Washington, DC—(ENEWSPF)—December 19, 2014. I want to thank members of Congress — and particularly the chairmen of the Senate and House Armed Services Committees, Carl Levin and Buck McKeon — for their bipartisan work to pass the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for the 53rd consecutive year. The fiscal year[Read More…]
Author: Gary Kopycinski
Senators Durbin, Kirk Join In Support Of Scott AFB To House Critical New Defense Facility
WASHINGTON, DC –(ENEWSPF)—December 19, 2014. U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Defense Subcommittee, and U.S. Senator Mark Kirk (R-IL) joined together today in sending the Director of the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) a letter in support of housing a new NGA facility at Scott Air Force[Read More…]
Senator Durbin Says ECMC’s Push For Mandatory Arbitration Is Straight From For-Profit College Industry Playbook
WASHINGTON, D.C. –(ENEWSPF)—December 19, 2014. U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today said that the Department of Education should not allow ECMC Group to include mandatory arbitration agreements in student enrollment documents. In his letter to ECMC, Durbin called the tactic “alarmingly similar” to those used by the for-profit college industry[Read More…]
NRDC: EPA Coal Ash Rule Fails to Protect Public Health and Waterways
WASHINGTON—(ENEWSPF)–December 19, 2014—The Environmental Protection Agency’s long-awaited rule on disposal of toxic ash from coal-burning power plants falls far short of what’s needed to protect the public and our waterways from the millions of tons of dangerous sludge that is produced annually, the Natural Resources Defense Council said today. The[Read More…]
Sierra Club Statement on New EPA Coal Ash Protections
Springfield Residents Urge State Agencies to Finally Take Steps to Monitor Toxic Ash, Enforce Protections for Local Water WASHINGTON, D.C. –(ENEWSPF)—December 19, 2014. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) today announced the first-ever federal standards for the storage and disposal of coal ash aimed at protecting thousands of communities from the[Read More…]
EPA’s First-Ever Coal Ash Rule Leaves Communities to Protect Themselves
Rule leaves critical gaps in protection from toxic coal ash Annette Gibbs and her husband William stand in their front yard, near the Arrowhead Landfill in Perry County, AL. Four million cubic yards of toxic coal ash were scooped up from Harriman, TN, the site of the nation’s worst toxic[Read More…]
EPA Announces First National Regulations to Safeguard Disposal of Coal Ash
Common sense, pragmatic rules to protect against structural failure, water and air pollution WASHINGTON –(ENEWSPF)—December 19, 2014. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) today announced the first national regulations to provide for the safe disposal of coal combustion residuals (coal ash) from coal-fired power plants. The final rule establishes safeguards[Read More…]
ACLU Files Federal Discrimination Complaint against Va. School Board for Bathroom Policy
RICHMOND, Va. –(ENEWSPF)–December 19, 2014. The American Civil Liberties Union and the ACLU of Virginia filed an administrative complaint with the Department of Justice and Department of Education against Gloucester County Public Schools (GCPS) for adopting a bathroom policy that segregates transgender students from using the same restrooms and locker[Read More…]
Governor Quinn Appoints Jerry Stermer as Illinois Comptroller
CHICAGO –-(ENEWSPF)–December 19, 2014. Governor Pat Quinn today announced the appointment of state Budget Director Jerry Stermer as Illinois Comptroller following the unexpected passing of Judy Baar Topinka. Stermer will serve as Comptroller on an interim basis to ensure that state operations continue uninterrupted and will resign from the post[Read More…]
State Department Briefing by Jen Psaki, Dec. 19, 2014
Washington, DC–(ENEWSPF)–December 19, 2014. Index for Today’s Briefing CUBA TURKEY NORTH KOREA PALESTINIANS/EUROPEAN UNION/UNITED NATIONS ECUADOR KENYA CHINA EGYPT IRAN CUBA HONG KONG DEPARTMENT/INTERAGENCY RUSSIA/NORTH KOREA TRANSCRIPT: 2:55 p.m. EST MS. PSAKI: Hello. QUESTION: Hey. QUESTION: Hello. MS. PSAKI: Good afternoon. The reason we’re doing this briefing is because we[Read More…]
