Arkansas Republican Rep. Tom Cotton plans to announce his bid next week to challenge two-term incumbent Democratic Sen. Mark Pryor in next year’s elections, according to a person familiar with the congressman’s plans.
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AUSTIN, Texas (AP): Texas Senate Passes New Abortion Restrictions
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — The Texas Senate passed sweeping new abortion restrictions late Friday, sending them to Republican Gov. Rick Perry to sign into law after weeks of protests and rallies that drew thousands of people to the Capitol and made the state the focus of the national abortion debate.
Republicans used their large majority in the Texas Legislature to pass the bill nearly three weeks after a filibuster by Democratic Sen. Wendy Davis and an outburst by abortion-rights activists in the Senate gallery disrupted a deadline vote June 25.
Called back for a new special session by Perry, lawmakers took up the bill again as thousands of supporters and opponents held rallies and jammed the Capitol to testify at public hearings. As the Senate took its final vote, protesters in the hallway outside the chamber chanted, “Shame! Shame! Shame!”
Democrats have called the GOP proposal unnecessary and unconstitutional. Republicans said the measure was about protecting women and unborn children.
House Bill 2 would require doctors to have admitting privileges at nearby hospitals, allow abortions only in surgical centers, limit where and when women may take abortion-inducing pills and ban abortions after 20 weeks.
Abortion-rights supporters say the bill will close all but five abortion clinics in Texas, leaving large areas of the vast state without abortion services. Only five out of 42 existing abortion clinics meet the requirements to be a surgical center, and clinic owners say they can’t afford to upgrade or relocate.
The circus-like atmosphere in the Texas Capitol marked the culmination of weeks of protests, the most dramatic of which came June 25 in the final minutes of the last special legislative session, Davis’ filibuster and subsequent protest prevented the bill from becoming law.
The Senate’s debate took place between a packed gallery of demonstrators, with anti-abortion activists wearing blue and abortion-rights supporters wearing orange. Security was tight, and state troopers reported confiscating bottles of urine and feces as they worked to prevent another attempt to stop the Republican majority from passing the proposal.
Those arrested or removed from the chamber included four women who tried to chain themselves to a railing in the gallery. One of the women was successful in chaining herself, prompting a 10-minute recess.
When debate resumed, protesters began loudly singing, “Give choice a chance. All we are saying is give choice a chance.” The Senate’s leader, Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst, told officers to remove them.
Sen. Glen Hegar of Katy, the bill’s Republican author, argued that all abortions, including those induced with medications, should take place in an ambulatory surgical center in case of complications.
Democrats pointed out that childbirth is more dangerous than an abortion and there have been no serious problems with women taking abortion drugs at home. They introduced amendments to add exceptions for cases of rape and incest and to remove some of the more restrictive clauses, but Republicans dismissed all of the proposed changes.
Sen. Royce West, a Dallas Democrat, asked why Hegar was pushing restrictions that …read more
Source: Worthy Christian Forums
Former Sen. Lugar to be knighted by the British
Former Sen. Richard Lugar is being knighted on orders from the Queen of England, joining a select list of Americans to receive the distinction.
The Indiana Republican, who this year left the Senate after serving 36 years, will receive the rank of honorary Knight Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire during a ceremony at the British Embassy in Washington on Tuesday. The British Ambassador, Sir Peter Westmacott, is set to preside.
Since leaving the Senate, Lugar has taken on various roles, including leading the Richard G. Lugar Institute for Diplomacy and Congress with the German Marshall Fund. He also serves as a distinguished scholar and professor at the Indiana University School of Global and International Studies.
Lugar said he is deeply honored to be knighted. “I will focus my service on solving our most serious challenges in a spirit of cooperation between our countries,” he said in a statement Monday.
He said he was first inspired by Queen Elizabeth‘s leadership “when she received me as the young Rhodes Scholar in London, 58 years ago and asked me about Indiana.”
Lugar’s studies at Oxford University were his first outside of the United States. He went on to become one of the Senate’s foremost foreign policy experts, focusing much of his work on nuclear proliferation issues and relations with Europe. Along with former Sen. Sam Nunn, D-Ga., Lugar crafted legislation that helped eliminate nuclear warheads in the former Soviet Union.
Lugar will not be known as “sir” Lugar — only royal subjects can carry that title. But few Americans have received honorary knighthood, including Presidents Dwight Eisenhower, Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush.
Lugar was defeated in a Republican primary in 2012, finishing his sixth term in office early this year. Democratic Sen. Joe Donnelly won the race to replace him.
From: http://feeds.foxnews.com/~r/foxnews/national/~3/rZwhdEazrCA/
Gun Background Checks: Senators Reach Bipartisan Agreement
By The Huffington Post News Editors
WASHINGTON — A bipartisan deal to expand background checks for gun sales has been reached in the Senate, according to two Senate aides with knowledge of the negotiations.
