ACTION: Mandatory Environmental Awareness Training – Due December 10, 2010

HHS is once again requiring a mandatory training. This training will take only 20 minutes and it has a deeply impacting message on the environment, something that affects us all.

NIH has implemented the NIH Environmental Management System (NEMS) and is now requiring that all employees and contractors complete the mandatory “NIH Environmental Awareness Management Training.”  The purpose of the training is to educate employees on the NEMS, the NIH Environmental Policy, and the actions that employees can take in their daily job activities to minimize their impact on the environment.

Event Details:

Recent interest in the World Cup has produced a significant increase in the amount of Internet traffic.  This is beginning to have an impact on the mission of NIH, as it is consuming bandwidth necessary for other tasks.  NIH is monitoring this situation, and will block websites that stream World Cup games if the impact to NIH becomes severe.  NIH is requesting that IC staff limit their viewing of World Cup games, to allow traffic critical to the NIH mission to pass.  Additional details will be provided as they become available.

Impacted Services/Applications:

NIHnet Bandwidth

Impacted Users:

Users attempting to access the internet while logged into the NIH Network

Expected Resolution Time:

Unknown

Please contact the NIH IT Service Desk at 301-496-HELP, 301-496-8294 (TTY), or visit us on the web at http://support.cit.nih.gov.

I received my second email from LGBT event at NIH in a week. I asked to be removed from the list and was told it could not happen. The problem I have with this group being able to give speeches and hold lectures, is the LGBT is a political group that supports DNC and shouldn’t be classified as a nonprofit. Nor can I as an individual request to be removed from the email list. Nor  can I hold a lecture at NIH on the cost impacts of LGBT have on public health systems.

Thank you for contacting me to express your opposition to cap and trade legislation. I appreciate knowing your views on this important issue.

I believe that we need to shift our energy strategy away from fossil fuels and toward cleaner, renewable sources. Such a shift would increase our national security by reducing our dependence on foreign fuels and create new jobs in a clean, green 21st century economy. Currently, we spend billions of dollars purchasing fossil fuels from unstable regions of the world. I believe we would be better served by investing that money here at home in American workers and homegrown energy. By positioning ourselves on the forefront of discovery and innovation in the energy market, we will retain our competitive advantage in the world. We cannot allow our international economic competitors, like China, to beat us in this critical area.

Additionally, top scientists at the National Science Foundation, NASA, and other research labs have reached consensus: global warming is real and could cause dangerous coastal flooding, more intense hurricanes, insect-borne disease. They have also determined that excessive carbon emissions are exacerbating the problem.

Ultimately, our current energy strategy is not sustainable; our continued reliance on foreign oil threatens our national security and we simply do not have the oil reserves to sustain ourselves with domestic drilling. The House-passed American Clean Energy and Security Act, which I supported, takes us in a new direction. It will strengthen our national security by slashing our dependence on foreign oil – by as much as two million barrels a day by 2030. Instead of exporting hundreds of billions of dollars overseas, we will use our dollars to create high-skill, good-paying jobs as we harness American innovation to dramatically increase our use of clean, homegrown power – boosting solar by 20-fold, wind by 500%, biomass by 350%, and geothermal by 50% or more. And, according to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, it will do all this at a cost of less than a postage stamp a day for the average American household in the year 2020, without adding a penny to our national debt. The costs of doing nothing are too great.

After several months of development, introduction and posting to the internet on May 15, 2009, referral to nine House Committees, and an extensive mark-up in the House Energy and Commerce Committee, the House passed the American Clean Energy and Security Act on June 26, 2009. Like all of my colleagues, I had plenty of time to review and consider the legislation.

Again, thank you for sharing your thoughts with me and please do not hesitate to let me know whenever I may be of service.

Sincerely,
Chris Van Hollen
Member of Congress

HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius issued the following statement today:

“I join Americans across the country in mourning the death of Senator Edward M. Kennedy and extending my deepest condolences to the Kennedy family. The Kennedys are a part of my family’s political history. I vividly remember my parents’ joyous celebration when President Kennedy was elected in 1960. I was proud to serve as one of Senator Kennedy’s Kansas campaign co-chairs in 1980 and it was a tremendous honor to work with him throughout the course of my career.

“Senator Kennedy spent his career fighting to improve the health of the American people and extend services to those in need. His work touches all of us and almost every corner of the Department of Health and Human Services. Today, because of his work, senior citizens who would otherwise go hungry will receive meals. Millions of children across the country will have access to medical care and Head Start. And our nation is a fairer and more just place because of his tireless efforts to promote civil rights and end discrimination.

“Ensuring that all Americans have access to quality, affordable health care was one of the causes of Senator Kennedy’s life and we will carry his mission forward. We will honor his incredible legacy of advocacy and accomplishment through our work. Senator Kennedy never let us forget our most important charge as public servants: representing the American people and giving voice to those who have been ignored or forgotten. We will always remember that lesson and his incredible service to our nation.”

Dear Mr. Adams:

Thank you for contacting me about your concerns over a cap-and-trade bill. As a member of the Senate Environment & Public Works Committee, I believe that global warming is a major threat to both our nation and the world and that bold action is needed. Dramatically reducing our greenhouse gas emissions is essential to protecting the planet, the public’s health, and our national security. The good news is that a well designed cap-and-trade program can be a cost effective way to address this threat and help us to develop a clean and sustainable economy.

