Because of the Affordable Care Act, states are expanding their Medicaid programs to cover more Americans, and today, Medicaid covers over 66 million Americans.
Bill Sheshko, a 55-year-old self-employed man from Fair Lawn, New Jersey, experienced the benefits of the Affordable Care Act and Medicaid expansion first hand. He’d been without health insurance for years, but with the Affordable Care Act, and because his state decided to expand Medicaid, he finally became eligible for Medicaid.
A few months ago, Bill began having difficulty breathing and noticed his legs and feet starting to swell. Because of his new coverage, Bill was able to make an appointment with his doctor and was subsequently diagnosed with congestive heart failure, high blood pressure, and high blood sugar. After a few scary days in the hospital, he is now home and working with his doctors to control his conditions with medication and diet. In a letter to the President, Bill wrote about the true meaning of his health coverage: “At least now I have a chance, all because of you.”
read moreSource: www.whitehouse.gov
Thursday, July 31, 2014
The Affordable Care Act and Medicaid Expansion: Giving More People a Chance
Raw Video: The President Takes a Walk Down Main Street
And before he left, the President took a walk down Main Street (literally), spending time with store owners, touring an antique watch shop, and chatting with customers at a local coffee shop.
We got it all on video, and we think you ll want to see it — watch, then pass it on:
Watch on YouTube
read moreSource: www.whitehouse.gov
The Affordable Care Act and Medicaid Expansion: Giving More People a Chance
Because of the Affordable Care Act, states are expanding their Medicaid programs to cover more Americans, and today, Medicaid covers over 66 million Americans.
Bill Sheshko, a 55-year-old self-employed man from Fair Lawn, New Jersey, experienced the benefits of the Affordable Care Act and Medicaid expansion first hand. He’d been without health insurance for years, but with the Affordable Care Act, and because his state decided to expand Medicaid, he finally became eligible for Medicaid.
A few months ago, Bill began having difficulty breathing and noticed his legs and feet starting to swell. Because of his new coverage, Bill was able to make an appointment with his doctor and was subsequently diagnosed with congestive heart failure, high blood pressure, and high blood sugar. After a few scary days in the hospital, he is now home and working with his doctors to control his conditions with medication and diet. In a letter to the President, Bill wrote about the true meaning of his health coverage: “At least now I have a chance, all because of you.”
read moreSource: www.whitehouse.gov
The Affordable Care Act and Medicaid Expansion: Giving More People a Chance
Because of the Affordable Care Act, states are expanding their Medicaid programs to cover more Americans, and today, Medicaid covers over 66 million Americans.
Bill Sheshko, a 55-year-old self-employed man from Fair Lawn, New Jersey, experienced the benefits of the Affordable Care Act and Medicaid expansion first hand. He’d been without health insurance for years, but with the Affordable Care Act, and because his state decided to expand Medicaid, he finally became eligible for Medicaid.
A few months ago, Bill began having difficulty breathing and noticed his legs and feet starting to swell. Because of his new coverage, Bill was able to make an appointment with his doctor and was subsequently diagnosed with congestive heart failure, high blood pressure, and high blood sugar. After a few scary days in the hospital, he is now home and working with his doctors to control his conditions with medication and diet. In a letter to the President, Bill wrote about the true meaning of his health coverage: “At least now I have a chance, all because of you.”
read moreSource: www.whitehouse.gov
The Affordable Care Act and Medicaid Expansion: Giving More People a Chance
Because of the Affordable Care Act, states are expanding their Medicaid programs to cover more Americans, and today, Medicaid covers over 66 million Americans.
Bill Sheshko, a 55-year-old self-employed man from Fair Lawn, New Jersey, experienced the benefits of the Affordable Care Act and Medicaid expansion first hand. He’d been without health insurance for years, but with the Affordable Care Act, and because his state decided to expand Medicaid, he finally became eligible for Medicaid.
A few months ago, Bill began having difficulty breathing and noticed his legs and feet starting to swell. Because of his new coverage, Bill was able to make an appointment with his doctor and was subsequently diagnosed with congestive heart failure, high blood pressure, and high blood sugar. After a few scary days in the hospital, he is now home and working with his doctors to control his conditions with medication and diet. In a letter to the President, Bill wrote about the true meaning of his health coverage: “At least now I have a chance, all because of you.”
read moreSource: www.whitehouse.gov
... CAUSE DE LA COULEUR DU BL"
La bibliothque Mid-Manhattan et l association Remembering Saint-Exupry ont clbr la fte nationale de la France avec une confrence exceptionnelle, dont le thme a t : «... CAUSE DE LA COULEUR DU BL" - HOMMAGE ANTOINE DE SAINT-EXUPRY.
La prsentation a commmor les 70 ans de la disparition du commandant Antoine de Saint-Exupry - auteur, pilote pionnier, hros de guerre, et lui a consacr un hommage au cours d une soire qui s est deroule d une manire extraordinaire.
Une confrence suivi d une lecture en textes croiss ont braqu les phares sur cette figure historique et lgendaire.
La soire a t absolument fabuleuse avec notres intervenants M. Howard Scherry et Mme Carmelle St. Grard-Lopez.
M. Scherry un spcialiste de premier plan sur la vie de Saint-Exupry, est galement le prsident/fondateur de Remembering Saint-Exupry, une organisation qui existe pour "promouvoir la mmoire et les uvres de celui qui, au cours de sa vie relativement courte de 44 ans, s est donn corps et me pour toutes les causes qui sont nobles".
Mr. Howard Scherry, originaire de New York, nourrit pour l’auteur et l’aviateur lgendaire une passion qui est agrablement contagieuse, et nous avons eu l’opportunit de le constater, nous-mmes, cette soir-l. Il nous a parl de la naissance d Antoine de Saint-Exupry Lyon, de sa disparition en mer, prs de Marseille lors d une mission de haute reconnaisance arienne, de l exposition de Morgan Library & Museum conclue fin avril 2014. J ai t profondment mue par les images que le photographe John Philipps eu prises le dernier jour de la vie du pilote avant de sa disparition.
Nous avons galement cout quelques extraits des livres The Pilote and the Little Prince. The Life of Antoine de Saint-Exupry, par Peter Sis et Studio Saint-Ex, par Ania Szado, inspir par l exil New York de Saint-Exupry au cours de la Seconde Guerre Mondiale.
Mme. Carmelle St. Grard-Lopez, notre prsentatrice en second lieu, reprsente un auteur aux talents multiples : crivaine, dramaturge et psycho-pdagogue, elle a fond la compagnie de thtre Totart/Totem dont elle est la prsidente. Elle a prsent une lecture de textes croiss, en mariant sa posie spirituelle la prose philosophique d un chapitre mouvant de CITADELLE, uvre posthume de Saint-Exupry.
Mais, comment ne pas tre mu quand on pense Saint-Exupry Dans CITADELLE, Antoine de Saint-Exupry nous a exhort exercer les valeurs gnreuses de la fraternit universelle, de l amour; le vrai amour. CLO, un conte de Mme St. Grard-Lopez, "trouve son inspiration profonde dans les germes de la philosophie humaniste et transcendante de Saint-Exupry, de mme que le Petit Prince, incarne l’authenticit dans sa dmarche de construction de l’tre et dans sa relation l’autre, vhicule la candeur et l’amour dans son discours, et nourrit inlassablement en lui les racines de l’empathie".
Source: www.nypl.org
Building Works: Pre-Apprenticeship Training
Building Works is a pre-apprenticeship training that prepares interested candidates for careers in the building trades. In partnership with the NYC District Council of Carpenters Labor Technical College, the 3 month training is tuition-free and provides both classroom instruction and hands-on experience preparing you for success in a union apprenticeship. Participants in Building Works gain experience from a wide range of courses, including job readiness, industry related math, health and safety, as well as hands-on instruction in shop classes under the supervision of journey-level union carpenters.
Certifications received during the training may include:
OSHA 10-Hour Construction Safety
40 Hour Hazardous Waste Worker
Scaffold User
A first year apprenticeship in the Carpenters Union earns $19.23/hour while receiving on the job training and technical classroom instruction. For more than a decade, Building Works has successfully trained hundreds of candidates most of whom have joined --and are completing--unionized apprenticeships...and are building careers in a skilled trade. Together we are helping to build the future of organized labor.
Candidates for Building Works Pre-Apprenticeship Training must:
Be at least 18 years of age at time of enrollment
Have a High School Diploma or GED, and pass a basic skills test at 8th grade level
Be either unemployed or under-employed
Be physically able to work
Be legally eligible to work in the U.S.
Pass a drug test
Commit to completing the entire, full-time, 3 month training with classes running from 8:00 am to 3:30 pm
To apply for the Building Works training please contact one of our referral partners
Chinese American Planning Council, Inc.
Workforce Development Division
165 Eldridge Street, 2nd Floor
New York, NY 10002
Contact: Cindy Liu
212-941-0041, ext. 505
xliu@cpc-nyc-org
Cypress Hills Local Development Corp.
Academic & Career Exploration Center
2836 Fulton Street
Brooklyn, NY 11207
Contact: Jessen Vasquez
718-235-8837, ext. 105
Make the Road New York
92-10 Roosevelt Ave. .
Jackson Heights, NY 11372
301 Grove Street, Brooklyn, NY 11237
Port Richmond Ave. Staten Island, NY 10302
Contact: Daphany Sanchez
718-418-7690 ext. 1219
daphany.sanchez@maketheroadny.org
Staten Island Youth Justice Center
60 Bay Street, Suite 100
Staten Island, NY 10301
Contact: Romel Shuler
718-675-8923
July Reader's Den: "Of Dice and Men: The Story of Dungeons & Dragons and the People Who Play It" by David Ewalt - Wrap Up
Wizards of the Coast have released their new basic rules for the next generation of Dungeons and Dragons online for free. The 100-page document details how to make a character, play the game, and covers magic, too. Here is the printer-friendly version: DnDBasicRules(PrinterFriendly).pdf
Here are some online reviews of this book:
“Of Dice and Men.” andyravenscroft.com
“Of Dice and Men Book Review: The Story of Dungeons & Dragons and the People Who Play It.” Geek.com
“Of Dice and Men — The Story of Dungeons & Dragons: A Review.” Geekdad.com
“Of Dice and Men Book Review: The Story of Dungeons & Dragons and the People Who Play It.” GeekLegacy.com
“There be dragons: Of Dice and Men explores the story of D&D.” LA Times.com
“Book Review: Of Dice and Men.” notelr.com
“Mordenkainen’s Magnificent Market-Share: Of Dice and Men by David M. Ewalt.” Tor.com
"Tales From the Basement: One problem for Dungeons & Dragons was the stigma around folks who tossed 20-sided dice and fussed over frost giants and hobgoblins.” WSJ.com
David Ewalt, "Of Dice and Men: The Story of Dungeons & Dragons..." Talks at Google
Here are some related books and movies:
Mark Barrowcliffe: The Elfish Gene: Dungeons, Dragons and Growing up Strange
Ethan Gilsdorf: Fantasy Freaks and Gaming Geeks Fantasy Freaks and Gaming Geeks: An Epic Quest for Reality Among Role Players, Online Gamers, and Other Dwellers of Imaginary Realms
Benjamin Nugent: American Nerd:The Story of My People
Lizzie Stark: Leaving Mundania: Inside the Transformative World of Live Action Role-playing
Drakmar: A Vassal s Journey
Knights of Badassdom
Source: www.nypl.org
Imagination Academy 2014 - Week 3
After reading “Cardinal Ideograms” by May Swenson the group wrote poems about seeing old things in new ways. They also wrote “mask” poems, becoming something or someone else, inspired by “Becoming a Redwood” by Dana Gioia.
Rulers of the Tracks Above and Below (inspired by “Cardinal Ideograms” by May Swenson")
A Pencil point;
a closed break, an express
C Gaping mouth
from the side; a local
J An upside down
frown; an express
Z A twisted spork;
the best letter; a local
R Legs with just
a head; express
M Goes on forever
from Manhattan to Queens
-Zora
Mirror
The morning brings faces
Pimples, eyelashes, makeup and hair
White fog smudges from the little ones
Yelling from the teens
The pungent smell of perfume
And the airy presence of powder
The ting of tweezers and the buzz of
razors and the white teeth from dentist visits
The alarm clocks, the whines, the
surprises, the weird, the flies,
The pets and the whistles
The smells aren’t the best the
sounds rather loud but
Imagine if you were a cloud!
