News Release

GAS TO COST HOUSEHOLDS $2,300 MORE THIS YEAR THAN IN 2001

Toby Chaudhuri — Thu, 22 May 2008 09:00:00 -0400

WASHINGTON – Faced with gas prices nearing $4 per gallon and the heavy summer driving months ahead, households are expected to spend $2,300 more on gas this year than seven years ago, according to a new report released today by the Campaign for America’s Future.

Campaign for America’s Future co-director Robert Borosage said that the all-time high in gas prices shouldn’t surprise anyone because big oil companies wrote President Bush’s energy policy and the war in Iraq has driven up prices around the world.

“For seven years, Bush’s policies have completely failed to protect our nation’s energy security,” said Borosage. “While oil company profits are the highest in history, people across the country are paying the price at the pump. With everyday costs on the rise, Americans are under the most economic pressure in recent history.”

The report also provides state-specific evidence that the economy is in dire straits and that American families are hurting. It provides detailed information about state job losses and stagnant wages, and shows energy, health care and college tuition costs on the rise. States experiencing the most economic difficulties are Michigan, North Carolina, Ohio, Maine and Tennessee.

# # #

**NOTE: An electronic copy of the report is available at www.ourfuture.org.**

GAS PRICE INCREASE
BACKGROUND

The annualized cost of gasoline per household is computed by multiplying three figures.

--The average number of vehicles per household in both 2001 and 2008: 1.9
[Source: U.S. Dept. of Energy, Energy Information Admin., Transportation Energy Consumption Surveys]

--The average number of gallons consumed in a year: 573 in 2001 and 597 in 2008
[Source: U.S. Dept. of Transportation, Federal Highway Admin., Annual Vehicle Distance Traveled in Miles and Related Data.]

--The average price per gallon: $1.47 for 2001 (which is $1.78 adjusted to today’s dollar) and $3.80 today
[Source: Oil Price Information Service in cooperation with Wright Express, distributed by AAA.]

In 2001, (1.9 vehicles) x (573 gallons per vehicle) x ($1.47 per gallon) = $1,600.39

2001 adjusted for inflation, (1.9 vehicles) x (573 gallons per vehicle) x ($1.78 per gallon)= $1,937.89

In 2008, (1.9 vehicles) x (597 gallons per vehicle) x ($3.80 per gallon) = $4,310.34

Difference from 2001 to 2008 = $2,709.95

Difference from 2001 to 2008 adjusted for inflation = $2,372.45

In sum, “more than $2,300” is a very conservative figure.

ECONOMIC INSECURITY REPORT
STATE-SPECIFIC BACKGROUND

--MICHIGAN: Michigan’s number one ranking in economic pressures reveals America’s shrinking industrial base. The state has high unemployment and the largest decline per capita in both manufacturing jobs and construction jobs.

--NORTH CAROLINA: North Carolina’s high ranking also stems from a decline in industry. It has the fourth highest decrease in goods-producing jobs and third highest decrease in manufacturing since 2000. North Carolinians also suffer problems with health care coverage. Thirteen percent fewer people in North Carolina got health care through their employers in 2006 than in 2000 and nine percent spend more than a quarter of their income on health care.

--OHIO: Ohio’s ranking is the result of low wages and high costs. Wages increased only two percent since 2000, and more than one in ten construction jobs has been lost. Public college tuition in Ohio has increased by more than 62 percent over the same period. A year of state college now costs 20 percent of a median Ohio family’s income.

More state-specific data is available at www.ourfuture.org.

McCAIN WOULD DRIVE UP HEALTH CARE COSTS FOR FAMILIES, WHILE BENEFITING HEALTH INSURANCE COMPANIES

Toby Chaudhuri — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 13:00:00 -0400

WASHINGTON – Sen. John McCain’s health care plan would dismantle the employer-provided system that covers more than 60 percent of non-elderly Americans and drive up health care costs, according to experts responding to the announcement of his proposal today. An average family could see their health care costs as much as double under the McCain health care plan, according to an analysis by the Campaign for America’s Future.

Campaign for America’s Future co-director Roger Hickey, one of the leaders of a new coalition of groups working to fix the broken health care system, said that Sen. McCain’s plan would tax the health care premiums employers pay for their workers, encouraging most companies to stop providing any coverage. Hickey noted that instead of lowering costs, this would force millions of Americans to buy more expensive coverage with inadequate tax credits, greatly increasing the number of families who can’t afford quality care.

“John McCain’s plan must’ve been written by the insurance companies. It leaves them in more control of America’s health care system than ever before,” said Hickey. “John McCain wants us all to buy insurance not as part of a group – like an employee group or a co-op – that can negotiate for better coverage at lower premiums, but as individuals, at the mercy of the private insurance companies. It would leave millions of people with worse coverage, more chronic health problems and higher levels of health cost-driven bankruptcies.”

Most people, even those with good insurance, don’t get the health care they need, contributing to rising health costs. Sen. McCain, however, believes that the problem with health care is that Americans have too much insurance and that if consumers pay for it out of their own pockets, they will in turn force hospitals and insurance companies to become more efficient.

Dr. Jacob Hacker, a professor at Yale University and the author of the “Health Care for America” plan, which Sens. Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton and John Edwards used as the basis for their health care proposals, disagrees with McCain’s fundamental premise. Hacker said the real problem is rising health care costs and declining coverage.

