U.S. mayors laud healthcare reform move
WASHINGTON, July 15 (UPI) -- The head of the U.S. Conference of Mayors Wednesday applauded efforts by Congress and the Obama administration to reform healthcare.
Tom Cochran, executive director and chief executive officer of the national mayors' organization, called the efforts to bring healthcare coverage to all Americans a bold step.
"Working families are struggling during these difficult economic times because they are not able to afford health insurance and, for many, losing a job means losing their benefits," Cochran said in a release. "The recent legislation approved by the Senate HELP (Health, Education, Labor and Pensions) Committee and the House bill introduced yesterday are major steps toward offering Americans quality, affordable healthcare, changing the way of how care is administered in this country."
The mayors adopted comprehensive healthcare reform principles outlined by Obama as a policy position at their 77th annual meeting in Providence, R.I.
San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom, who is chairman of the conference's task force on healthcare reform, said he supports the inclusion of a public option for health coverage.
"The only way to achieve true reform is by driving down the cost of healthcare and developing a public option that competes with private insurance," Newsom said, noting it has worked in his city.
Cochran added the "strong focus on public health, prevention and wellness in both bills is a good sign that healthcare reform is moving in the right direction."
The U.S. Conference of Mayors is a non-partisan organization of mayors from 1,139 cities with populations of 30,000 or more.
Realtor charged in Fla. couple's slaying
PENSACOLA, Fla., July 15 (UPI) -- A Florida Realtor has become the eighth person charged in the slaying of a couple known for adopting disabled children, police said Wednesday.
And police said they were still looking for a ninth suspect who was to have disabled the surveillance system at the couple's home, but never did.
Pamela Long Wiggins, 47, was found in Orange Beach, Ala., Wednesday and returned to Florida, Escambia County Sheriff David Morgan said.
She was to be charged as an accessory after the fact to felony murder. She was not at the couple's sprawling home when the home invasion, robbery and slayings happened July 9, ABC News quoted Morgan as saying.
Wiggins, who police said used several aliases, had rented property to one of the seven male suspects.
Morgan said police were seeking the ninth suspect in the deaths of Byrd and Melanie Billings, the Beulah couple well-known in the Florida Panhandle as the parents of 17 children, 13 of them adopted, many of them with special needs.
The first seven suspects arrested had trained with weapons, sported ninja-style outfits and plotted the night-time assault on the nine-bedroom home with military precision, the St. Petersburg (Fla.) Times reported Wednesday.
Morgan told reporters robbery appeared to be the motive in the attack on the Billingses.
The sheriff said the killers left with a safe but did not disclose its contents.
One of the suspects, Leonard Gonzalez Sr., owned a power-washing company and had worked at the home, Morgan said. Two of the suspects had military training, and Morgan said the men had been trained to perform as a militia.
CNN also reported Wednesday the Drug Enforcement Administration confirmed it is assisting in the investigation.
White House issues fiscal policy statement
WASHINGTON, July 15 (UPI) -- The Obama administration said Wednesday it backs a House bill allocating money for financial services and the general operation of the U.S. federal government.
"America's economic strength depends, in part, on a strong financial system with effective, impartial regulation that enforces the rules of the road and protects investors and consumers of all sizes," said the Office of Management and Budget statement outlining administration policy in H.R. 3170 for the fiscal year ending Sept. 30, 2010.
President Barack Obama has proposed new resources for several federal regulators, including the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Federal Trade Commission the Consumer Products Safety Commission.
Administration officials also appreciated the bill's commitment to fund efforts to identify fraud and reinforce program integrity, the OMB said.
The OMB also recognized initiatives in the appropriations bill such as:
-- Community Development Financial Institutions, which includes an $80 million requested to implement the Capital Magnet Fund.
-- Alcohol and Tobacco Tax & Trade Bureau funding, which the administration urged Congress to fund by authorizing the bureau to collect licensing and registration fees from alcohol producers, wholesalers and retailers.
-- Executive Office of the President, for which the bill recommends consolidating budgets of the White House Office and the Office of Policy Development, and funding provided to the Office of Administration to create efficiencies.
The statement said the White House objected to bill language that would try to restore Chrysler LLC and General Motors Co. franchise agreements.
"The administration shares the committee's concern for dealers affected by Chrysler and GM bankruptcy agreements and has taken steps to help support viable dealerships during this transition," the OMB said. "However, the decision by Chrysler and GM to rationalize their dealer networks was a critical part of their overall restructuring to achieve long-term viability."
Break reported in Calif. budget standoff
SACRAMENTO, July 15 (UPI) -- Legislative leaders said they were meeting with California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger Wednesday on a deal to end the state budget stalemate.
Details of the breakthrough were not immediately available but some lawmakers told the Los Angeles Times it could mean a final budget deal is imminent.
"I don't think there is anything that would make negotiations shut down at this point," said Assembly Speaker Karen Bass.
California has been wrestling with a combination of a $26.3 billion deficit and partisan opposition to either massive spending cuts or a tax increase. The state requires a two-thirds majority vote in the Legislature to pass a budget.
The Times said legislative staffers said the breakthrough came after a series of Tuesday night meetings with the leaderships and Schwarzenegger that resolved a deadlock over cuts in education spending.
Despite fierce opposition from, among others, the powerful California Teachers Association, education aid has been seen as a major issue in the budget debate.
Congress names financial crisis panel
WASHINGTON, July 15 (UPI) -- A former California treasurer will head a new commission looking into the causes of the U.S. financial crisis, congressional Democrats said Wednesday.
Assisting Phil Angelides as vice chairman will be Bill Thomas, a former Republican representative from California, who was selected by Republican leaders, The New York Times reported.
The 10-member committee was created by Congress to investigate the roots of the crisis that sent the U.S. economy into a free fall and subsequently the worst recession since the Great Depression that has gripped the United States since December 2007. The panel has a broad mandate and subpoena power to probe areas such as exotic financial instruments and credit rating agencies to bloated compensation and regulators' failure to thwart risky lending practices of banks, the Times said.
The commission, patterned after the commission that investigated the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, is supposed to issue a final report at the end of 2010.
