Friday, May 13, 2011

Regulatory Inadequacies Threatening Nuclear Reactor Safety Detailed in Markey Report

May 12, 2011:

“Fukushima Fallout” Reveals Breakdown in Emergency System Regulations Exposed Since Japanese Reactor Meltdown

WASHINGTON, D.C. –Congressman Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), a senior member of the Energy and Commerce Committee and the top Democrat on the House Natural Resources Committee, today released a report prepared by his staff at his direction entitled “Fukushima Fallout: Regulatory Loopholes at U.S. Nuclear Power Plants”, a summary of Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) regulatory inadequacies, practices and decisions that impair effective nuclear safety oversight in the United States.

The report, created in the wake of the Japanese catastrophe, highlights the following key findings:

· Widespread malfunctions and inoperability of emergency diesel generators at nuclear power plants

· The absence of emergency back-up power requirements at some spent fuel pools

· The absence of requirements to prevent hydrogen explosions at reactors and spent fuel pools

· Outdated seismic safety requirements, even as applications for new licenses and license extensions for many nuclear reactors continue to be processed by the NRC.

“It is apparent that many of the failures of the reactor cooling systems and measures to prevent explosions that led to the meltdowns in Japan could also occur in the United States, and would not even be violations of current regulations,” said Rep. Markey. “This is unacceptable, and I believe that the NRC must halt its processing of all pending nuclear reactor licensing applications until these vulnerabilities are fully remedied.”

The report concludes that “An examination of NRC regulations demonstrates that flawed assumptions and under-estimation of safety risks are currently an inherent part of the NRC regulatory program, due to a long history of decisions made by prior Commissions or by the NRC staff that have all too often acquiesced to industry requests for a weakening of safety standards. Coupled with reports that the near-term inspections being conducted at United States nuclear power plants may be limited in scope and subject to restrictions on public disclosure, it would be unwise to move forward with any pending licensing actions before the NRC fully completes its review and upgrades its safety requirements.”

A copy of the full report can be found HERE.

Rep. Markey recently introduced legislation to overhaul nuclear safety. The Nuclear Power Plant Safety Act of 2011 will impose a moratorium on all new nuclear reactor licenses or license extensions until new safety requirements are in place that reflect the lessons learned from the Fukushima reactor meltdown.

Rep. Markey has served on the Committees that have oversight over the NRC and the nuclear utility industry since 1976. For more than three decades, Rep. Markey has worked to secure nuclear power plants and ensure the public safety in the event of a nuclear disaster. In 1979, before the Three Mile Island accident occurred, Rep. Markey introduced legislation providing for a three year moratorium on licensing of new nuclear power plants until a top to bottom safety analysis on nuclear reactors could be performed. In 1982, he chaired a hearing on the distribution of potassium iodide. In 1986, he chaired hearings on the causes and consequences of the disaster at Chernobyl. Following the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, Rep. Markey passed a law to strengthen security for nuclear reactors and materials, and a law providing for distribution of potassium iodide to those living within 20 miles of a nuclear reactor. In 2010, he requested a Government Accountability Office investigation into the resiliency of nuclear power plants to earthquakes and other natural disasters. And several days before the earthquake in Japan, Rep. Markey raised concerns regarding the seismic resiliency of the Westinghouse AP1000, a new nuclear reactor whose design is currently pending before the NRC.

The Christina-Taylor Green Memorial Scholarship

By educating young women and girls about the importance of politics, and imbuing them with the skills they need to be leaders, we give women the “running start” they need to achieve greater political power. With an earlier start in politics, women will climb higher on the leadership ladder, allowing more women to share in the decision making power of this country.

On January 8, 2011 nine-year-old Christina-Taylor Green went to a political event in Tucson, Arizona, to hear her Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords speak. Christina-Taylor was only nine, but she had already developed an interest in politics, and had just won a student government position at her school.

During the assassination attempt on Congresswoman Giffords, young Christina-Taylor was killed along with five other people.

To honor Christina-Taylor’s memory, Running Start has created a scholarship in her name for our flagship program, The Young Women Political Leadership Program. This program is held for a week every July in Washington, DC, and is a hands-on seminar educating our participants about politics, and teaching them what it takes to become a political leader.

This year, our program will be held July 18th – 23th at American University.

Although our program is geared for high school students, the Christina-Taylor Green Memorial Scholarship will be given to a mature young woman between 9 and 18 years old, from Southern Arizona who is already interested in politics and dreaming about running for office. The Christina-Taylor Green Memorial Scholarship will allow us to identify and mentor young girls like Christina-Taylor so that their spark of interest in politics and leadership increases as they move through high school, college and beyond.

