Washington, DC–(ENEWSPF)–September 18, 2013 – 2:27 P.M. EDT MR. CARNEY:  Thank you for your patience.  Before I take your questions, I just had one announcement to make.  To honor the victims of Monday’s horrific shooting at the Washington Navy Yard, the President will attend a memorial service on Sunday.  We[Read More…]

Washington, DC–(ENEWSPF)–September 18, 2013. Index for Today’s Briefing DEPARTMENT Secretary Kerry’s Meetings in New York / 68th Session of United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) SUDAN Visa Application for President Omar al-Bashir / UNGA / International Criminal Court (ICC) AFGHANISTAN Election Commissioner Killed / U.S. Condemns Killing / Condolences SYRIA Chemical[Read More…]

Washington, DC–(ENEWSPF)–September 18, 2013 – 10:46 A.M. EDT THE PRESIDENT:  Thank you, everybody.  (Applause.)  Well, Jim, thank you for the introduction.  Thanks to Dave and Andrew and John — all the men and women of the Business Roundtable.  I’ve had a chance to not only present before this body before,[Read More…]

Interactive Heat Map and Graphs Make Local Mortgage Information More Accessible to the Public Washington, D.C.—(ENEWSPF)—September 18, 2013. Today the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) launched an online tool to provide consumers with easy access to public mortgage information collected under the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA). The tool enables[Read More…]

WASHINGTON—(ENEWSPF)—September 18, 2013. Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) Wednseday chaired a hearing titled “Reevaluating the Effectiveness of Federal Mandatory Minimum Sentences.” Leahy is the coauthor of the bipartisan Justice Safety Valve Act of 2013, which allows judges greater flexibility in sentencing federal crimes subject to mandatory minimums. Sen.[Read More…]

Brazil’s President Rousseff Cancels US Visit Over NSA Spying Washington, DC–(ENEWSPF)–September 17, 2013.  Yesterday, the President spoke by telephone with President Dilma Rousseff of Brazil to follow-up on their meeting in St. Petersburg and Ambassador Rice’s meeting with the Foreign Minister of Brazil last week. The United States and Brazil[Read More…]

Washington, DC–(ENEWSPF)–September 17, 2013. Index for Today’s Briefing SYRIA Discussions Ongoing at UN / P-5 and P-3 Meetings UN Report on Chemical Weapons Attack on August 21 Timeline / Way Forward / Geneva 2 TURKEY/SYRIA Downed Syrian Helicopter BRAZIL State Visit INDIA/PAKISTAN Ongoing Dialogue / Ibrahim Dawood CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC[Read More…]

Hearing Builds on Bipartisan Patrick Leahy/ Rand Paul Legislation and Attorney General Holder’s Recent Call for Federal Sentencing Reform; As Opposition to Mass Incarceration Builds, Mandatory Minimums Face Increased Scrutiny From Across Political Spectrum Washington, DC–(ENEWSPF)–September 17, 2013.  On Wedneday, September 18th the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee will hear testimony[Read More…]

New York Action Will Also Press Demand for ‘Robin Hood’ Tax on Wall Street Nurses, Healthcare Workers in 13 Countries Call Day of Action September 17 in Stepped Up Call to Stop Austerity, Healthcare Cuts Washington, DC–(ENEWSPF)–September 17, 2013.  Leading nurse and healthcare union organizations in 13 countries in the[Read More…]

BELGIUM–(ENEWSPF)–17 September 2013.  Today we convened an extraordinary session of the NATO-Russia Council to discuss Syria. We welcomed the framework for the elimination of Syrian chemical weapons agreed between the United States and Russia, called for expeditious agreement of a UN Security Council Resolution to ensure effective implementation of the[Read More…]