George Wenschhof
Stem Cell Research Banned by Judge's ruling - in a ruling yesterday, U.S. District Court Judge Royce Lamberth issued a temporary ban on federal funding of stem cell research. Politico.com has more here.
In effect, it says the executive order expanding federal funding for research on embryonic stem cells signed by President Obama last year violates the intent of the Dickey-Wicker amendment approved by Congress in 1996.
Expect the government to appeal to a higher court.
This decision could easily be ratcheted up and made a campaign issue in the upcoming mid term elections.
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Today, Vice President Joe Biden will give an update on the "787 billion Stimulus" bill - he will be joined by Energy Secretary Steve Chu and will talk about investments in science and technology. Politico.com has more here.
The Obama administration attempted to highlight the success of the bill with planned announcements across the country entitled "Recovery Summer". Unfortunately, the planned effort to highlight the successes of the bill has fallen flat as unemployment has remained steady at 9.5%.
In addition to the lack of a jobs program, the Stimulus bill was so varied and diverse, the resulting effects of reduced spending on a particular area of the economy has had little positive outcome.
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House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) to call for Firing of Obama's Economic Team - Budget Director Peter Orzag already saw the handwriting on the wall and left as has Christina Romer.
Boehner, citing continued high unemployment, will call for the ouster of Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner and White House Economic Adviser Larry Summers today at a speech in Cleveland, Ohio. The Washington Post has more here.
Democrats are already responding to the planned speech saying the Republicans will continue to criticize but offer no solutions. TheHill.com has more here.
The main reason Democrats remain competitive going into the mid term elections is the fact the Republican leadership of Senate Majority leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and House Minority leader John Boehner is so weak and ineffective.
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O'Malley widens lead against Ehrlich in latest poll - in a OpinionWorks survey released today by Center Maryland Maryland Democratic Governor Martin O'Malley leads former Governor Robert Ehrlich 47% to 41%.
In the Republican primary newcomer Brian Murphy, in spite of an endorsement from Sarah Palin, is only receiving 15% with Ehrlich receiving 75%.
However, the Baltimore Sun points out that many of the owners of the company conducting the polling have contributed to Democrats. In addition, two of the founding members; Steve Kearney was former communications director for O'Malley and Damian O'Doherty was a former aide to Baltimore County Executive James Smith. The Baltimore Sun has more here.
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Shirley Sherrod to Meet with Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today - Ms. Sherrod was forced to resign after portions of a speech racist she had previously given which made her appear racist appeared on a conservative Blog. Subsequent airings of the entire speech proved the opposite. MSNBC.com has more here.
Let's see what job she is offered and whether she accepts.
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Former President Jimmy Carter heads to North Korea to help win release of American - Aijalon Mahli Gomes was recently sentenced to 8 years of hard labor for illegally entering the country.
Former President Bill Clinton was successful, less than a year ago, in gaining the release of two women journalists who had been jailed for illegal entry into N. Korea.
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Tuesday, August 24, 2010
Daily Political Wire 8-24-2010
Sunday, February 8, 2009
Change We Need: Peanut Contamination Demonstrates Need for Oversight Overhaul
Salmonella contamination isn't the only problem that has plagued Peanut Corp. In 2001, FDA inspectors discovered that some food products potentially were exposed to insecticides. Inspectors found dead insects near peanuts, holes in the plant large enough for rodents to enter, dirty duct tape on broken equipment and discovered that the plant used an insecticide fogger in food processing areas without washing the exposed food processing equipment. Yuck. If this weren't bad enough, various USDA "contract auditors" had been making visits to the plant and knew about the insecticide fogger and approved of the use of duct tape on broken equipment.
What did the FDA do in response? Nothing. They allowed Peanut Corp. to fix the problems on their own because there was no direct evidence that finished food products were being contaminated.
These food contamination issues at Peanut Corp. demonstrate two main problems with U.S. food safety: (1) food regulation is inefficiently split between the FDA and USDA, leaving regulatory gaps; and (2) food "regulation" is often more guidance and less actual regulation.
Luckily, the change in administration will likely bring a change in food safety policy and regulation. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said this week that he supports merging the nation's food safety system into one agency. This is a great first step. But if a new, centralized agency continues to favor voluntary compliance and remediation, how can we be guaranteed that food manufacturers are following the rules? A lot hinges on the staffers and leaders who will be working in any new combined agency.
Under the Bush administration, the USDA was run by former lobbyists for factory farmers and large food producers, as well as leaders from the "big food" industry itself. (The current Deputy Secretary of Agriculture is the former president of the Corn Refiners Association and the Chief of Staff is the former chief lobbyist for the National Cattelmen's Beef Association). If Secretary Vilsack ushers in a group of staffers who are committed to ensuring the safety of our nation's food supply rather than beholden to any special interest, then hopefully our food policy finally will evolve to put the American consumer first. I just hope that it doesn't take yet another major food contamination to spark the change we need.
