,250 from the previous week. There were 303,685 initial claims in the comparable week in 2012.
The advance unadjusted insured unemployment rate was 1.9 percent during the week ending September 14, unchanged from the prior week's unrevised rate. The advance unadjusted number for persons claiming UI benefits in state programs totaled 2,464,570, a decrease of 41,762 from the preceding week's revised level of 2,506,332. A year earlier, the rate was 2.2 percent and the volume was 2,841,521.
The total number of people claiming benefits in all programs for the week ending September 7 was 3,921,399, an increase of 22,769 from the previous week. There were 5,173,998 persons claiming benefits in all programs in the comparable week in 2012.
No state was triggered "on" the Extended Benefits program during the week ending September 7.
Initial claims for UI benefits filed by former Federal civilian employees totaled 1,133 in the week ending September 14, an increase of 206 from the prior week. There were 2,155 initial claims filed by newly discharged veterans, an increase of 82 from the preceding week.
There were 19,020 former Federal civilian employees claiming UI benefits for the week ending September 7, an increase of 369 from the previous week. Newly discharged veterans claiming benefits totaled 31,341, an increase of 45 from the prior week.
States reported 1,348,526 persons claiming Emergency Unemployment Compensation (EUC) benefits for the week ending September 7, an increase of 32,563 from the prior week. There were 2,160,448 persons claiming EUC in the comparable week in 2012. EUC weekly claims include first, second, third, and fourth tier activity.
The highest insured unemployment rates in the week ending September 14 were in Puerto Rico (4.2), New Jersey (3.4), Alaska (3.3), Virgin Islands (3.1), Connecticut (2.9), New Mexico (2.9), Pennsylvania (2.8), Nevada (2.6), New York (2.6), and Illinois (2.5).
The largest increases in initial claims for the week ending September 14 were in California (+22,611), Florida (+3,946), Georgia (+2,690), Nevada (+2,504), and New York (+1,871), while the largest decreases were in Oklahoma (-439), Tennessee (-404), Kansas (-351), Massachusetts (-304), and Idaho (-294).
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