-Maggie
John Grandits taught the group about concrete poetry. After seeing some of John’s work (including 3D poetry!) and a Q&A session, the group created their own spiral poems using paper plates.
I got swallowed by a tornado. My mother was not pleased.
It was like a rollercoaster and I liked it indeed.
I saw some funny things up there. Here is
what I saw. A grown man in his underwear,
sleeping with a teddy bear! I saw a man welding a
bicycle to a pole. And several dishes
went down the commode. My little brother
said it really wasn’t fair.
And I replied I really don’t
care. I really don’t care!
I REALLY DON’T
CARE!
Vincent Toro, our final poet, asked the young writers to define poetry. After reading “Poetry should ride the bus” by Ruth Foreman, the group brainstormed new lines about what poetry should do. They combined their ideas and came up with a poem of their own!
Poetry Should… (Written by Imagination Academy’s Young Writers)
Poetry should be the kindergarten teacher
who gets their students into the best universities
Poetry should swim in a pool of words and rhymes
Poetry should slip into your dreams
so that when you wake up you have the answer
Poetry should go everywhere
but the garbage can
Poetry should do gymnastics
Poetry should chew watermelon bubblegum
Poetry should sculpt a clay pot
Poetry should be a pastor in a church
speaking so strong, so loud
Poetry should shine with an ethereal
luminescence Poetry should be a teacher
Poetry should fly around and save the day
Poetry should score the winning goal
in soccer Poetry should dance to Jazz
Poetry should conquer
On Friday, under Jackie s guidance, the group wrote more concrete poems.
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They also wrote acrostic poems.
Chewy or chocolate!
A food for children
Need sugar rush!
Divine and delicious
Yummy! Yummy! Yummy!
-Sydney
It’s amazing that next week, Graphic Novels and Illustration, will be our final session for 2014!
Source: www.nypl.org
How to Find Historical Photos of New York City
Sometimes, in order to track down a photo of a certain place in a certain era, you will need to know the name of a photographer that was known for his or her work in those circumstances. Berenice Abbott, Lewis Hine, Percy Loomis Sperr, Jacob Riis, Edward Steichen, Walker Evans, Weegee, Garry Winogrand, Leonard Freed, Diane Arbus, and Alice Austen are among examples of people who photographed New York City profusely. Their photos may be easier to locate by searching for their names rather than by what is depicted in their works. Books such as Cityscapes: A History of New York in Images are useful for identifying famous New York photographers and the time periods in which they worked. Use the Photography Division’s Prints & Photographs Online Catalog to search for photographers by name in addition to the library’s regular catalog. The Wallach Division of Art, Prints, & Photographs can provide assistance in researching particular photographers.
Other Places to Look:
There are several institutions that are renowned for their photo archives and have rich collections of New York City images. In addition to the NYPL, you may want to reach out to the following organizations:
Municipal Archives
Digital Metro
Brooklyn Public Library
Queens Public Library
Museum of the City of New York
New York Historical Society
Brooklyn Historical Society
Brooklyn Museum Library & Archives
Brooklyn Visual Heritage
Bronx County Historical Society
Staten Island Historical Society
International Center of Photography
Library of Congress
Digital Public Library of America
New York State Archives
Smithsonian Institution
Wikipedia also has a list of other Photo Archives
Source: www.nypl.org
United States v. "The Spirit of '76"
During World War I, the making of movies—even seemingly pro-American films—could be a dangerous proposition, given the wartime hysteria so prevalent on the U.S. home front. Case in point:
Robert Goldstein, producer of the 1917 Revolutionary War epic The Spirit of ’76, was arrested under the Espionage Act, charged with making a motion picture that portrayed Britain, now America’s ally, in an unfavorable light. Among other unflattering depictions, the film showed Red Coats bayoneting babies, raping women, and massacring Patriot soldiers.
In building its case against Goldstein—ironically named United States v. “The Spirit of 76”—the government asserted that Goldstein had knowingly made a pro-German propaganda movie with the intent to impugn the nation’s allies, foment disloyalty, and impede the U.S. military’s conscription efforts. Goldstein countered, to no avail, that his main motivation in making the picture had been financial—that he believed a movie dealing with America’s victory in the War of Independence would have broad box-office appeal, given the patriotic mood of the country. The atrocities committed in the film by British soldiers were, he further contended, historically accurate and necessary to the plot.
In the end, a jury would have none of Goldstein’s arguments. On April 15, 1918, he was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison (later commuted to 3 years) and fined 5,000 dollars. Said sentencing judge Benjamin F. Bledsoe at the trial’s conclusion, “Count yourself lucky that you didn’t commit treason in a country lacking America’s right to a trial by jury. You’d already be dead.”
Upon his release, Goldstein moved to Europe and attempted without success to reestablish his film career. After being expelled from Nazi Germany in the mid 1930s, he returned to the United States where, so far as is known, he died in obscurity. Like a great many films of the silent era, The Spirit of ’76 is now considered lost, with no print known to survive.
Anthony Slide’s 1993 book Robert Goldstein and The Spirit of ‘76 remains the standard work on Goldstein’s film, legal woes, and overall bad luck.
Source: www.nypl.org
Margot Adler 1946-2014
The Library, indeed the worlds of thought, conscience and letters have lost a good friend. Long a user of this Library, Margot Adler wrote some of her first book, Drawing Down the Moon: Witches, Druids, Goddess-worshippers, and Other Pagans in American Today, in the Allen Room. In the preface she writes of it as "...a special room for writers with a very special atmosphere. The writers there gave warmth, support, and a companionship that is truly rare." Warmth, support and companionship describes she herself.
I met her only a few years ago when she came back to use the study rooms. Later she generously presented her current work in a public lecture. About 2 minutes before the lecture was to begin, she whirled in, in blue jeans (she had been at Staten Island reporting on post-Sandy affairs) and without a note in her hand or a single illustration, wowed us all with a comparison of vampires and modern ecology, or rather, eco-apocalypse.
She was immediately present , always interested and interesting, compassionate. She was a Mensch.
Source: www.nypl.org
Join World Hepatitis Day at the White House – July 30: A Call to Action for Public Health Leadership
Dr. Howard Koh
Every year, on July 28th, we commemorate World Hepatitis Day and elevate the public health response to a disease that impacts more than 400 million people globally. It has been an honor to serve as Assistant Secretary of Health (ASH) at the US Department of Health and Human Services for the past five years. This Wednesday, July 30, I’ll join US and international leaders to commemorateWorld Hepatitis Dayat the White House. It is fitting that my last public appearance as ASH will be this worldwide observance where we will discuss the global impact of viral hepatitis and the importance of public health leadership with senior federal officials and community leaders including:
Ambassador Deborah Birx, U.S. Global AIDS Ambassador
Michael Botticelli, Acting Director, White House Office of National Drug Control Policy
Douglas Brooks, Director, White House Office of National AIDS Policy
Dr. Gottfried Hirnschall, Director, HIV Department, World Health Organization
Dr. Paul Farmer, Partners in Health
Please join us via live stream from 12:00 PM – 2:30 PM (Eastern) atwww.whitehouse.gov/live. You can also join the conversation on Twitter with hashtag #WorldHepatitisDay.
Here in the United States, up to 5.3 million people are living with viral hepatitis – and most don’t know it. Many people with viral hepatitis have no symptoms until they are very sick, and many health care providers are unaware of this dangerous disease, so it has been called a “silent epidemic.”
Viral hepatitis disproportionately impacts ethnic and racial minorities. One in 12 Asian Americans is living with hepatitis B and the prevalence of hepatitis C among African Americans is estimated to be double that among whites.
According to theCenters for Disease Control and Prevention, viral hepatitis is the leading cause of liver cancer and most common reason for liver transplant in the US. In fact, according to theAmerican Cancer Society, liver cancer is the second deadliest cancer in the US. These deaths do not have to occur. In my time as ASH, public health leaders have joined together and committed to a response to viral hepatitis – and this incredible effort is already making a difference in people’s lives.
In 2010, the Institute of Medicine released the report,Hepatitis and Liver Cancer: A National Strategy for Prevention and Control of Hepatitis B and C. Soon after, I convened a government working group to develop a national response to this epidemic.
In 2011, HHS released the first nation’s first comprehensive federal action plan, the Action Plan for the Prevention, Care, & Treatment of Viral Hepatitis, and in April 2014, anupdated plan for 2014-2016was released. Recognizing that addressing viral hepatitis will require active involvement from a broad mix of stakeholders, the new plan offers more ways to encourage this critical type of collaboration. Learn about actions you can take right now in theStakeholders’ Workbook. The action plan has contributed to the growing momentum in the field and provides a framework and focus around which all key stakeholders can engage to strengthen the nation’s response.
And, of course, thanks to the Affordable Care Act, improved diagnostic tests, and groundbreaking treatments, we now have more opportunities than ever to break the silence around viral hepatitis. Medicare now provides free hepatitis C testing for persons born from 1945 to 1965, a group that has five times higher rates of the disease than others. And recent recommendations by the United States Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) mean hepatitis B blood tests will be free under most health plans, because the Affordable Care Act requires insurance companies to cover screening tests that receive an “A” or “B” grade from the USPSTF.
We’ve come a long way in laying the foundation to address this deadly disease. As I complete my tenure as ASH, I am moved by the public health legacy around viral hepatitis that has developed during my time in office. The leadership that I envision to continue on with this important work is one that innovates, integrates and inspires others to serve and to help us realize the goals of the Viral Hepatitis Action Plan.Join uson July 30th and learn more about viral hepatitis, public health leadership and the global response we must create together to stop this epidemic.
Follow Dr. Howard K. Koh on Twitter:www.twitter.com/@HHS_DrKoh
Source: www.aids.gov
Faster, Easier Cures for Hepatitis C
Hepatitis C can be cured, and todays drug therapies are very effective and easier for patients to take, says Jeffrey S. Murray, M.D., the deputy director of the Division of Antiviral Products in FDAs Center for Drug Evaluation and Research. Murray is an internist who specializes in infectious diseases.
A Preventable and Curable Disease
Hepatitis (inflammation of the liver) refers to a group of viral infections that affect the liver. The most common types are hepatitis A, hepatitis B and hepatitis C. Each is caused by a different virus.
Hepatitis C is the most common chronic blood-borne infection in the United States. There is no vaccine for this disease, but hepatitis C can be prevented by avoiding behaviors that can spread the virusincluding sharing needles, syringes or other equipment to inject drugs.
A diagnosis of hepatitis C no longer means months and months of painful drug injections, which for decades were the only option. Science is making strides in therapies, giving patients new alternatives.
Interferon-based injections often make patients feel ill and give them flulike symptoms, Murray says. The treatment by interferon also lasts six months to a year, and cures only 40% to 50% of hepatitis C patients.
Patients with very advanced liver disease couldnt take the traditional treatment because often those injections could make them worse, he adds. Now, patients can treat their hepatitis C with only pills drug combinations that are faster and have a higher cure rate.
Todays pills have double the viral cure rates90% to 100%in just in 12 weeks time. Reducing the treatment from a year to three months is a huge advantage for people with hepatitis C, especially because its easier to swallow a pill than to get an injection, Murray says.
The new regimens include Sovaldi (sofosbuvir), which is the first drug approved to treat certain types of hepatitis C infection without the need to co-administer interferon. In recent years, FDA has also approved three protease inhibitorsOlysio (simeprevir), Victrelis (boceprevir) and Incivek (telaprevir)to treat chronic hepatitis C virus infection. Olysio is a protease inhibitor that blocks a specific protein the hepatitis C virus needs to replicate. The drug is a component of a combination antiviral treatment regimen.
FDA provides information through aHepatitis e-mail list, along with notices of upcoming public events, such as advisory committee meetings, and opportunities to comment on policies and issues that affect people with hepatitis B or C.
Baby Boomers and Hepatitis C
For most people, hepatitis is a silent disease until it causes substantial damage to the liver. That process may take several years, and can lead to liver failure, liver transplantation and liver cancer.
Hepatitis C is a bit like smoking, the longer youve had it, the higher your risk of developing complicationsin this case, liver cancer and end-stage liver disease. Its a progressive disease that takes years, even decades, before the patient develops cirrhosis or cancer, Murray says. The good news is that when you cure hepatitis C, you also lower its risks, though you dont completely erase the years of damage to your liver.
