Washington, DC–(ENEWSPF)–December 11, 2013 – 1:10 P.M. EST MR. EARNEST:  Good afternoon, everybody.  Very quiet this afternoon.  I apologize for my tardiness.  I cannot use sleep deprivation as an excuse like so many of my colleagues can today who returned from a very eventful and short trip to South Africa[Read More…]

Washington, DC–(ENEWSPF)–December 11, 2013.  Only hours before Paul Ryan and Patty Murray announced that they reached a two year budget agreement (The BiPartisan Budget Act of 2013), representatives from a broad coalition demanding a budget that would cut military expenditures in order to increase funding for a wide range of[Read More…]

Public Opinion, Wasted Tax Dollars and Racially Discriminatory Arrests Push Legislators to Fix Broken Marijuana Policies; Colorado, Washington, and Now Uruguay Offer Sensible Models and Precedent for Reform New York—(ENEWSPF)—December 11, 2013. Today, New York State Senator Liz Krueger introduced a bill to tax and regulate marijuana for adult use.[Read More…]

Uruguayan Senate Approves President Mujica’s Bill to Tax and Regulate Marijuana; Initiative Reflects Broad Political Shift as Latin American Countries Seek Alternatives to Drug Prohibition and the War on Drugs NEW YORK—(ENEWSPF)—December 11, 2013. The Uruguayan Senate has just approved a bill that makes their country the first in the[Read More…]

Washington, DC–(ENEWSPF)–December 10, 2013. SECRETARY KERRY: Well, Mr. Chairman, thank you very, very much. Ranking Member Engel, Members of the Committee, thanks very much for welcoming me back, and I am happy to be back here. There’s no more important issue in American foreign policy than the question of the[Read More…]

Washington, DC–(ENEWSPF)–December 10, 2013. Five years ago, a financial catastrophe on Wall Street was rapidly fueling a punishing recession on Main Street that ultimately cost millions of jobs and hurt families across the country.  So as we prepared steps to rescue our economy and put Americans back to work, we[Read More…]

More than 1 Million Consumers Were Potential Victims of Misleading Practices WASHINGTON, D.C.—(ENEWSPF)—December 10, 2013. Today the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is ordering GE Capital Retail Bank and its subsidiary, CareCredit, to refund up to $34.1 million to potentially more than 1 million consumers who were victims of deceptive credit[Read More…]

Washington, DC–(ENEWSPF)–December 10, 2013.  Senators Jeff Merkley (D-OR) and Carl Levin (D-MI) released the following joint statement after approval by the Federal Reserve and the Federal Deposit Insurance Commission (FDIC) of the final Volcker Rule, a firewall between traditional banking and hedge fund style gambling. Merkley and Levin led the[Read More…]

South Africa–(ENEWSPF)–10 December 2013 – Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today paid tribute to the late Nelson Mandela, telling the tens of thousands gathered at the memorial service held in Johannesburg that the life and legacy of the former South African president was an inspiration not only for his country but for[Read More…]

Washington, DC—(ENEWSPF)–December 10, 2013 – Representatives Jan Schakowsky, Sam Farr and Jim McGovern released the following joint statement on the Honduran elections: “We wish to express our congratulations to the people of Honduras for their commitment to democracy as demonstrated by the participation in recent elections. “We remain very concerned,[Read More…]