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Mike Barnicle: What about the fact that unemployment benefits pumped into the economy are an immediate benefit to the economy. Immediate.
John Shadegg: No, they're not.
Mike Barnicle: Let's go back to what you said about unemployment checks. Unemployment checks, people don't spend that money?
John Shadegg: No. they will spend as little as they can because they'll hold on to it as long as they can. In reality, they don't create jobs.
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"Unions, liberal advocacy groups and many congressional Democrats are expected to defend the new healthcare law and the new financial oversight system, created in the wake of the worst recession in more than half a century. They also are expected to defend efforts to expand worker safety rules.(emphasis added)
"'The chamber's new campaign is disappointing and may threaten the health and safety of hardworking Americans if successful,' said Rep. George Miller (D-Martinez), chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee."
We passed dozens of jobs bills, dozens of tax credits for small business. The Republicans chose not to vote for any of them. They didnt want us to succeed on jobs. Its now on their watch. We sent over 400 bills to the Senate that went into the jaws of the filibuster that was controlled by Mitch McConnell. So they made a decision; theyd rather sacrifice the job creating potential of that legislation, for small businesses all across this country-- wildly successful programs that had run out of money, tax breaks that had worked in the past that they didnt want to do. So they made a decision to sacrifice that in the name of pulling down this President of the United States. They wanted him to fail and thats their mission today.
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"You have deficit hawks coming to town and they're about to come in and suggest that they're going to give away $4 trillion that they probably won't pay for. That'll be the first challenge. That'll be the first challenge.
We can take care of the middle class. That money can go into Main Street. That can help create customers for small businesses. Or we can create a huge amount of deficit [to benefit] the wealthiest 2% of people in the country..."
"[The GOP has] to understand that when they repeal health care, that senior citizens will pay more for prescription drugs, young people will lose their health care coverage, and once again, we'll have pre-existing conditions that keep women and children and others from getting access to health care when they need it. And they're also going to have the problem that this health care bill, signed by President Obama, saves $100 billion in the first ten years and a trillion dollars in the second ten years. So they're going to have to pay for those changes when they go back to their so-called common sense ideas. The fact of the matter is this health care bill works."Watch Rep. Miller's interview:
In the middle of this economic chaos, [Miller] said, this president knows we cant compete in a world economy unless we modernize some of our basic systems.
Creating a new standard educational model should incorporate the way that young people share information, he said.
All of you create a huge amount of content every day, you teach your peers how to use that new phone, that new program, he said. How do we call on people to participate in the educational process who are your peers?
About half the people that show up for community college, they dont show up for the second year, Miller said. They dont get the certificate theyre after, they dont get the career opportunity, they dont get the academic degree they were after and they may end up in debt.
Miller spoke in detail about recent reforms to the student loan industry. Subsidies worth $60 billion will be diverted over ten years from banks, which manage loans, to students in the form of grants and federal loans.
The new law, he explained, also rewards those pursuing public service jobs. If you get in the public health and education sectors, after ten years your loans go away, he said, because youre giving something back.
An increasing number of students locally and nationally have been receiving financial aid through the Federal Pell Grant Program.
In Clark County, the recipients of the need-based grant increased more than 5,500 students between academic year 2008-2009 and 2009-2010, according to statistics from the U.S. Department of Education. In the same time period, the grant disbursement increased by $26.9 million.
According to recent figures issued by the U.S. House Committee on Education and Labor, the number of Pell Grant recipients in North Carolina's 4th Congressional District rose 35 percent last year. The district, which includes all of Durham and Orange counties and parts of Wake and Chatham, had 27,471 students who qualified for the aid during the 2009-10 academic year, an increase of 7,145 over the year before.
Adding to the increase is that under a new student-loan bill signed by President Barack Obama in March, the Pell's Grant's eligibility criteria have changed, and that's made it a little easier to qualify than in the past, Ort and Rome both said.
Equally important is that the Pell Grant is now authorized for summer school, for the first time.
Not since the explosive years of the civil rights movement and the hard-fought debut of government-supported health care for the elderly and poor have so many big things -- love them or hate them -- been done so quickly.
Gridlock? It may feel that way. But that's not the story of the 111th Congress -- not the story history will remember.
I am pleased that the Department of Labor has taken another step to expose hidden fees contained in Americas 401(k) plans. While families are making difficult choices to put something away for their retirement, it is essential that they know how fees may be eating away at their savings and potentially delaying their retirement plans.
Until now, even if workers were given abundant retirement plan investment information they did not always receive it in a user-friendly format. The new rule for 401(k)-type retirement plans will provide workers with tools to easily match up one investment option with another.
"No child should have to learn on an empty stomach. Nearly 65 years ago, America made protecting the health of our children a national priority by developing the National School Lunch Program. This groundbreaking program has prevented hunger and promoted education by enabling our young people to have access to safe, balanced, and affordable meals at school. It has also supported their development, encouraged their learning capacity, and instilled life-long healthy habits. This year, during National School Lunch Week, we recognize the vital importance of this historic program, and we recommit to serving meals that will contribute to the health and well-being of a new generation."
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"NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States of America, do hereby proclaim the week of October 10 through October 16, 2010, as National School Lunch Week. I call upon all Americans to join the dedicated individuals who administer the National School Lunch Program in appropriate activities that support the health and well-being of our Nation's children."
A national campaign aimed at curtailing the number of brain injuries suffered by student athletes was introduced Monday at Pinole Valley High School, where a concussion awareness poster was unveiled at a news conference held by federal officials and representatives of the National Football League.
There was a time when athletes who left the field because of a concussion were told to suck it up and go back out and play, said Rep. George Miller, D-Martinez. Instead, he said, athletes should be told, When in doubt, sit it out.
The poster being distributed by the federal Centers for Disease Control is similar to one now found in NFL locker rooms and describes possible symptoms on brain injuries that could be worsened if not diagnosed.
Miller has introduced legislation that would set safety standards for public schools in dealing with concussions. This after hearing horror stories from student athletes during a Congressional hearing.
In one case, a student is fully disabled because of an injury in a softball game with multiple concussions [which were] improperly diagnosed, says Miller.
The stories were enough to move Miller to carry the ball on the danger of concussions.