ArklatexPolitics.com

Posted 13 hours 42 minutes 11 seconds ago
Posted In: Home, Arkansas

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) -- An Arkansas congressman says a bill
he's offering would reduce health-care costs so that insurance
coverage would be cheaper and thus available to millions more
Americans.
Congressman Marion Berry said Thursday his measure would also
cut the costs of the federal government's Medicare and Medicaid
programs.
The Democrat who represents the 1st District in east Arkansas
said he was offering his measure as an alternative to the bill
being promoted by President Obama. He said that bill's
anti-abortion provisions aren't strong enough.
Berry said his measure would not require health-insurance
coverage to be offered or provided to any more people, but would
make that more likely as costs go down.

Posted 13 hours 44 minutes 50 seconds ago
Posted In: Home, Arkansas

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) -- Arkansas officials are launching a new
campaign encouraging people to keep track of what's in their
medicine cabinets in the hopes of combating prescription drug
abuse.
The "Monitor, Secure, Dispose" campaign asks people to keep
track of how many pills they have, secure medications in a safe
place and safely dispose of unneeded and expired medications.
Attorney General Dustin McDaniel says the state has warned teens
about the dangers of underage drinking and illegal drug abuse, and
now it's time to focus on pharmaceuticals.
McDaniel says the campaign will also include town-hall meetings
to educate parents, teachers and others about the dangers of
prescription drugs.

Posted 13 hours 46 minutes 47 seconds ago
Posted In: Home, Texas

FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) -- The state's environmental agency is
taking steps to hold gas drilling companies more accountable in
Texas.
The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality says it is hiring
six new inspectors for the Dallas-Fort Worth area. It's part of the
two-dozen-county area atop the Barnett Shale, one of the nation's
biggest natural gas fields.
The agency has implemented new standardized protocols for
inspection and enforcement, instead of relying on gas companies to
voluntarily repair problems. The agency says it's received about
150 complaints or inspection requests from residents since
December.
State Sen. Wendy Davis announced the measures Friday. She says
the agency doesn't know the locations of all gas drilling equipment
in Texas -- but is starting to compile an inventory.

Posted 13 hours 49 minutes 17 seconds ago
Posted In: Home, Texas

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) -- The Texas State Board of Education agreed
to new social studies standards on Friday after the far-right
faction wielded its power to shape the lessons that will be taught
to millions of students on American history, the U.S. free
enterprise system, religion and other topics.
In a vote of 10-5, the board preliminarily adopted the new
curriculum after days of charged debate marked by race and
politics. In dozens of smaller votes passed over the three days,
the ultra-conservatives who dominate the board nixed all but a few
efforts to recognize the diversity of race and religion in Texas.
Decisions by the board -- long led by the social conservatives
who have advocated ideas such as teaching more about the weaknesses
of evolutionary theory -- affects textbook content nationwide
because Texas is one of publishers' biggest clients.

Posted 13 hours 53 minutes 12 seconds ago
Posted In: Home, Louisiana

NEW ORLEANS (AP) -- U.S. Sen. David Vitter is pushing an
amendment that he says would get the funds from a coastal
restoration program moving faster to states trying to fix damage
from oil drilling.
Vitter wants funds from the Coastal Impact Assistance Program to
get spent faster. He thinks the process has become too cumbersome.
According to Vitter, the program, known as CIAP (pronounced
See-Ap), was designed to have $1 billion spent by the end of 2010,
but only about 15 percent of that amount has been awarded.
He says a lengthy review process has resulted in long delays.
So, Vitter wants that review process to be streamlined. CIAP was
established by the 2005 Energy Policy Act and the money goes to
states where oil is drilled off their shores. The money is meant to
mitigate drilling damage.

Posted 13 hours 56 minutes 34 seconds ago
Posted In: Home, Louisiana

SHREVEPORT, La. (AP) -- A state lawmaker from Shreveport begins
walking to Baton Rouge on Saturday, a 226-mile journey he's doing
for the third year in a row.
Rep. Patrick Williams says he walks to promote public awareness
of the problems tied to childhood obesity and autism.
Williams, a Democrat, leaves from the LSU-Shreveport campus and
plans to arrive at the state Capitol on or before the March 29
start of the legislative session.
Last year, he finished the journey in less than two weeks,
walking up to 15 hours a day.
Daily updates about the walk will be posted on the Web site for
the Governor's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports, at
www.lightenuplouisiana.org.

Posted 13 hours 59 minutes 10 seconds ago
Posted In: Home, National

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Advocacy groups say President Barack Obama has
assured them that he remains committed to a comprehensive overhaul
of U.S. immigration laws. But what can be accomplished on the issue
this year remains unclear.
At the White House on Thursday, the president spent more than an
hour discussing his promise to rewrite U.S. immigration laws. He
was to meet later Thursday with New York Sen. Chuck Schumer, a
Democrat, and South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham, a Republican. The
lawmakers are drafting a bill on the issue.
Obama had promised to tackle the immigration issue in his first
year in office. That hasn't happened, and advocates are growing
restless. The groups are bringing tens of thousands of people from
around the country to Washington for a demonstration on March 21.

Posted 14 hours 50 seconds ago
Posted In: Home, National

WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Barack Obama is delaying his trip to
Asia next week to focus on his big push on health care.
A senior administration official tells The Associated Press that
Obama now plans to leave Washington on March 21 and return March
26. The original dates were March 18 to March 24. The official
spoke on condition of anonymity because the White House hasn't
announced the delay.
The president will visit the same countries as planned --
Indonesia, Guam and Australia. The trip was scheduled to coincide
with his daughters' spring vacation from school, but now his family
apparently isn't going.
Word about the delay comes as the White House presses Congress
to pass a health care overhaul. Obama's top priority has sputtered
and the administration is trying to save it after a year of
contentious debate.

Posted 14 hours 2 minutes 28 seconds ago
Posted In: Home, National

WASHINGTON (AP) -- House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is voicing fresh
confidence there are enough votes to pass sweeping health care
legislation, saying lawmakers are "one day closer" to a historic
achievement.
Summing up intense work to get the measure through Congress,
Pelosi told reporters on Capitol Hill she felt "very exhilarated"
by the tone of conversation in a caucus of Democrats Friday
morning. She said, "We stand ready to stay as long as necessary"
to finish the bill, which has been heavily debated for well over a
year.
The California Democrat also said she was pleased that President
Barack Obama had put off a scheduled trip to Asia to help see the
bill through. Pelosi also predicted that "it won't be very long
and we'll be making a real difference in the life of the American
people."

Posted 14 hours 3 minutes 43 seconds ago
Posted In: Home, National

WASHINGTON (AP) -- A Republican senator whom Barack Obama once
tried to make his secretary of commerce will be among the members
of Congress to serve on the president's deficit commission.
Judd Gregg of New Hampshire was among a half-dozen lawmakers
named by Republican congressional leaders to serve on the 18-member
panel that is supposed to help rein in ballooning federal deficits.
Friday's announcement made it clear that the lawmakers,
including Sen. Tom Coburn of Oklahoma, who directly challenged
Obama at a recent health care summit, were selected to focus on the
job of cutting spending, not raising taxes. Gregg at first agreed
to join Obama's Cabinet, but then reneged, saying he didn't agree
with the president's stimulus spending policies.