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foia_K3-Final.txt
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foia_K3-Final.txt
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<label>|<Sentence Text>|<Always deliberative>|<Non IIA>|<Sentiment>|<Subjectivity>
D1|I understand from Mike that he prepared a draft proposal for a WH Conference on education and perhaps some other meetings with specific constituencies to include mayors for you to review recently.|1||0.961634934|0.7882123
D1|When do you suppose it will be ready for circulation for comment by IGA and others?|1||-0.896440208|0.4025156
D1|I am hopeful that we may be in a position to announce at least the mayor segment when the President meets with the USCM winter meeting attendees for breakfast in the WH on January 30.|1||0.541617215|0.9209585
D1|Thanks.|||0.986550331|0.5661136
|||||
D0|Presidential Directive on Coerced Abstinence in the Criminal Justice System January 12, 1998|||-0.844234288|0.006075308
|||||
D0|Announcement • Today, the President directed the Attorney General to take the necessary steps to: (1) require states to determine the level of drug use in their prisons and report annually on their progress;|||0.835906386|2.71E-05
D0|(2) grant states the flexibility to use their federal prison funds for drug detection, offender testing and drug treatment;|||0.994645596|4.96E-06
D0|and (3) work with states to enact stiffer penalties for drug trafficking into and within correctional facilities.|||0.988277376|2.43E-08
D0|The President also announced that his FY 1999 budget will include nearly $200 million for a series of initiatives to promote coerced abstinence and treatment in the criminal justice system.|||0.560829759|0.003110272
|||||
D0|Towards a National Policy of Coerced Abstinence • Last week, Columbia University's Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse (CASA) released a study confirming the need for coerced abstinence and treatment in the criminal justice system.|||-0.948589861|8.45E-07
D0|CASA's study found that 1.4 million offenders -- or 80% of the I. 7 million criminals in prison and jails -- were either high on drugs or alcohol when arrested, stole property to buy drugs, or have a history of drug and alcohol abuse.|||-0.926639378|1.17E-05
D0|Many other studies also confirm that the majority of individuals in the criminal justice system have similar drug histories.|||-0.950488985|0.003830893
|||||
D0|• Testing to Measure Progress.|||0.997333765|0.8501716
D0|Under current law and federal guidelines, states are required to submit drug testing and intervention plans for their federal prison grant funding.|||-0.729516029|7.42E-06
D0|The President's directive calls on the Attorney General to amend the guidelines to require states to also include a baseline report of their prison drug abuse problem, and to report every year thereafter to chart the progress they are making to reduce drug use and availability.|||-0.657766998|0.007377874
D0|The directive also encourages states to expand their efforts to include other offenders involved in the criminal justice system|||0.974787712|0.00015109
|||||
D0|• Helping States Get the Job Done.|||0.996942103|0.20441304
D0|Today's directive asks the Attorney General to draft and transmit to the Congress legislation that will grant states the flexibility to use their federal prison construction and substance abuse treatment funds to provide the full range of drug testing, sanctions and treatment for offenders under criminal justice supervision.|||0.905095518|0.000970414
D0|With this added flexibility, states could tap into the nearly $8 billion in prison funds authorized by the 1994 Crime Law (about $2 billion of which already have been appropriated to date).|||0.864289761|0.12015122
|||||
D0|• Keeping Drugs Out of Prisons.|||0.993311286|0.010052995
D0|Finally, the President's directive calls on the Attorney General to work with the states to enhance their penalties for drug trafficking into and within correctional facilities.|||0.655835092|2.57E-07
D0|The 1994 Omnibus Crime Bill contains tough penalties for similar crimes.|||-0.874384165|0.8287913
