Pictured is President-elect Joe BidenPresident-elect Joe Biden announces key members of White House health team
"This deeply qualified, diverse team will be ready on day one to contain the COVID pandemic; ensure the safe, free, and equitable distribution of vaccines; make sure every American has access to affordable, quality health care; and guard against the full range of health threats facing our nation."....President-elect Joe Biden
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, President-elect Joe Biden formally announced key nominations and appointments of his health team, including Xavier Becerra, secretary of health and human services; Dr. Vivek Murthy, surgeon general; Dr. Rochelle Walensky, Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; Dr. Marcella Nunez-Smith, COVID-19 Equity Task Force Chair; Dr. Anthony Fauci, chief medical adviser to the President on COVID-19, who will also continue in his role as director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases; and Jeff Zients, coordinator of the COVID-19 Response and Counselor to the President.
In addition, former White House and Pentagon senior advisor Natalie Quillian will serve as deputy coordinator of the COVID-19 Response.
According to a Congressional Research Service report, the presidentially-appointed positions requiring Senate approval, some 350 of them, include secretaries of the 15 Cabinet agencies, deputy secretaries, undersecretaries, and assistant secretaries, and general counsels of those agencies.
"This is a team that looks like America and brings together leaders with deep experience in public health, government, and crisis management," Biden said in a press release regarding his health team picks announced Monday. "They are experts in their fields who will restore public trust in the pandemic response by leading with facts, science, integrity, and a laser-focus on bringing COVID-19 under control."
Together, they will advise President-elect Biden and Vice President-elect Harris on implementing a whole-of-government response to surge testing and tracing to slow the spread of the virus, protect front-line workers, and ensure the safe and efficient delivery of treatments and vaccines at no cost to the American people. And, they will help fulfill the President-elect's vision of making health care a right — not a privilege — for all Americans, building on the Affordable Care Act to lower health care costs and tackle prescription drug costs.
President-elect Joe Biden said that "this trusted and accomplished team of leaders will bring the highest level of integrity, scientific rigor, and crisis-management experience to one of the toughest challenges America has ever faced — getting the pandemic under control so that the American people can get back to work, back to their lives, and back to their loved ones.
He went on to say that "This team of world-class medical experts and public servants will be ready on day one to mobilize every resource of the federal government to expand testing and masking, oversee the safe, equitable, and free distribution of treatments and vaccines, re-open schools and businesses safely, lower prescription drug and other health costs and expand affordable health care to all Americans, and rally the country and restore the belief that there is nothing beyond America's capacity if we do it together."
Vice President-elect Kamala Harris commented too and said, "containing this coronavirus pandemic and opening our economy responsibly require listening to experts and leaders like the ones we are bringing together on this health care team."
America' first Black and first female vice president, Harris said that those chosen to lead Biden's White House health team "are some of America's top physicians, public health experts, and crisis-tested public servants, and they reflect the very best of our nation. "
Xavier Becerra, the Attorney General of California and a long-time champion of expanding access to health care, is nominated to serve as Secretary of Health and Human Services. A former member of Congress who helped drive passage of the Affordable Care Act, Becerra led the defense of the law in the Supreme Court last month. If confirmed, Becerra will be the first Latino to lead the Department of Health and Human Services.
- Dr. Vivek Murthy, a distinguished physician, research scientist, and former Vice Admiral in the Public Health Service Commissioned Corps, is nominated to serve as Surgeon General of the United States. He was previously confirmed by the Senate to serve in the same capacity, holding the post as 'America's Doctor' between 2014 and 2017. A trusted national voice on health issues and a long-time advisor to President-elect Biden, he currently serves as co-chair of the President-elect's COVID-19 transition Advisory Board.
- Dr. Rochelle Walensky, a leading expert on virus testing, prevention, and treatment, is nominated to serve as Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. She has been on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic response in Massachusetts, serving as Chief of Infectious Diseases at Massachusetts General Hospital and a Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School.