The compromise negotiated by Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin (W.Va.) and Republican Sen. Pat Toomey (Pa.) is expected to be introduced Thursday as an amendment to a Senate gun control bill that Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) filed for cloture Tuesday night.
Toomey and Manchin have scheduled a press conference to discuss the deal Wednesday morning at 11 a.m.
Source: FULL ARTICLE at Huffington Post
Business As Usual For Menendez Amid Investigations
WASHINGTON — Beyond the investigations, it’s business as usual for Democratic Sen. Bob Menendez.
The new Senate Foreign Relations Committee chairman presides over hearings on North Korea and travels to Afghanistan and Pakistan. As a New Jersey senator, he welcomes professors and students from Rutgers University and the state’s National Council of Jewish Women.
And as a Cuban-American, Menendez has been working into the evening daily with other senators on overhauling the nation’s immigration system.
Read More at OfficialWire . By Donna Cassata.
Report details flaws in Army's handling of PTSD
The Army has more than doubled its number of military and civilian behavioral health workers in the past five years, but a litany of shortcomings still plagues the force when it comes to diagnosing and treating soldiers for post-traumatic stress disorder, according to an Army report being released Friday.
Confusing paperwork, inconsistent training and guidelines, and incompatible data systems have hindered the service as it tries to deal with behavioral health issues, the report said. It’s a crucial issue: After a decade of war, soldier suicides outpace combat deaths.
Last May, the Army commissioned a task force to conduct a sweeping review of how it evaluates soldiers for mental health problems at all its facilities. The review came under pressure from Democratic Sen. Patty Murray, of Washington, who was upset to learn that hundreds of soldiers at Madigan Army Medical Center south of Seattle had had their PTSD diagnoses reversed by a forensic psychiatry team, resulting in a potential cut to their benefits and questions about whether the changes were made to save money.
About 150 of those soldiers eventually had their diagnoses restored.
“I am pleased that the Army completed this review and has vowed to make fixes over the next year, though I am disappointed it has taken more than a decade of war to get to this point,” Murray said in a statement. “Many of the 24 findings and 47 recommendations in this report are not new. Creating a universal electronic health record, providing better rural health access, and standardizing the way diagnoses are made, for instance, have been lingering problems for far too long. Our service members and their families deserve better.”
The report noted that the Army had made strides in some areas, including cutting how long it takes soldiers to obtain a disability evaluation and publishing a guide to the process.
The task force interviewed 750 people stationed around the globe, conducted listening sessions with 6,400 others and reviewed more than 140,000 records. The Army’s Medical Command reviewed diagnoses for all soldiers evaluated for behavioral health problems from October 2001 until last April.
Since September 2001, the report found, 4.1 percent of all soldiers deployed wound up with a behavioral health diagnosis such as PTSD or traumatic brain injury. Many can remain on active duty.
Nationwide, the report said, 6,400 soldiers had behavioral health diagnoses “adjusted” by medical evaluation boards, …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at Fox US News
Report Details Flaws In Army’s Handling Of PTSD
SEATTLE— The Army has more than doubled its number of military and civilian behavioral health workers in the past five years, but a litany of shortcomings still plagues the force when it comes to diagnosing and treating soldiers for post-traumatic stress disorder, according to an Army report being released Friday.
Confusing paperwork, inconsistent training and guidelines, and incompatible data systems have hindered the service as it tries to deal with behavioral health issues, the report said. It’s a crucial issue: After a decade of war, soldier suicides outpace combat deaths.
Last May, the Army commissioned a task force to conduct a sweeping review of how it evaluates soldiers for mental health problems at all its facilities. The review came under pressure from Democratic Sen. Patty Murray, of Washington, who was upset to learn that hundreds of soldiers at Madigan Army Medical Center south of Seattle had had their PTSD diagnoses reversed by a forensic psychiatry team, resulting in a potential cut to their benefits and questions about whether the changes were made to save money.
About 150 of those soldiers eventually had their diagnoses restored.
“I am pleased that the Army completed this review and has vowed to make fixes over the next year, though I am disappointed it has taken more than a decade of war to get to this point,” Murray said in a statement. “Many of the 24 findings and 47 recommendations in this report are not new. Creating a universal electronic health record, providing better rural health access, and standardizing the way diagnoses are made, for instance, have been lingering problems for far too long. Our service members and their families deserve better.”
Read More at OfficialWire . By Gene Johnson.
Photo credit: The U.S. Army (Creative Commons)
6 underground Hanford nuclear tanks leaking, Washington governor says
Six underground radioactive waste tanks at the nation’s most contaminated nuclear site are leaking, Washington Gov. Jay Inslee said Friday.
