Uninsured Crisis Worse Than Previously Reported

Coffee Brown, University of New Mexico, Talk Radio News
Ron Pollack, American Families research group, notes that, while about 45 million Americans were without insurance for all of 2007, almost twice that many, 86.7 million were without coverage for part of the year.
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Sen. Byron Dorgan: Why We Need a Select Senate Committee

Coffee Brown, University of New Mexico, Talk Radio News

Sen. Byron (D-N.D.) discusses the need for the select senate committee he and Sen. McCain Just announced.
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Lisa Jackson, Head of the EPA, at Powerdrive

Coffee Brown, University of New Mexico, Talk Radio News

Lisa Jackson, Head of the EPA, after speaking at Powerdrive.
This president has given us the resources and support to do our job.
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Van Jones, Speaker at Powershift, Founded a Greens Jobs Program

Coffee Brown, University of New Mexico, Talk Radio News Service,

Van Jones founded Green for All, a program which finds green employment for disadvantaged youth.
Carbon is cheap, as long as you don't count the subsidies and side effects, he says.
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What is Powershift? "A Clean and Just Energy Future."

Coffee Brown, University of New Mexico, Talk Radio News

Drew Reisinger, on of Powershift's Organizers, says hundreds of organizers around the country worked to give youth a voice. Their message? Energy and justice are connected.
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Kathy Castor, D-FL, on the President's Address to Congress: Inherited catastrophic debt, has a bold plan

Coffee Brown, University of New Mexico, Talk Radio News Service
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Jim Himes, D-CT, on the President's Address to Congress: "He Inspired me."

Coffee Brown, University of New Mexico, Talk Radio News Service
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Sheila Jackson-Lee, D-TX, on President's Address to Congress: The cost of hope is responsibility and committment

Coffee Brown, University of New Mexico, Talk Radio News Service
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Michael Burgess, MD, R-TX on the President's Address to Congress: Supports healthcare reform, but worried about the costs

Coffee Brown, University of New Mexico, Talk Radio News Service

Dr. Burgess shares the president's goals, but is dubious about long and short term costs.
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Bob Latta R-OH on President's Address to Congress: How Will We Pay For This?

Coffee Brown, University of New Mexico, Talk Radio News Service

Bob Latta responding to Obama's speech.
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Yvette D. Clark, D-NY on the President's Address to Congress: "We all need to take responsibility"

Coffee Brown, University of New Mexico, Talk Radio News Service

Responding to Obama's speech.
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Jobs, and Patients, Go Begging as Nursing Schools Turn Away Applicants

Coffee Brown, University of New Mexico, for Talk Radio News Service

Susan Reinhard, AARP's Public Policy Institute, says that we will need as many as a million more nurses that we'll have in 2025. To get there, we'll need twice as many instructors as we have now, but half of current instructors will have been lost to retirement.

The net result is that, as hospitals scramble to hire, about 100,000 potential nursing students were turned away for lack of slots.

"Nursing is a recession-proof job."
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We Need Nurses, but We’re Cutting Back

Coffee Brown, University of New Mexico, for Talk Radio News Service

John R. Lumpkin, MD, MPH, Sr. VP Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, describes some of the many roles of nurses, then points out that teachers and programs are being cut back, and says this of critical concern.
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Donna Harvey talks about individuals getting involved on government

Coffee Brown, University of New Mexico, for Talk Radio News

Donna Harvey, advocate for policies on aging, encourages private individuals to get involved in political decisions.
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Secretary of Energy says the Electrical Grid is Integral to Economic Recovery

Coffee Brown, University of New Mexico, for Talk Radio News

Secretary of Energy, Dr. Steven Chu, says that the investment in upgrading the nation's power grid is a core part of the economic stimulus plan.
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T. Boone Pickens Says Natural Gas Reserves Could End Oil Imports

Coffee Brown, University of New Mexico, for Talk Radio News

Entrepreneur T.Boone Pickens points out the advantages of natural gas, the ease of conversion, and the possibility of ending dependence on foreign oil.
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Public invited to Speak Up Rural Healthcare Standards

Coffee Brown, University of New Mexico, for Talk Radio News

Joanna Hiatt, Senior Associate Director of the American Hospital Association, says that the AHA supports public funding to support health care in rural areas, and invites the public to comment on any proposed regulations.

This Website carries notifications of proposed regulations:
http://www.raconline.org/info_guides/legislation/
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Killer Peanut Butter: What Can We do?

Coffee Brown, MD, University of New Mexico, for Talk Radio News Service

The Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee of the House Energy and Commerce Committee examined the current salmonella outbreak as a bellwether for food safety in America. Noting that "This is the ninth time we've had to do this in two years," Subcommittee Chairman Rep. Bart Stupak (D-MI) made clear that there will be new legislation in response. "It's Upton Sinclair ("The Jungle") all over again, 100 years later."
There have been nine deaths - the ninth was reported during the hearing- and 600-800 illnesses attributed to the same source: the Peanut Corporation of America (PCA). 1500 peanut based products have been added to the FDA's recall list, and consumers are likely to shun even those peanut products which are not implicated, because it's hard to know for sure. The cost in dollars and lost employment is not known.
Stupak said there were failures at every level, including oversight, monitoring, inspections, and lack of FDA authority, but he placed the blame squarely on PCA. He produced e-mails showing that Stewart Parnell, owner and president, was aware{, at least for 18 months prior to being sent out, that the lab tests showed salmonella.} of lab tests showing salmonella in the batch before he sent it out, and for at least 18 months prior.. Parnell and plant manager Sammy Lightsey both declined to answer questions, citing their fifth amendment rights. Stupak stated he had more evidence than could be made public, because of an ongoing criminal investigation of the matter by the Justice Department.
Families of the victims testified:
Jeff Almer's mother beat cancer twice: "Cancer couldn't claim her, but peanut butter did." He further stated that we need a system that is proactive, not reactive.
Lou Tousignant's father died after eating contaminated peanut butter. He presented an eloquent memorial DVD and list of recommendations very similar to those being considered.
Peter Hurley is a police officer and father of a three-year-old, Jacob, who was seriously ill for 11 days. His salmonella infection was proven by DNA match to be due to peanut butter snacks made from PCA products. "It was like they were playing Russian roulette with the very young and the elderly," he said.
Rep John Dingell (D-MI), chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, is sponsoring the FDA Globalization Act, which would provide increased funding, authority, and responsibility for the FDA. It would empower the FDA to mandate recalls, increase some penalties, and add "other safety provisions."
It came to light during the hearing, that surveillance studies (testing samples for contamination), are ordered at the discretion of the food manufacturers, and collected by them. The testing lab knows nothing about the sample except what the manufacturer tells them. There is also no requirement, or routine process, for reporting contaminated samples to any health agency. The bill by Dingell would address these types of issues.

Sound: Chairman Bart Stupak (D-MI): PCA peanut products had tested positive for salmonella at least 12 times since June 2007.

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CBO Director Elmendorf: You Can't Always Get What You Want

Douglas W. Elmendorf, director of the Congressional Budget Office says that healthcare effectiveness measures are meant to assist, not coerce, patient and physician decision making. He goes on to note that there are not enough resources to make every possible treatment available to every possible patient. "We ration everything somehow...usually by price..."
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Eric Holder is One More Step Toward Fulfilling the Promise

Coffee Brown, University of New Mexico, for Talk Radio News Service

We’ve come a long way from Dred Scott by appointing Eric Holder Attorney General, says Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT) at Georgetown University.
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