- Dr. Marcella Nunez-Smith, one of the country's foremost experts on health care disparities, will serve as the COVID-19 Equity Task Force Chair. An Associate Professor of Medicine, Public Health, and Management at the Yale School of Medicine, she is the founding director of Yale's Equity Research and Innovation Center and co-chair of the President-elect's COVID-19 Transition Advisory Board. Dr. Nunez-Smith will advise the President-elect on a whole-of-government effort to reduce COVID-19 disparities in response, care, and treatment, including racial and ethnic disparities.
- Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation's preeminent expert on infectious diseases and an adviser to six U.S. presidents, will serve as Chief Medical Adviser on COVID-19 to the President and continue in his role as Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. Among the most trusted figures in the country throughout the pandemic and for decades prior, Dr. Fauci will remain an essential voice both in informing the public about health risks and safety measures and in helping the scientific community, the Biden-Harris administration, and local officials overcome the COVID-19 pandemic.
- Jeff Zients, an accomplished public servant widely known for his extraordinary track record successfully managing large and complex initiatives, will serve as Coordinator of the COVID-19 Response and Counselor to the President. Zients previously earned broad acclaim for his leadership of the 2013 HealthCare.gov tech surge and his oversight of the 'Cash for Clunkers' fuel-efficiency program. Zients will advise the president-elect on the implementation of the federal government's COVID response, including managing safe and equitable vaccine distribution, the pandemic supply chain, and coordination across federal agencies and state and local governments.
- Natalie Quillian will serve as Deputy Coordinator of the COVID-19 Response. Quillian, a national security expert and former White House and Pentagon senior advisor, played an instrumental role in coordinating the Obama-Biden administration's interagency response to the opioid epidemic.
The following White House announcements were made today:
Xavier Becerra, Secretary of Health and Human Services
Link to hi-res photo
Xavier Becerra (Hahv-ee-ayr Beh-seh-rah) currently serves as the 33rd Attorney General of California, the first Latino to hold the position in the 171 years of its existence. As the leader of the nation's largest state-level Department of Justice, his work has focused on protecting underserved communities and fighting to safeguard the health and wellbeing of all Californians; in November 2020, he led the defense of the Affordable Care Act in the Supreme Court on behalf of twenty states and the District of Columbia.Prior to his tenure as Attorney General, Becerra served twelve terms as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives, becoming a key fixture of the Committee on Ways and Means, Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Social Security, and, ultimately, Chair of the House Democratic Caucus. The son of working-class parents who was the first member of his family to graduate from college, Becerra started his career as a legal aid attorney supporting clients contending with mental health issues before becoming a Deputy Attorney General in the California Department of Justice and serving one term in the State Assembly. Originally from Sacramento, Becerra received his bachelor of arts degree from Stanford and his JD from Stanford Law School.
Dr. Vivek Murthy, Surgeon General
Link to hi-res photoDr. Vivek Murthy (Viv-ake Mur-thee) was confirmed by the Senate in 2014 to serve as the 19th Surgeon General of the United States, and currently serves as co-chair of the President-elect's COVID-19 Advisory Board. A renowned physician, research scientist, author, and entrepreneur, Dr. Murthy is among the most trusted voices in America on matters of public health.
As "America's Doctor," Dr. Murthy helped lead the national response to a range of health challenges, including the Ebola and Zika viruses, the opioid crisis, and the growing threat of stress and loneliness to Americans' physical and mental wellbeing. Prior to his tenure as Surgeon General, Dr. Murthy co-founded VISIONS, a global HIV/AIDS education organization; the Swasthya Project, a rural health partnership that trained women in South India to become community health workers and educators; TrialNetworks, a technology company dedicated to improving collaboration and efficiency in clinical trials; and Doctors for America, a nonprofit mobilizing physicians and medical students to improve access to affordable care. His scientific research has focused on vaccine development and the participation of women and minorities in clinical trials. Raised in Miami, Dr. Murthy received his bachelor of arts degree from Harvard, his masters in business administration from the Yale School of Management, and his MD from the Yale School of Medicine.
Dr. Rochelle Walensky, Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Link to hi-res photoDr. Rochelle Walensky (Ruh-shell Wool-en-skee) currently serves as Chief of the Division of Infectious Diseases at Massachusetts General Hospital and Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School. An influential scholar whose pioneering research has helped advance the national and global response to HIV/AIDS, Dr. Walensky is one of America's most respected experts on the value of testing and treatment of deadly viruses.