Once infected with the hepatitis C virus, nearly 8 in 10 untreated people remain infected for life, according to theCenters for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Three in four patients with chronic hepatitis C are baby boomers (people born from 1945 to 1965), and many became infected before the virus was identified and the blood supply was tested for the disease. Thats why its important for baby boomersthere are 76.4 million of them, according to the U.S. Census Bureauto take a simple blood test for hepatitis C.
When it comes to hepatitis C, the outlook for the future is better, but the past is catching up with usespecially if you are a baby boomer, Murray says. Still, this is a fortuitous time because better hepatitis C treatments are becoming available just as the patient population at risk of long-term complications is about to peak. There are treatments for chronic hepatitis and many reasons to get tested now more than ever because of the availability of safe and effective therapies.
This article appears onFDAs Consumer Updates page, which features the latest on all FDA-regulated products.
July 28, 2014
Source: www.aids.gov
Stepping Up the Pace in Americas Response to AIDS
Given the global reach of the AIDS epidemic and the diversity of delegates who attended the 20th International AIDS Conference (AIDS 2014) in Melbourne, Australia (July 20-25), its not surprising that hundreds of topics were presented. Plenary sessions, symposia, and posters covered subjects ranging from novel ways to reach high-risk populations, harm reduction strategies for persons who use drugs, efforts to combat HIV criminalization, strategies to modify health systems so as to improve HIV care outcomes, and the future of a cure for HIV. And many of us were heartened to see that the conference organizers had included several sessions on the global impact of hepatitis B and hepatitis C.
There is no way that a single blog can do justice to the breadth and depth of material presented in Melbourne and I encourage readers to visit the conference programto review individual conference abstracts. But as someone who has been privileged to attend all but the very first International AIDS Meeting (held in Atlanta, Georgia in 1985), Id like to reflect on several high-level themes that emerged from this years conference, and consider what they mean in the context of our own nations efforts to achieve the goals of the U.S. National HIV/AIDS Strategy.
Step up the Pace
Stepping up the Pace was the theme of the meeting and several presenters made reference to a tipping point, that is, those situations where HIV progress could just as easily go backwards as forwards. True, there are fantastic examples from around the globe of tremendous progress against HIV/AIDS, like global treatment scale-up, facilitated by investments in PEPFAR. But there are also instances where we have lost ground. In our own nation, and in many other parts of the world, rising HIV incidence among gay and other men who have sex with men (MSM), must be seen as a warning to step-up investment in evidence-based HIV prevention and care programs for these populations and to actively confront the stigma and homophobia which aids and abets HIVs spread.
Implement the Science
We wouldnt be able to talk about an AIDS-free generation without the substantial advances in basic, clinical, and prevention science that have accrued over the past three decades. But it is increasingly clear that scientific breakthroughs, in many ways, represent the beginning, rather than the end, of our response to the HIV/AIDS epidemic. Whether we consider the policy implications of HIV treatment as prevention (TasP) or explore the operational issues inherent in implementing HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), it is crucial that we actively engage communities and other stakeholders in an ongoing dialogue about what these scientific advances mean to end users and affected communities. Further, disseminating scientific breakthroughs often requires that we educate policy makers as well as undertake changes to existing systems of care; these steps are necessary if we want to promote the uptake of new technologies and practices. Finally, understanding and addressing the social and environmental circumstances that can block the uptake of advances in HIV science is paramount. Intervening to modify these structural impediments is how we will eventually reduce the persistent racial/ethnic disparities that characterize the U.S. HIV/AIDS epidemic.
Stay in it for the Long Haul
Ongoing vaccine research and the expanding discourse on a cure for HIV speak to our need for new and better science in order to conquer this virus. But if we are to achieve the goals of Americas National HIV/AIDS Strategy and become a nation where new HIV infections are rare and HIV health disparities and inequities have vanished, we must replenish other resourcesin addition to science. We need new and better data to plot our course, new ways to confront the barriers that interfere with optimal HIV prevention and care and, perhaps most important of all, new leaders to bring to this fight. The battle against this virus has already spanned generations and will likely continue to do so. Events like the International AIDS Conference, the U.S. Conference on AIDS, and the National HIV Prevention Meeting, among others, provide critical opportunities to mentor a new generation of AIDS leadership. And so to our next generation of scientists, advocates, providers, public health workers, and policy makers I say please join the fight so we can step up the pace.
Source: www.aids.gov
New report highlights recommendations to protect consumers from mobile cramming
Chances are you have a mobile phone according to a Pew Research Center Internet & American Life Project survey, almost 90 percent of us do. And like most of us, you may not pore over every line on your monthly phone bill to understand what you are really paying for.Too bad, because mobile cramming adding charges to mobile bills that people didnt authorize or know about is an illegal practice and it has become practically epidemic, according to the FTC. The consumer protection agency is trying to change that landscape, using enforcement, consumer education, and policy discussions. Today, the FTC issued a report with five key recommendations for industry stakeholders that could protect all of us mobile phone users from mobile cramming. Read it here but in the meantime, heres what you can do to protect yourself:Read your phone bill line by line, every month. One way you might detect bogus cramming charges is to get into the habit of taking the time to read your statement online, or the one that comes in the mail.Regardless if you are a new or existing customer, ask your carrier to block third- party charges. The third-party blocking service is often offered free of charge. You just have to speak up.Call your carrier and demand a refund for charges you didnt know about or authorize. Be persistent when you complain to your carrier about the charges, and know that some carriers have a 60-day period for refund requests. Even if youve detected a years worth of fraudulent charges, the phone carrier may offer to refund only a part of it.File a complaint with the FTC and let us know whats happening. If you suspect youve been a victim of mobile cramming, call your mobile carrier first to complain, then fill out our complaint form online, or call 1-877-FTC-HELP.
Cristina Miranda
Consumer Education Specialist, FTC
Topics: Avoid ScamsTagged with: cell phone, mobile, phones, scamSource: www.onguardonline.gov
Department of Labor Offering Safety Classes for Employers in August
This two-day course is designed to cover numerous topics relating to public works type agencies, including workzone set up and flagging.**Ladder Safety - August 5, 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.**
Ladders are a major source of injuries and fatalities in the workplace. However, falls can be reduced if people use caution when climbing ladders or when working in places where falls are a potential hazard. This course will show participants how falls from ladders can be prevented through education that includes planning for their use, inspecting the ladder prior to use and using basic ladder safeguards.**Noise and Hearing Protection - August 21, 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.**
This class will cover effects of noise on hearing, hearing protection, health standards and OSHA requirements.**Auto Lift/Jack and Jack Stand Compliance - September 11, 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.**
This class will cover types of automotive lifts, jacks and jack stands, proper use, inspection and compliance criterion.Employers interested in registering can learn more and register at http://www.maine.gov/tools/whatsnew/index.phptopic=Safetyworks_Classes&v=ListAll . Space is limited so reservations are required.The Bureau of Labor Standards is Maine s regulatory agency overseeing labor and employment law and workplace safety; it provides both consultation and enforcement services. The division promotes and achieves compliance with labor standards to protect and enhance the welfare of Maine s workforce.-end-Source: www.maine.gov
Highway Trust Fund Temporarily Saved, Unemployed Still Waiting on EUC
The House of Representatives has voted to approve a temporary extension of the National Highway Trust fund until May 2015 – the legislation will save hundreds of thousands of construction jobs, which would have been lost without the patch.
While the House protected hundreds of thousands of jobs in construction, advocates for the renewal of Emergency Unemployment Compensation (EUC) were distressed by how the bill was paid for. The highway extension bill uses funding from pension smoothing* and customs fees – the same sources that had been included in bipartisan legislation to extend unemployment benefits.
The funding, which could have supported more than 3 million Americans who have been searching for work for more than six months, was instead used in a last-ditch effort to prevent an additional 700,000 Americans from becoming unemployed, as a result of the National Highway Trust Fund s expiration.
Infrastructure spending – like investments in education, food security, and programs for the unemployed – has been choked in recent years due to concerns about the national debt and balancing the budget. The Center for Effective Government has played an active role in discussing the potential for various types of spending to stimulate the economy and ensure that Americans are able to find more steady employment. For example, investing in education has the potential to put more teachers to work, as well as improve children’s education. Similarly, investing in badly needed infrastructure has the benefit of employing engineers while also fixing potholes, bridges, and dams.
Crisis budgeting in recent years has discouraged longer-term investments and put off maintenance on the infrastructure that makes this nation a first-class place to do business.
Some pundits have painted a choice: members of Congress can support using this money to pay for unemployment insurance or use it to save the National Highway Trust Fund. A better question is perhaps: In a nation as mighty and wealthy as the United States, why do we pretend that we have to choose between the two Why can t we do both Budgeting should not be a question of "either or"; it is a creative process, where solutions to problems are addressed in order to reflect the nation s needs and priorities.
Americans are badly in need of jobs, as there are simply not enough to go around. Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen has emphasized this remaining “slack” in the economy and labor market repeatedly. These jobs should be created as soon as possible. At the same time, the clock is running out for the more than 3.4 million Americans who would benefit from extended unemployment insurance. The needs of the unemployed, especially the long-term unemployed, should also be addressed with an urgency reflecting the utter devastation facing these families.
* “Pension smoothing” refers to a temporary lowering of mandatory pension contributions by corporations, which results in lower pension-related tax deductions and an increase in the taxes a corporation must pay. Pension smoothing can potentially contribute to retirement insecurity in the long-run while increasing tax revenue in the short term.
For additional reading on unemployment insurance:
Six Months after Emergency Unemployment Benefits Expired, 2.8 Million Americans Left Behind, The Fine Print blog, May 21, 2014
Witness Wednesdays: Stories of the Long-Term Unemployed to Be Read on Capitol Hill, The Fine Print blog, June 10, 2014
Bipartisan Unemployment Benefits Bills in Both Houses, The Fine Print blog, July 2, 2014
To share your story, learn how to take action, and read more about the Witness Wednesday: Voices of the Unemployed events, click the logo below:
Editor s note: This post has been updated since its original publication date.
Source: www.foreffectivegov.org
Ten things to know about Shifting Gears: Automotive Technician Training Program
What is Shifting Gears Automotive Technician Training Program
The U.S. Army, General Motors (NYSE:GM) and Raytheon Company (NYSE: RTN), teamed up to provide eligible Soldiers with skills to become service technicians at GM dealerships after they return to civilian life. The Shifting Gears Automotive Technician Training Program is a multi-year initiative and it will begin Aug. 4, 2014, at Fort Hood, TX. The initiative demonstrates a strong commitment to helping veterans succeed by connecting them with education and career opportunities outside of the military service. Also, Shifting Gears is a part of the Armys Soldier for Life support program, which helps soldiers reintegrate into their communities after leaving the Army.
What categories of Soldiers are eligible for this program
Shifting Gears is an instillation-based program focused toward providing automotive technician training to transitioning Soldiers. However, General Motors offers technician training online to all veterans.
Is Shifting Gears is only for Soldiers from the Active Duty component or does it also include Soldiers from the Reserve component
This program is offered to Soldiers of all components. However, there are qualifications participant must meet.
What criteria make a Soldier eligible to participate in the Shifting Gears training program
Beyond being a Soldier preparing to transition from military, there are a number of criteria that must be met to the achievement of qualifying scores on both Army and GM Service Technical College assessment tests.
In what automotive skill sets will graduates be proficient upon completion of the program
Soldiers will be trained to diagnose and repair GM vehicles, with a strong focus on engine repair, engine performance, brakes and HVAC.
What is the salary associated with acquiring such skills and working for GM
Pay levels are determined between technicians and their employers. However, auto technicians earn an average of $39,000, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, but master technicians can earn $60,000 or more. Also, the U.S. Dept. of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics forecasts that the automotive repair and maintenance industry is expected to add 237,500 new jobs and have a 30 percent growth rate through 2020, making technicians one of the top 20 jobs with relatively high median earnings and the potential for significant job openings over the next decade.
Which GM locations are available for employing the Soldiers who complete the program
This program is intended for domestic locations.
Are jobs guaranteed after eligible Soldiers have completed the automotive technician training
This program provides training and placement opportunities but does not guarantee employment. General Motors is providing instructors, curriculum, vehicles, tools, and equipment to support the program and free access to a custom job posting website that makes dealers aware of the availability of program graduates and graduates aware of potential dealer openings.
How will the Shifting Gears partners (The U.S. Army, Raytheon and General Motors) scale success from this initiative
In the interim, success will be measured by the number of graduates productively employed by GM Dealers.