D0|"The President believes we must have ""zero tolerance"" for drug use and trafficking within our nation's prison system."|||-0.979367435|0.015582879
|||||
D0|A Record of Accomplishment • President Clinton has consistently promoted a policy of drug testing, sanctions and treatment for offenders.|||0.997359335|0.98059046
D0|Specifically, he has:|||0.996423185|0.004269994
|||||
D0|Pushed for Drug Testing and Intervention in the 50 States.|||-0.800743699|0.000282459
D0|The President fought for and signed the legislation requiring states to drug test prisoners and parolees as a condition for receiving prison grants.|||0.71228081|5.13E-06
D0|States must now submit comprehensive drug testing and intervention plans for prisoners and parolees by March 1998 and implement them by September 1998.|||0.901316047|2.59E-05
D0|Today's actions directly build on this effort|||0.995112479|0.991767
|||||
D0|Doubled the Number of Federal Arrestees Tested.|||0.811462402|0.7353794
D0|President Clinton directed the Attorney General to create a program to drug test federal criminal defendants.|||-0.994814456|0.095889695
D0|Operation Drug TEST (Testing, Effective Sanctions and Treatment) was established and funded a pilot program to immediately test defendants upon their arrest.|||0.948756099|1.64E-07
D0|In FY 1997, data from 24 judicial districts indicated that 56% of defendants (9,308) were tested -- a dramatic increase over the 28% (4,929) of defendants tested in the previous year.|||0.839199185|0.35515004
D0|There was also a 190% increase in drug treatment for defendants over the same period.|||-0.825257003|0.07021411
|||||
D0|Expanded Testing and Treatment in Federal Prisons.|||0.996590853|0.000461626
D0|Through his budgets and the 1994 Crime Act, the President has promoted coerced abstinence in the federal prison system.|||0.874784589|1.25E-05
D0|In 1997 federal prisoners were subjected to nearly 130,000 drug tests.|||-0.998634517|0.010311896
D0|Additionally, the number of inmates required to receive treatment increased by 3-fold (from 5,450 in FY 1993 to 17,943 in FY 1997).|||-0.867295682|0.14616758
|||||
D0|Multiplied the Number of Drug Courts.|||0.822299361|0.22418284
D0|As part of the 1994 Crime Act, the President fought to launch a $1 billion initiative to spread Drug Courts across the country.|||-0.937780499|1.19E-05
D0|Drug Courts use drug testing, sanctions and -- when necessary -Â treatment to cut crime and addiction.|||0.595915437|0.07395661
D0|Drug Courts have increased from a mere handful in 1993 to more than 200 that are operational today.|||0.996729732|0.691923
|||||
D0|Increased Resources in FY 1999 Budget.|||0.995151639|0.27036965
D0|The President's FY 1999 Budget will continue the Administration's policy of drug testing, sanctions and treatment.|||-0.894843936|0.9016147
D0|In particular, the budget includes $192 million for the following programs: -- $85 million for a new Drug Testing Initiative -- $30 million to add more Drug Courts -- $4.7 million for Operation Drug Test -- $5 million for demonstration to combat teenage drug use -- $72 million for treatment in state prisons|||0.914925933|0.014883486
|||||
D0|"''Zero Tolerance""lnitiative for Drugs in Prison Questions and Answers January 12, 1998"|||-0.560080588|0.027406067
|||||
D0|Q. What is the President announcing today?|||-0.971235335|0.61058795
|||||
D0|A. Today, the President signed a directive to the Attorney General calling on her to take the necessary steps to:|||0.505076528|0.027817382
|||||
D0|(1) Require states to determine the level of drug use in their prisons and report annually on their progress.|||0.719367564|7.27E-07
D0|Under current law and federal guidelines, states are required to submit drug testing and intervention plans for their federal prison grant funding.|||-0.729516029|7.42E-06
D0|The President's directive calls on the Attorney General to amend the guidelines to require states to also include a baseline report of their prison drug abuse problem, and to report every year thereafter to chart the progress they are making to reduce drug use and availability.|||-0.657766998|0.007377874
|||||