A practicing infectious diseases physician, Dr. Walensky has been recognized internationally for her work to improve HIV screening and care in South Africa. She is a past Chair of Office of AIDS Research Advisory Council at the National Institutes of Health, Chair-elect of the HIV Medical Association, and has previously served as an advisor to both the World Health Organization and the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS. Originally from Maryland, Dr. Walensky received her bachelor of arts degree from Washington University in St. Louis, her MD from the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, and her masters in public health degree from the Harvard School of Public Health.
Dr. Marcella Nunez-Smith, COVID-19 Equity Task Force Chair
Link to hi-res photoDr. Marcella Nunez-Smith (Mar-sell-uh Noon-yez Smith) currently serves as Associate Professor of Medicine, Public Health, and Management and Associate Dean for Health Equity Research at the Yale School of Medicine. A co-chair of the President-elect's COVID-19 Advisory Board, she is one of America's most distinguished and influential experts on persistent inequities in health care and health outcomes.
Dr. Nunez-Smith is the founding director of Yale's Equity Research and Innovation Center, a groundbreaking academic and policy organization created to address inequities in health and health care. She serves as a principal investigator on several leading research projects intended to assess and rectify systemic discrimination and racial disparities in the health care space, and created the NIH-funded Eastern Caribbean Health Outcomes Research Network to improve health outcomes in an historically underserved region. Originally from Saint Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands, Dr. Nunez-Smith received her bachelor of arts degree from Swarthmore College, her MD from Jefferson Medical College, and her master of health science from Yale University.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, Chief Medical Adviser on COVID-19
Link to hi-res photoDr. Anthony Fauci (An-thuh-nee Fow-chee) is one of America's most trusted and accomplished scientific voices, a world-renowned infectious disease expert who has served as Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases since 1984. A prominent adviser to the last six U.S. presidents on a broad range of health and medical issues, Dr. Fauci has played a critical role in shaping and implementing the national and global response to every major public health threat that has emerged over the last four decades.
In his current role, Dr. Fauci leads an expansive research portfolio covering the prevention, tracking, and treatment of both established and emerging contagions, as well as asthma, allergies, and other immune-related illnesses. He serves simultaneously as Chief of the Laboratory of Immunoregulation and Chief of the Immunopathogenesis Section at the National Institutes of Health, having largely pioneered the field of human immune response regulation with his early research. As a prominent scientific adviser throughout the HIV/AIDS crisis, he also helped lead the creation of the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, which has been credited with saving the lives of millions across the globe. In addition to a litany of awards and the 45 honorary degrees he has received from universities worldwide, he was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President George W. Bush in 2008. Born and raised in Brooklyn, Dr. Fauci received his bachelor of arts degree from the College of the Holy Cross, and his MD from Cornell University.
Jeff Zients, Coordinator of the COVID-19 Response and Counselor to the President
Link to hi-res photoJeff Zients (Jeff Zy-ence) is a renowned crisis manager and public servant who has earned widespread acclaim for his ability to successfully navigate large, complex initiatives through formidable challenges. Among a litany of notable accomplishments, he is credited with having led both the 2013 tech surge to revitalize HealthCare.gov as well as the 2009 'Cash for Clunkers' program to help revive the U.S. auto industry while improving fuel efficiency.
During his time in the Obama-Biden administration, Zients served as Director of the National Economic Council, Acting Director and Deputy Director of the Office of Management and Budget, and the inaugural Chief Performance Officer of the United States. He currently serves as co-chair of the Biden-Harris Transition. Previously, he was CEO of the holding company Cranemere, following decades of private sector experience as an executive, entrepreneur, and management consultant across a wide range of industries, including as CEO and Chairman of The Advisory Board Company. Born and raised in the Washington, DC area, Zients received his bachelor of science degree from Duke University.
