108th Congress

Number: 
108

OIL AND GAS ROYALTY REPORT: "YELLOW LIGHT" FOR FEDS

WASHINGTON, DC - The General Accounting Office (GAO) has determined that the Department of the Interior's pilot oil and gas program allowing the government to take royalties in barrels of oil rather than cash has produced mixed results, according to U.S. Representatives. Nick J. Rahall (D-WV), who serves as the Ranking Democrat on the House Resources Committee which has jurisdiction over oil and gas development on federal lands, and Carolyn Maloney (D-NY).

FDA “MORNING-AFTER PILL” DECISION “DEFIES SCIENCE AND LOGIC,” SAYS REP. MALONEY

WASHINGTON, DC - Late yesterday, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) decided to go against the recommendation of an expert scientific panel and reject over-the-counter (OTC) status for the Plan B contraceptive, the so-called “Morning-After Pill.” In December of last year, the FDA Nonprescription Drugs and Reproductive Health Drugs Advisory Committees endorsed the idea of making Plan B available OTC by a 23-4 vote. Proponents of the OTC status, including Rep. Carolyn Maloney (NY-14) who has been outspoken in her criticism of the FDA, have been concerned that the FDA would bow to political pressure from the right wing.

VETERANS HOSPITALS ANNOUNCEMENT: “IT STARTS US DOWN A PATH TO CLOSING NEW YORK CITY VA HOSPITALS,” SAYS REP. MALONEY

WASHINGTON, DC - The Veterans’ Administration Secretary Anthony Principi today announced a plan for the VA Hospital system, which includes studying the feasibility of moving in-patient services out of the Manhattan VA Hospital to Brooklyn, and/or the feasibility of moving Brooklyn VA Hospital services to Manhattan. This follows the report of the VA’s CARES Commission, which included the same recommendation. Rep. Carolyn Maloney (NY-14), whose district includes the Manhattan hospital and has stood with New York veterans in opposition to a reduction of services, said the following:

HELPING OIL COMPANIES OVER TAXPAYERS? CHANGES TO FEDERAL OIL VALUATION RULE DISAPPOINT REP. MALONEY

WASHINGTON, DC - Today, a change in the government’s rule for collecting royalties from oil companies producing oil on federal lands was finalized by the Department of the Interior’s Mineral Management Service (MMS). Rep. Carolyn Maloney (NY-14), who has urged MMS to be cautious with taxpayer money since the rule change was first discussed last year, today reacted with disappointment:

CASTLE, MALONEY BILL TO PUT PRESIDENTS ON DOLLAR COIN FOR 10 YEARS MOVES FORWARD TO FULL COMMITTEE

WASHINGTON, DC - Legislation to put each president on the front of the dollar coin over 10 years and revitalize the golden dollar coin program (HR 3916) passed the House Subcommittee on Domestic and International Monetary Policy, Trade and Technology today and is now set to go before the full Financial Services Committee. Rep. Carolyn Maloney (NY-14), who introduced the legislation along with Rep. Mike Castle (DE), is the Subcommittee’s Ranking Democrat.

RICHARD CLARKE’S 2002 TESTIMONY STILL NOT DECLASSIFIED AFTER A MONTH: “WHAT’S THE HOLD UP?”

WASHINGTON, DC - A month ago, as former White House Counterterrorism Czar Richard Clarke testified before the commission investigating the 9/11 attacks, Republicans went on the offensive by attacking his credibility and saying that he told an entirely different story in classified testimony before Congress in 2002. Republican leaders called for the declassification of that testimony, and House Intelligence Committee Chairman Porter Goss said he began the process for declassification. The testimony has yet to be made public, and Republicans, who were up in arms in March, no longer talk about Clarke’s testimony.

KAREN HUGHES COMPARES PRO-CHOICE AMERICANS TO TERRORISTS; CONGRESSIONAL PRO-CHOICE MARCHERS ASK BUSH FOR APOLOGY

WASHINGTON, DC - As over a million demonstrators exercised their right to free speech in a march on Washington Sunday, top Bush aide Karen Hughes was live on CNN comparing pro-choice Americans to terrorists. Rep Carolyn Maloney (NY-14), a staunch pro-choice Member of Congress who spoke at yesterday’s March for Women’s Lives, along with seven other Members of Congress who appeared on stage during the march, today sent a letter to President Bush calling for an apology for Hughes’s statement (PDF of letter).

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