Obama Care

Tuesday, March 19, 2013

Statement by Assistant to the President for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism John Brennan on Bulgaria’s Announcement of Hizballah’s Role in the 2012 Burgas Terrorist Attack

Statement by Assistant to the President for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism John Brennan on Bulgaria’s Announcement of Hizballah’s Role in the 2012 Burgas Terrorist Attack | The White House Skip to main content | Skip to footer site map The White House. President Barack Obama Get Email Updates Contact Us Go to homepage. The White House Blog Photos & Videos Photo Galleries Video Performances Live Streams Podcasts 2012: A Year in Photos

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For Immediate Release February 05, 2013 Statement by Assistant to the President for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism John Brennan on Bulgaria’s Announcement of Hizballah’s Role in the 2012 Burgas Terrorist Attack

The United States commends the Government of Bulgaria for its professional and comprehensive investigation into the barbaric July 18, 2012 terrorist attack in Burgas. Today, following a thorough review of the evidence collected to date, Bulgarian authorities announced their judgment that Lebanese Hizballah was responsible for carrying out this act of terrorism, which killed six innocent civilians and injured many others.

Bulgaria’s investigation exposes Hizballah for what it is – a terrorist group that is willing to recklessly attack innocent men, women, and children, and that poses a real and growing threat not only to Europe, but to the rest of the world. We commend Bulgarian authorities for their determination and commitment to ensuring that Hizballah is held to account for this act of terror on European soil. The United States will continue to provide the Bulgarian Government assistance in bringing the perpetrators of this heinous attack to justice.

Hizballah’s dangerous and destabilizing activities – from attacking tourists in foreign countries to leader Hassan Nasrallah’s active support of Bashar al-Assad’s violent campaign against the Syrian people – threaten the safety and security of nations and citizens around the world. Bulgaria’s implication of Hizballah underscores the importance of international cooperation in disrupting terrorist threats. We call on our European partners as well as other members of the international community to take proactive action to uncover Hizballah’s infrastructure and disrupt the group’s financing schemes and operational networks in order to prevent future attacks.

The United States is proud to stand with its friend and NATO ally Bulgaria. We deeply value our strong partnership on a wide range of issues including advancing global and regional security in Afghanistan and the Balkans, expanding economic and commercial ties, and promoting cultural and education programs.

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Getting natural gas right a priority

By Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) - 02/05/13 05:29 PM ET

As the seventh chairman of the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, I could not be more excited to step up to the challenge of strengthening U.S. energy policy.

It’s been five years since Congress last passed a major energy bill. Over that time, natural-gas prices have dropped nearly in half, the amount of wind power installed here has more than doubled to 50 gigawatts and U.S. greenhouse gas emissions have actually fallen. Most significantly, the goal of U.S. energy independence has gone from being a pipe dream to something that experts are predicting will become reality in just a few years.

But despite these positive developments, the U.S. has critical decisions to make in the next few years. How will it address the newly accessible reserves of shale gas? How can government encourage the continued growth of cleaner sources of power? What is the best way to fund research into innovative energy sources of the future while safeguarding taxpayer dollars?

Looming over all of those decisions is the threat of climate change, which is unquestionably the most pressing environmental challenge of our time.

Let’s start with the proposition that there are practical steps the government can take right now to accelerate the transition to a low-carbon economy. Done right, this transition will strengthen the U.S. economy and make it more competitive with other countries that are looking to win the fight for the globe’s clean-energy future.

I plan to work with my colleagues on the committee to start finding answers to each of those questions. I fully expect to find common ground with members on both sides of the aisle and write bills that can pass through the Senate. One colleague told me recently, “No one expects to pass bills this year, but I expect Energy and Natural Resources to pass some bills.”

I agree. I want this committee to get things done.

The committee’s first order of business will be natural gas: how it’s produced, how it’s used and how much of it the U.S. should use it here or send abroad. Whether you are for more renewables or for traditional fuels, there’s no escaping the fact that the shale gas revolution is dominating today’s energy discussion.