D0|(2) Give states the flexibilitv to use their federal prison funds for drug detection, offender testing, and drug treatment.|||0.794285774|2.15E-06
D0|The Attorney General will draft and transmit to the Congress legislation to give states the flexibility to use their federal prison construction and substance abuse treatment funds for the full range of drug testing, sanctions, and treatment for offenders under criminal justice supervision.|||0.98593545|0.000239353
D0|This will allow states to tap into the nearly $8 billion in prison funds authorized by the 1994 Crime Law (about $2 billion of which already have been appropriated to date).|||0.894640386|0.003540481
|||||
D0|(3) Work with states to enact stiffer penalties for drug trafficking into and within correctional facilities.|||0.98595804|7.09E-07
D0|Finally, the President's directive calls on the Attorney General to consult with the states to enhance their penalties for drug trafficking into and within correctional facilities.|||0.56950587|9.49E-08
D0|The 1994 Omnibus Crime Bill contains tough penalties for similar crimes.|||-0.874384165|0.8287913
D0|"The President believes we must have ''zero tolerance"" for drug use and trafficking within our nation's prison system."|||-0.965072155|0.026490116
|||||
D0|The President also announced that his FY 99 budget will include $ 97 million for a series of initiatives to promote coerced abstinence and treatment in the criminal justice system-Â including $85 million for a new drug testing and sanctions program for states and localities.|||-0.63252306|0.000364197
|||||
D0|Q. How bad is the problem?|||-0.99649471|0.73835856
D0|Is this directive really needed?|||0.970852256|0.5177012
|||||
D0|A. While crime rates continue to drop and overall drug use is down, illegal drugs remain an enormous factor behind the level of crime and violence in America.|||0.995932758|9.43E-05
D0|Drug addicts are involved in approximately 3 to 5 times the number of criminal incidents as arrestees who do not use drugs.|||0.717880368|8.13E-05
D0|Last week, Columbia University's Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse (CASA) released a study confirming the need for coerced abstinence and treatment in the criminal justice system.|||-0.952388108|1.14E-06
D0|CASA's study found that 1.4 million offenders -- or 80% of the 1.7 million criminals in prison and jails -- were either high on drugs or alcohol when arrested, stole property to buy drugs, or have a history of drug and alcohol abuse.|||-0.911971927|2.27E-06
|||||
D0|Drug test results and anecdotal information reveal that even while incarcerated, offenders can gain access to drugs.|||0.92513603|0.003351608
D0|In drug tests conducted last year, approximately 2 percent of offenders in federal prison and roughly 9 percent of inmates in state facilities tested positive for drugs.|||-0.995313525|4.62E-08
|||||
D0|President Clinton believes that our criminal justice system should reduce drug demand -Â not prolong, enhance, or tolerate it.|||-0.959719062|0.84112847
D0|We know that drug testing and treatment can help to break the cycle of drugs and crime.|||0.994854927|0.000542892
D0|Convicted offenders who undergo drug testing and treatment while in prisons and after release are approximately twice as likely to stay drug-free and crime-free as those offenders who do not receive drug testing and treatment.|||0.741292059|6.14E-08
D0|Today's directive and the resources proposed in the President's budget will help us get to zero tolerance for drugs in prison and to helps state to cut crime and recidivism linked to drug abuse.|||0.988889575|0.001330772
|||||
D0|Q. How is this different from previous actions taken by this Administration to address this issue?|||0.770178139|0.91013205
D0|Is this anything new?|||-0.987810493|0.4014596
|||||
D0|A The President's action today builds on his strong record of accomplishment in this area.|||0.997950017|0.9981693
D0|In 1996, the President launched the first comprehensive effort to address the drug problem in our state criminal justice systems.|||0.989358187|7.59E-05