“McCain’s proposal doesn’t address either of these problems in a serious way,” said Hacker. “The real problem for most Americans isn’t just less coverage. It’s that they risk losing coverage or they can’t get coverage when they’re unhealthy, particularly in the individual market. McCain’s proposal does nothing to provide that kind of broader health security.”

AFL-CIO political director Karen Ackerman joined Hickey and Hacker on a conference call with reporters today and announced details of a new campaign to explain the devastating effects of Sen. McCain’s health care plan to millions of voters nationwide. The AFL-CIO campaign will include a massive national canvass to 200,000 union households on Saturday, May 17.

“While those with pre-existing conditions simply will have an even harder time finding health care than they do now, insurance companies -- and John McCain’s friends who lobby for them -- stand to make a killing,” said Ackerman. “Working families need a fresh vision and new direction to turn around our country. So far, Sen. McCain has provided neither. We’re working hard to make sure Sen. McCain hears the voices of working families.”

In early March, the AFL-CIO launched a major effort to educate voters about Sen. McCain’s economic record and plans, pressuring him at every campaign event he holds, including this week’s health care events in Florida, Pennsylvania, Iowa, Ohio and Colorado. In the coming weeks, the AFL-CIO will focus on 13 million union voters in 23 battleground states, educating them on exactly who stands to benefit from Sen. McCain’s health care proposals, communicating with voters at the worksite, the doorstep, on the phone, through the mail and online.

# # #

HEALTH CARE COSTS BACKGROUND

$11,765	Average premium cost of the most popular employer-based plan last year [Kaiser Family Foundation]
$5,000	Tax credit for a family under the McCain plan [johnmccain.com]
$6,765	Average additional yearly cost per family under the McCain plan [Campaign for America’s Future]
$3,226	Average amount per worker employers paid for premiums last year [Kaiser Family Foundation]

State of the Union 2008

Toby Chaudhuri — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 19:22:00 -0500

WASHINGTON -- President Bush is expected to address problems in the nation’s economy while hailing the state of the union as strong tonight, but for Americans worrying about how to make ends meet, the country is headed in the wrong direction, according to numbers compiled today by the Campaign for America’s Future.

ON INCOMES:

-- Median household income in 2000 (inflation-adjusted): $49,158
-- Median household income in 2006: $48,201
-- 8-year increase in median household income in 2001: $6,000
-- 6-year decrease in median household income in 2007: $1,100
[U.S. Census Bureau, 2000 - 2007]

-- Salary of a full-time minimum wage employee without vacation: $12,168
-- Average salary of a CEO of one of America’s top 500 companies: $15.2 million
[Forbes Magazine, May 3, 2007]

-- Number of Americans living in poverty in 2001: 31.6 million
-- Number of Americans living in poverty in 2008: 36.5 million
[U.S. Census Bureau, Aug. 2007]

-- Amount more Americans earned than spent in 2001: +2.3 percent
-- Amount less Americans are earning than spending in 2008: -0.5 percent
[Bureau of Economic Analysis]

-- Total consumer credit debt in 2001: $7.65 trillion
-- Total consumer credit debt in 2008: $12.8 trillion
[Insurance Information Institute]

-- Decrease in median income from 2000-2006 in White American households: $745
-- Decrease in median income from 2000-2006 in African American households: $2,766
-- Decrease in median income from 2000-2006 in Hispanic American households: $1,043
-- Decrease in median income from 2000-2006 in Asian American households: $1,381
[U.S. Census Bureau. Aug. 2007]

-- Median income of African American households in 2006: $31,969
-- Median income of Hispanic American households in 2006: $37,781
-- Median income of White American households in 2006: $50,673
-- Median income of Asian American households in 2006: $63,900
[U.S. Census Bureau. Aug. 2007]

-- African Americans living in poverty in 2006: 24.3 percent
-- Hispanic Americans living in poverty in 2006: 20.6 percent
-- Asian Americans living in poverty in 2006: 10.1 percent
-- White Americans living in poverty in 2006: 8.2 percent
[U.S. Census Bureau. Aug. 2007]

ON HOUSING:

-- Percentage increase in home foreclosures in the last year: 68
[RealtyTrac. Dec. 19, 2007]

ON JOBS:

-- Total number of American manufacturing jobs in 2000: 17,263,000
-- Total number of American manufacturing jobs in 2006: 14,197,000
-- Number of American manufacturing jobs lost between 2000 and 2006: 3,066,000
[Bureau of Labor Statistics]

-- Yearly average number of new private sector jobs created from 1992-2000: 1.76 million
-- Yearly average number of new private sector jobs created from 2001-2008: 369,000
[Bureau of Labor Statistics]

-- Jobless African American workers in Dec. 2007: 9.0 percent
-- Jobless Hispanic American workers in Dec. 2007: 6.3 percent
-- Jobless White American workers in Dec. 2007: 4.4 percent
-- Jobless Asian American workers in Dec. 2007: 3.7 percent
[U.S. Department of Labor Employment Situation Summary, Jan. 4, 2008]

ON ENERGY:

-- Average price of a gallon of home heating oil in Jan. 2000: $1.40
-- Average price of a gallon of home heating oil in Jan. 2008: $3.39
[U.S. Energy Information Administration]