Applications for The Christina-Taylor Green Memorial Scholarship are open from April 18 – June 1, 2011. Girls age 9-18 from Southern Arizona are eligible to apply. Applications are available online at www.runningstartonline.org. Please note that girls under the age of 14 are required to bring a chaperone to the program. The scholarship will include accommodations and airfare for the student and a parent or a guardian to attend the program with the scholarship winner.

Friday, May 6, 2011

Such a Bogus video

Let me know what ya think, people are actually posting this as the film of the death of bin laden

Thursday, May 5, 2011

GOP Contenders Attack Obama's Foreign Policy Despite Bin Laden Killing

May 05, 2011

Republican presidential hopefuls came out swinging in their first debate Thursday night, attacking President Obama's foreign policy despite his leadership in ordering an operation that killed Usama bin Laden this week.
Former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty congratulated Obama for capturing the world's most wanted terrorist nearly 10 years after the Sept. 11 attacks.
"I tip my cap to him in that moment," he said. "But that moment is not the sum total of America's foreign policy. He's made a number of other decisions relating to our security here and around the world that I don't agree with."
Pawlenty cited Libya as one example, saying he didn't agree with Obama's decision to defer to the United Nations on how to deal with Muammar Qaddafi's violent crackdown on rebels.
"If he says Qaddafi must go, he needs to maintain the option to make Qaddafi go and he didn't do that," he said.

Former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum said the only thing Obama has done right in his foreign policy is continue President George W. Bush's policies.
"The decision he made with Usama bin Laden was a tactical decision," he said. "It wasn't a strategic decision.The strategic decision was made by President Bush to go after him. What President Obama has done on his watch, the issues that have come up while he's been president, he's gotten it wrong strategically every single time."
Pawlenty and Santorum were among the five participants seeking to prove themselves to be more than the party's B-team as they try to catapult their White House bids into the national spotlight.
Fox News and the South Carolina Republican Party sponsored the debate that also featured Texas Rep. Ron Paul, former New Mexico Gov. Gary John and businessman Herman Cain.
They are the only candidates who met the sponsors' criteria to participate: forming a presidential exploratory committee, filing state GOP paperwork and paying $25,000 to get on the state primary ballot.
The GOP field is still taking shape, with about a dozen Republicans considering a White House bid or taking initial steps toward full-fledged campaigns. Among the notable absences were Sarah Palin, Donald Trump, Mitt Romney, Mike Huckabee and Newt Gingrich.
They missed out on a chance to weigh in on the biggest issues of the day, including whether to release a photo of bin Laden's corpse, something that Obama has said he won't do. But four of the five participants said they would release the photo. Cain was the only one who opposed it.
At one point, Johnson, a libertarian-leaning Republican who backs gay rights and legalizing some drugs, cried foul over not getting as many questions as his fellow debaters. Fox News' anchor Bret Baier said the moderators would be "fair and balanced" with the questions.
Earlier Thursday, each participant toured the debate site.
Cain, a former Federal Reserve banker and CEO of Godfather's Pizza, was the first to set foot on stage. Later came Pawlenty, who zinged those rivals who chose to skip the debate.
"One of the things about leadership is that you've got to show up," he said. "And if you want to be president of the United States you've got to make a case to the American people that Barack Obama needs to be dismissed from his position."
Santorum, who's spent more time in the early voting states than any other candidate this year, cast himself as the most ardent conservative in the White House race.
"People that said, you know, put the moral issues aside, or, you know, don't talk about the families, they don't understand what makes America works, they don't understand the dynamic that is at play when that has made America the greatest country in the history of the world," Santorum said.
Paul, who renewed his demand for U.S. troops to leave Afghanistan and Iraq Wednesday was the Libertarian Party presidential nominee in 1988. His 2008 GOP-run inspired the modern Tea Party movement and he planned to address the marathon South Carolina Tea Party rally after Thursday's debate.
Fox News' Carl Cameron contributed to this report.

Wednesday, May 4, 2011

House Republicans Schedule Vote To Cut Funds For School-Based Health Clinics

By Guest Blogger on May 3rd, 2011 at 1:20 pm

Our guest blogger is Annabel Lee Hogg, Special Assistant to the Domestic Policy Team at the Center for American Progress Action Fund.

Rep. Michael Burgess (R-TX)

The House plans to vote today on legislation that would eliminate an expansion of school-based health clinics that was included in the landmark 2010 health care reform law, calling the funding “duplicative and unwarranted.” Rep. Michael Burgess (R-TX) sponsored H.R. 1214, which will repeal mandatory funding for the construction of the centers appropriated in the Affordable Care Act.But school-based health centers are a vital resource for many low-income communities and medically underserved communities. They help ensure that students are ready to learn by providing free health services such as dental, vision, and nutrition services to students during schools hours. While there are already some 2,000 school based health clinics around the country, experts estimate that far more clinics are needed, as the ones already in existence are proving their effectiveness:

The Children’s Aid Society community schools in New York City, which provide access to five full-service SBHCs, demonstrate higher achievement than other city schools on state math assessments and post higher attendance rates. A recent study of ninth graders at high schools in Seattle with SBHCs found that students who used the centers saw an increase in GPA and attendance.
High-risk students that use SBHCs have also been found to be less likely than nonusers to drop out of school and [more likely to] graduate. Sayre High School, a community school with a health clinic formed in partnership with the University of Pennsylvania, had a graduation rate of 80 percent in 2006-07 — significantly higher than the Philadelphia citywide average of 50 percent.

