Labor

Bill contains billions of dollars for medical care, women veterans, homeless veterans; includes specific language on Walla Walla VA, South Puget Sound CBOC

November 17, 2009 -- (WASHINGTON, D.C.) – Today, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) helped pass legislation through the full Senate that provides $109 billion for the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). The bill passed by a 100-0 vote.

The funding, which is included in the fiscal year 2010 Military Construction and Veterans Affairs funding bill, is $150 million more than the President requested. The majority of the funding will go directly to health care services which will help cut wait-times, increase access to quality care and mental health services for our veterans.    » read more »

Senate Appropriations Bill Would Direct Nearly $87 Million to Seven Projects

November 17, 2009 --
WASHINGTON — Senators Carl Levin and Debbie Stabenow, both D-Mich., today hailed the Senate’s passage of a bill including $87 million for seven projects in Michigan and funding for the Department of Veterans Affairs. The Senate and House of Representatives must now reconcile their versions of the Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Appropriations Act for fiscal year 2010 before moving to final passage in both chambers.    » read more »

WASHINGTON -- Nov. 17, 2009 – Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy Tuesday joined 56 other Senators to defeat an amendment to the Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Appropriations Act that would have prohibited the use of funds to construct or modify prison facilities to hold individuals currently being detained at the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

Leahy has opposed similar measures designed to curb the tools and resources available to the Federal Government to bring charges against detainees held at Guantanamo Bay. The amendment was opposed by the Attorney General, the Secretary of Defense, and the Secretary of Homeland Security.

Statement Of Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.),
Chairman, Senate Judiciary Committee,    » read more »

November 17, 2009 -- Washington, DC -- U.S. Senator Tim Johnson (D-SD), Chairman of the Military Construction, Veterans Affairs (VA) and Related Agencies Appropriations Subcommittee, today announced that the Senate has unanimously passed the Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Appropriations Bill for FY2010.

Johnson authored the spending measure from his position as Chairman, and placed a strong emphasis on addressing the needs of rural and homeless veterans while also providing for important South Dakota priorities.    » read more »

November 17, 2009 -- WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senator Kay R. Hagan (D-NC) secured $3.45 million in the 2010 Military Construction Appropriations Bill for an automated sniper field firing range at North Carolina's Fort Bragg. The bill passed the Senate today, and it will now be reconciled with the House version of the bill.

"This funding will prepare our soldiers for the most challenging of missions," Hagan said. "This 21st-century sniper range will give our soldiers the skills to disrupt, dismantle and defeat terrorists abroad that threaten our country. I am extremely proud of our brave soldiers at Fort Bragg, and I am committed to ensuring we provide them with the cutting-edge tools they need to keep us safe."    » read more »

November 17, 2009 -- WASHINGTON, DC – Assistant Senate Majority Leader Dick Durbin (D-IL) today announced that the United States Senate has approved $82,257,000 in federal funding for military construction projects in Illinois.

The Fiscal Year 2010 Appropriations Bill for Military Construction and Veterans Affairs includes funding for the following Illinois projects:    » read more »

Legislation invests in new military facilities in Minot, Grand Forks, Bismarck and Fargo

November 17, 2009 -- (WASHINGTON, D.C.) --- The U.S. Senate approved an appropriations bill today that includes funding secured by U.S. Senators Byron Dorgan and Kent Conrad to construct new military facilities in Minot, Grand Forks, Fargo and Bismarck. Dorgan and Conrad said the bill will give a boost to North Dakota’s military missions.    » read more »

November 17, 2009 -- Senators Chris Dodd (D-CT) and Joe Lieberman (ID-CT) today announced that they helped secure $64.6 million for military construction projects for Connecticut military bases throughout the state. The funding, which was allotted as a part of the Military Construction and Department of Veterans’ Affairs Appropriations bill, will go towards projects in Bridgeport, Middletown, and Hartford.