D0|President Clinton fought for and signed legislation to require states-- whose criminal justice systems house the vast majority of drug dependent offenders-- to drug test prisoners and parolees as a condition of receiving federal prison grants.|||-0.939150393|0.000310417
D0|Under the President's initiative, states must submit comprehensive plans of drug testing and intervention for prisoners and parolees by March 1, 1998 and implement them by September 1, 1998.|||0.966556311|3.06E-06
|||||
D0|Today's directive complements the President's earlier initiative by helping us to chart the states' efforts to reduce drug use and availability in their prisons.|||0.990806282|0.65227836
D0|The directive also makes more resources available to states to help them get the job done|||0.85432905|0.067992516
|||||
D0|The President has taken numerous other actions to combat the problem of drug abuse by offenders involved in the criminal justice system including: doubling the number of federal arrestees drug tested in 24 judicial districts;|||0.856734157|5.31E-08
D0|fighting to launch a $1 billion initiative to spread Drug Courts across the country;|||-0.812271714|1.53E-07
D0|and expanding drug testing, intervention and treatment in Federal prisons through his budgets and the 1994 Crime Act.|||0.958443046|1.28E-06
|||||
D0|Q. Is the federal government tracking the problem of drug use in its own prisons?|||-0.991041005|0.017751865
D0|What are you doing about the drug problem in federal prisons?|||-0.986841321|0.3466094
|||||
D0|A Under the leadership of Attorney General Reno, the federal Bureau of Prisons is carrying out model programs in drug testing, drug treatment, and drug detection.|||0.858890712|0.000121058
|||||
D0|Drug Testing.|||-0.73843354|0.022724906
D0|In 1997, federal inmates were subject to 127,460 drug tests.|||-0.997189224|0.021047808
D0|Two percent of tests were positive, as compared to the 9 percent average for state correctional systems.|||0.967871249|0.002162616
D0|Prisoners testing positive for drugs arc appropriately punished and follow up tests are scheduled regularly to ensure they stay clean.|||0.955140352|0.006963247
D0|Drug testing of correctional officers, and other selected employees is also an established policy in the Federal Bureau of Prisons.|||0.917427242|1.06E-08
|||||
D0|Drug Treatment.|||0.618329883|0.15136597
D0|In compliance with the 1994 Crime Law, drug treatment is provided to 100 percent of eligible inmates prior to their release from Bureau custody.|||0.945068359|1.97E-06
D0|In fY 97, nearly 31,000 inmates participated in Bureau treatment programs.|||-0.614257157|0.15723407
D0|The number of institutions offering residential treatment has grown from 32 to 42 since FY 1994.|||-0.773468971|0.83620644
|||||
D0|Drug Detection.|||0.995146215|0.07161783
D0|Innovative drug detection technology is being piloted at Bureau institutions.|||0.974349797|0.001073288
D0|The Office of National Drug Control Policy is working with the Bureau to provide the states with information on Lhe best ways to keep drugs out of prisons.|||0.947954535|2.37E-07
|||||
D0|Q. Is this new reporting requirement for states on their prison drug problem tantamount to an unfunded mandate on states?|||-0.640083432|0.22831278
|||||
D0|A. No.|||-0.999797046|0.57852495
D0|By law, states must develop and implement plans for drug testing and intervention as a condition of receiving federal prison construction grants.|||-0.700882733|3.15E-05
D0|Today's action means that as part of those plans, states will need to add infornation on their existing prison drug use problem, and update that information annually.|||0.961079001|0.8599805
D0|All 50 state correctional systems conducted some form of drug testing on their inmates last year;|||0.613913894|3.56E-06
D0|yet no comprehensive data exists on the prevalence on drug use in state prisons.|||-0.98946476|0.008633629
D0|Anecdotal reports have shown that certain systems, such as the District of Columbia's corrections department, have had difficulty keeping drugs out of prisons.|||-0.993761837|0.17091174
D0|The baseline information they provide will help us to chart states' progress to reduce drug use and availability in their prisons.|||0.998256981|0.00370432
|||||