Can a participant work for non-GM dealers
Shifting Gears provides GM specific automotive training. It is possible that a graduate could work for another automaker but would require additional training on that manufacturers products.
Source: www.army.mil
Five Facts about the Army Transportation Corps
In honor of the U.S. Army Transportation Corps’ 72nd birthday, here are 5 facts about the third smallest branch in the Army.
FACT 1)The Transportation Corps is responsible for moving supplies, troops and equipment anywhere on the globe. During war, the Transportation Corps utilizes trucks, boats and airplanes to provide extremely fast support to the combat teams on the front lines.
FACT 2)“Spearhead of Logistics” is the motto of the Transportation Corps.
FACT 3) Within three years of its existence, the Transportation Corps had moved more than 30 million Soldiers within the continental U.S. and roughly 7 million Soldiers and 126 million tons of supplies overseas by the end of World War II.
FACT 4)“Destination — Berlin!” is a small booklet covering the history of the Transportation Corps. This booklet is one of the series ofG.I. Storiespublished by the Stars & Stripes in Paris in 1944-1945. The stories includedphotos, articles, & research on the European Theater in World War II.
FACT 5) The branch insignia of the Transportation Corps (see below) consists of the wheel (which is on a rail) symbolizing rail transportation, the wing symbolizing air transportation, a mariner’s helm for water transportation, and a US highway marker shield for land transportation.
Happy Birthday Transportation Corps!
“Nothing happens until something moves”
Source: www.army.mil
Background Conference Call on Ukraine
3:58 P.M. EDT
MS. LUCAS MAGNUSON: Hi, good afternoon, everyone. Thanks for your patience. Welcome to the call to explain the sanctions that we just rolled out -- that the President just spoke to. This call will be on background. All information will be attributable to senior administration officials.
With that, I will turn it over to senior administration official number one.
SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: Great. Thanks, everybody, for getting on the call. I’ll just make a few comments to give an overview, and then hand it over to my colleagues to go into more details about what both the United States and Europe did today.
First of all, you have seen since the shoot-down of MH17 the United States make very clear that we believe there needs to be greater costs imposed on Russia for its actions. That includes the shoot-down of MH17 from Russian-backed separatist-controlled areas, and it also includes the continued efforts by Russia to arm and support the separatists who are inside of Ukraine.
And we have put out a substantial amount of information in the last several days. We believe that military equipment -- including artillery, armored vehicles and air defense equipment -- recently departed from the deployment area west of Rostov, and we’re concerned that this would continue the flow of support to the separatists.
We have seen Russia continue to accumulate a significant amount of equipment at a deployment site in southwest Russia that includes tanks of a type that are no longer used by the Russian military, as well as armored vehicles, multiple rocket launchers, artillery, and air defense systems. We saw additional towed artillery departed this site this week, and we are concerned that it will be transferred to separatist fighters.
I’d also note that after recapturing several Ukrainian cities last weekend, Ukrainian officials discovered caches of weapons that they assert came from Russia, and that includes MANPADS, mines, grenades, MREs, vehicles, and a pontoon bridge.
And we’ve also seen a buildup of Russian forces near the Ukrainian border.
So all of that is in addition to the flow of heavy weapons and support that we’ve seen from Russia into Ukraine over the last several weeks, and it has not abated since the tragic shoot-down of MH17.
The President has focused, since the beginning of this crisis, on coordinating with a broad, international coalition, specifically with our European allies in particular. And since the shoot-down of MH17, he has spoken many times to
European leaders, including several conversations with Prime Minister Rutte of the Netherlands, given the Dutch lead in the investigation, and most recently yesterday doing a videoconference call with his counterparts from Germany, the United Kingdom, France, and Italy.
And we have very much encouraged the Europeans to take additional steps to impose sanctions in key sectors of the Russian economy. And today, the Europeans followed through on that commitment. And this is entirely consistent with the conversations that the President had with European leaders in Brussels at the G7, at the EU. We have been working this issue for several weeks, if not months now, and today we see the coordinated action that is a result of that leadership by the President.
Let me just say a few things. My colleagues will get into the additional sanctions imposed by the Treasury Department and the Commerce Department. I do just want to note that today’s actions include steps by a range of U.S. agencies. So, for instance, USDA is suspending all bilateral export credit and development finance for Russia. OPIC has suspended consideration of any new financing and insurance transactions in Russia. And as a result of the sanctions imposed today, the Export-Import Bank is imposing a hold on all new transactions for exports to Russia. So these are very broad actions across the U.S. government.
But with that, I’ll turn it over to my colleague from Treasury.
SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: Thank you. And let me just give a quick overview of the actions we’ve taken today, and of course we’ll be available for questions should people want to go into more detail.
These actions today of course build on a series of actions that we’ve rolled out over the last month to respond to the provocations from Russia. We have targeted leaders who have been responsible for the Russian intervention. We’ve targeted cronies or oligarchs. We’ve targeted separatist leaders and groups, and others responsible for the violence and instability. And we’ve also taken a number of steps that target sectors of the Russian economy and go after key firms within those sectors. You’re seeing more of that today.
Today, we have expanded the list of financial institutions that are sanctioned under Executive Order 13662 to include three additional major Russian state-owned banks. These are VTB Bank, Bank of Moscow, and Russian Agricultural Bank. As with our actions two weeks ago, we are prohibiting U.S. persons from dealing in any new equity from these banks or of these banks, and issuing or handling any new debt of longer than 90-day maturity.
As a practical matter, this will close those banks off from the U.S. as sources of medium- or long-term financing. And I would note that these three, as well as the two banks that we designated under this measure two weeks ago, hold a very extensive amount of U.S. dollar-denominated debt.
Second, we designated today a Russian defense technology firm under Executive Order 13661. The name is United Shipbuilding Corporation. It’s been designated for operating in the Russian arms and defense sector, and it expands on the list of eight firms that we designated just two weeks ago. As a result of this action, any assets that it holds or tries to move through the U.S. financial system will be blocked, and any transactions with U.S. persons are prohibited.
I want to stress the significance of the steps we’ve taken today, and you’ll shortly hear about additional actions from my colleague at the Commerce Department. Executive Order 13662 authorized Secretary Lew to identify sectors of the Russian economy and then to select specific targets for action. This is a broad, powerful and flexible tool. We’ve used it today in that way, and we have made very clear that we can and will continue to increase pressure if Russia does not change course.
We’ve already seen substantial impact on the Russian economy from the actions we’ve taken to date. And we’ve seen the Russian ruble depreciating nearly 8 percent just since the beginning of the year, despite heavy intervention by the Russian Central Bank. The Russian Central Bank has spent over $30 billion this year in an effort to stabilize the ruble and, as you can hear, quite unsuccessfully.
Third, the IMF expects as much as a $100 billion of capital flight from Russia this year. And we’ve seen Standard & Poor’s downgrade Russia’s sovereign credit rating to BBB-, one notch above junk status.
Those four indicators that I just cited are before the actions that we announced today and the actions that the EU is preparing to announce.
With that, I want to turn it over to my colleague from the Commerce Department.
SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: Thank you. So the Commerce Department has announced two actions today. First, in line with the Treasury announcement on the action on United Shipbuilding Corporation, we are adding them to our entity list.
We already have eight Russian defense enterprises that have been sanctioned by Treasury on our entity list. To remind everyone the consequence of a foreign party being on the Commerce entity list, is it imposes an export license requirement for all items in the U.S. economy going to that entity regardless of their significance and regardless of whether they’re exported directly from the United States or re-exported from a foreign country. It also includes the re-export of foreign-made end items if they include U.S. content that’s over 25 percent of the value of that foreign-made item. So it’s really the trade equivalent -- or a complement to the Treasury’s financial sanctions in that respect.
I’d also remind everyone that we had previously announced defense-related export licensing policy. We are not approving any licenses for military items to any end-user in Russia or dual-use items to any military end-user in Russia or end use.
The other piece of our announcement today is that we are going to impose export license requirements on a universe of technologies if they’re to be exported or re-exported to Russian deepwater, Arctic offshore, or shale oil production activities.
And these are designed not to impact Russian current production but to impact their ability to produce in more technologically challenging future projects. And we’ll have a regulation that will be published in the Federal Register in the next few days that will impose this export license requirement for energy-related technologies in, as I said, deepwater, Arctic offshore, and shale projects.
And so those are the Commerce actions that are being announced today. From that, I guess I turn it over to my colleague from the State Department.
SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: The European Union today announced a series of measures of its own, including some strong sanctions. I’d commend you the statement by Herman Van Rompuy, the President of the European Council, that came out a few hours ago.
The European Union sanctions are the result of obviously the work of all 28 members and the commission, but follow a period of many weeks of close consultations between the United States, the European Union, a number of member states, and other governments as part of the President’s instructions that we coordinate our sanctions and the international reaction to Russia’s aggression against Ukraine.
So the European Union steps are strong. They are significant. They represent a new step for Europe, and one which we and the Europeans have taken together. Those steps include financial sanctions -- that is, the Europeans have limited access to European capital markets for Russian-state banks. That is their equivalent to some of the steps that we have taken both on July 16th and today. The Europeans have imposed an embargo on trade and arms with Russia, which is forward-looking.
You heard my colleague mention that we have a similar restriction on arms exports to Russia in place. They have established an export ban for dual-use goods for military end-users, which is something also similar to what we have. And finally, the European Union has curtailed Russian access to sensitive technology by restricting the export of such technologies in the field of the oil sector. Again, that is very similar to what we have done.
In the world of sanctions, which is a complicated world -- made more so by the differences between our legal systems -- this represents a high degree of coordination, and one which we think helps advance our common policy of sending a message to Russia about its behavior in Ukraine.
So we welcome the European Union statement today. We’re glad we’ve worked with them. We think that the cooperation has had the right impact, both on Russia and around the world in that it shows our determination to respond to what the Russians have been doing in Ukraine.
Q Hi, guys. Thanks for doing the call. Appreciate it. I wonder if you could elaborate on the last part, the impact of these energy, technology sanctions, and particularly on the cooperation between Russian firms and ExxonMobil, BP, other Western firms. What kind of impact will this have on the kind of projects that they’ve been doing Or is this strictly a more theoretical thing in terms of teaser things they might want to do down the road
SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: The intention of the oil technology licensing restrictions is not to affect current oil production or Russian sales right now, but it does have and will have a cumulative impact on development of future fields, particularly the exotic fields -- Arctic, deep sea, and shale. And the impact of these restrictions will grow over time.
I think my colleague from Commerce can talk about more specific impacts of projects.
SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: Yes, the thing to keep in mind on this is, in these three areas -- the deepwater, the Arctic offshore, and the shale -- the Russians are generally just at the beginning stages of trying to develop that kind of exploration and production. So certainly, to the extent they re looking to get commodities, software, technology for those forward-looking projects, this will have a significant impact, with the U.S. and the Europeans having very similar restrictive policies for those items.
Q Similar to Peter’s question, can you give us a sense of what portion of the energy industry -- it sounds like you’ve covered that -- and what portion of the financial industry are going to be affected by this When you mentioned these few banks, does this affect 25 percent of their financial sector, or 10 percent Just some sense of the portion. Or is this just nibbling at the very edges
SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: So let me talk to the financial side. With the three banks we’ve designated today, all of which are in the top six of Russia’s overall banks, we’ve hit 30 percent of the Russian banking sector in terms of assets. And all of this has of course been focused on the state-owned side. We have not been targeting private Russian banks.
SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: If you combine the three banks we ve designated today and the two banks which the United States designated on July 16th, I believe that we have hit five of the six largest state-owned banks in Russia.
SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: I d just add to that that what you’re also seeing is there’s a direct impact that comes from the target of our sanctions, but then there’s a broader impact on the investment climate in Russia. Essentially, Russia is not a very good bet right now for international investors. And that broader chilling impact has effects related to capital flight, which has been substantial this year; with respect to growth rates, which have been revised down. So you have the immediate impact from the sanctions, but then when people see the collective movement of the United States and Europe into these key sectors, including the financial sector, that also shapes the environment for the Russian economy generally.
Q The story was somewhat similar about the banks as to targeting the largest state banks. Can we get a sense, though, what percentage of the consumers are affected by the state banks I know Bank of Moscow clearly has a fairly large consumer reach, but are you making an effort not to touch the average Russian, or do you want the average Russian to feel some of this pain to pressure the government
SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: You’ve seen the actions that we ve taken here are very carefully constructed. These are not prohibitions that would attach to a Russian account holder moving money and dollars, or moving money abroad. These prohibitions are targeting the banks themselves and their long-term stability.