If the bill passes, it would be particularly devastating for people who live in Burgess’s district. A 2010 report found that up to 40 percent of children in the North Texas Corridor do not have health insurance or access to Medicaid-funded facilities, and in many cases, uninsured children do not even receive basic immunizations.
The centers also help to drive down health-care costs. “Research has shown that school-based health centers provide a cost-effective way to offer health services — lowering inappropriate emergency room use, hospitalizations, and ultimately lowering Medicaid costs,” said Representative John Dingell (D-MI).

Markey, House Dems Push Obama on Strategic Petroleum Reserve

As Prices Rise, Deploying SPR Can Reduce Prices; Dems Show Broadening Support for Action

APR 12, 2011

WASHINGTON (April 12, 2011) – With gas prices approaching the all-time high per gallon in the United States, House Democrats are stepping up their efforts to deploy a small fraction of the nation’s oil reserves to tamp down speculation and reduce prices for American families and small businesses. Today, Rep. Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) is leading an effort with Reps. Peter Welch (D-Vt.) and Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.) and 14 of their House colleagues to push the president to initiate a sale of oil from the fully-stocked reserves.

“As we approach the summer driving season, we must carefully consider our only immediate option to mitigate the runaway increase in prices that we saw in the summer of 2008,” says the letter to President Obama. “We therefore urge you to consider leveraging the SPR to respond to supply disruptions and combat the rapid price escalations resulting from rampant fear and speculation in the oil markets.”

The full text of the letter is available here and included below.

While supplies of gasoline remain at similar levels to this period last year, prices are nearly one dollar more at the pump for regular grade gasoline. Many economists have said that up to $20 of the price of a barrel of oil is currently from speculation in the marketplace that does not reflect true supply and demand. As events unfold in Libya and across the Middle East, prices could continue to spike higher, potentially stultifying the nascent U.S. economic recovery. Therefore, the members of Congress suggest using the Strategic Petroleum Reserve soon.

“[I]n the short term, considering releasing oil from the SPR as we approach the summer driving season could help prevent oil prices from escalating as they did in 2008,” write the lawmakers. “Releasing even a small fraction of that oil could have a significant impact on speculation in the marketplace and on prices. It would also remind the world that the U.S. is ready, willing and able to use the SPR aggressively and effectively if needed.”

The lawmakers also called attention to a legislative proposal offered in February by Reps. Markey, Welch, DeLauro and others to modernize the SPR by releasing oil from the SPR now and replacing it with refined petroleum product, such as gasoline and diesel fuel, in the longer term. Replacing a small percentage of the oil in the SPR with refined product would put downward pressure on prices in the short term and could also protect more adequately against future disruptions in domestic refining capacity or supply disruptions of heavy crude from countries like Venezuela, the lawmakers say.

# # #

April 12, 2011

The Honorable Barack Obama
President
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue
Washington, DC 20500

Dear President Obama:

This month, oil prices have spiked over $108 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange as unrest in the Mideast has intensified. This price spike is now directly impacting American consumers, with gasoline prices rising 20 cents in just the past two weeks. Markets are incorporating the increased risk of a prolonged conflict in Libya disrupting two percent of global supply for a sustained period as well as spreading regional tension bringing more supplies into question. While the current supply disruptions highlight the need to strengthen our energy independence over the long-term by developing alternatives to oil, we encourage you to consider utilizing the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) now -- the only tool we possess which can counter supply disruptions and combat crippling price spikes in the short term.

While Saudi Arabia and other OPEC members with available spare production capacity have pledged to raise production for lost Libyan crude, they also profit from oil price spikes and therefore have little incentive to quickly respond with the increased supply needed to calm markets. However, one tool that the United States has at its disposal to protect against the threat of supply disruptions and related speculation in the oil markets is the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. As we approach the summer driving season, we must carefully consider our only immediate option to mitigate the runaway increase in prices that we saw in the summer of 2008. We therefore urge you to consider leveraging the SPR to respond to supply disruptions and combat the rapid price escalations resulting from rampant fear and speculation in the oil markets.

Releasing oil from the SPR has a proven record of driving down prices. When President George H. W. Bush deployed oil from the SPR in 1991, oil prices immediately dropped by more than 33 percent. When President Clinton conducted a timed exchange of oil from the SPR in 2000, it again drove prices down by nearly 19 percent. And when President Bush released oil from the reserve in 2005 following Hurricane Katrina, oil prices fell by more than 9 percent.