-- Average price of a gallon of gas in Jan. 2000: $1.59
-- Average price of a gallon of gas in Jan. 2008: $3.14
[U.S. Energy Information Administration]

-- Increase in the average price of home heating oil since Jan. 2000: +142 percent
-- Increase in the average price of gas since Jan. 2000: +98 percent

-- Price of a gallon of home heating oil in the winter of 2001-2002 (inflation adjusted): $1.36
-- Projected price of a gallon of home heating oil in the winter of 2007-2008: $3.32
[Energy Administration, Jan. 2008]

-- Amount of U.S. liquid fuel consumption that was imported in 2001: 52.75 percent
-- Amount of U.S. liquid fuel consumption that is imported in 2008: 60.38 percent
[U.S. Energy Information Administration]

-- Exxon Mobil profits in 2000: $7.9 billion
-- Exxon Mobil profits in 2006: $36.1 billion
-- Exxon Mobil’s profit per second during the second quarter of 2006: $1,318
[CNNMoney.com, July 27, 2006; Fortune500 2006]

ON HEALTHCARE:

-- Americans without health insurance in 2000: 38.4 million
-- Americans without health insurance in 2006: 46.9 million
[U.S. Census Bureau, Aug. 2007]

-- Decrease over 2 years in the number of uninsured Americans in 2001: 4.5 million
-- Increase over 6 years in the number of uninsured Americans in 2008: 8.5 million
[U.S. Census Bureau, Aug. 2007]

-- Number of children without health insurance: 8.7 million
-- Number of times President Bush vetoed additional health insurance for children: 2
[U.S. Census Bureau, Aug. 2007]

-- Americans receiving employment-based health insurance in 2000: 64.2 percent
-- Americans receiving employment-based health insurance in 2006: 59.7 percent
[U.S. Census Bureau, Aug. 2007]

-- Annual cost of family health insurance premiums in 2000 (inflation adjusted): $7,643
-- Annual cost of family health insurance premiums in 2006: $11,480
[Kaiser Family Foundation and Health Research and Educational Trust]

-- Uninsured White Americans in 2006: 10.8 percent
-- Uninsured African Americans in 2006: 20.5 percent
-- Uninsured Asians Americans in 2006: 15.5 percent
-- Uninsured Hispanic Americans in 2006: 34.1 percent
[U.S. Census Bureau, Aug. 2007]

ON COLLEGE COSTS:

-- Average cost per year at a public four-year college in 2000: $10,153
-- Average cost per year at a public four-year college in 2006: $13,089
[CollegeBoard, 2007]

-- Average yearly change in tuition costs for public four-year college since 2000: +29 percent
-- Average percent change in median household income during same period: -2 percent
-- Average debt shouldered by 2006 college graduates: $21,000
[The Project on Student Debt, Sept. 2007]

ON IRAQ AND THE MILITARY:

-- Number of U.S. troops killed in Iraq before the “Mission Accomplished” speech in 2003: 139
-- Number of US troops killed in Iraq as of Jan. 2008: 3,907
-- Number of Iraqi deaths after U.S. invasion: 1,139,602
[iCasualties.org., Jan. 3, 2008]

-- Number of US troops wounded in Iraq before the “Mission Accomplished” speech: 542
-- Number of U.S. troops wounded in Iraq as of Jan. 2008: 28,661
[iCasualties.org, Jan. 3, 2008]

-- Amount of total world military spending spent by U.S.: 47 percent
[Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation]

-- Total U.S. military expenditures requested for 2008: $644 billion
-- Total military expenditures of the 10 next top spending countries combined: $446.1 billion
[Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation. Includes China, Russia, U.K., France, Japan, Germany, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, India and Brazil, Feb. 5, 2007]

-- U.S. military base budget in 2001: $297.1 billion
-- US pending military base budget 2008, not including Iraq and Afghanistan: $481.4 billion
[White House Office of Management and Budget, Feb. 5, 2007]

-- U.S. budget spent on military not including Iraq in 2007: 50 percent
-- U.S. budget spent on education in 2007: 6.2 percent
[White House Office of Management and Budget, Feb. 6, 2006.]

-- Number of active duty army divisions rated at the highest readiness levels in 2001: All
-- Number of active duty or reserve brigade in the U.S. considered fully combat ready: 0
[Speaker of the House, Nov. 29, 2007]

ON DEBTS AND DEFICITS:

-- The national debt in 2001: $5.7 trillion
-- The national debt in Jan. 2008: $9.2 trillion
[U.S. Dept. of the Treasury]

-- Monthly U.S. trade deficit in Oct. 2000: $33.8 billion
-- Monthly U.S. trade deficit in Oct. 2007: $57.8 billion
-- U.S. trade deficit in 2000: $380 billion
-- U.S. trade deficit in 2007: $759 billion
[U.S. Census Bureau, Dec. 12, 2007]

-- Value of one Euro in Jan. 2000: $1.01
-- Value of one Euro in Jan. 2008: $1.45
-- Loss of value of the Dollar relative to the Euro from Jan. 2000 to Jan. 2008: 45 percent
[Federal Reserve Statistical Release]

-- Value of an ounce of gold in 2000 (inflation adjusted): $319
-- Value of an ounce of gold in 2008: $892
[GoldPrice.org, Jan. 22 2008]