Natalie Quillian, Deputy Coordinator of the COVID-19 Response
Link to hi-res photoNatalie Quillian (Nat-uh-lee Kwill-ee-en) is a national security expert and former White House and Pentagon senior adviser who most recently served as Deputy Campaign Manager for Biden for President, where she helped lead campaign operations, election security matters, and other management functions — including leading the campaign's approach to COVID-19 safety for the candidates, campaign staff, and thousands of volunteers. Quillian began her government career as a civil servant during the George W. Bush administration, and went on to serve all eight years in the Obama-Biden administration, where she played an instrumental role coordinating the inter-agency response to the opioid epidemic. She has served in a number of national security positions at the National Security Council and the Office of the Secretary of Defense, and as Deputy Assistant to the President and Senior Advisor to the White House Chief of Staff, working on complex inter-agency and crisis response matters.
Biden chooses nominees for surgeon general, secretary of health and human services, director of CDC, Dr. Fauci and more for his White House health team....
- 07 December 2020
- Kathy
Last Updated on Tuesday, 08 December 2020 01:49
U.S House passes historic bill to decriminalize marijuana at the federal level....Clevelandurbannews.com and Kathywraycolemanonlinenewsblog.com, the most read Black digital newspaper and blog in Ohio
- 05 December 2020
- Kathy
Clevelandurbannews.com and Kathywraycolemanonlinenewsblog.com, the most read Black digital newspaper and blog in Ohio and in the Midwest, and the most read independent digital news sites in Ohio. Tel: (216) 659-0473. Email: editor@clevelandurbannews.com. We interviewed former president Barack Obama one-on-one when he was campaigning for president. As to the Obama interview. CLICK HERE TO READ THE ENTIRE ARTICLE AT CLEVELAND URBAN NEWS.COM, OHIO'S LEADER IN BLACK DIGITAL NEWS.
WASHINGTON, D.C.-Led by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a San Francisco Democrat, the Democratically-dominated U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill on Friday to decriminalize recreational marijuana at the federal level, an unprecedented move towards possibly making marijuana legal nationwide someday, and an indication that Congress wants to have some say, one way or another, over marijuana laws from a federal perspective.
Sponsored by Rep. Jerry Nadler, D-N.Y., the measure would remove marijuana from the federal list of controlled substances, provides for federal expunging of marijuana convictions, and would no longer make college-bound students with such convictions ineligible for federally assisted aid and student loans on that basis.
The bill passed primarily along partisan lines, 228-164 with six Democrats joining 158 Republicans in opposing the measure.
It was the first of its sort by either chamber of Congress.
Last Updated on Saturday, 05 December 2020 14:38
Ohio lawmakers stand up for businesses and against the governor's restrictive coronavirus orders, one of the bills vetoed by Governor DeWine....GOP state lawmakers continue efforts to stop DeWine from issuing coronavirus orders....DeWine fights back
- 04 December 2020
- Kathy
Clevelandurbannews.com and Kathywraycolemanonlinenewsblog.com, the most read Black digital newspaper and blog in Ohio and in the Midwest, and the most read independent digital news sites in Ohio. Tel: (216) 659-0473. Email: editor@clevelandurbannews.com. We interviewed former president Barack Obama one-on-one when he was campaigning for president. As to the Obama interview. CLICK HERE TO READ THE ENTIRE ARTICLE AT CLEVELAND URBAN NEWS.COM, OHIO'S LEADER IN BLACK DIGITAL NEWS.
COLUMBUS, Ohio—Some 30 members of the Ohio House of Representatives, led by Republican lawmakers, have co-sponsored legislation designed to curtail the authority of Ohio’s governor relative to his coronavirus mandates and that would no longer require businesses to permit government inspections to impede on them as a means to ensure that such mandates are adhered to.
House Bill 799 is the latest of several recent bills offered by DeWine's fellow Republicans in the state legislature who seek to overturn the governor’s coronavirus executive orders issued last month, including an order requiring that retailers ensure employees and customers age 10 or older wear a mask or face fines and other penalties, and an order giving state employees authority to ensure compliance with his mask-wearing mandate and social distancing rules.