D0|In order to provide additional resources for states to promote coerced abstinence and zero tolerance for drugs, the directive calls on the Attorney General to develop legislation to allow states to use their federal prison construction and treatment funds to carry out all of these activities.|||-0.753187239|1.21E-05
|||||
D0|In addition, the President is proposing $197 million in FY 99 for a series of initiatives to help states promote coerced abstinence and treatment: I) $85 million for a new drug testing, sanctions, and intervention program for states and local criminal justice systems; 2) $30 million for Drug Courts; 3) $4.7 million for the federal Operation Drug Test program; 4) $5 million for a juvenile justice demonstration program to combat teen drug use; and 5) $72 million to continue the Residential Substance Abuse Treatment in State Prisons program.|||0.637069702|6.68E-08
|||||
D0|Q. The President's directive asks the Attorney General to work with states to increase their penalties for smuggling drugs into prisons.|||-0.95367825|0.000359467
D0|Are there tough penalties for trafficking drugs into federal prisons?|||-0.99308151|0.000693845
|||||
D0|A. Yes.|||0.997355938|0.87137693
D0|The 1994 Omnibus Crime Act increased penalties for illegal drug use and smuggling drugs into Federal prisons.|||-0.759542346|1.52E-05
D0|for instance, drug trafficking in Federal prisons can now lead to imprisonment for up to 20 years for smuggling narcotics and methamphetamine, and up to 5 years for trafficking marijuana.|||-0.984182417|1.37E-09
|||||
D1|TEXT: Re: the possible race/service announcement in the current State of the Union draft, see the attached.|1||-0.989082456|0.058272857
D1|Are you guys in favor of trying to do something like this?|1||-0.999597609|0.8393576
D1|i.e., trying to line up some churches,etc. that would agree in advance to take up the President's challenge to organize service across racial lines?|1||-0.999242783|0.000889528
D1|It would be tough to organize something big in 2 weeks, but we could try -- Harris could help in reaching out to people.|1||0.988392532|0.7216347
|||||
D1|Or do you think this won't work, and you're trying to substitute the college mentoring initiative into that section of the speech?|1||-0.999548376|0.31563482
|||||
D1|I thought that what we were hoping was that a group of religious organizations would organize in a way that allowed the President to challenge (lightly) folks to participate and call their local branch of xyz synagogue or the branch of the National Council of churches.|1||-0.999927163|8.87E-07
D1|Do we think that something like that is possible|1||0.739883602|0.98979646
|||||
D1|The idea that we came up with was to see if we can't identify five religous organizations who will commit to a day of service to the community as a way of fostering racial reconciliations--something like that.|1||-0.992019475|0.11551394
D1|It's in the thinking stage and of course we should see how it intersects with the service summit- - ideas?|1||0.992384136|0.93648654
|||||
D1|Was there a discussion in a meeting on race this morning about the intersec tion between race and service, where it was agreed that your office would take some steps?|1||-0.907163084|0.051632855
D1|I got somewhat confused reporting on the meeting.|1||-0.99922049|0.9669912
D1|Steve and I have been integrally involved in service and in planning a service event for MLK day, and wanted to make sure we were in the loop .|1||0.998952985|0.000258625
|||||
D1|We did comment on the proposed language on needle exchange after consulting with both Chris Jennings and Kevin Thurm.|1||-0.730260015|0.04630698
D1|I will forward a copy of the memo to you.|1||-0.887789071|0.6716597
|||||
D1|I had a lengthy discussion with Kevin last week regarding this issue.|1||-0.809211075|0.14916764
D1|HHS does not plan to do anything on needle exchange until Satcher is confirmed, assuming that will happen in February.|1||-0.994041145|0.99774665
D1|If indeed the confirmation is held up for some reason,we will have to revisit the timing of any action.|1||-0.902624667|0.994766
|||||