So it s not a blocking. What it is, is a prohibition on them obtaining medium- or long-term debt financing, or issuing any new equity. And between the action that we took and the EU took -- that we ve taken and that the EU has taken -- basically they’re out of business in the longer-term debt market, because all of that is supplied in the euro and the dollar. And the banks we’ve named today, just to give you a sense: VTB Bank currently holds $21 billion in foreign debt -- 80 percent of that is in dollars; Russian Agricultural Bank, 90 percent is in dollars; and for Bank of Moscow, 100 percent of their current debt is denominated in dollars.
So you’re talking about a real vulnerability, especially when the EU and U.S. act in concert as we’ve done today.
Q Just a basic question. What exactly do we want the Russians to do, to see these things scaled back I mean, what’s our -- specifically at this point, what are we demanding And if they continue on their current course, is there another round in the offing or is this really the big one
SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: First of all, when we were at the G7 meeting, and in subsequent conversations that the Europeans have had with President Putin, we’ve been very clear about what are the conditions that need to be met by Russia. Number one, they needed to recognize the Poroshenko government as the legitimately elected government of Ukraine. Number two, they needed to stop the provision of arms and materiel across the border into Ukraine. They needed to stop their buildup of military forces along that border. And they needed to use their significant influence on the separatists to bring them into a political dialogue with the government in Kyiv.
And President Poroshenko put forward a peace plan, along with Chancellor Merkel and President Hollande’s support, that made clear that the Ukrainian government was prepared to abide by a cease-fire and engage in discussions with the separatists in eastern Ukraine about decentralization; that Russia could be a part of that dialogue as well. But we saw both the separatists and Russia fail to live up to those terms.
So there still is an off-ramp available to Russia and to President Putin. And the basic elements of that off-ramp have been very clear for the last several weeks: Stopping the flow of weapons and support to the separatists; pressing them to come to the table in peaceful dialogue; de-escalating the Russian buildup along the border; and engaging in a political settlement inside of Ukraine with the government of Kyiv that addresses the interests of all of the people of Ukraine. And that continues to be available to Russia, and we will continue to hold that door open. So that’s the first question.
On the second question, these are the very powerful sectoral sanctions that you’ve heard us describe for a number of months now. We always have additional targets that we could add to these sanctions; however, I think today’s step is a very substantial move by the United States and Europe together, and we will certainly want the impact of these sanctions to sink in and to test Russia’s willingness and capacity to take the path of de-escalation.
So again, we always have additional sanctions available to us, but I think this is the very significant step that you’ve heard us describe as the United States and Europe moving into sectoral sanctions together. We, of course, have moved into sectors with our last round of sanctions, and now the Europeans have joined us there. And again, I think this will send a powerful message about Russia’s behavior in supporting these separatists, and a powerful message to the people of Ukraine that the international community is supporting their sovereignty and territorial integrity.
Q Hi. You just actually answered the question I had about whether or not you were talking about -- there was some kind of talk of an off-ramp with Putin, but I think you just answered it.
SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: Thanks. We’ll take -- got time for like two more questions.
Q Thanks. At the outset, you described the military buildup along the border and inside Russia in a way that obviously raises the question of whether expanded military action may be ahead. So I want to ask whether there are any non-economic sanctions, measures that the U.S. and/or its allies are taking to deal with the possibility of military escalation in eastern Ukraine.
SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: Sure. Let me just say a couple of things here.
First of all, this is continuing a pattern that we’ve seen of Russian buildup along its border of arms and heavy weapons and materiel flowing across the border, and frankly, even Russian leadership among the separatists. As we’ve pointed out, a number of the separatist leaders are actually Russians, not simply ethnic Russians, but Russian citizens with Russian addresses. And we pointed out earlier in the week the artillery that we’ve seen fired across the border, as well. So this has been a disturbing pattern of Russian support for the separatists.
The economic cost of the sanctions we believe are the most significant tool that we have to shape Russian decision-making, and so that s why we focused our efforts with Europe on what we can do to impose a cost on Russia and to isolate it internationally.
But we also have other elements of our policy that are focused on support for the Ukrainian government, and that includes very significant economic assistance as Ukraine reforms and stabilizes its economy. That includes support to the Ukrainian military, and we have ramped up our non-lethal support in areas like night-vision goggles, body armor, communications equipment. And we regularly discuss with the Ukrainians what their needs are in that respect, again, not with the intent of seeking to overnight bring the Ukrainian military into parity with the Russian military -- that s not going to happen -- but rather with the intent of filling some immediate needs for the Ukrainians while also having a longer-term conversation with them about how we can help train and equip their security forces in a way that helps them modernize and professionalize over time.
So again, I think our immediate focus is on sending a message to Russia about the cost of its actions. And the fact of the matter is Russia finds itself today more isolated than at any time since the end of the Cold War, suffering the economic impacts of these sanctions, the political and diplomatic isolation that comes with its decision-making in Ukraine. And that to us is the most powerful incentive we have to try to shape their calculus.
I’d also add the Europeans moved in a very strong fashion today, but this is hardly just the United States and Europe. Canada has been very strong in imposing sanctions on Russia. Japan has joined us through the G7 and has imposed some of their own sanctions. The Australians have been very outspoken since the shoot-down of MH17. So increasingly, this is a global chorus of voices that are speaking in opposition to what Russia is doing to its Ukraine policy.
Q Hey, guys, just a quick question on the big three banks, including VTB. I know you’ve talked a little bit about the effect on consumers, but does it mean at all that credit cards could stop working tomorrow for Russians Or are they affected at all, especially Visa, MasterCard and American Express, that kind of thing
SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: I think your question goes to impacts we saw earlier when we designated -- froze the assets of and prohibited all transactions with Rossiya Bank, which is a bank controlled by and owned by Russian cronies that we had designated. The actions we ve taken with respect to these five major state-owned banks is not asset-blocking and it would not prohibit the provision of credit card services. It goes to their ability to obtain medium- and short-term debt financing prospectively from the U.S. and from Europe.
MS. LUCAS MAGNUSON: All right. Thanks, everyone, for joining. That concludes the call. Just as a reminder, all this information is on background attributable to senior administration officials. And have a nice day. Thank you.
END
4:28 P.M. EDT
Source: www.whitehouse.gov
White House Announces New Executive Secretary / Chief of Staff for the National Security Council Staff
Ambassador Rice said, “Suzy George brings a wealth of foreign policy, government and management experience to this position, through her long service at the Department of State and as a principal with the Albright Stonebridge Group. Her service at the highest levels of the State Department, where she engaged with senior leaders across the U.S. government and with foreign partners, gives me great confidence in her ability to lead the National Security Council staff.”
Ms. George has served as a principal at the Albright Stonebridge Group LLC, an international strategic consulting firm, and previously with The Albright Group LLC, since 2001. From 1997-2001, Ms. George served as the Deputy Chief of Staff in the Department of State, overseeing the management and coordination of travel and meetings, as a liaison to the White House and other Cabinet departments, and working across the Department on a range of foreign policy initiatives for Secretary Madeleine Albright.
Ms. George has a BA from Mount Holyoke College, and a JD from the George Washington University Law School.
Source: www.whitehouse.gov
Press Briefing by Press Secretary Josh Earnest, 07/29/14
12:25 P.M. EDT
MR. EARNEST: Good afternoon, everybody. Happy Tuesday. I have one, quick piece of business to dispense with before we begin with questions.
As you’ll recall, yesterday I began by speaking about the impact of the Affordable Care Act on extending the life of the Medicare Trust Fund. Today we have some additional good news. There is now available new data showing how the Affordable Care Act is helping millions of seniors save on their prescription drugs. The Affordable Care Act makes Medicare prescription drugs more affordable by gradually closing the gap in coverage known as the doughnut hole where beneficiaries had to pay the full cost of their medications out of pocket.
Information released today by the Department of Health and Human Services shows that more than 8.2 million seniors and people with disabilities who are covered by Medicare continue to enjoy prescription drug savings as a result of the Affordable Care Act, saving a total of $11.5 billion since 2010. That comes out to an average of about $1,400 per beneficiary in doughnut hole discounts.
Now, in my home state of Missouri, where the President is traveling today, seniors have saved more than $229 million on prescription drugs since 2010, thanks to the Affordable Care Act -- $229 million goes a long way in the state of Missouri. More than 34,000 seniors in the “Show-Me” state are seeing savings in the doughnut hole just in the first six months of this year alone.
So, more good news about the impact that the Affordable Care Act is having on people all across the country -- in this case, senior citizens.
So with that, Jim, do you want to get us started
Q Thanks, Josh. Thanks for the doughnut hole discounts. (Laughter.)
MR. EARNEST: They may not be good for your health, actually. (Laughter.)
Q Diplomats in Europe are saying that the EU has adopted new economic sanctions against the Russians. When can we expect the U.S. to follow these Tony Blinken said yesterday that we would come afterwards. When do we expect to see U.S. sanctions
MR. EARNEST: Well, Jim, I can tell you that -- I don t want to get ahead of a formal announcement from European leaders, but for months the United States, at a variety of levels, going all the way up to the President, has been engaged in an effort to work in close coordination with our allies to impose economic costs on Russia for their destabilizing activities in Ukraine. We welcome these early indications that European countries are going to take additional steps today to impose additional economic costs on Russia. We believe that that s welcome news, and we certainly look forward to continuing to coordinate with them as they move forward.
In terms of economic sanctions that -- additional economic sanctions that could be imposed by the United States, let me say one other thing about this. You’ll recall that just over two weeks ago, the President did make an announcement about sectoral sanctions that the United States was putting in place against Russia. And we do anticipate that the announcement from the Europeans later today will track pretty closely with the previous announcements that have been made by this administration.
In terms of additional U.S. sanctions, we have made clear that those -- that additional sanctions and additional costs could be imposed on Russia, and we do anticipate that we ll have some news on that soon.
Q Today
MR. EARNEST: As soon as today.
Q As soon as today. Okay. Can you talk a little bit about this formal accusation that Russia violated the 1987 missile treaty, and why the administration has made a determination to make that formal accusation now, since it has been an issue for quite some time
MR. EARNEST: Jim, it s correct, the United States has determined, according to an intelligence analysis, that the Russian Federation is in violation of its obligations under the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty. Specifically, the 2014 Compliance Report, which is something that we have filed on an annual basis, includes the determination that the Russian Federation is in violation of that treaty and that treaty’s obligations not to possess, produce or flight-test a ground-launched cruise missile with a range capability of 500 to 5,500 kilometers, or to possess or produce launchers of such missiles.
This is a very serious matter which we have attempted to address with Russia for some time now. The United States is committed to the viability of the INF Treaty. It is our view that the INF Treaty and the agreements that are part of it are in the broad national security interest of every party that has agreed to that treaty. That includes the United States, obviously. It includes Russia. It includes the other 11 successor states of the former Soviet Union that are also parties to that treaty. The adherence to that treaty also provides important safeguards for our allies in Western Europe and even some of our allies in the Asia Pacific region as well.
So this is a priority. This is a concern, a serious concern that we have raised with the Russians on a number of occasions through our standard diplomatic channels. I know that there have been reports that the President informed President Putin by a letter of our determination and as an indication that this is a matter that merits the serious attention of the leaders of both the United States and Russia.
Q But Congress has been asking the President and the administration to do this for some time. Why now and not before
MR. EARNEST: Well, these determinations are rooted primarily in the kind of intelligence analysis that I can’t discuss from the podium. But it is true that this is something that we have been reviewing for some time and has been the subject of conversations within the administration and with members of Congress as well.
Q The House is moving on a pared-down immigration -- I’m sorry -- border security bill today, I believe $690 million, quite a fraction of what you had asked for. And it also contained some changes in the 2008 law. In the statement of administration policy yesterday, you said that the House bill injects partisan provisions that are unworkable and would increase cost without solving the problem. I wonder what it is that that refers to, since the administration itself had asked for changes in the 2008 law, along the lines of what the House bill does.
MR. EARNEST: There’s a lot there in that question. Let me try to take those elements one at a time. First, as it relates to language where you ended up, it is correct that almost a month ago -- I think even more than a month ago now -- the administration did put forward a specific request for Congress to take action in granting additional authority that could be used by the Secretary of Homeland Security to incorporate some flexibility in enforcing the law so that we could actually do a better job of enforcing that law more efficiently.