Inslee made the announcement after meeting with federal officials in Washington, D.C. Last week it was revealed that one of the 177 tanks at south-central Washington’s Hanford Nuclear Reservation was leaking liquids. Inslee called the latest news “disturbing.”
The tanks, which already are long past their intended 20-year life span, hold millions of gallons (liters) of a highly radioactive stew left from decades of plutonium production for nuclear weapons.
The U.S. Department of Energy said earlier that liquid levels were decreasing in one of the tanks at the site. Monitoring wells near the tank have not detected higher radiation levels.
The federal government created Hanford in the 1940s as part of the top-secret Manhattan Project to build the atomic bomb. The government spends $2 billion each year on Hanford cleanup — one-third of its entire budget for nuclear cleanup nationally. The cleanup is expected to last decades.
Central to cleanup is the construction of a plant to convert millions of gallons (liters) of waste into glasslike logs for safe, secure storage. The $12.3 billion plant is billions of dollars over budget and behind schedule.
Inslee and Oregon Gov. John Kitzhaber have championed building additional tanks to ensure safe storage of the waste until the plant is completed. Democratic Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon said earlier this week that he shares their concerns about the integrity of the tanks, but that he wants more scientific information to determine it’s the correct way to spend scarce money.
Wyden noted the nation’s most contaminated nuclear site — and the challenges associated with ridding it of its toxic legacy — will be a subject of upcoming hearings and a higher priority in Washington D.C.
NJ Sen. Frank Lautenberg, 89, Says He Will Retire
TRENTON, N.J.- Democratic Sen. Frank Lautenberg, the oldest member of the U.S. Senate, announced Thursday that he will retire at the end of his current term rather than seek re-election at age 90 next year.
“This is not the end of anything, but rather the beginning of a two-year mission to pass new gun safety laws, protect children from toxic chemicals, and create more opportunities for working families in New Jersey,” Lautenberg said in a statement.
President Barack Obama called Lautenberg “a steadfast champion of the people of New Jersey.”
“Throughout his time in the Senate, Frank has fought tirelessly for workers, veterans, members of our military and their families, and immigrants, and he continues to make extraordinary contributions to our nation’s safety, and the health and welfare of our citizens,” he said in a statement.
The senator has been a staunch advocate of gun control and public infrastructure and a champion of the Amtrak railroad system.
Read More at OfficialWire . By Angela Delli Santi.
Iowa Democrat Bruce Braley announces 2014 US Senate bid
Iowa Rep. Bruce Braley says he will run for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Democratic Sen. Tom Harkin.
Vets groups' praise for Hagel adds pressure on GOP
Countering the Republican-led opposition to President Barack Obama‘s nominee for defense secretary is a less flashy but powerful constituency: military veterans.
Veterans’ organizations have praised Chuck Hagel, a twice-wounded combat veteran of Vietnam and deputy administrator in President Ronald Reagan’s Veterans Administration.
The Veterans of Foreign Wars has called him uniquely qualified to become Pentagon chief. The Military Officers Association of America said his experience gives him “a range of perspectives.” The American Legion said he was a longtime advocate for veterans.
The organizations, which as congressionally chartered, stopped short of an outright endorsement.
Republican-leaning outside groups have waged a well-funded campaign against Hagel, airing television commercials, running full-page newspaper ads and expressing their opposition on local radio stations.
Officials from Americans for a Strong Defense, hoping to pressure Democratic Sen. Mark Pryor, spoke out on an Arkansas station this week.
Hagel’s first test could come as early as Thursday with a possible vote in the Senate Armed Services Committee.
The committee chairman, Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., has said he would like to vote when the committee holds a hearing with Defense Secretary Leon Panetta on last September’s deadly attack on the U.S. diplomatic facility in Benghazi, Libya.
Some Republicans on the committee are circulating a letter calling for a delay in the vote until Hagel provides more information about recent speeches, the groups he has addressed and their ties. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, is dissatisfied with what Hagel, a former two-term GOP senator from Nebraska, has disclosed so far.
“I’m not going to make any decision on Sen. Hagel until we get all the information we’ve requested,” Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., told a small group of reporters on Wednesday. “I don’t think we should be voting.”
Democrats were working to resolve the last-minute issues.
Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., said his staff was trying to determine whether Cruz’s questions are “are keeping with the normal parameters of what nominees are supposed to provide or whether it exceeds that.”
In a letter to Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., who opposes the nominee, Hagel said he had …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at Fox US News
Reid: "Utmost confidence' Menendez did nothing wrong, but awaits Senate probe outcome
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said Sunday he is confident that fellow Democratic Sen. Robert Menendez “did nothing wrong” by associating with a major political donor who is purportedly under FBI investigation, but he will wait for the outcome of a Senate ethics probe.