First, it’s important that companies extract this resource safely. Common-sense rules can safeguard communities that could be affected by gas development, without harming natural-gas producers.

Next, decisions about exporting natural gas could have enormous consequences for how shale gas affects the economy. I want to ensure misguided government policy doesn’t shut down the manufacturing resurgence this country has seen as a result of reliable, low-cost natural-gas supplies. But I don’t oppose all exports. My aim is to find a sweet spot that allows some exports and keeps wells in production, while ensuring U.S. manufacturing and national security are not harmed by allowing unfettered liquefied natural-gas exports.

Getting natural gas right is the first step, but it’s not enough. The low-carbon economy also needs more renewable energy and more efficient use of the energy the U.S. already has.

Clean-energy developers have told me they’ve been hurt by inconsistent federal policies, which make it hard to plan and find financing for projects. I hope to work with Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.) to replace the roller coaster of short-term incentives with more stable, technology-neutral policies that reward renewable and domestic energy sources.

At the same time, the Energy Department should continue to support research into innovative energy technologies, to make sure the U.S. is home to the next game-changing energy breakthrough.

That’s just a start. There’s also nuclear waste, revenue sharing and a host of natural-resources issues that need action in this Congress.

To accomplish anything, though, the committee will have to get back to doing business the way it did not too long ago. I say that with great respect for former Sen. Jeff Bingaman (D-N.M.), whose accomplishments rival that of any Energy Committee chairman and who had to cope with events outside his control.

The numbers tell the story: In the 106th Congress, the committee passed 226 bills, most of them public lands bills with no opposition. In the 112th Congress, Energy and Natural Resources passed just 75 bills.

I’ve spent my career finding bipartisan solutions to tough issues. And I’ve learned that pragmatism and principles don’t have to conflict. My colleagues and I are aiming to get things done over the next two years, because the challenges the U.S. faces on energy are too pressing to pass on to the next Congress.

Wyden is chairman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee.

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UPDATE 1-GSK promises to publish detailed drug trial data

* Drugmakers under fire for keeping medicine data secret

* New move builds on previous GSK pledge to be more open

* GSK will now publish detailed clinical study reports

* Industry critic Ben Goldacre says GSK move "excellent"

LONDON, Feb 5 (Reuters) - Britain's largest drugmaker GlaxoSmithKline is extending a promise to make more of its pharmaceutical research data public by publishing detailed clinical study reports as well as the results of all drug trials.

The decision marks a new level of openness in the drugs industry that other companies may be under pressure to follow. Drugmakers have long been criticised for keeping important information about their medicines under wraps.

Ben Goldacre, a British doctor and author of "Bad Science" and "Bad Pharma", who has led a campaign called AllTrials urging clinical study report (CSR) disclosure, said GSK's support for the initiative was "excellent and amazing".

GSK, which agreed a $3-billion U.S. settlement last year over misleading information about some of its drugs, already said in October it would make anonymised patient-level data from clinical trials available to other researchers.

"Expanding on this, GSK is committing to make CSRs publicly available through its clinical trials register," the firm said in a statement on Tuesday.

CSRs are formal study reports that provide more detail on the design, methods and results of clinical trials and form the basis of submissions to regulators such as the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and European Medicines Agency.

Campaigners argue that CSRs are essential to assess the real value of medicines because brief summaries about trials, such as those published in academic journals, can be incomplete.

GSK said that from now on, it would publish CSRs for all of its medicines once they have been approved or discontinued from development. This would allow for the data to be first reviewed by regulators and the scientific community, it said. Patient information will be removed to ensure confidentiality.

Patrick Vallance, GSK's president of pharmaceuticals research and development, said the promise was aimed at helping "advance scientific understanding and inform medical judgment".

"Our commitment also acknowledges the very great contribution made by the individuals who participate in clinical research," he added.

Demands for greater transparency by the drug industry have come to a head in Britain with the AllTrials campaign, whose supporters include the group Sense About Science, the British Medical Journal and the Centre for Evidence-based Medicine.

In an apparent effort to put its past record straight, GSK also said it intends to publish CSRs for clinical outcomes trials for all approved medicines dating back to the formation of the company in 2000.

