Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/327990
Newsfeed WASHINGTON Unitedinre- sponse to a national uproar, Congress is suddenly mov- ing quickly to address mili- tary veterans' long waits for care at VA hospitals. The House unanimously approved legislation Tues- day to make it easier for pa- tients enduring lengthy de- lays for initial visits to get VA-paid treatment from lo- cal doctors instead. The Senate was poised to vote on a similar bill within 48 hours, said Democratic leader Harry Reid. The legislation comes close on the heels of a Vet- erans Affairs Department audit showing that more than 57,000 new applicants for care have had to wait at least three months for initial appointments and an addi- tional 64,000 newly enrolled vets who requested appoint- ments never got them. "I cannot state it strongly enough — this is a national disgrace," said Veterans Af- fairs Committee Chairman Jeff Miller, R-Fla., chief au- thor of the House legislation. Miller made his com- ments minutes before the House completed the first of two votes on its measure. Lawmakers approved the bill 421-0, then re-voted a little over an hour later. VETERANS AFFAIRS Congressmovingto ensure speedier care OKLAHOMA CITY A Repub- lican lawmaker reacting to an Oklahoma inmate's botched lethal injection said Tuesday he wants to explore giving condemned prison- ers the option of death by firing squad, hanging or the electric chair. State Rep. Mike Chris- tian said he's formally re- questing a legislative hear- ing on the state's death pen- alty procedures following the April 29 death of Clay- ton Lockett, whose vein col- lapsed prompting prison officials to halt his pun- ishment and note the execu- tion drugs weren't adminis- tered properly. Lockett died of an appar- ent heart attack about 43 minutes after the execution began. Christian, a former state highway patrolman from Oklahoma City, said he be- lieves a firing squad would be the most logical second option after lethal injection. "Firing squad, hanging and electric chair. I think those are the three that are definitely constitutional," said Christian, who ear- lier this year called for the impeachment of state Su- preme Court justices who supported a temporary stay of execution for Lockett. EXECUTION Oklahoma lawmaker seeks other methods WASHINGTON The Air Force is launching an am- bitious campaign to repair flaws in its nuclear missile corps, after recent train- ing failures, security mis- steps, leadership lapses, mo- rale problems and stunning breakdowns in discipline prompted Defense Secre- tary Chuck Hagel to de- mand action to restore pub- lic confidence in the nuclear force. Air Force leaders are planning to offer bonus pay to missile force members, fill gaps in their ranks, offer a nuclear service medal and put more money into mod- ernizing what in some re- spects has become a decrepit Minuteman 3 missile force that few airmen want to join and even fewer view as a ca- reer-enhancing mission. The potential impact of these and other planned changes is unclear. They do not appear to address com- prehensively what some see as the core issue: a flag- ging sense of purpose in a force that atrophied after the Cold War ended two de- cades ago as the military's focus turned to countering terrorism and other threats. Even so, some analysts are encouraged by these ini- tial Air Force moves. MILITARY Air Force to launch fixes to nuke program WASHINGTON The White House has threatened to veto a House bill that would allow some schools to opt out of healthier meal standards. The GOP spending bill would allow schools to waive the school lunch and breakfast standards cham- pioned by first lady Michelle Obama for the next school year if they lost money on meal programs over a six- month period. The House is expected to consider the legislation as soon as Wednesday. In a statement threat- ening a presidential veto, the White House said the bill would be "a major step backwards for the health of American children by un- dermining the effort to pro- vide kids with more nutri- tious food." The school meal rules set by Congress and the Obama administration over the past several years require more fruits, vegetables and whole grains in the lunch line. Also, there are limits on sodium, sugar and fat. Some school nutrition di- rectors have lobbied for a break, saying the rules have proved to be costly and re- strictive. Republicans have said the standards are overreach. HEALTHY MEALS White House threatens veto of school meal bill WASHINGTON The Internal Revenue Service wants to read taxpayers their rights. The agency is publicizing a "Bill of Rights" for tax- payers, including the right to quality service, the right to confidentiality and the right to a fair and just tax system, IRS Commissioner John Koskinen announced Tuesday. Koskinen acknowledged that none of the 10 rights is new. All are buried some- where in the thick pages of the federal tax code. But going forward, the IRS will post the rights at IRS of- fices, and include an expla- nation of each one when the agency contacts taxpayers by mail. Koskinen said the list will be included in about 30 million mailings a year. "We're not creating new rights here," Koskinen said. "We're really trying to com- pile them in a simple under- standable format for tax- payers." Some rights will be lim- ited by budget constraints and the law. For example, the right to quality service says, "Tax- payers have the right to re- ceive prompt, courteous, and professional assistance in their dealings with the IRS." TAXES IRS to publicize 'Bill of