-- U.S. budget surplus in 2000: +$236 billion
-- U.S. budget deficit in 2007: -$354 billion
[House Office of Management and Budget]

ON PRODUCT AND FOOD SAFETY:

-- Increase in consumer product safety spending from 2000 to 2006: 9 percent
-- Increase in number of U.S. imports from 2000 to 2006: 30 percent
[Consumer Federation of America]

-- Increase in the number of federal food inspections from 2000 to 2006: 8 percent
-- Percentage increase in number of agricultural imports from 2000 to 2006: 39 percent
-- Number of cases of food borne disease outbreaks in 2006: 25,659
[U.S. Dept. of Agriculture, Food & Drug Administration, Center for Disease Control]

ON WORLD OPINION:

-- Number of people abroad who viewed America favorably in 2001: 58.3 percent
-- Number of people abroad who viewed America favorably in 2007: 39.2 percent
[Pew Research Center]

-- Number of people in Great Britain who viewed America favorably in 2001: 83 percent
-- Number of people in Great Britain who viewed America favorably in 2007: 56 percent
[Pew Research Center]

-- Number of people in Indonesia who viewed America favorably in 2001: 75 percent
-- Number of people in Indonesia who viewed America favorably in 2007: 30 percent
[Pew Research Center]

-- Number of people in Germany who viewed America favorably in 2001: 78 percent
-- Number of people in Germany who viewed America favorably in 2007: 37 percent
[Pew Research Center]

Record-Breaking: Senate Conservatives

Isaiah J. Poole — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 11:03:10 -0500

WASHINGTON—The Republican Senate minority today filibustered an omnibus budget bill, setting a modern-day record for blocking the most legislation during a congressional session. A new report released today by the Campaign for America's Future details the 62 times conservatives have used the filibuster to block legislation (or force modification of bills) in the first session of the 110th Congress. In just the first year of this two-year Congress, their use of the filibuster in the Senate topped the previous record, reached during the entire 107th Congress.

The new report outlines every bill filibustered, vetoed or threatened to be vetoed by President Bush. Conservatives filibustered bills to end the occupation of Iraq, provide soldiers in Iraq rest time equal to their deployments, support renewable energy and grant residents of the District of Columbia representation in Congress. Today's record-breaker involved a $516 billion budget package passed by the House to fund the federal government in 2008. The conservative minority demanded $20 billion additional funding for the war and opposed House language to bring troops home, and threatened a filibuster to prevent the bill from getting an up or down vote.

"In just one session, a minority in Congress has prevented a mind-blowing 62 pieces of legislation from going to the floor for an up or down vote," said Campaign for America's Future co-director Roger Hickey. "Our report shows how over and over again, the uncompromising minority has thwarted the will of majorities in Congress and of the American people, holding the Senate floor hostage to a radical right-wing agenda."

Sixty votes are needed to invoke cloture and end a filibuster. The 62nd cloture vote of the session is more than any single session of Congress since at least 1973, the earliest year cloture votes are available online from the Senate. Republicans are on pace to force 134 cloture votes to cut off a filibuster, according to the Campaign for America's Future analysis, more than double the historical average of the last 35 years.

Even pieces of legislation that have made it past the Senate filibuster blockade have been obstructed by President Bush. Last week the President vetoed for the second time a popular bill that would expand health coverage for 10 million American children. According to the Campaign for America's Future report, Bush has threatened to veto 84 bills and has vetoed six as of December 17. In contrast, during the period when the Republicans were in the congressional majority, Bush went the longest time without vetoing a bill since President James Garfield.

Eric Lotke, Campaign for America's Future research director and lead author of the new report, calls the obstruction a "deliberate strategy." He observes that the congressional Republicans block legislation, then blame the Democrats for getting nothing done. "It's like mugging the postman and then complaining that the mail isn't delivered on time."

The story of this historic level of obstruction has recently been covered by The New York Times, but has yet to be fully told in the media. The new Campaign for America's Future report shows how major media outlets describe the 60-vote threshold as an ordinary procedure, neglecting that this tactic is an unprecedented assertion of minority control.

# # #
NOTE: To obtain an electronic copy of the Campaign for America's Future's report, "Block and Blame: The Conservative Strategy of Obstruction in the 110th Congress," please visit

http:/ourfuture.org/assets/block-and-blame.pdf.

'Barbie and Ken' Video Calls For Ouster Of Nation's Top Product Safety Official

Toby Chaudhuri — Tue, 20 Nov 2007 03:00:00 -0500

WASHINGTON — As the holiday shopping season kicks into high gear this week, a growing number of citizen and consumer groups are calling on the Consumer Product Safety Commission to better protect children from dangerous toys that have made it to store shelves this year. The Campaign for America's Future has released a humorous video, featuring a "toxic" encounter between the famous Barbie and Ken dolls, calling for the resignation of CPSC Acting Director Nancy Nord. Nord has opposed legislation to strengthen CPSC oversight on toy safety and been caught taking trips paid for by the toy industry.

Today the CPSC released its annual "ABCs of Toy Safety" report, enumerating the cautions parents should take into consideration when purchasing toys. Notably absent in their "Top Safe Shopping Tips" are recommendations on taking precautions to avoid lead-contaminated products - one of the most significant toy hazards this year.

