Press release issued 7/ 9/ 19
Senator Murray: “This is an appalling example of what happens when powerful men protect one another and allow cycles of abuse to continue without any consequences”
(Washington, D.C.) – Today, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), top Democrat on the Senate labor committee, issued the statement below following Jeffrey Epstein’s federal indictment on sex trafficking and conspiracy charges. In 2007, Secretary Acosta, then the U.S. Attorney in Florida, allowed Epstein to avoid federal prosecution for sex trafficking charges involving dozens of underage victims, and a federal judge recently ruled that prosecutors in Acosta’s office violated the law by failing to notify Epstein’s victims of a non-prosecution agreement.
“Secretary Acosta's role in protecting Jeffrey Epstein and denying survivors justice is one of the many reasons why I opposed his nomination in the first place. As more information continues to shine a needed spotlight on the 'deal of a lifetime' that Acosta helped negotiate for a child sex predator, it's clear it is time for him to step aside.
"This is an appalling example of what happens when powerful men protect one another and allow cycles of abuse to continue without any consequences. All those involved should be held fully accountable for the pain they have caused."
AG FERGUSON STATEMENT AHEAD OF AFFORDABLE CARE ACT ORAL ARGUMENT
WASH. AG press release issued 7/ 8/ 19
SEATTLE — Attorney General Bob Ferguson offers the following statement ahead of Tuesday’s oral argument defending the Affordable Care Act (ACA):
“A group of Republican attorneys general are seeking to eliminate the Affordable Care Act without any replacement — and the Trump Administration callously refused to defend the law, threatening the health care of millions. Without the Affordable Care Act, hundreds of thousands of hardworking Washingtonians will lose access to affordable health care coverage, and many more will face devastating cost increases. That’s why Washington and a multistate coalition have stepped up to defend the Affordable Care Act. We’ll continue fighting to protect Washingtonians’ access to affordable health care all the way to the United States Supreme Court.”
Oral argument in Texas v. United States starts at 11 a.m. Pacific in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, in New Orleans.
A multistate coalition including Washington is appealing the decision of a federal district court judge in Texas declaring the ACA invalid, including its guarantee of coverage for those with preexisting conditions.
Republican Attorneys General, led by Texas, filed the challenge to the ACA in February 2018 in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas. Those states argue that, because Congress zeroed out the tax penalty used as enforcement of the individual mandate in December 2017, the entire ACA is unconstitutional.
In a brief filed in June 2018, the Trump Administration declared that it would not defend the ACA against the challenge by the Republican Attorneys General. In a letter to Congressional leaders, then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions said the decision not to defend the ACA was made “with the approval of the President of the United States.”
Because of the Administration’s decision, Ferguson, 15 states and the District of Columbia filed a motion to intervene in the case on the side of the federal government to defend the ACA. This is not one of Ferguson’s 40 lawsuits against the Trump Administration. Twenty states and the District of Columbia now comprise the multistate coalition.
More than 800,000 Washingtonians depend on the ACA for their health care. Since the ACA went into effect, Washington’s uninsured rate dropped by 60 percent, and now fewer than 6 percent of Washingtonians are without health insurance.
If the ACA is eliminated, Washingtonians would lose an average of $295 per month in federal premium subsidies, and more than 600,000 people enrolled in Apple Health as part of the ACA’s Medicaid expansion would lose coverage. Insurers would once again be allowed to discriminate based on medical history, and patients would again be subject to annual and lifetime limits to their health benefits.
Ferguson has defended the ACA on multiple occasions, including defending against a previous challenge to the law by the U.S. House of Representatives, and filing a lawsuit to ensure critical funding would continue. Ferguson also filed two “friend of the court” briefs in cases challenging tax credits for low- and middle-income people buying health insurance (Halbig v. Burwell and King v. Burwell).
Following Hearing on Amtrak, Cantwell Calls for Analysis of Gaps in Positive Train Control Implementation
Press release issued 7/ 8/ 19
WASHINGTON, D.C. – After pushing rail officials to make safety a top priority at a Senate hearing last month, U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA), the Ranking Member of the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee, sent a letter to the Federal Railroad Administration on the implementation of Positive Train Control (PTC) technology for rail safety and what measures FRA requires in areas where Amtrak operates without PTC.
“I am writing to seek more information about how the Federal Railroad Administration (“FRA”) ensures the safety of intercity passenger rail service on over 1,400 miles of track where Positive Train Control (“PTC”) safety technology is not implemented,” Cantwell wrote in her letter to FRA Administrator Ron Batory.