The language that has been put forward by Senator Cornyn and Congressman Cuellar doesn’t -- it actually undermines the desire for more flexibility. It actually puts in place a couple of arbitrary and stringent restrictions that, for example, require immigration judges to process certain cases within seven days. That sort of inflexible approach only risks bottling up the system further.
We have seen in other policymaking contexts that adding arbitrary deadlines to an already overburdened system only makes the problem worse. And we are concerned that by putting in place these kinds of arbitrary deadlines, it puts the due process rights of those who are going through these proceedings at risk. It also could force the court system to divert resources from other higher-priority cases -- the cases of criminals or others that pose or could pose a national security threat or a public safety threat -- and direct them toward trying to meet this arbitrary seven-day restriction.
So rather than granting the administration additional flexibility to more effectively enforce the law, it puts in place arbitrary constraints that make the enforcement of that law more difficult. And that’s what our concern is.
Q Josh, the SAP refers to partisan provisions, and the example you just provided is from a bipartisan bill. So how can that --
MR. EARNEST: Well, as far as I know, I think that that “bipartisan bill” was supported by one Democrat. So maybe I have a more stringent definition of bipartisanship, at least in this case. So that’s the first thing.
In terms of the broader supplemental package that the House has put forward today, you’re right that it falls well short of the resource request that this administration has put forward. We’ve seen a lot of House Republicans booking themselves on cable television to talk about what a serious problem this is at the border, but yet they are refusing to take the kind of action that would ensure the administration has the necessary resources to deal with what they themselves describe as a serious problem.
The other thing that is notable -- and again, this piece of legislation was introduced just shortly before I walked out here, so I only got a top-line briefing on this -- but it is my understanding that this package does not include funding for wildfires. As you know, there s a very serious situation out West where there are communities that are threatened in the midst of a pretty challenging wildfire season. This administration needs additional resources to make sure that we can protect homes and communities from those wildfires, and we would like to have additional resources to do that.
I would also make note of the fact that we were just talking yesterday about the valuable contribution that the Iron Dome system has made to protecting the lives of innocent civilians in our allies’ -- in Israel, one of our closest, strongest allies. It is unfortunate that this Republican proposal does not include the requested funding for Iron Dome.
As you know, that system has been used to great effect in recent weeks, unfortunately. It’s had to be used in recent weeks to protect the lives of innocent civilians -- in this case, innocent Israeli civilians. And the Israeli government has made a request of the U.S. government for additional funding so that additional resources could be devoted to restocking that system, and we’re disappointed that Republicans did not include that in the proposal as we had requested.
Steve.
Q Josh, on the INF Treaty, what exactly did the Russians do Did they launch a cruise missile And what sort of response are you getting to your complaints from them
MR. EARNEST: Steve, I’m not able to detail the intelligence behind the analysis that led to the determination that was included in the 2014 Compliance Report, so it’s difficult for me to answer in a lot of detail the basics of your question. But let me repeat that there is an obligation on both countries -- on all parties, I should say, who have signed that treaty not to possess, produce or flight-test a ground-launched cruise missile with a range capability of 500 to 5,500 kilometers, or to possess or produce launchers of such missiles. We have raised concerns with the Russians about the importance of complying with this aspect of the treaty, and I guess suffice it to say that the response that we received from them was unsatisfactory.
Q Separately, Israeli TV says all parties have agreed to a Gaza cease-fire. Is this something you’re aware of
MR. EARNEST: That is not something I was aware of before I walked out here, but that may have been a breaking-news item on Israeli television. As you know, this administration and the President and Secretary Kerry have all been pushing both sides to impose an immediate cease-fire out of concern for the well-being of innocent civilians on both sides of that border. So we’ll have to look into those reports, but if true, it would certainly reflect what this administration has been encouraging both sides to pursue.
Q And lastly, Speaker Boehner says, “We have no plans to impeach the President.” He called it a scam to raise money, raising this issue. Was it a scam
MR. EARNEST: Well, if that’s the case, then I suspect that there may be members of the Republican conference that didn’t receive the memo. We’ve seen comments in recent months from Congressman Steve King from Iowa, Congressman Ted Yoho from Florida, Congressman Lou Barletta from Pennsylvania, the distinguished Congressman Steve Stockman from Texas; his fellow Texan, Blake Farenthold, has raised this prospect. We’ve even seen Kerry Bentivolio from Michigan call this a “dream come true.” I think that was about nine or 10 months ago. So it’s an indication that if this is the case then maybe the Speaker should direct that attention and that message to members of his own conference.
Michelle.
Q On Ukraine again, the fact that Ukraine has now fired missiles at the rebels, does the U.S. see that as an escalation of this, and doesn’t that just raise the possibility that Russia will use its own missiles that the U.S. is so concerned about as it concerns the treaty
MR. EARNEST: We have seen evidence to indicate that the Russians have fired weapons from the Russian side of the border aimed squarely at Ukrainian forces. That’s something that the President’s Deputy National Security Advisor, Tony Blinken, mentioned from this podium just yesterday. That does reflect what we think is an escalation in this conflict, and it only underscores the importance of the international community taking action to impose further economic costs on the Russians to get them to reevaluate their strategy in Ukraine.
Q No, I mean Ukraine firing missiles now at the rebels. Apparently they’ve used ballistic missiles as well.
MR. EARNEST: Oh, I misunderstood your question.
Q That’s okay.
MR. EARNEST: I was referring to previous reports that Russian forces on the Russian side of the border were targeting the Ukrainian military forces on the Ukrainian side of the border.
Q Is the U.S. concerned that Ukraine is now dangerously escalating this past the point that it could or should
MR. EARNEST: I’m not in a position to talk about those specific reports. It is our view, however, that military actions that are taken by the Ukrainian military reflect the aggressive efforts of Russian separatists to perpetuate the violence in that region of the world. So I’m not in a position to talk about those specific reports, but we do continue to be concerned about ongoing violence there and we do encourage the Russians to use their influence with the Russian-backed separatists to lay down their arms and to try to resolve their differences diplomatically.
Q And today we heard Kerry again emphasizing a diplomatic solution, saying that Putin has all of these choices. But hasn’t this now gotten past that point I mean, Russian has contributed to the downing of a commercial plane and has annexed part of its neighbor. So at this point what would a diplomatic solution even look like in the U.S.’s view
MR. EARNEST: Well, what we have said is that it is possible for us to set up a political dialogue that would allow the people of Ukraine to determine the future of their country. There is a debate in that country that raises questions about what sort of relationship Ukraine should have with their neighbor Russia. It raises questions about what sort of relationship Ukraine should have with their economic partners in Western Europe.
Now, many of those questions have been resolved, because in the last six months or so -- maybe it’s a little bit longer than that, eight or nine months -- we’ve seen the election of a new Ukrainian President; we’ve seen that Ukrainian President sign an association agreement with the Europeans that was the subject of so much dispute, that led to the departure of the previous President. So that is an indication that the Ukrainian people do want to have a strong relationship with Europe.
The point that the United States and much of the international community has been trying to make is their strong relationship with Western Europe shouldn’t -- doesn t necessarily mean that they have to have an adversarial or contentious relationship with their neighbor Russia. It is possible for the Ukrainian people to have strong relationships with both. Unfortunately, what we have seen is we’ve seen the Russians feel undermined by the desire of the Ukrainian people to have a relationship with the West. And that is what has led them to unnecessarily and improperly interfere with the affairs of the Ukrainian government and the Ukrainian people.
So, ultimately, what we would like to see is a way to resolve this politically so that the Ukrainian people do continue to hold the authority to make decisions about the future of their country, and that they have the freedom to make decisions about what they would like their relationship to be with countries around the world -- even holding open the prospect that Ukraine has a strong and thriving relationship with Russia. Their strong relationship with the West would not preclude their close ties to their neighbor.
Q Really quickly, the Russian Foreign Minister just announced that he’s agreed with John Kerry to work toward ways to implement the agreements in Geneva back in April. How does the U.S. view these announcements periodically from the Foreign Minister Do you see that as positive, or do you just see it as more lip service that really means nothing
MR. EARNEST: Well, what we have seen throughout this conflict in Ukraine are announcements from the Russians that are not necessarily backed up by concrete actions. And that has been the source of some disappointment and even some frustration on the part of the international community. That is why you’ve seen the international community progressively take the kinds of steps that have imposed greater costs on the Russians to further isolate them.
All of this is part of not just putting in place a sanctions regime for the sake of sanctions. Rather the sanctions regime is geared toward prompting President Putin principally, but the broader Russian government, to reevaluate their strategy in Ukraine. Their efforts to destabilize Ukraine have weakened their country politically and have hurt their relationship with their neighbor. It also, after the imposition of some of these sanctions, has had a negative impact on the Russian economy.
So what we need is we need President Putin to reevaluate his strategy and actually participate constructively in that situation by engaging in the kinds of facilitated diplomatic talks that would de-escalate that conflict and allow the people of Ukraine to make the kinds of decisions that they should make about the future of their country.
Margaret.
Q We know that the President is waiting until the end of the summer but is likely to make some fairly big moves on immigration. And now we understand from lawmakers on the Hill and advocates that the White House has begun talking about the possibility of the executive order to issue at least some work permits before the end of the year. And I’m going to go out on a limb and anticipate that you might not want to get ahead of an official announcement --
MR. EARNEST: You know me so well.
Q I was wondering if you could talk in some general terms at least about whether this is something that you’re exploring, the politics of exploring it before midterm, and how many people you’re looking realistically to cover.
MR. EARNEST: Well, Margaret, you’ll recall that in the Rose Garden about a month ago, the President delivered a statement in which he communicated to the American public and to all of you that he had been informed by the Speaker of the House that House Republicans were for the foreseeable future going to block the common-sense, bipartisan immigration reform bill that passed the Senate. And in response to that declaration from the Speaker of the House, the President announced his intention to review the authority that was vested in the executive branch to see what tools were available to him to address some of the problems with our broken immigration system that House Republicans won’t allow the Congress to solve.
The President is not comfortable just sitting in place, waiting for Congress to act, particularly when Congress, in bipartisan fashion in the Senate at least, has identified a common-sense approach for addressing so many of these problems.
So what is underway right now is a review, at the order of the President, by the Secretary of Homeland Security and the Attorney General to consider what options are available to the President. What those options reflect is a determination by this President, as I mentioned, to act where Congress hasn’t, but to do so within the confines of the law.
That’s why we’re taking our time to carefully review what the existing law is and what steps it allows the President to take in terms of addressing the problems that are caused by our broken immigration system. And once that review has been concluded and it has been made clear to the President what options are available to him I anticipate that we’ll have an announcement about steps that the President has decided to take to address some of these problems.
Q -- speak from the podium, though, that this work permit is one of those options that’s being studied right now, that your team is considering presenting --
MR. EARNEST: I’m not in a position to talk about what sorts of things are currently under review. That review is being conducted by the Department of Justice and by the Department of Homeland Security. And for the content and timing of that review, you can check with them, but I wouldn’t spend a whole lot of time waiting for an answer.
Bill.
Q What concerns exactly do you have about the Russian testing of missiles It’s been going -- you’ve known about it since 2008. What do you believe they’re trying to do
MR. EARNEST: Well, Bill, it’s hard for me to talk in specific detail about the intelligence analysis that led us to this specific determination. I think it would be fair for you to conclude that the concerns we have specifically relate to the Russians failing to uphold their obligation not to possess, produce or flight-test a ground-launched cruise missile with a range capability between 500 and 5,500 kilometers, or to possess or produce launchers of missiles like that.
It is correct that the concerns that we’ve had about this have been raised with the Russians. It’s correct that our concerns have been discussed inside the administration for some time. And it’s correct to assume that we’ve had conversations with our partners on the relevant committees in Congress about this, as well. The reason for all of that consultation and careful study is that the INF Treaty, as it is known, is an important part of our national security. It also provides for the national security for the people of Russia. It also provides the national security of some of our strongest allies both in Western Europe and the Asia Pacific region.
So this is a top priority. That is why it has been raised at the presidential level. And we’re going to continue to work with Russia -- we’ve offered to engage in a high-level dialogue with them so that they can resolve our concerns of this matter.