Many of the targeted orders that the state legislature has had to address, whether directly or indirectly, are repeat orders first issued by the governor in March when the pandemic first hit the nation with a vengeance, like curfew orders, restaurant and bar shutdowns, and remote learning mandates for public school students, the latter now at the discretion of individual Ohio school districts with approval by the Ohio Department of Education
Some 276,000 people are dead nationwide from COVID19, the infectious virus that has claimed the lives of more than 1.5 million people worldwide.
HB799 would immediately eliminate DeWine’s order that requires businesses to submit to inspections by state, health, or law-enforcement officials regarding his coronavirus mandates.
If the bill passes the legislature and becomes state law, it would also eliminate the normal 90-day waiting period for signed legislation to take effect when two-thirds of lawmakers vote for the measure.
A former U.S. senator and state attorney general, the seasoned DeWine, 73, has faced protesters at the Statehouse over closing businesses early, and at one time closing them altogether, and has said that his executive orders are needed to slow the spread of the virus.
He has remained steadfast in pushing policy he deems necessary to protect Ohioans from the pitfalls of the coronavirus, and in spite of legal fights with the business establishment and Ohio lawmakers across partisan lines who want more say in what the governor can and cannot do during a pandemic.
State legislators co-sponsoring this latest bill say the governor is overstepping his authority and placing an undue burden on Ohio's businesses.
Businesses, say lawmakers, should not be required to enforce the governor's mandates, and are not equipped to do so, though many, including restaurants and bars, have implemented mask-wearing and social distancing requirements as ordered.
The current two-year legislative session concludes in a couple of weeks, meaning that in order for the bill not to be nullified, it must be rushed through the legislature.
HB799 comes on the heels of a veto by the GOP governor of Senate Bill 311, which would have stripped the governor and his administration of the authority to issue statewide coronavirus mandates.
Other proposed coronavirus legislation introduced last month that is pending in the Republican-dominated Ohio General Assembly and designed to limit Dewine's coronavirus authority include Senate Bills 374, 31 and 375.
Senate Bill 374 repeals DeWine's since expired executive order requiring bars and restaurants to stop serving alcohol after 10 p.m, Senate Bill 31 requires written approval from contract-tracing participants for contact tracing, and Senate Bill 375 would void a DeWine administration coronavirus order closing county fairs except for junior fair activities.
Clevelandurbannews.com and Kathywraycolemanonlinenewsblog.com, the most read Black digital newspaper and blog in Ohio and in the Midwest, and the most read independent digital news sites in Ohio. Tel: (216) 659-0473. Email: editor@clevelandurbannews.com. We interviewed former president Barack Obama one-on-one when he was campaigning for president. As to the Obama interview. CLICK HERE TO READ THE ENTIRE ARTICLE AT CLEVELAND URBAN NEWS.COM, OHIO'S LEADER IN BLACK DIGITAL NEWS.
Last Updated on Saturday, 05 December 2020 15:11
Cleveland Heights-University Heights teachers avert strike by reaching a tentative agreement with the Board of Education....In other news the city of Cleveland has exceeded 12,000 coronavirus cases-Clevelandurbannews.com/Kathywraycolemanonlinenewsblog.com
- 03 December 2020
- Kathy
CLEVELAND HEIGHTS, Ohio –The Cleveland-Heights University-Heights teachers strike was averted after the district and the teachers union on Wednesday morning reached a tentative agreement following overnight negotiations, a press release from the Cleveland Heights Union says.
Both Cleveland Heights and University Heights are middle class suburbs of Cleveland.
The school district has an enrollment of some 1,650 students and is roughly 36 percent Black.
Five-hundred district educators, also including school nurses and guidance counselors, were prepared to begin striking Wednesday morning had the agreement not been reached.
If a majority of union members vote in favor of the tentative agreement it will then be handed to the Board of Education for likely approval.
According to the press release, some members of the union arrived Wednesday morning to picket outside district buildings not realizing that an agreement had been reached just an hour and a half before.
Union officials said the agreement includes “important compromises for the good of our students and community.”
The district's 4.8 mill operating levy passed by 65 percent on Nov. 3
The critical point in negotiations that caused the since averted strike was healthcare benefits.
The district was hellbent on increasing the share of the premium paid by employees from 6% to 15% and adding co pays and deductibles to the healthcare plan.
