House GOP'ers Want Justice For Chinese Human Rights Attorney

By Laura Smith - University of New Mexico/Talk Radio News Service

Reps. Christopher Smith (R-N.J.), Frank Wolf (R-Va.) and others spoke out Monday against the arrest of Jiang Tianyong, a Chinese human rights lawyer who was arrested after requesting to meet with President Obama at the American Embassy in Beijing during his trip to China.

Multiple requests by Tianyong and other human rights lawyers to meet with the U.S. President were turned down. After Obama left China, Tianyong’s wife was allegedly beaten and he was taken away by Chinese officials.

Upon his release, Tianyong testified before the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission (TLHRC) about various human rights abuses associated with China’s one-child policy. The policy limits married Chinese couples to one child, with a birth permit. If they choose to have a second child, couples must have both a pregnancy permit and a birth permit.

Smith explained that Monday's news conference was held as a means of raising awareness about Tianyong's arrest and to help him avoid potential future incarceration.

“That’s why we’re asking the President to pick up the phone, and call Hu Jintao and to raise the issue of the lawyers, especially Jiang, and others, but certainly his case, because he specifically asked to meet with the President and was turned down,” said Smith.

Green Jobs Key To Putting Under-Served Americans To Work

By Laura Smith - University of New Mexico/Talk Radio News Service

U.S. Department of Labor Secretary Hilda Solis was the featured speaker at the sixth annual Latina Luncheon Series in Washington, D.C. on Friday. Solis discussed challenges faced by Latinos throughout the country, such as jobs.

Green jobs, said Solis, are going to be the key to putting minorities, including Latinos, African-Americans, American Indians, women, farm-workers and lower-class Whites to work.

Solis said that millions of dollars in grants from the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act, passed earlier this year, are helping working families get back on their feet and find jobs in green industries.

“Through the Recovery Act and other investments, $220 million was made available to help dislocated workers transition into new high-growth sectors like allied health and information technology,” said Solis. $114 million has been awarded to community groups nationwide to educate and train young people, she added.

“By providing the job training that will revamp blue-collar jobs into secure 21st century green-collar jobs, we are paving a pathway out of poverty, strengthening urban and rural communities and protecting the health of our citizens and planet,” boasted Solis.

Lawmakers Urge DoD To Deny European Company Defense Contract

By Laura Smith - University of New Mexico/Talk Radio News Service

A bipartisan collection of lawmakers urged the Department of Defense Wednesday not to award a military contract to European based aviation company Airbus following a recent World Trade Organization (WTO) ruling that the company received illegal subsidies from the European Union.

“We need fair competition with fair rules. [The] Department of Defense should not favor Airbus more than the WTO does. This is not a French government decision, this is a U.S. government decision,” Sen. Sam Brownback (R-KS) said.

Airbus is competing for a $40 billion contract from the Air Force against U.S. based manufacturer Boeing to replace aerial refueling tankers. The Department of Defense has said in September that they won’t consider the ruling by the WTO that Airbus received illegal subsidies.

Lawmakers, such as Brownback, Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA) and Sen. Kit Bond (R-MO), are asking the Department of Defense to “level the playing field.”

"Airbus and the European Union have refused to allow fair competition," charged Murray. "They use the Aerospace industry as a jobs program and they use billions of dollars in illegal launch aid to fund it. They don’t even require Airbus to repay the subsidies if the aircraft does unsuccessful. So it’s no risk, all reward for the company."

“We can’t afford to undercut American companies," added Bond. "We need a fair competition and a level playing field for American workers and American companies.”

Health Care Costs Have Doubled In Past Decade, Says Sen. Klobuchar

By Laura Smith, University of New Mexico-Talk Radio News Service

During a press conference Tuesday on the importance of health care reform for middle class Americans, Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) said that health care costs have more than doubled in the past decade and could grow further.

“The average American spent $6,000 on their health care just ten years ago. Now the average American family is spending $12,000, and in ten years from now, without any bending of the cost curve, they will be spending $24,000 a year. If we do not act, these costs will break the backs of the American people,” Klobuchar said.

The senator attributed the numbers to Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md.)

Klobuchar went on to outline what she would like to see brought about through significant reform.

“It is my hope that no one will have to choose between necessary medical care, and their mortgage," said Klobuchar. "For the middle class, reform will mean stable coverage that can’t be taken away, stable costs that won’t eat away at paychecks and better care."

Entrepreneurship Will Help Get Country Out Of Recession, Says AEI President

By Laura Smith - University of New Mexico/Talk Radio News Service

President of the American Enterprise Institute, Arthur Brooks, said Monday that entrepreneurship, hard work and merit will help guide the U.S. out of the recession.

"Those are the tools to get out of this recession or any other recession,” Brooks said during a discussion hosted by AEI and the the National Chamber Foundation on job creation.

According to the U.S. Department of Labor, the unemployment rate hit 10.2 percent in October, with California, Michigan, Florida and Illinois being the hardest hit.

Nick Schultz, editor-in-chief of American.com, quoted Wall Street Journal journalist Alan Blinder, saying, “It’s no wonder people have three things on their minds: jobs, jobs and jobs.”

However, Brooks says he thinks Americans care about different things.

“I think Americans care about three things that are actually more fundamental than jobs, jobs and more jobs, which is freedom, individual opportunity and a culture of entrepreneurship.”