The Campaign for America's Future's video reminds viewers that accessories for Barbie dolls were among the millions of imported toys recalled this year because of toxic levels of lead paint or other serious safety problems. In the new video, Barbie and Ken run into each other at a bar and their post-break up reunion ends the next morning at the Barbie Dream House. Soon Barbie complains to Ken that she is "having some symptoms." When Ken asks Barbie what's wrong, she responds, "It's…it's lead poisoning." The video ends with a call to sign the petition calling for Nord's resignation. (The video can be seen at ourfuture.org.)

The call for Nord's resignation has grown over the past month. Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, and Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn., called for the resignation of Nancy Nord on a news conference call sponsored by the Campaign for America's Future last month. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., former Sen. John Edwards, D-N.C., and others have also sounded the call that Nord must go.

Earlier this month the Campaign for America's Future released a report detailing how the federal government has gutted the agency responsible for consumer protections. The budget and staff of the Consumer Product Safety Commission, the government agency responsible for monitoring consumer goods in the U.S., is less than half the level it was when it started in 1974. At the same time, world imports have increased by 338 percent since 1974. Imports from China, the main producer of toys, has increased nearly 3,900 percent since 1985. Inspection has been slashed even as the need for it has multiplied.

The Campaign for America's Future is among several groups fighting for improved consumer protection. Today, the U.S. Public Interest Research Group released a new report detailing dangerous toys on the shelves this holiday season. The United Steelworkers have been running a "Get the Lead Out" campaign providing families with lead testing kits for their homes. The Consumers Union has launched a video and petition for stricter protections on toys and food this week, and Public Citizen is also collecting signatures for its petition demanding Nord's ouster.

California Attorney General Jerry Brown yesterday sued 20 companies in state court, including Mattel Inc. and Toys "R" Us, claiming they sold toys containing "unlawful quantities of lead" and failing to caution consumers. The law suit alleges that the companies violated the Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act of 1986.

# # #

**NOTE: To view the new video or obtain an electronic copy of the Campaign for America's Future's report on Toxic Trade, please visit ourfuture.org. **

Toxic Trade Exposes More and More Americans To Deadly Products, Report Says

Toby Chaudhuri — Tue, 30 Oct 2007 03:00:00 -0400

WASHINGTON – More and more American consumers are at risk from products that are not produced in America or subject to American safety standards, according to a new report released today by the Campaign for America’s Future. The report calls for an increase in the authority and budget of the Consumer Product Safety Commission, a move that its commissioner Nancy Nord opposes.

Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, and Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn., joined Campaign for America’s Future co-director Robert Borosage and senior fellow David Sirota on a conference call with reporters today to release the report, calling for Nord’s resignation.

Highlighting the urgency of the problem, dangerous levels of lead have been found in costumes and candy buckets meant for kids to use on Halloween. Lead has been banned from toys for 30 years in the U.S., but more than 20 million toys manufactured in China have recently been recalled for unsafe levels of lead.

The report details the basic reality that puts children at risk. World imports have increased by 338 percent since 1974, with imports from China alone increasing nearly 3,900 percent since 1985. Yet the budget and staff of the Consumer Product Safety Commission, the government agency responsible for monitoring consumer goods in the U.S., is less than half the level it was when it started in 1974. Inspection has been slashed even as the need for it has multiplied.

Sen. Brown said Congress is weighing the most significant consumer-safety legislation in a generation, for the reasons outlined in the Campaign for America’s Future report. Sen. Brown said we must protect the safety and health of our children and our families first.

“Our nation’s haphazard trade policy allows contaminated food and toys onto our shelves and into our homes,” said Sen. Brown. “Until we give CPSC the authority to enforce safety standards, we won’t be able to prevent contaminated products from ending up in our homes. This administration’s apathy for policies that protect our families is at best shameful, at worst, potentially deadly.”

Rep. DeLauro said legislation in Congress will face hurdles with President Bush over the direction of the CPSC, especially with the Bush Administration’s top consumer product safety official asking Congress to reject legislation intended to strengthen the agency.

“You have producers … asking for increased authorities and standards and the head of the agency says they are not needed,” said Rep. DeLauro on the call. “This is a person who should not be heading up this, even in an acting position. She should go.”

Borosage said the Campaign for America’s Future is stepping up its efforts to get Americans involved in demanding greater protection.

“Conservative governments have handcuffed the cop on the corporate beat,” said Borosage. “This isn’t an accident. It isn’t an oversight. Republican presidents and conservative legislators have campaigned against regulation for decades. And in office, they have cut regulatory budgets and staff, curbed the powers of their agencies and stocked them full of representatives from the industries they are supposed to regulate.”

In a poll by Democracy Corps released today by the Campaign for America’s Future, voters said their greatest concern about China by far was that “lack of safety regulations make Chinese products cheap but also unsafe for American consumers.”

In an illustration of Borosage’s point, Prof. Jeffrey Weidenhammer at Ashland University in Ohio found dangerous amounts of lead in some Halloween toys. One toy in focus is called “Ugly Teeth.” The fake plastic teeth have 100 times allowable levels of lead in the paint on them. The teeth are just one of dozens of Halloween toys Prof. Weidenhammer and his team tested, but they say the plastic teeth are of greatest concern, because lead enters a system fastest when ingested.