Q Do you feel that they would use these missiles or make them available to other states
MR. EARNEST: Our concern principally now is with their commitment to this treaty, and that is what we intend to hold them accountable for, which is living up to the commitments that they made in the context of this treaty. And, again, we don’t do so solely because it’s in the interest of the United States and our national security for them to do so; we believe that it is in the strong national security interest of our allies and we actually believe it’s in the strong national security interests of the Russians to abide by this agreement. We’re going to hold them to living up to the commitments that they made, and we’re going to continue to live up to those commitments because, again, we believe it’s in the clear national security interests of the United States of America for us to do so.
Q -- have looked into this and they consider the matter closed.
MR. EARNEST: Well, we have had, as I alluded to a little bit earlier, some conversations with the Russians about this where we raised our concerns, and again, it is fair for you to conclude that their response to our concerns was wholly unsatisfactory, and that is why additional talks are merited. And we hope that the Russians will take us up on our offer to conduct those conversations at a pretty high level.
Q One more time -- are you concerned that they could possibly use or make available these missiles for other purposes
MR. EARNEST: We are concerned with ensuring that the Russians live up to the commitments that they made in the context of the INF Treaty for a whole host of reasons. Certainly proliferation -- the proliferation risk associated with these kinds of weapons is part of the wide range of concerns that makes this treaty such an important document.
Wendell.
Q Vladimir Putin was quoted last year as saying that former President Gorbachev’s decision to sign the INF Treaty was debatable at best. Why do you believe he has any commitment to the treaty And what if he does not What if he wants to get rid of it
MR. EARNEST: Well, that s certainly -- I would assume that s the kind of thing that would come up in the high-level talks that we’re offering to have with the Russians.
What we believe is really important is for both sides to live up to the agreements that have already been signed. The United States has lived up to our end of the agreement. We believe that doing so is in the clear national security interest of the United States, it’s in the clear interest of our allies in Western Europe and in the Asia Pacific, and we believe it is in the clear interest of the Russian people for this treaty to remain in effect and for both sides -- and for all sides, all parties to live up to the agreements that they made in the context of this agreement.
Q But what if he does not
MR. EARNEST: Well, that is the subject of some conversation. And we look forward to having a dialogue at a high level to assess the willingness of the Russian regime to live up to the obligations that they’ve made.
Q And what about Putin’s claim that the U.S. plans to station Aegis missiles in Romania is itself a violation of the treaty
MR. EARNEST: It is not. Again, the United States remains committed to abiding by these security agreements that we have signed with Russia. And again, we do that because it is in the clear national security interest of the United States to live up to the commitments that we have made on the international scene. We can do that in the context of also providing for the national security of our allies in Europe, and we’re going to continue to do that as well.
Q Why is it not a violation of the treaty
MR. EARNEST: Well, I’d refer you to the State Department for sort of the detailed ins and outs of these kinds of treaty agreements. But we take them very seriously. It’s also why we take it seriously when our partners who also sign these treaties don t live up to the commitments that they’ve made.
Chris.
Q Thanks, Josh. Israeli TV is now retracting that report on the cease-fire.
MR. EARNEST: Thanks for keeping us up to date here.
Q Shocking. But in the context of the criticism which most people would suggest it’s hard to remember when there has been such hostility in Israeli media against a U.S. Secretary of State -- in fact, Secretary Kerry again defended his record, saying 29 years in the Senate, 100 percent voting record. But is all of this having a negative impact on his ability to help broker a real cease-fire
MR. EARNEST: We do not think so. The United States certainly does not think so. Secretary Kerry, as Mr. Blinken noted yesterday, is a strong defender of our allies in Israel. And that is why I guess I would be so bold as to suggest that it is in the interest of the Israeli people for the harsh words that we’ve seen directed at the Secretary not affect his ability to continue to be a strong advocate for them.
Secretary Kerry has worked doggedly over the last year or so since he took office -- I guess it has been a little longer than that -- pressing both sides in terms of a broader -- to the negotiating table in search of a broader peace agreement. What he has been engaged in more recently is working with Palestinian leaders, Israeli leaders, other leaders in the Arab world, U.N. officials, to try to put in place a permanent cessation of hostilities based on the November 2012 cease-fire agreement.
Secretary Kerry has been working hard on that effort because, again, it’s in the clear interest of American national security for that cease-fire to be put in place. It also will provide for the protection of innocent civilians on both sides of the border that, right now, are caught in the cross-fire.
And so he is going to continue to work very hard on this, and he is an important element of resolving this situation because he is somebody who is well-versed in all these issues; he is somebody who has the clear backing of the President of the United States; he is somebody that has very good relationships with both Israeli leaders and Palestinian leaders. This is credibility that he has built up through his years of service to this administration in pursuit of that goal. And I anticipate, and this administration anticipates, and the President anticipates that he is going to continue to be hard at work on this.
Q As you know, there have been multiple reports in the Israeli media quoting senior Israeli officials, one of the toughest in Haaretz yesterday, saying that senior officials believed that the proposal put forward by John Kerry was a “strategic terrorist attack.” Do you not believe those reports How would you categorize the feelings of senior officials then if you don’t think that that’s the case
MR. EARNEST: Well, I think -- let’s start with the facts. The facts are that the cease-fire proposal that was put forward by the Egyptians two weeks ago -- this is the cease-fire agreement that Israel readily accepted -- included many of the elements that some anonymous Israeli officials are now suggesting were wrongly included in the document that was circulated by Secretary Kerry. That’s the second thing that’s important to understand, is this is a document that was circulated among the parties that reflected an attempt to get a dialogue going between the parties. This did not reflect a specific American proposal. This reflected an effort to try to find some common ground and to elicit comment from the Israelis to try to find the kind of cease-fire agreement that they would believe would be in their best interests, and would also provide for greater security of their citizens.
So this is part of the diplomatic effort that was underway, and it is in line with the proposal that the Israelis had readily agreed to a couple of weeks ago. So those facts as it relates to the document that we circulated by Secretary Kerry are really important in this case.
In terms of the broader relationship, again, we’ve said for a couple of days now that those comments were pretty disappointing. But our determination, and more importantly, Secretary Kerry’s determination to try to put in place an immediate cease-fire that would end the crossfire that so many civilians -- innocent civilians are caught in the middle of right now continues to be a top priority. And I know that he’s working very hard as we speak in pursuit of that agreement.
Bob.
Q Josh, back to the sanctions anticipated today. I don t suppose you re going to want to put it this way, but isn’t it perhaps a fair assessment to say that it took the shooting-down of a commercial jetliner to have the European leaders get some serious shivers finally about Vladimir Putin Isn’t that the tipping point of all of this
MR. EARNEST: I would leave that sort of analysis to others. I would point out a couple of things. The first is the announcement that we anticipate later today from the Europeans is the culmination of months of diplomatic work that has been conducted by members of this administration, and it reflects the commitment of the international community, led by this President, to respond to Russia’s destabilizing activities in Ukraine.
Now, I think the President himself, when he spoke at this podium 10 days or so ago, acknowledged that the downing of that jetliner with 300 innocent people aboard was a head-snapper and would attract the attention of the international community in a way that this conflict hadn’t previously. So I think it is certainly reasonable, the prospect that you floated, that the downing of this airliner contributed significantly to the Europeans’ willingness to step up to the plate and take the kind of serious action that this administration and this country put in place against Russia a couple of weeks ago.
But this work continues. This is not the finish line here. There are still -- we need to assess whether or not these economic costs that are being imposed on Russia have the desired effect. The desired effect, again, is to get President Putin to reevaluate his strategy for Ukraine, and that remains to be seen. But I suspect we’ll have a little more on this today after the Europeans announce their decision.
April.
Q Josh, Monday starts the U.S.-Africa Summit. Could you talk to us about it And what news will come out of this investment in Africa
MR. EARNEST: I don’t want to give away all of the news six days before the conference starts, but --
Q Give us some. (Laughter.)
MR. EARNEST: -- I’ll give it a shot here. The President is looking forward to welcoming leaders from across the African continent to our Nation’s Capital for a three-day U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit. This summit, the largest event any U.S. President has held with African heads of state and government, will build on the President’s trip to Africa in the summer of 2013, and it will strengthen ties between the United States and one of the world’s most dynamic and fastest-growing regions.
Specifically, the summit will advance the administration’s focus on trade and investment in Africa, and highlight America’s commitment to Africa’s security, its democratic development, and its people. At the same time, it will highlight the depth and breadth of the U.S. commitment to the African continent, advance our shared priorities, and enable discussion of concrete ideas to deepen that partnership. At its core, this summit is about fostering stronger ties between the United States and Africa.
Q So when you talk about this, is this -- we understand the investment piece, but is this also going to shore up some of the African countries that may have some issues with policy as well as -- domestic policy as well as security -- as many Africa nations are places where terrorists do go and run and stay there to breed and hide -- is this part of that as well
MR. EARNEST: Well, what I do anticipate that we’re going to discuss in the context of this summit, April, is a wide range of topics. You touched on some of them there. But we do want to try to encourage progress in a few key areas that are so critical to the future of that continent. Those areas include expanding trade and investment ties, engaging young African leaders, promoting inclusive, sustainable development, expanding cooperation on peace and security, and gaining a better future for Africa’s next generation.
You saw the President allude to some of that in the town hall meeting that he did in the context of the Young African Leaders Initiative just yesterday, where the President talked about the importance of engaging Africa’s young leaders.
All across that continent we see that there is a whole generation of young leaders who are poised to decide the future of that continent and their individual countries, and the opportunity that we can seize to engage them and conduct discussions about trade and investment and leadership, and promoting inclusive, sustainable development, and a focus on peace and security are the kinds of things that may not pay dividends right away, but they are the kinds of things that will build strong ties between the U.S. and one of the most dynamic regions of the world.
Q One last question on investment and trade. I asked this question of you a couple weeks ago and I’m hoping I get an answer now. I asked you about how China in the past -- there’s a concern about how China was investing particularly in sub-Saharan Africa, making promises that at one time they were not keeping. They were taking more out than they were giving. Will there be some forms of accountability for these investments from these U.S. companies, U.S. organizations, that there is a mutual win-win, versus you take more than you give -- you put in
MR. EARNEST: I think the operating premise of the summit is the idea that there is an opportunity for both the African continent and the United States of America to benefit from stronger ties between our countries and our people.
Those ties benefit both sides in a variety of ways, I think. We certainly would benefit from some of the security arrangements that are already in place with some countries in that region. But encouraging the leaders of these countries to play a more constructive role in fostering peace and security is certainly one obvious way that these kinds of stronger relationships could benefit the American people in a way that they would also benefit the African people, as well.
I think the same could be said of economic ties between business interests in Africa and business interests in the United States who are looking for growing markets. Some of these African countries include among the fastest-growing, most dynamic economic markets in the world. So giving American businesses the opportunity to invest in those areas certainly makes good business sense for a lot of companies here in the U.S., but also would stand to yield significant economic benefits for people who live in those countries. So this will be the topic of a lot of conversation both at a government level, but also among the private sector leaders who are participating in the summit.
Lesley.
Q Do you have any reaction to a letter sent to the White House by Senators from Colorado and Washington asking for more clarity and perhaps a unified approach in helping license marijuana businesses They said that -- they have criticism that at times it seems like some different arms of the government have been at odds over how to enforce the law.
MR. EARNEST: I haven’t seen that letter, Lesley, but I’d refer you to the Department of Justice, who, as we discussed yesterday, has put in place some guidelines for administering the law in the unique circumstances that exist in Colorado and Washington State.
Q What about some of the criticism, though, that -- like the Bureau of Land Management is doing one thing on water reclamation and DOJ is enforcing it in a different manner -- is there any sort of review underway
MR. EARNEST: Not that I’m aware of. But as it relates to the Bureau of Land Management, I’d encourage you to check with the Department of the Interior, and they may be able to give you some more details about how they’re untangling any regulatory knots that may exist there.
Jon.
Q Josh, back to the situation in Gaza. The President talked to Prime Minister Netanyahu on Sunday.
MR. EARNEST: That’s correct.
Q You put out a readout saying that, “The President made clear the strategic imperative of instituting an immediate, unconditional humanitarian cease-fire that ends hostilities now.” The Israelis responded by going to some of their most aggressive offensive operations into Gaza of the entire conflict. What is the President’s level of frustration with the fact that he gives a very strong what looks almost like an order -- gives very strong words telling the Israeli Prime Minister that we must have “an immediate, unconditional humanitarian cease-fire” and then, he goes in the opposite direction
MR. EARNEST: Well, Jon, we’ve been pretty steadfast. And I think it’s also included in that readout that the United States continues to not just acknowledge but support the Israeli government’s right to take steps to defend their civilians. And that Israeli right to self-defense is something that the President doesn’t just respect, he supports.