Last month, an investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board found that, had PTC been deployed, it could have prevented the fatal 2017 derailment of Amtrak 501 near DuPont, WA.
“While taking the train is generally a safe way to travel, in December 2017 tragedy struck near DuPont, Washington when the Amtrak Cascades 401 derailed and fell onto the highway below, claiming three lives and injuring 65 people. The National Transportation Safety Board found that PTC would have prevented this tragedy,” Cantwell wrote.
“Since the development of PTC technology nearly 50 years ago, there have been more than 150 accidents that this lifesaving technology could have prevented,” Cantwell continued. “At a recent Senate hearing, witnesses representing Amtrak and the NTSB expressed concerns about ensuring intercity passenger rail safety where PTC is not installed.”
Cantwell’s letter also seeks information from FRA on additional rail safety measures the agency requires for areas where Amtrak operates without PTC technology, including requirements for crewmember training, speed limit action plans, and other operational risk mitigations.
In her role on the Commerce Committee, Cantwell has been a consistent advocate for increasing accountability and investment in rail safety in the United States. In July of 2015, as the Senate considered the DRIVE Act, Senator Cantwell expressed concern that the bill would delay PTC implementation and roll back safety protections. In December of 2017, Cantwell joined her Senate colleagues from the Pacific Northwest to demand railroads be held accountable for PTC implementation. In January 2018, Cantwell led members of the Washington Congressional delegation in calling for a comprehensive update from the Federal Railroad Administration on the nationwide implementation of PTC. And in March 2018, after calling for a hearing in the wake of the DuPont derailment, Cantwell pressed Amtrak CEO Richard Anderson on rail safety and PTC implementation.
***************************
WORLD NEWS HEADLINES
****************************
Terrorism ‘spreading and destabilizing’ entire regions, Guterres warns States, at key Kenya conference
“Trauma from terrorism” hurts families, communities and destabilizes entire regions, UN Secretary-General António Guterres said on Wednesday, as he expressed solidarity with victims of extremist attacks in Africa.
UN experts voice ‘deep concern’ over Iran’s ‘consistent pattern’ of denying life-saving medical treatment to detainees
Despite repeated calls, Iran continues to deny medical treatment to detainees in what amounts to “a consistent pattern”, according to eight UN human rights experts, in a statement on Wednesday.
Now is the time to seize ‘unprecedented opportunity’ of the Sustainable Development Forum, says ECOSOC President
Nations across the world now have an “unprecedented opportunity to talk to each other and learn from each other”, Inga Rhonda King, President of the UN Economic and Social Council (ESOSOC), said on Tuesday, kicking off the annual High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF) in New York.
Threat from petty criminals who turn to terrorism, a growing concern, Security Council hears
The less predictable threats represented by small-time criminals who have opportunistically embraced terrorism, are a source of growing concern, the UN Security Council heard on Tuesday. That warning came from Tamara Makarenko, an International Consultant, who works with the UN Interregional Crime and Justice Research Institute (UNICRI), speaking at an open debate on threats to international peace and security.
Groundbreaking cancer-fighting drugs now included in updated UN list of essential medicines
The UN health agency, WHO, announced on Tuesday that dozens of new drugs have been added to the list of essential medicines that every country should have, including new cancer treatments that can be swallowed rather than injected.
***************************
IN THIS WEEK'S EDITION
*******************************
PAGE 2
Senator Murray Announces Major Federal Investment in Federal Way Link Expansion
PAGE 3
Senator Murray Slams Republicans for Bringing Partisan Lawsuit to Strip Families of Health Care, Scrap Patient Protections, and Drive Up Costs for Millions
PAGE 4
New York Anesthesiologist Indicted for Alleged Role in Telemedicine Health Care Fraud Conspiracy
PAGE 5
National Taxpayer Advocate Nina Olson releases comprehensive report intended to improve EITC administration; publishes "subway map" of taxpayer’s journey through the tax system.
PAGE 6
Cantwell, Colleagues Request Feedback from American Indian, Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian Community Leaders on the Effects of Climate Change on Native Communities
PAGE 7
Outraged by Worsening Crisis at Southern U.S. Border, Senator Murray Outlines New Legislation to End Cruel Treatment of Migrant Children in Government Custody
PAGE 8
COMMENTARY
THE UN-AMERICAN WOMEN SOCCER TEAM WINS WORLD CUP.