Just this past Thursday, the CPSC issued a recall of Halloween pails that children might use to carry their treats in, based partly on tests the professor and his lab had done. They also found high levels in a Frankenstein cup and white skull bucket, but those two items weren't recalled for reasons that are not known.

# # #

**NOTE: To obtain an electronic copy of the Campaign for America’s Future’s report on Toxic Trade and polling results, please visit www.ourfuture.org. **

SOME RECALLED HALLOWEEN TOYS

—142,000 purple Halloween pails with witch decorations by Family Dollar Stores of Charlotte, N.C. (Oct. 25, 2007) for lead content.
[http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml08/08051.html]

—55,000 skull pails filled with Halloween candy mix by R.L. Albert & Son of Greenwich, Conn. (Oct. 17, 2007) for lead content.
[http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml08/08033.html]

—120,000 "Creepy Cape" Halloween costumes by TONY Development & Manufacturing (USA) of Montclair, N.J. (Oct. 13, 2006) for flammability.
[http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml07/07021.html]

SOME RECENTLY RECALLED TOYS

—49,000 Disney™ Deluxe Winnie-the-Pooh 23-piece play sets by J.C. Penney (Oct. 11, 2007) for lead content.
[http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml08/08022.html]

—675,000 Barbie accessory toys by Mattel Inc. (Sept. 4, 2007) for lead content.
[http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml07/07301.html]

—97,000 Mr. Potato Head "Make a Monster Pumpkin" and Mr. Potato Head "Make a Fireman Pumpkin" and Mrs. Potato Head "Make a Diva Pumpkin" by Paper Magic Group Inc., of Scranton, Pa. (Oct. 24, 2006) for choking risks.
[http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml07/07013.html]

President’s Veto of Children’s Health Bill Marks First Round In National Fight About Health Care

Robert Dorst2 — Tue, 23 Oct 2007 03:00:00 -0400

WASHINGTON - Campaign for America's Future co-director Robert Borosage said that President Bush's veto of the Children's Health Insurance Program Reauthorization bill today kicks off a major debate about fixing the nation's broken health care system. The bill the president vetoed would reauthorize the State Children's Health Insurance program for 6.6 million children and provide coverage to nearly 4 million more children in working families. The bill passed last week with large majorities in both the House and Senate.

STATEMENT OF ROBERT BOROSAGE

This marks the first round in a national fight about health care. The president chose the special interests of big insurance companies over the needs of millions of children who need coverage. The expansion of the children's health program offers a glimmer of hope to families struggling to make ends meet.

President Bush admits that this program works. He knows that millions of children now go without adequate health care because their families can't afford insurance, but he says he has an "ideological" problem with expanding the program because it might provide coverage to children whose families might otherwise find a way to pay for private insurance.

Legislators in both parties now must decide whether they stand with the president in defense of private insurance company profits or with children in need of health care. You wouldn't think this was a hard choice.

Americans should understand the president's veto begins the new debate on health care reform. Where your legislator stands on expanding children's health care is a good indication of where they will stand on reforms needed to provide affordable health care for all—a question that will be at the center of our political debate in next year's elections.

# # #

**NOTE: Media representatives interested in scheduling an interview to discuss the president's veto and the health care crisis in America should contact Anne Thompson at athompson@ourfuture.org or 202-587-1614.**

Children's Health Bill Vote Makes The Record Clear

Robert Dorst2 — Mon, 08 Oct 2007 23:16:51 -0400

WASHINGTON — Campaign for America's Future co-director Roger Hickey said that 156 House Members declared themselves enemies of children and families in today's vote on children's health care. Hickey said today's override vote marks the first round in a major fight to fix our nation's broken health care system and illustrates the latest obstruction to progress by conservatives.

The bill would reauthorize the State Children's Health Insurance program for 6.6 million children and provide coverage to nearly 4 million more children in working families. The expansion of SCHIP is widely popular, according to a new poll released this week by the Kaiser Family Foundation and the Harvard School of Public Health. Given the basic parameters of the expansion - its cost, the number of new children who would be covered, and how it would be paid for - seven in 10 Americans say they back the plan.

STATEMENT OF ROGER HICKEY

One hundred and fifty-six House Members declared themselves enemies of children and families with this vote. Ignoring the will of the people, a conservative minority in the House sustained the president's veto and denied nearly 5 million children access to health insurance. Upholding the president's veto is only the latest obstruction to progress by Washington conservatives.

An overwhelming majority of Americans support bold reforms in health care and other important areas, but conservatives have repeatedly used filibusters and vetoes to block this progress and then they hypocritically blame others for a lack of congressional action. The record is clear. Congressional conservatives and the president are the culprits who have stood in the way of a new progressive direction for our nation. Our children will pay a steep price for their cruel politics.

Conservatives celebrate the veto at their own peril. Voters are calling on their government to solve the health care crisis for Americans of all ages. Where legislators stood on expanding children's health care is a good indication of where they will stand on critical reforms needed to provide affordable health care for all — an issue that will be at the center of our political debate in next year's elections.