The tentative agreement between the parties to the collective bargaining agreement at issue, namely the board of education and the teachers union, comes as the coronavirus pandemic sweeps the world and the country.
Some 274,000 people in America have died from the deadly virus since it ht the U.S. with a vengeance in early March and as the country awaits emergency use approval of a COVID-19 vaccine by the Food and Drug Administration.
The city of Cleveland, which borders the suburb of Cleveland Heights, announced Wednesday that the city has exceeded some 12,000 confirmed coronavirus cases, and that 158 people have died from the disease since March.
Cuyahoga County, a 29 percent Black county that includes Cleveland and several of its neighboring suburbs like Cleveland Heights and University Heights, has reported some 43,000 cases and 771 deaths.
City of Cleveland and Cuyahoga County stay-at-home advisories remain in place until Dec 17, as well as a 10 pm-5 am curfew order by Gov. Mike DeWine that is set to expire on Dec. 10.
Ohio accounts for 438, 000 cases and 6,671 deaths.
Worldwide, over 64 million people have been infected with the virus.
Clevelandurbannews.com and Kathywraycolemanonlinenewsblog.com, the most read Black digital newspaper and blog in Ohio and in the Midwest, and the most read independent digital news sites in Ohio. Tel: (216) 659-0473. Email: editor@clevelandurbannews.com. We interviewed former president Barack Obama one-on-one when he was campaigning for president. As to the Obama interview. CLICK HERE TO READ THE ENTIRE ARTICLE AT CLEVELAND URBAN NEWS.COM, OHIO'S LEADER IN BLACK DIGITAL NEWS.
Last Updated on Thursday, 03 December 2020 13:28
U.S. Rep. Marcia Fudge introduces bill as to Cleveland and other police shooting rubber bullets at peaceful protesters and the health impact behind the practice, and in response to the George Floyd riots in Cleveland where a protester lost an eye
- 02 December 2020
- Kathy
Clevelandurbannews.com and Kathywraycolemanonlinenewsblog.com, the most read Black digital newspaper and blog in Ohio and in the Midwest, and the most read independent digital news sites in Ohio. Tel: (216) 659-0473. Email: editor@clevelandurbannews.com. We interviewed former president Barack Obama one-on-one when he was campaigning for president. As to the Obama interview. CLICK HERE TO READ THE ENTIRE ARTICLE AT CLEVELAND URBAN NEWS.COM, OHIO'S LEADER IN BLACK DIGITAL NEWS.
WASHINGTON, D.C –U.S. Rep Marcia L. Fudge (OH-11), a Warrensville Heights, Ohio Democrat whose largely Black 11th congressional district includes Cleveland, has introduced the Analyzing Kinetic Impact Projectiles (KIPs) Against Americans Act.
The bill directs the Department of Health and Human Services to study the health impacts of KIPs in the United States, including rubber or plastic bullets, bean bag rounds, sponge rounds, pellet rounds, or wooden dowels.
A peaceful protester who attended a George Floyd protest in the downtown area of the city of Cleveland in May where riots ultimately broke out, was shot in the face with a bean bag of lead pellets, causing the individual to lose an eye, the impetus, in part, behind the recently introduced bill, which is currently in committee.
“Rubber and plastic bullets are hardly an alternative to lethal force when people continue to sustain life-threatening injuries,” said Rep. Fudge. “It is time we take a closer look at the use of KIPs and the frequency and types of associated injuries."
Cleveland's protest was one of many held across the country behind the police killing of Floyd, so many of them plagued with aggressive and sometimes violent police behavior directed against innocent protesters.
KIPs are often used by law enforcement for crowd control purposes, but their use has led to countless serious bodily injuries.
To date, there has yet to be a federal comprehensive review of the short and long-term health effects of the use of KIPs, particularly when used against civilians.
Also a former chair of the Congressional Black Caucus and a finalist to be considered for recommendation for the position of Agriculture secretary with the administration of President-elect Joe Biden, Fudge said that the "Analyzing KIPs Against Americans Act will provide Congress with the information to implement government-wide policies on the correct use, if any, of KIPs while ensuring the safety of our neighbors.”