D1|Contrary to what Scott Hitt may have told you, the AIDS community is still vehemently opposed to any law enforcement component in any compromise we might propose.|1||-0.994434178|0.99727386
D1|So are General Mccaffrey and I.|1||-0.808130145|0.42616662
D1|In fact, it may well be the only point upon which we agree on this issue.|1||-0.725655973|0.8412529
|||||
D0|Attached is the summary report of our January 6 meeting.|||0.716710269|0.000385785
|||||
D1|Attached is a revised schedule for Advisory Board activities through FY 1998.|||0.702763438|7.48E-05
D1|It reflects the discussion held on January 6.|1||0.667280316|0.13715258
D1|The schedule includes suggested topics for Advisory Board meetings.|1||0.850112379|0.007120869
D1|Some topics which may warrant Advisory Board attention are not included due to time constraints.|1||-0.940431416|0.079428256
D1|However, it may be worth exploring whether a way should be found to include these topics.|1||0.504309595|0.6550532
D1|Among these topics are access to health care, equal housing opportunities, and the meaning of being an American in the One America envisioned by the President.|||0.977479994|0.001002525
|||||
D1|There was considerable discussion at the meeting regarding products which will result from the work of the Advisory Board .|1||0.899995923|0.014663722
D1|A general consensus formed around six products, and they are outlined below.|1||0.989690542|0.0611202
D1|Other products related to Board meetings and Board member activity are being proposed and developed, and wc should have a separate meeting to discuss them.|1||-0.698448896|2.79E-07
|||||
D0|Products from Advisory Board|||0.995737433|2.85E-05
|||||
D1|l. Advisory Letters to the President from Dr. John Hope Franklin on behalf of the President's Advisory Board: These letters would be prepared following each meeting of the Advisory Board.|1||0.778698862|9.66E-08
D1|The substance of these letters would be the provision of advice to the President on matters relating to the topic of the Advisory Board meeting.|1||-0.60080272|0.5843742
|||||
D1|Individual Board Members Feedback to the President:|||0.909933805|0.016834384
|||||
D1|Advisory Board members have been provided with standard forms on which to provide feedback to the Initiative following each activity in which they engage as an Advisory Board member.|1||0.995641232|0.001298592
D1|On a monthly basis each Board member will summarize (perhaps with staff assistance) such feedback, particularly as it relates to the identification of promising practices, the recruitment of leaders, and the fostering of dialogues, and provide it in written form to the President.|1||0.955437243|0.027192242
|||||
D1|The members of the Advisory Board will identify and recruit leaders who will continue to engage in racial reconciliation activities following the conclusion of the work of the Advisory Board.|1||0.99044764|6.08E-09
D1|For example, through the corporate outreach effort, Ilob Thomas will identify leaders in the corporate sector; through the religious outreach effort, Rev. Suzan Johnson Cook will identify leaders in the faith community;|1||0.998412132|0.000128735
D1|through activities with organizations of public officials, Governors Winter and Kean will identify leaders among public officials.|1||0.9951244|5.74E-06
D1|All Board members will be involved in the effort to identify and recruit leaders.|1||0.995429873|1.54E-06
D1|On the feedback form mentioned in item 2, Board members are encouraged to identify leaders in communities they visit.|1||0.979374588|0.000321547
|||||
D1|Through the use and distribution of One America Conversation Packets and the more comprehensive Race Dialogue How-To Kits, Advisory Board members will encourage dialogues in communities they visit.|1||0.99064225|0.000102709
D1|Among the issues which need to be resolved are ways in which to record these dialogues, receive feedback from them, measure their quantity and effectiveness , and obtain press attention for them.|1||0.997612238|0.19603899
D1|The Board, with staff assistance, will develop a written summary of efforts to promote and sustain dialogue.|1||0.978534579|0.000968479
|||||