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**NOTE: To obtain a copy of today's poll, please visit http://www.kff.org/kaiserpolls/pomr101707pkg.cfm. Media representatives interested in scheduling an interview to discuss today's override vote and the health care crisis in America should contact Anne Thompson at athompson@ourfuture.org or 202-587-1614.**

President Expected To Sign The Largest Increase In Student Aid Since The G.I. Bill

Toby Chaudhuri — Wed, 19 Sep 2007 00:00:00 -0400

WASHINGTON – Congress sent the College Cost Reduction and Access Act to the president yesterday for his signature, providing the largest increase in student aid since the G.I. Bill. The bill reduces $20 billion in subsidies to banks and other student loan providers and redirects the funds to students. The Bush administration, despite earlier threats to veto the legislation, is expected to sign it this week.

If President Bush signs the measure, changes will begin to take effect on Monday, Oct. 1, providing welcome news for families struggling with tuition and fees that are rising far faster than inflation while real wages remain stagnant. New government data shows that the cost of college is soaring out of the reach of more and more American families, according to a report recently released by the Campaign for America’s Future.

Campaign for America’s Future co-director Robert Borosage, whose group helped rally support for the legislation, hailed the bill as an expression of how progressives are increasingly driving the national debate.

“A majority of Americans stand with progressives and they’re defining a new direction in Congress,” said Borosage. “This is an important first step for students and their families, accomplished over the president’s opposition. We still have a long way to go if we are to insure that college is affordable for all. No student should be priced out of the college or advanced training they need to succeed in this economy.”

The bill cuts interest rates on student loans in half, from 6.8 percent to 3.4 percent over 5 years, making student loan repayment more manageable. Importantly, it guarantees that borrowers will never spend more than 15 percent of their yearly income on loan repayments and will have their loans forgiven after 25 years. The legislation also provides upfront tuition for good students who commit to teach in high needs schools upon graduation and provides loan forgiveness for a range of other public service employees.

The new legislation would increase the amount students receive in Pell Grant scholarships to $5,400 a year by 2012, up from $4,050 in 2006. Unlike other forms of financial aid, students do not have to repay Pell Grants. Eligibility for the grant is based on family income.

The Campaign for America’s Future report shows that undergraduate tuition and fees for a public four-year institution increased by 37 percent over the last six years, while median household incomes fell in that same period.

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**NOTE: To obtain an electronic copy of the report on college affordability and state-specific data, please visit http://www.ourfuture.org/issues_and_campaigns/education/index.cfm .**

STATE-BY-STATE INCREASES IN STUDENT AID

The College Cost Reduction and Access Act of 2007 will provide increased college aid for students across the country. State-specific increases in aid follow.