Even before this recent spike in oil prices, the Department of Energy was forecasting high gas prices this summer. Earlier this month, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) projected that the nationwide average for regular gasoline would be $3.20 per gallon during the summer driving season, with a 10 percent chance that prices would exceed $4.00 per gallon. In addition, consumers are already facing substantially higher home heating costs this winter. Consumers heating with home heating oil are projected to spend more than 23 percent more this winter. Average expenditures on propane are projected to be more than 9 percent more.

Right now, the Strategic Petroleum Reserve holds 727 million barrels and is filled to capacity. Releasing even a small fraction of that oil could have a significant impact on speculation in the marketplace and on prices. It would also remind the world that the U.S. is ready, willing and able to use the SPR aggressively and effectively if needed. The FY2012 budget request already proposes a “$500 million non-emergency sale of SPR oil.” On March 6, 2011, White House Chief of Staff William Daley stated on Meet the Press that “the issue of the reserves is one we’re considering.” We applaud the fact that your Administration is considering utilizing this tool and we encourage you to do so.

One issue deserving further examination would be whether the United States should deploy oil from the SPR now and replace it with refined petroleum product, such as gasoline and diesel fuel, in the longer term. Replacing a small percentage of the oil in the SPR with refined product would not only put downward pressure on prices in the short term but could also protect more adequately against future disruptions in domestic refining capacity or supply disruptions of heavy crude from countries like Venezuela. We therefore encourage you to analyze the impacts of a swap of oil in the SPR for refined product.

American consumers are already suffering from high energy prices and the effects of the economic downturn. In the long term, we need to develop clean energy alternatives that can reduce our dependence on oil and insulate us from supply shocks. Clean energy, fuel economy and innovation are American made solutions that will end our dangerous reliance on foreign oil and OPEC. However, in the short term, considering releasing oil from the SPR as we approach the summer driving season could help prevent oil prices from escalating as they did in 2008.

Thank you for your consideration of this request.

Sincerely,

REP. EDWARD J. MARKEY REP. ROSA DELAURO REP. PETER WELCH

"Our Obligations to Each Other As Americans": President Obama Welcomes the Wounded Warrior Project's Soldier Ride

Posted by Paul Wiley on May 04, 2011 at 05:35 PM EDT

This afternoon, the South Lawn of the White House was full of veterans, military families, and their bicycles, as the Wounded Warrior Project's Soldier Ride came to the White House. The Soldier Ride started as a way to help wounded soldiers recover from their injuries through adaptive cycling. Nearly a decade later, the program has expanded to involve civilians as well, raising money for and promoting the cause of America's wounded warriors.

In welcoming the riders, President Obama said a few words about the beginnings of the Soldier Ride effort:

Today is a reminder -- as Michelle and Jill Biden have already said -- that every American, every single person in this country, can do something to support our remarkable troops and their families. Everybody can do something.
So seven years ago, a bartender from Long Island had the same idea. He wasn’t from a military family. He had never served in the military. But he knew that he owed our military something. He was just an ordinary American who was grateful for the service of all those who wear the uniform. And he said, “I just wanted to give something back.”
So he jumped on his bike and rode across the country -- over 5,000 miles -- to raise funds and awareness for our wounded warriors. Today, there are Soldier Rides all across America giving our wounded warriors the confidence and support they need to recover. That’s the difference a single person can make. Today we want to thank Chris Carney and everyone from the Wounded Warrior Project for reminding us of our obligations to each other as Americans.

After taking special note of a few individual soldiers with whom he had met before, President Obama thanked the riders for the inspiration they provide him and so many other Americans:

So to all the riders here today, I want to say, as your Commander-in-Chief and as an American, thank you. We are grateful for you. You represent the very best in America. And in your fight to recover and in the ride that you’re about to begin, we see the values and virtues that make our country great.
We may take a hit. We may endure great loss. But we are a strong and resilient people. We push on. We persevere. We’re confident in our cause. And we know that, like generations of Americans before us, we will emerge stronger than before.

For more information about helping lend a hand to military families in your community, be sure to check out theJoining Forces initiative launched by the First Lady and Dr. Biden. Also, May 21st is Armed Forces Day; you canlearn more about it and share your plans for thanking servicemembers.

@whitehouse

The White House May 4, 2011

President Obama welcomes the Wounded Warrior Project's Soldier Ride: http://wh.gov/Cb5 Photo:

President Barack Obama, accompanied by Joint Chiefs Vice Chairman Gen. James Cartwright, center-right, and Assistant Veteran Affairs Secretary Tammy Duckworth, right, welcome the Wounded Warrior Project’s Soldier Ride on the South Lawn of the White House, May 4, 2011. (Official White House Photo by Lawrence Jackson)