Rights' for taxpayers By Ivan Moreno The Associated Press COLORADO SPRINGS, COLO. The head of the Environ- mental Protection Agency promoted proposed clean power plant rules to West- ern governors Tuesday, framing the plan as a way to deal with destructive wildfires and floods that have ravaged the region in recent years. "There are some states that are really feeling some of the brunt of the changing climate most dramatically with wildfires and floods and droughts and all of those challenges," EPA Ad- ministrator Gina McCarthy said Tuesday after a two- hour meeting with 10 gov- ernors in Colorado Springs where the annual Western Governors' Association con- ference is happening. The plan has been met with reluctance — and skep- ticism — from some gover- nors. McCarthy emphasized that states will have flexi- bility in developing plans to reduce carbon output. But she acknowledged that some governors whose states depend heavily on coal expressed concern about the new rules. The EPA rules announced last week set a goal of cut- ting emissions of the green- house gas by 30 percent na- tionwide from 2005 levels. The goal's deadline is 2030. Different treatment She said the biggest con- cern from governors is that the EPA doesn't "treat every state as if they're the same." "Even out West, they're different. Some are very much coal-dependent, while others are very much advancing renewables in a strong way," she said. Some governors have blamed increasingly de- structive fires on climate change, including Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper. Wildfires in Colorado have destroyed hundreds of homes the past two years, and in the fall, flooding caused record damage in several parts of the state. Still, other governors in the region, like Wyoming Gov. Matt Mead, have de- cried what they call the ad- ministration's job-killing war on coal. "I don't think the ques- tion really is how is it go- ing to affect Wyoming. I think the question is how it's going to affect the country," Mead said, not- ing how his coal produces large amounts of coal that the rest of the nation uses. McCarthy said the new regulations aren't "the end-all be-all," but that she hopes it changes compa- nies' strategies on energy development. "It's not going to get us where we need to go in terms of addressing cli- mate to the extent that sci- ence demands. But it is go- ing to send investment sig- nals," she said. In addition to Hicken- looper and Mead, the gov- ernors attending the annual WGA conference in Colo- rado are: Jan Brewer of Ar- izona, C.L. "Butch" Otter of Idaho, Sam Brownback of Kansas, Jack Dalrym- ple of North Dakota, Den- nis Daugaard of South Da- kota, Gary Herbert of Utah, Brian Sandoval of Nevada, and Steve Bullock of Mon- tana. The conference con- cludes Wednesday. CLIMATE CHANGE EPA promotes global warming proposal to governors JUST KICKIN' IT THEASSOCIATEDPRESS Megan Peterson, 21, of Woodbridge, N.J., joins other aspiring dancers as she tries out for a coveted spot with the Rockettes on Tuesday at Radio City Music Hall in New York. By Boubacar Diallo The Associated Press CONAKRY, GUINEA One preacher advocated fasting and prayer to spare people from a virus that usually leads to a horrible death. Some people pray that the Ebola outbreaks, which are hitting three coun- tries in West Africa, stay away from their home ar- eas. Others seem unruffled and say it will blow over. But more than a month after Guinea President Al- pha Conde told reporters the Ebola outbreak that originated in his coun- try was under control, the death toll continues to climb in his country as well as in Sierra Leone and Liberia. At least 231 people have died since the out- break of the fearsome dis- ease, which causes bleed- ing internally and exter- nally and for which there is no known cure. Guinea has recorded just over 200 deaths, along with about a dozen each in Sierra Leone and Liberia. The head of a non-gov- ernmental health organi- zation in Sierra Leone said on local radio on Tuesday that the death toll is dou- ble the number officially reported in that country. Charles Mambu, chairman of Health for All Coalition, also called on the govern- ment to declare a public health emergency. Asked to comment, Amara Jam- bai, the director for disease control and prevention in the Ministry of Health, told The Associated Press that "the spread of the disease is serious. Ebola is with us and we must come together as a nation to fight it." Experts say the out- break may have begun as far back as January in southeast Guinea. Ebola typically begins in remote places and it can take sev- eral infections before the disease is identified, mak- ing a precise start date virtually impossible to pin down. It's one of the worst outbreaks since the disease was first recorded in 1976 in simultaneous outbreaks in Sudan and Congo, said Dr. Armand Sprecher of Doctors Without Borders. It may wind up being the worst outbreak ever. The West Africa Eb- ola situation is especially challenging because of the number of "satellite out- breaks" that have cropped up, said Sprecher, who has worked on the emergency responses in Guinea as well as in Uganda in 2000 and in Congo in 2007. There have been at least six sat- ellite outbreaks elsewhere in Guinea — including the sprawling seaside capital of Conakry — and in Si- erra Leone and Liberia, Sprecher said. In each outbreak, health workers must identify pa- tients, trace and moni- tor everyone they've been in contact with and teach people how to avoid the disease. 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