Many of American’s leading companies, including major manufacturers and utilities support cap and trade. The United States Climate Action Partnership is an alliance of major businesses that have come together to call on the Federal Government to quickly enact strong national legislation to require significant reductions of greenhouse gas emissions. They believe this step is necessary for our future economic prosperity even in our current economic circumstances. This partnership includes major companies such as General Electric, Deere and Company, DuPont, and PepsiCo.

The general consensus of the scientific community is that the effects of global warming are largely caused by increased carbon emissions produced by human activity. The United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change‘s (IPCC) most recent report confirmed this finding. The IPCC is a non-partisan organization comprised of top scientists from around the world. If left unchecked, the impacts of global warming – increased hurricane damage, real estate loss, energy and water costs – will cost our economy $1.9 trillion annually by the end of the century. While too numerous to list here, the national security and public health risks associated with climate change are troubling. The short and long term threats this poses to our economy and standard of living must be taken very seriously.

Unlike a carbon tax, the cap-and-trade model provides businesses and corporations with the most flexibility, enabling market-driven forces to minimize overall costs and achieve maximum efficiency in reducing emissions. This model has been successful in curbing other pollutants in the past. The Acid Rain Program, established under Title IV of the 1990 Clean Air Act Amendments, utilized a cap-and-trade program and dramatically reduced sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide emissions. The Environmental Protection Agency under President George W. Bush estimated the benefit-to-cost ratio of the sulfur dioxide cap-and-trade program at 40-1. Praised by businesses and environmental groups alike, cap-and-trade programs offer a pragmatic approach that meet both our economic and environmental goals.

This market driven program would provide incentives for businesses to invest, create jobs, and save Americans billions of dollars in the long term. Investments in clean energy will generate approximately 3 times as many jobs as the equivalent amount spent on carbon-based fuel. A recent report released by the Union of Concerned Scientists found that if emissions are reduced by 56 percent by 2030, the resulting savings on energy bills from reductions in electricity and fuel would produce net annual savings for households, vehicle owners, businesses, and industries of $255 billion. New incentives will lead to fruitful innovations, and help America become a world leader in a new manufacturing sector, allowing us to export our expertise, intellectual property, and products worldwide. The Political Economy Research Institute estimates that the passage of a cap-and-trade bill would produce 1.7 million new jobs - 26,605 in Maryland alone. These jobs will be permanent, good paying, and will help rebuild our manufacturing sector.

I believe it is critical to Marylanders and all Americans that we pass legislation that moves our nation towards a greener economy and begins to reverse global warming. A cap-and-trade program offers a pragmatic, market-driven solution. I know that this crisis will allow Americans to do what we do best – overcoming a challenge through imaginative innovation. I believe that these policies will transform our economy, and position us to continue our global leadership for decades to come.

Again, thank you for sharing your concerns with me. Please do not hesitate to contact me again with this or any other issue of concern to you.

Please visit my website at http://cardin.senate.gov to sign up for my e-newsletter.

I am writing to tell you about an exciting new summer service initiative created by the Corporation for National and Community Service in coordination with the White House, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and other federal agencies.  Earlier this week, in a video message, President Obama officially announced the initiative, United We Serve, encouraging Americans to create meaningful change in their communities by participating in service projects throughout the summer. The United We Serve initiative will launch on Monday, June 22, at the National Conference on Volunteering and Service and will run through the new National Day of Service and Remembrance on September 11.

To kick off United We Serve, on Tuesday morning, I will participate in the “Reach Out and Read” early literacy program and will read to children at a local health center in Takoma Park, Maryland. You can learn more about the United We Serve initiative and gain all the tools you’ll need to participate by visiting the Corporation’s website, Serve.gov.  Please visit the site today, if you haven’t already, to post your own volunteer projects.

President Obama is also calling on Americans to take a leadership role in recruiting and organizing their friends, family, and neighbors to develop their own service projects that address pressing community needs in partnership with local organizations. To assist you, Serve.gov features toolkits for developing projects in health, education, energy and the environment, and community renewal.

In addition, we encourage you to spread the word about United We Serve by:

· Sending a message about United We Serve, including a link to the President’s video, to your distribution lists.

· Putting a link on your homepage to Serve.gov – banners and logos are available at http://www.serve.gov/link.asp.

· Issuing a press release about your participation in United We Serve – a sample release is available here:  http://www.serve.gov/assets/documents/09_0616_sample_release.doc.

· Sharing stories about how your volunteers are making a difference at http://www.serve.gov/share.asp. This website will highlight examples of exemplary service throughout the summer.

This will be a very exciting 81 days.  Of course, the call to service will not end on September 11. Our hope is that those of you who serve in your communities this summer will stay engaged in these important projects year-round. The President has said that we need to build a new foundation for growth in America during these challenging economic times. This new foundation will be built through an ethic of service and the personal commitment of individuals willing to donate their time and energy to create a better future for all of our fellow citizens. We cannot do this alone in Washington, DC. It will take all of us, working together in our communities. I encourage you to join us in this important effort.

Thank you,

Kathleen Sebelius

Secretary, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services