Q Does he support what the Israelis have done over the last 24 hours, or what they have done in the hours after that phone call
MR. EARNEST: Well, what the President has said is that he supports the Israeli government’s right to make those decisions. What we have also suggested is that Russia -- that the Israelis need to do more to live up to the standards that they have set for themselves to ensure the safety of innocent civilians on both sides of that border, including Palestinian people.
So it is apparent from the reports that we have seen about the civilian deaths that there is more that the Israeli military can and should do to account for the safety of Palestinian civilians. It’s important to remember, though, that there is a distinction here, which is that Hamas is routinely targeting innocent civilians on the other side of the border. The Israeli military puts in place standards to try to protect Palestinian civilians -- innocent Palestinian civilians. That said, we believe that the Israeli military should do more to live up to those standards.
Q And moving on to the question of impeachment, did you coordinate your comments on Monday about impeachment with the -- I’m sorry, did you coordinate your comments on Friday about impeachment with the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee
MR. EARNEST: Not that I’m aware of.
Q You don’t know if you coordinated, or you didn’t I mean, the reason why I ask is Dan Pfeiffer says what he says Friday morning, that impeachment is a real possibility the White House is concerned about. You go a little bit further from the podium during the briefing. And then within hours, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee is putting out fundraising emails quoting what you said with a red alert: the White House says impeachment is a real possibility, we’re concerned about impeachment. So I’m just wondering, it seems -- Pfeiffer says something, you say something, then you have a fundraising drive that they’re now saying is one of the most successful fundraising drives of the cycle.
MR. EARNEST: Well, what I know, Jon, is that the comments that I made on Friday were in response to questions from people who were asking about the prospect of Republicans in Congress taking that step. So it would be --
Q And you don’t know if you coordinated with the DCCC
MR. EARNEST: I guess what I’m saying is that it would be difficult for me to coordinate what I was going to say in response to a question that hadn’t been asked yet.
Q Well, you had your answer, which was quite forward-leaning, saying the top Republicans are pushing impeachment, and I think your answer at the time was, for an example, was Sarah Palin.
MR. EARNEST: Well, true. That was not an answer that I had discussed with anybody at the DCCC in advance. Again, this was based on my own reading of the newspaper a couple days before I got asked the question.
Q And you’re a pretty calm guy -- (laughter) -- but the DCCC put out a fundraiser saying -- this is after your words -- “It’s Saturday and we’re in the office freaking out.” Is the White House freaking out about the possibility of impeachment
MR. EARNEST: I think it would be appropriate for you to characterize the White House sentiment that we are very disappointed that, in this pivotal week before Congress embarks on a five-week long August recess, as they have in previous years, that they’re spending so much time debating a taxpayer-funded lawsuit that they are prepared to file against the President just for doing his job, instead of focusing on some of these other priorities that should get done before Labor Day.
Q You’re not freaking out about impeachment
MR. EARNEST: I think it is fair to say that we believe that the Republican priorities that they have articulated are completely wrong and don’t reflect the view of so many middle-class families; that their elected leaders in Washington, D.C., should be focused on putting into place the kinds of policies that are going to expand economic opportunity for the middle class; and that efforts to focus on these political partisan attacks don’t create jobs, they don’t reduce the deficit, they don’t make things better for middle-class families. That’s why the President is focused on these priorities. We wish that House Republicans would be focused on them, too.
Q Now, specifically on the priorities, one big thing is dealing with the border crisis. So the Senate -- Senate Democrats have moved in one direction; House Republicans are moving in another direction. Both are putting out -- off money, saying that they would appropriate money to deal with the crisis -- obviously the Republicans less in the House. There’s a little -- there’s disagreement on some of the policy. Are you going to insist -- is the White House going to insist that Congress delay its five-week congressional recess until it can resolve the differences between those two approaches and deal with the border crisis
MR. EARNEST: I don’t have any proclamations to make about our views of the congressional schedule at this point other than to observe that this administration, more than three weeks ago, put forward our own specific request about what we felt like needed to be done, and here we are, three days before Congress is prepared to leave town for the remainder of the summer, and we see a preliminary proposal from House Republicans. That is not acting with a sense of urgency that we feel is necessary to deal with this situation.
This administration has demonstrated a whole-of-government approach to try to deal with the problem at the border and to make sure that we’re mitigating the impact that’s having on communities across the border. Unfortunately, that whole-of-government approach that has a sense of urgency doesn’t include Republicans in Congress right now.
Cheryl.
Q Just to follow, but would you veto -- would the President veto the House bill as it stands now, the House supplemental
MR. EARNEST: Again, I was just briefed on the very top-line details. I understand that our folks here at the White House, our experts here at the White House are reviewing the details of that legislation, and if we get to a position where we have a more specific position to express, we’ll let you know.
Q And can I also ask, do you have any readout of the meeting that was this morning with the House Democrats
MR. EARNEST: I don’t have a readout in front of me.
Let’s move around a little bit. Zeke.
Q I know you don’t want to go into too much detail about how that determination was made, but was the decision to go public last night at all tied to the current state of relations, or lack thereof, between the United States and Russia -- to send a letter -- start distributing that information to the press related to the ongoing conflict in Ukraine
MR. EARNEST: No, it was not. As we’ve talked about before, Zeke, the relationship between the United States and Russia is a multifaceted one. We have worked in cooperative fashion with the Russians even in the midst of this turmoil in Ukraine to rid Syria of their declared chemical weapons stockpile. That was an important -- that reflected important cooperation between our two governments in pursuit of a goal that was in the clear national security interests of the American people, of the Russian people, and of people around the globe. We’ve also been working closely with the Russians as it relates to the ongoing P5-plus-1 talks with Iran. So it is possible for us to consider a wide range of aspects in our relationship.
Dealing with these issues in isolation, this is yet another factor in our relationship with Russia and it is something that we continue to be concerned about. The decision to reach this determination, again, was based on intelligence analysis. And the decision to make it public was based on our filing of the 2014 Compliance Report, something that s done on an annual basis. And the letter that was sent from President Obama to President Putin is pursuant to the filing of that Compliance Report and our intention to make clear to the Russian government that this is a very serious matter.
Q Just to drill down there for a second, you mentioned earlier that there was concerns of -- potentially about proliferation of these weapons. And we’re seeing in eastern Ukraine, the separatists are being sort of given surface-to-air missiles, as the administration alleges, as well as heavy weaponry, artillery and the like. So that s not a factor here in that -- was it a factor in that determination
MR. EARNEST: Well, this is a difficult question you’re asking primarily because you’re asking about our -- you’re alluding to an intelligence analysis that s difficult for me to discuss from here. Let me just say as a top-line matter, we have on many occasions expressed our serious concerns about heavy weapons being transferred from Russia across the border into Ukraine. We have seen those heavy weapons used by Russian-backed separatists, occasionally with very tragic results.
As it relates to our concerns about Russia’s obligations under the treaty, I’m not in a position to talk about some of that intelligence analysis, but what I can say is that our concerns about the Russians living up to their obligations not to possess, produce or flight-test a ground-launch cruise missile with a range capability of 500 to 5,500 kilometers, or possess or produce launchers of such missiles is a concern that we would have even if the Russians were acting in a much more responsible fashion in Ukraine.
Q And just finally, there seems to be another dustup now between Secretary Kerry and the Israeli government, with Secretary Kerry saying a couple of hours ago that Prime Minister Netanyahu had asked him to broker a cease-fire in a call late last night; now the senior Israeli officials are telling reporters that that conversation didn’t happen, in fact it was the other way around. I was wondering if you could clarify -- do you know whether, in their conversation with the President on Sunday, or with Secretary Kerry last night, did Prime Minister Netanyahu ask the U.S. government to broker a cease-fire
MR. EARNEST: Well, the United States has been engaged -- I’m not in a position to read out a phone call between the Secretary of State and the Israeli Prime Minister. I’d refer you to the State Department for that. I might hold it up as evidence that there is -- that there continues to be an important role played by the Secretary of State in working on this situation.
However, it is the view of the United States that it is in the clear interest of people on both sides of that conflict for an immediate cease-fire to be put in place. It is tragic the violence that we’ve seen in that region, and it is tragic how many innocent lives have been lost as a result of that conflict.
That is why the Secretary of State, the President of the United States, and other American officials are working so hard to try to put in place that cease-fire. Enough tragedy has been experienced by people on both sides of that conflict. It needs to come to an end. And it’s time for parties on both sides to try to reserve their differences diplomatically.
Mark.
Q Josh, can you elaborate at all on what you describe as a “wholly unsatisfactory response” by Russia to the INF charge
MR. EARNEST: I’m not in a position to elaborate on that further. I think that’s a pretty colorful description.
Q -- the diplomatic equivalent of “bite me” (Laughter.)
MR. EARNEST: That might be an even more colorful description of that conversation, but I’m not in a position to describe that conversation any further.
Q Okay. And on Ukraine, the administration continues to ask that there be unfettered access for an investigation into the crash site. At what point does it go beyond the point where it would be of any value by virtue of the fact that it’s been 10 days that all of the material is out in the open, tampered with, stolen
MR. EARNEST: There are experts who could make that assessment. And what we want to ensure is that the Dutch and the Australians and others who are working with the government of Ukraine to try to finalize a plan for international investigators to get access to that site, that they’re in a position to do their work. And we want these international investigators to carefully look at what evidence does remain to get the best possible assessment about what exactly happened.
It should be clearly in the interest of everybody involved on both sides of this debate for us to get a fair, unbiased, international assessment of what exactly happened. And that’s why we’re supporting the efforts of the Dutch, the Australians and the Ukrainians to allow international investigators to get unfettered access to the scene.
Isaac.
Q Given all that you’ve said about the impeachment situation -- Dan Pfeiffer said it’s a serious topic being bandied about --
MR. EARNEST: -- and Ted Yoho and Steve Stockman and others have said about this situation.
Q Does the White House feel, and does the President feel that Democrats should stop fundraising on this topic
MR. EARNEST: It is up to Democrats to make their own decisions about ensuring that their candidates have the resources necessary to run successful campaigns in the fall. That’s always been the case. And I’m not in a position to comment on their strategy or tactics at this point.
Q But aren’t they just as culpable in making this a topic that’s being run about I mean, there were, I don t know, 20 fundraising emails the DCCC and the House Majority PAC put out about impeachment over the weekend.
MR. EARNEST: I think the people who are culpable for this are the people who have the prospect of voting to do exactly what they say should be done. That is something that we believe reflects a whole set of priorities that stand in stark contrast to the priorities that are shared by middle-class families all across the country.
Again, what the vast majority of people want their elected leaders in Washington, D.C., to be focused on, and what the President is focused on, is what can we do to put in place policies that will make it easier for middle-class families to raise a family, send their kids to college, save for retirement, buy a home, to live the American Dream.
And that continues to be the President’s focal point when it comes to his domestic policy agenda. You’re going to hear the President talk about this quite a bit more tomorrow. Unfortunately, that does not seem to be the priority that is shared by Kerry Bentivolio, who says that impeaching the President would be “a dream come true.”
Q You want Republicans to stop talking about it, but not the Democrats to stop fundraising on it
MR. EARNEST: No, what I’m suggesting is that the priorities of the Republican Congress are all wrong. And I will leave it to Democratic strategists, who have a much better sense than I do about the best way to raise money for their campaign committees. What we would all benefit from, and what middle-class families across the country would benefit from would be from elected leaders in Washington, D.C. doing what the President is doing, which is setting aside partisan differences and trying to find common ground in pursuit of policies that everybody agrees would be in the best interest of middle-class families.
Kathleen, I’ll give you the last one.
Q Just to clarify on the missile treaty, can you confirm that the letter yesterday was the first time that the President has raised this issue with Putin directly
MR. EARNEST: I’m going to have to check on that. I believe that it is, but let me check with our national security folks and we will let you know. I know that this was raised at a variety of levels prior to that letter being sent. I don’t know if it was raised between the two Presidents prior to that letter being sent. So let me check on it.
Thanks, everybody. Have a good day.
END
1:22 P.M. EDT
Source: www.whitehouse.gov