Total Pell Grant aid this year

Additional loan aid over 5 years

Additional grant aid next school year

Additional grant aid over the next 5 school years

Alabama

$275,800,000

$106,299,000

$39,963,000

$433,895,000

Alaska

$11,900,000

$6,331,000

$1,720,000

$18,679,000

Arizona

$515,100,000

$388,432,000

$74,643,000

$810,426,000

Arkansas

$162,200,000

$53,636,000

$23,509,000

$255,252,000

California

$1,560,900,000

$579,257,000

$226,174,000

$2,455,671,000

Colorado

$202,600,000

$147,185,000

$29,360,000

$318,774,000

Connecticut

$91,700,000

$72,746,000

$13,290,000

$144,297,000

Delaware

$21,900,000

$16,889,000

$3,179,000

$34,513,000

District of Columbia

$50,000,000

$91,655,000

$7,239,000

$78,592,000

Florida

$742,800,000

$336,450,000

$107,628,000

$1,168,563,000

Georgia

$411,300,000

$211,843,000

$59,606,000

$647,164,000

Hawaii

$31,100,000

$13,423,000

$4,506,000

$48,925,000

Idaho

$83,600,000

$27,831,000

$12,120,000

$131,588,000

Illinois

$531,700,000

$375,919,000

$77,048,000

$836,540,000

Indiana

$338,000,000

$176,150,000

$48,981,000

$531,803,000

Iowa

$194,700,000

$124,021,000

$28,214,000

$306,334,000

Kansas

$132,700,000

$73,716,000

$19,222,000

$208,703,000

Kentucky

$221,300,000

$84,869,000

$32,074,000

$348,240,000

Louisiana

$248,500,000

$88,569,000

$36,001,000

$390,883,000

Maine

$49,700,000

$26,890,000

$7,200,000

$78,172,000

Maryland

$170,300,000

$102,603,000

$24,681,000

$267,973,000

Massachusetts

$198,200,000

$210,540,000

$28,716,000

$311,778,000

Michigan

$429,800,000

$245,416,000

$62,279,000

$676,185,000

Minnesota

$185,500,000

$190,779,000

$26,873,000

$291,776,000

Mississippi

$218,900,000

$56,357,000

$31,720,000

$344,398,000

Missouri

$265,200,000

$179,573,000

$38,422,000

$417,164,000

Montana

$47,900,000

$20,507,000

$6,938,000

$75,333,000

Nebraska

$67,500,000

$51,944,000

$9,775,000

$106,131,000

Nevada

$41,200,000

$19,329,000

$5,966,000

$64,778,000

New Hampshire

$32,300,000

$34,320,000

$4,678,000

$50,793,000

New Jersey

$276,200,000

$114,801,000

$40,027,000

$434,592,000

New Mexico

$110,200,000

$27,904,000

$15,968,000

$173,370,000

New York

$1,067,300,000

$538,493,000

$154,657,000

$1,679,172,000

North Carolina

$395,900,000

$148,147,000

$57,365,000

$622,832,000

North Dakota

$36,500,000

$21,163,000

$5,288,000

$57,415,000

Ohio

$507,200,000

$304,629,000

$73,492,000

$797,939,000

Oklahoma

$203,100,000

$81,649,000

$29,426,000

$319,487,000

Oregon

$161,000,000

$97,968,000

$23,325,000

$253,255,000

Pennsylvania

$480,900,000

$421,365,000

$69,685,000

$756,596,000

Rhode Island

$53,900,000

$42,651,000

$7,811,000

$84,803,000

South Carolina

$199,300,000

$81,688,000

$28,872,000

$313,476,000

South Dakota

$43,200,000

$24,529,000

$6,259,000

$67,953,000

Tennessee

$269,500,000

$125,708,000

$39,045,000

$423,926,000

Texas

$1,129,900,000

$397,621,000

$163,722,000

$1,777,598,000

Utah

$156,200,000

$44,845,000

$22,634,000

$245,746,000

Vermont

$21,700,000

$26,681,000

$3,150,000

$34,203,000

Virginia

$247,900,000

$154,493,000

$35,924,000

$390,043,000

Washington

$212,300,000

$108,235,000

$30,758,000

$333,955,000

West Virginia

$103,300,000

$47,761,000

$14,970,000

$162,537,000

Wisconsin

$169,800,000

$117,636,000

$24,602,000

$267,116,000

Wyoming

$22,500,000

$14,989,000

$3,254,000

$35,329,000

[SOURCES: Estimates by Senate HELP Committee and House Education and Labor Committee, based on data from the Congressional Budget Office, the Congressional Research Service, and the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities.]

Report: Conservative Policies Failed To Rebuild The Gulf Coast, Basic Investments Still Severely Lacking

Toby Chaudhuri — Tue, 28 Aug 2007 00:00:00 -0400

NEW ORLEANS, LA. - Two years after Hurricane Katrina left a path of destruction in the Gulf Coast, the federal government has failed to rebuild devastated areas, according to a new report released today by the Campaign for America's Future. With more than 250,000 former residents of New Orleans still scattered across the country, the report finds that the basic infrastructure of a once-great city is still in shambles. Fraud, abuse, and cronyism infect what little reconstruction has taken place, intensifying economic disparities throughout the Gulf Coast.

"When Katrina devastated the Gulf Coast, the federal government failed its people. It failed to prepare and failed to rescue. Now it has failed to rebuild. The Bush administration is disconnected and Americans are calling for change," said Campaign for America's Future co-director Robert Borosage. "This failure is not an accident. It's a reflection of the conservative policies and perspectives that scorn government, outsource government responsibility to the private sector, succor cronyism over professionalism and sacrifice the fate of American citizens for political gains."

Rep. James Clyburn, D-S.C., and Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif., joined Borosage on a conference call with reporters today to release the report. Rep. Clyburn, who led a delegation of House Democrats to the Gulf Coast earlier this month to assess progress, discussed what needs remained on today's call.

"Hurricane Katrina not only devastated an entire region, it destroyed American confidence in the response of their federal government," said Rep. Clyburn. "Two years later, we are still trying to overcome the tremendous damage and loss in the Gulf Coast. Under the leadership of this Congress, we have launched a new direction to rebuild the trust that government can and will be responsive to all of our citizens in time of crisis."

Rep. Waters, who participated in the conference call from New Orleans, called for urgent action addressing the "housing disaster" that Hurricane Katrina set in motion and the Bush administration's response has exacerbated.

"HUD and this administration is attempting to use Katrina as an opportunity to dismantle all of the public housing that they have wanted to tear down for quite some time," said Waters. She said that the administration's meager response to Katrina, which has left thousands of Americans stranded, is based on a central conservative tenet that scorns government. "You have a very conservative administration that has disdain for government even though they're in it," she said.

The Campaign for America's Future also released a new YouTube video that contrasts the promises President Bush made two years ago in his speech from Jackson Square, New Orleans, to the tragic realities Katrina survivors now face. The video, called "Disconnected," features President Bush giving out a toll-free number for survivors to call for help in reuniting their families. That number has since been disconnected, despite the fact that thousands of survivors are still spread across the country, far from their families and homes.

Today's report details how little effort was made to repatriate pre-Katrina residents and that the repatriation was often sabotaged by people who had a vested interest in keeping the poor and people of color out. Many of these residents will not return because of the shortage of affordable housing and the faltering effort to rebuild public infrastructure, including schools and libraries, sewer and water lines, hospitals and childcare facilities, law enforcement buildings and transportation.

President Bush, the city's self-declared savior, plans to visit New Orleans and Mississippi's Gulf Coast with Mrs. Bush this week, beginning with a dinner with Louisiana business leaders this evening. The visit marks the president's 11th trip to New Orleans since Katrina. Most of President Bush's visits to New Orleans were in the first 6 weeks after the storm, but as the failure of the recovery unfolded, he visited only twice in the past year. President Bush did not even mention the city in his State of the Union address last January.

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**NOTE: To obtain an electronic copy of the video and the report or a recording of today's news conference call with Reps. Clyburn and Waters, please visit the Katrina page at www.ourfuture.org.**