It said this would take time and resources as it would require retrieval and examination of each historic CSR to remove confidential patient information.

"Given the significant volume of studies involved, the company will put in place a dedicated team to conduct this work which it expects to complete over a number of years," it said.

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UPDATE 1-U.S. Senate to mull ban on 'pay for delay' pharmaceutical deals

* Branded, generic drug companies expected to oppose bill

* Similar measures failed in previous Congress

* Supreme Court has agreed to hear 'pay for delay' case

WASHINGTON, Feb 5 (Reuters) - Key Democratic and Republican senators reintroduced legislation on Tuesday that would make it illegal for brand-name pharmaceutical companies to pay generic drug makers to keep their cheaper medicines off the market.

Such deals, in which big drug companies resolve patent litigation with potentially infringing generic firms by reaching a settlement that delays a generic version of a drug in exchange for a payment, have angered U.S. and European antitrust enforcers for years.

The bill is sponsored by Senator Amy Klobuchar, a Democrat from Minnesota and the new chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee's antitrust panel, and by Senator Chuck Grassley, a Republican from Iowa.

"I have long supported efforts to crack down on this behavior and the recent rise in pay-for-delay agreements underscores the need for legislation to help make sure people have access to the drugs they need at a price they can afford," Klobuchar said in a statement.

Similar bills, including one in 2010, have failed in part because of opposition from the drug industry, both branded and generic. It was not immediately known if a companion bill would be introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Opponents of the measure are already pressing for meetings with the two lawmakers and are confident that it will go nowhere, said Ralph Neas, chief executive of the Generic Pharmaceutical Association trade group.

"I do believe that a majority of Congress opposes the bill," said Neas, who said the settlements were good for consumers. "I know that (Federal Trade Commission Chairman) Jon (Leibowitz) has this catchy phrase 'pay for delay' but it's wrong. Patent settlements save."

The FTC said in January that brand name drug firms reached agreements with generic manufacturers 40 times in the latest fiscal year, delaying the arrival of cheaper drugs to pharmacists' shelves. That was up from 28 the previous year and the highest since the FTC started tracking them.

The commission has had mixed success in fighting the deals in court, but the issue could be coming to a head.

Most recently, the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear an appeal by the FTC, which had challenged annual payments of $31 million to $42 million by then-owner Solvay Pharmaceuticals Inc to stop generic versions of AndroGel, a treatment for the underproduction of testosterone, until 2015. AndroGel is now a product of AbbVie.

In Brussels in late January, EU antitrust regulators stepped up their fight against drug companies suspected of blocking cheap generic medicines, charging Johnson & Johnson and Novartis over the painkiller fentanyl.

The European antitrust watchdog said it believed the two had agreed on a "pay-for-delay" deal on generic versions of the drug, hurting Dutch consumers and healthcare providers.

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Medicines Co, Alnylam Pharma enter alliance

PARSIPPANY, N.J. -- Drugmaker Medicines Co. is entering an alliance with Alnylam Pharmaceuticals Inc. to help develop the biopharmaceutical company's RNA interference drugs that could potentially help lower cholesterol.

Alnylam's drugs use RNA interference, or RNAi, technology. RNAi therapies work by turning off or silencing disease-causing genes.

Under terms of the exclusive alliance, Medicines will make a $25 million upfront cash payment to Alnylam. There is also the potential for up to $180 million in development and commercial payments if certain milestones are met.

Medicines is based in Parsippany, N.J. Alnylam is based in Cambridge, Mass.

Medicines' stock fell 42 cents to $30.11 in afternoon trading, while shares of Alnylam declined 57 cents, or 2.4 percent, to $23.67.

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Rick Scott’s Secretary Of State Says Florida Should Restore Early Voting

Florida Secretary of State Rick Detzner

Because Gov. Rick Scott (R) and his legislative allies spent much of 2011-2012 filling up the November ballot with complicated and unnecessary ballot questions and pushing through measures aimed at suppressing voter turnout, Florida voters had to wait in lines for up to six hours. Now, Scott’s handpicked Secretary of State has released a report recommending that Florida expand early voting and limit the length of future ballot questions.