Original cosponsors for the bill include Reps. Alma Adams (NC-12), Karen Bass (CA-37), Joyce Beatty (OH-03), Earl Blumenauer (OR-03) Anthony Brown (MD-04), Katherine Clark (MA-05), Wm. Lacy Clay (MO-01), Dwight Evans (PA-03), Alcee L. Hastings (FL-20), Sheila Jackson Lee (TX-18), Barbara Lee (CA-13), Eleanor Holmes Norton (DC), and Frederica Wilson (FL-24).
The proposed federal legislation is endorsed by the American Academy of Ophthalmology.
“We view this issue not through a political lens, but through our commitment to saving vision,” said Michael X. Repka, MD, MBA, American Academy of Ophthalmology Medical Director for Governmental Affairs. “About 30 people suffered serious eye injuries after being struck in the face by rubber bullets and other kinetic impact projectiles (KIPs) during last summer’s demonstrations."
Repka said that one-third of the people injured suffered complete loss of vision, the federal lawmakers said, adding that the legislation is an important component of efforts to develop recommendations on the appropriate use, if any, of KIPs as a means of crowd management in the future.
Congresswoman Fudge said that Americans should have the right to speak and congregate publicly and should be able to exercise that right without the fear of blindness.
For the text of the Analyzing KIPs Against Americans Act click here.
Last Updated on Monday, 14 December 2020 06:25
Barack Obama's new book "A Promised Land" sells 1.7 million copies in its first week, breaking a record....Obama is America's first Black president....By Clevelandurbannews.com and Kathywraycolemanonlinenewsblog.com
- 29 November 2020
- Kathy
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CLEVELAND, Ohio-Released on Nov. 17, “A Promised Land” is former Democratic president Barack Obama’s latest book and it’s already topping best seller lists, selling a record breaking 1.7 million copies its first week on the shelves.
The popular book, which is the first of a two volume series on the memoirs of the former president since he left the White House in January of 2017, sold a whopping 887,000 copies in its first 24 hours after its release, and tops the 725,000 copies sold on day one of former first lady Michelle Obama's 2018 best selling memoir, “Becoming.”
America's first Black president, and its 44th president, Obama was elected via a historical election in 2008 and won reelection four years later.
Previous Obama books include “The Audacity of Hope,” “Dreams from My Father” and a children’s book titled “Of Thee I Sing.”
A trained ivy league lawyer like his wife Michelle, who was once his boss, Obama was a community organizer on Chicago's largely Black south side before he won a seat in the Illinois senate.
He later won a U.S. Senate seat.
He was a junior U.S. senator when he upset Hillary Clinton in 2008 to win the Democratic nomination for president with Blacks across the country voting in droves, and he carried that momentum into the general election to beat Republican John McCain, a seasoned and respected member of Congress, and a senator from Arizona.
The two later became friends, Obama delivering the eulogy at McCain's funeral in 2018.
In winning reelection to the presidency in 2012 Obama beat Republican Mitt Romney, a former Massachusetts governor and now a U.S. senator himself.
During his eight years as president the economy gained a net 11.6 million jobs and unemployment dropped to below the historical norm.
His administration also expanded access to federal contracting to minority-owned businesses, reduced racial and ethic health disparities, and reinvigorated the office of Civil Rights at the Department of Education, which fail under attack when he left office.
A 2009 recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize, Obama signed many landmark bills into law, including his signature Affordable Care Act (commonly referred to as ACA or "Obamacare"), the Dodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, and the Don't Ask, Don't Tell Repeal Act of 2010.
He fought to protect women's reproductive rights, and Civil and Human Rights while up against a Republican-dominated U.S. Senate.
The now defunct Iran Nuclear Deal, a joint comprehensive plan relative to Iran's nuclear program, came about under Obama, who also appointed two of the nine U.S. Supreme Court justices, Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan.
Same sex marriage became federal law under his tenure as president, as did the Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors Act (DREAM Act), and so many more policy initiatives that together made life better for America's middle class, and its marginalized and underrepresented groups.
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Last Updated on Tuesday, 01 December 2020 11:50
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