In addition, the bill includes $300 million for the Homeowners Assistance Program (HAP) – which provides financial support to military families incurring substantial losses when service-related moves force them to sell their homes in base communities such as the one surrounding Submarine Base New London.    » read more »

November 17, 2009 -- WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Jeff Bingaman and Tom Udall reported that the Senate has approved legislation to fund key construction projects at New Mexico's military installations.

The fiscal year 2010 Military Construction and Department of Veterans' Affairs Appropriations Act sets aside a total of $172 million for Cannon, Kirtland and Holloman Air Force Bases, as well as the National Guard facility in Santa Fe.

"This bill invests millions of dollars in New Mexico's military installations and ensures that our Air Force and National Guard facilities remain in top shape," Bingaman said. "It is another way to support the men and women of our armed forces."    » read more »

Funding Included in Senate Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Appropriations Bill

November 17, 2009 -- Mark Udall and Michael Bennet, U.S. Senators for Colorado, announced today that the Pueblo Chemical Depot is on track to receive $92.5 million in new federal funding for construction of a facility to destroy chemical weapons stored there.

The funding was included in the Military Construction and Veterans Affairs appropriations bill for fiscal year 2010, which was approved by the Senate by a vote of 100 to 0.

The bill now goes to a conference committee to be reconciled with the version passed in the House. The $92.5 million in funding represents a portion of the money requested for work at Pueblo Chemical Depot.    » read more »

11/16/2009 -- WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has revised its acetylene standard. A final rule replaces references to outdated industry standards with updated references reflecting current industry practices.

"This final rule incorporates current technology that enhances OSHA's acetylene standard for improving industry work practices and providing safer workplaces," said acting Assistant Secretary of Labor for OSHA Jordan Barab. "It exemplifies our mission of providing strong and effective regulations that protect the safety and health of working men and women."    » read more »

Economic Research Service Report Demonstrates Need for Action

WASHINGTON, Nov. 16, 2009 - USDA's Economic Research Service's (ERS) today released its annual report on Household Food Security in the U.S., which revealed that in 2008, 17 million households, or 14.6 percent, were food insecure and families had difficulty putting enough food on the table at times during the year.

This is an increase from 13 million households, or 11.1 percent, in 2007. The 2008 figures represent the highest level observed since nationally representative food security surveys were initiated in 1995. The full study is available at www.ers.usda.gov/features/householdfoodsecurity/.    » read more »

National Mobilization Continues to Demand End to Multi-Billion Dollar Bonuses at Bailed Out Banks and the Too Big To Fail Doctrine

November 16, 2009 -- Washington, D.C.--Today, hundreds of workers, clergy members, community leaders, and other taxpayers converged on the Washington, D.C. headquarters of Goldman Sachs to demand the bank put an end to multi-billion dollar bonuses, reject the Too Big To Fail Doctrine, and use their anticipated $23 billion bonus pool to help families facing foreclosure.

Taxpayers also called on Congress to take immediate action on real financial reform.    » read more »

New Report Documents Unparalleled Employer Abuse In Underreporting Of Workplace Injury And Illness

November 16, 2009 -- WASHINGTON, D.C. – America’s workers suffer more workplace injury and illness than employers report, and medical professionals are under pressure from employers to misdiagnose and under-treat work-related health conditions, according to a new report from the Government Accountability Office (GAO).

The report confirms what workers and worker advocacy organizations have known for a long time—Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) statistics do not reflect the real risk workers face from workplace hazards.    » read more »

Heads for disposal facility in New Mexico

ARGONNE, Ill. (Nov. 16, 2009) – The Department of Energy’s (DOE) Argonne National Laboratory has been removing transuranic (TRU) waste from its site for three years, but the Oct. 15 shipment of radioactive material to a disposal facility near Carlsbad, New Mexico marked the first time the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) picked up the tab.

The cleanup work is paid for by DOE’s Office of Environmental Management. The influx of ARRA funds will allow the laboratory to ship out more than four times as much TRU waste (including both remote- and contact-handled) in the next 24 months as it has since the project was conceived three years ago.    » read more »