Secretary of State Rick Detzner, who in the days after the November elections said he had no regrets about the Scott administration’s handling of the election, acknowledged in the report that there was widespread frustration with “the length of lines at polling places, which were believed to have been caused by the record number of voters, a shortened early voting schedule, inadequate voting locations and a long ballot.” He makes no mention of the reasons for those factors — Scott’s unwillingness to extend early voting hours, a Scott-signed law shortening early voting, and an effort by the Republican legislature to load the ballot up with complicated ballot measures sure to slow down voters at the polls.

But, he encourages Scott and his fellow Republicans not to repeat the same mistakes in future elections, recommending Florida:

Extend the early voting schedule from a minimum of 8 days to a maximum of 14 days, while also allowing supervisors of elections the flexibility to offer early voting on the Sunday immediately prior to Election Day.Expand the allowable locations of early voting sites at government owned, managed or occupied facilities to include the main or branch office of a supervisor of elections, a city
hall, courthouse, county commission building, public library, civic center, convention center, fairgrounds or stadium.Set a word limit for proposed legislative amendments.Repeal statutes allowing the full text (stricken or underlined) of a constitutional amendment or revision to be placed on a ballot.Allow mail ballot elections for candidates in certain elections.

While the 14-day period would be an improvement over the eight days currently provided by Florida law, it would represent a return to where things were before Scott took office.

It remains to be seen whether Florida acts on these recommendations. In November, Gov. Scott defended his suppression tactics as having done “the right thing” and a month later blamed the legislature for the early voting limits he himself signed into law. But last month, he endorsed re-expanding the early voting he limited.

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Readout of the President's Call with Baltimore Ravens Coach Harbaugh and General Manager Newsome

Readout of the President's Call with Baltimore Ravens Coach Harbaugh and General Manager Newsome | The White House Skip to main content | Skip to footer site map The White House. President Barack Obama Get Email Updates Contact Us Go to homepage. The White House Blog Photos & Videos Photo Galleries Video Performances Live Streams Podcasts 2012: A Year in Photos

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To do something about gun violence

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About the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012

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Office of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release February 05, 2013 Readout of the President's Call with Baltimore Ravens Coach Harbaugh and General Manager Newsome

This afternoon, the President called Head Coach John Harbaugh and General Manager Ozzie Newsome to congratulate them and the Baltimore Ravens on winning Super Bowl XLVII. He commended the Ravens on an unbelievable year and for the steadiness the team displayed through the end. The President also expressed how moved he and the First Lady were by the story of O.J. Brigance. The President said he looks forward to congratulating the team in person at the White House.

Blog posts on this issue February 05, 2013 3:00 PM ESTPresident Obama Makes a Statement on the Sequester

President Obama explains that while our economy is headed in the right direction, looming automatic budget cuts will cost jobs and slow down our recovery.

February 05, 2013 12:48 PM ESTAnnouncing the State of the Union White House Social

Apply today for a chance to join the White House social media team for the State of the Union.

February 05, 2013 10:58 AM ESTAnnouncing We the People 2.0 and a White House Hackathon

We're working towards Petitions 2.0, releasing an API, and inviting a small group to join us on February 22, 2013 for the White House Open Data Day Hackathon.

En español Accessibility Copyright Information Privacy Policy Contact USA.gov Developers Apply for a Job

View the original article here

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Tuesday, March 19, 2013

Statement by Assistant to the President for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism John Brennan on Bulgaria’s Announcement of Hizballah’s Role in the 2012 Burgas Terrorist Attack

Getting natural gas right a priority

UPDATE 1-GSK promises to publish detailed drug trial data

UPDATE 1-U.S. Senate to mull ban on 'pay for delay' pharmaceutical deals

Medicines Co, Alnylam Pharma enter alliance

Rick Scott’s Secretary Of State Says Florida Should Restore Early Voting

Readout of the President's Call with Baltimore Ravens Coach Harbaugh and General Manager Newsome

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