Department Of Interior Regulations Have Jeopardized U.S. Safety, Say House Republicans

By Antonia Aguilar - University of New Mexico / Talk Radio News

House Representatives Rob Bishop (R-Ut), Doc Hastings (R-WA) and Peter King (R-NY) accused the Department of Interior (DOI) of endangering U.S. citizens by interfering with border protection, during a press briefing on Wednesday to announce new legislation that will better protect U.S. borders.

“The Department of Interior and to a lesser extent the forest service have failed to protect American citizens,” said Bishop. “Their politically correct policies have put American citizens in harm.”

According to the House Natural Resources Committee, current guidelines prohibit border patrol access on federal land making it harder for U.S. border patrol agencies to properly secure 20.7 million acres that are owned by the DOI and U.S. Forest Service (USFS). These policies prohibit border patrol agencies from entering into designated wilderness areas with vehicles and from installing security and communication structures on land that is rumored to be highly used by illegal immigrants.

“We are faced with a terrorist issue, we are faced with an illegal immigration issue and yet we have a cabinet office of the United States government preventing the Department of Homeland Security and Border Patrol from doing their jobs,” said Peter King.

The proposed legislation will lift current regulations on federal land and allow border patrol agencies free reign to secure all U.S. borders.

Excessive Greed Led To Financial Crisis, Says Democrat Levin

By Antonia Aguilar
University of New Mexico/Talk Radio News Service

The U.S. Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations on Tuesday examined how high mortgage lending practices helped create the financial crisis of 2008.

“This Subcommittee investigation and the Wall Street excesses we’ve uncovered provide an eerie replay of a 1934 Senate Committee investigation into the causes and consequences of the 1929 stock market crash,” said the committee's Chairman, Carl Levin (D-Mich).

In his opening statement, Levin referred to the case of Washington Mutual Bank (WaMu), saying its decision to issue “shoddy” high risk, poor quality mortgage loans combined with lax regulations and second rate securities are what led to its downfall, and contributed greatly to the overall financial crisis.

“To rebuild our defenses, it is critical to understand that the recent financial crisis was not a natural disaster,” said Levin. “It was a man-made economic assault. People did it. Extreme greed was the diving force. And it will happen again unless we change the rules.”

Census Needed To Ensure Fairness, Says Official

By Antonia Aguilar
University of New Mexico/Talk Radio News Service

On Friday, Assistant Director for Decennial Census Programs Daniel Weinberg urged Americans to remember to fill out their 2010 Census forms.

“The key reason we do a Census is to ensure that every community gets its fair share of political representation,” said Weinberg. “This census population data...are also used to distribute federal funds. As a matter of fact, over $400 billion a year is distributed on the bases of census data.”

Weinberg added that accurate Census counts are necessary to preserve equality regarding congressional representation. In the 1964 case of "Wesberry v. Sanders," the Supreme Court ruled that districts of the House of Representatives be composed of approximately equal populations in order to ensure fair representation of US citizens.

“Every district has to be the same size,” said Weinberg. “All congressional districts are drawn so that they have the same number of people based on the census.”

Middle Class Will Benefit Most From Health Care Reform, Say Top Democrats

By Antonia Aguilar
University of New Mexico/Talk Radio News Service

Senate Democrats on Thursday highlighted key benefits that middle class Americans will obtain through health care reform.

“We’ll see significant reforms this year, including young people being able to stay on their parents' insurance until age 26 [and] significant investment in community health centers across the country to be able to make health care available to every family,” said Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.).

Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) said in addition to improving health care, the new law will also reform the way students obtain loans to help pay for college, with more direct borrowing from the government, increased access to pell grants and greater funding for non-profits to help students stay in college.

“For middle class America this is a two-fer, both on the healthcare side but also on the education side,” Harkin said.

Next Step Toward Haiti's Recovery Is Reconstruction, Says Congressional Black Caucus

By Antonia Aguilar
University of New Mexico/Talk Radio News Service

Jesse Jackson and Haiti's Ambassador to the U.S., Raymond Joseph, were among those on hand Wednesday as members of the Congressional Black Caucus held a meeting to discuss efforts necessary to rebuilding Haiti.

"This is a long-distance struggle, not a short impulsive reaction to the earthquake," said Jackson. "Beyond the issue of rescue and relief is the issue of reconstruction."

Ambassador Joseph said that the new Haiti should implement green technologies in its reconstruction.

"Haiti has to harness the Sun, has to harness the wind," he said.