D1|Advisory Board members , during their visits to various communities, will identify promising practices and report them to the Initiative staff.|1||0.994975448|3.56E-09
D1|Also, through regular communications with Initiative staff: Board members will receive reports of promising practices for inclusion in speeches as examples of how communities can work toward racial reconciliation.|1||0.968503952|1.75E-05
D1|One example could be a reference to Boston' s Team Harmony Project as something that could be replicated elsewhere.|1||-0.882825136|0.9630181
|||||
D1|Summaries of Advisory Board Meetings and Town Halls|||0.752850711|3.58E-06
|||||
D1|Following each Advisory Board meeting and Town Hall, Initiative staff will produce a detailed summary of the event, including information gathered, opinions expressed, conclusions reached, and follow-up planned.|1||0.984581172|2.12E-07
D1|These summaries will be transmitted by Dr. Franklin to the President in a timely fashion.|1||0.995615363|0.003342376
|||||
D0|OUTREACH SCHEDULE (revised l/8/98) PRESIDENT'S INITIATIVE ON RACE|||0.986786962|0.9903977
|||||
D0|January: 13-14 Advisory Board Meeting, Phoenix, AZ -- Employment 14 Workplace Diversity Forum, Phoenix, AZ 30 Corporate Executives Forum, Los Angeles, CA|||0.943633974|3.91E-05
|||||
D0|February: 10 Religious Leaders Forum, Newark, NJ 10-11 Advisory Board Meeting, Oakland/San Francisco, CA -- Race and Poverty TBD (week of 22nd)|||-0.881616175|3.03E-08
D0|Corporate Executives Forum, New York City|||0.994376957|0.022478636
|||||
D0|March : 3 or 4 TBD TBD TBD 24 24-25|||-0.995311737|0.06928975
|||||
D0|April: 22 22-23 TBD Advisory Board Town Hall Meeting, Atlanta, GA or Minneapolis, MN (week of 1st)|||-0.968348801|9.86E-09
D0|Religious Leaders Forum, Baltimore (week of 8th)|||0.692861438|8.84E-06
D0|Corporate Executives Forum, Chicago, IL or Cincinnati, OH (week of 15th)|||0.800078332|0.001525222
D0|Religious Leaders Forum, Columbia, SC Religious Leaders Forum, Denver, CO Advisory Board Meeting, Denver, CO -- Race and Stereotyping Religious Leaders Forum, Location TBD Advisory Board Town Hall Meeting, Chicago, IL Campus/Community Week of Dialogue|||0.952504277|6.49E-08
|||||
D0|May: 19-20 Advisory Board Meeting, San Antonio, TX -- Immigration TBD Corporate Leaders/Religious Leaders Meeting with President|||-0.980711937|7.97E-06
|||||
D0|June: 17 -18 Advisory Board Town Hall Meeting , Birmingham, AL|||0.983588696|5.70E-06
|||||
D0|July: TBD Advisory Board Meeting, Charleston, SC -- Administration of Justice|||0.625947416|0.000352622
|||||
D0|August: TBD Advisory Board Town Hall Meeting, Seattle, WA -- Our Future (Youth)|||0.966300011|5.86E-07
|||||
D0|Additional Activities:|||0.9935987|0.053805035
|||||
D0|March 16-17 March 17-20 March 26-29 March 28 TBD TDD University of Mississippi (Dr. Franklin, Gov. Winter) AFL-CIO Executive Council , Las Vegas AFL-CIO Full Participation Conference, Los Angeles Children's Defense Fund Race Town Hall Meeting, Los Angeles American Indian/Alaska Native Town Hall Meetings President's Town Hall Meetings (3)|||0.984666109|5.14E-12
|||||
D0|Immigration -- Skills of Immigrants: The attached U.S. News article discusses the issue of whether we should change our legal immigration system to strengthen preferences for skilled and well-educated prospective immigrants over those that are poorly educated and unskilled.|||0.954294682|0.001196358
D0|The current immigration system is set up to favor keeping families intact.|||0.93726635|0.005658878
D0|Thus, the vast number of legal immigrants are brought to this country through family-based visas, which do not take into account education or skill level.|||-0.998993456|0.23502232
D0|The article cites a Rand study proposal to create a point system of immigration which continues to give weight to immediate family reunification but would also give points for education, language skills, and work experience.|||-0.950692594|0.76556295
D0|The final report of the Commission on Immigration Reform also recommends a shift in priority toward higher skilled immigrants.|||-0.737256944|0.001339523
D0|Instead creating a point system, the Commission recommends revising skill-based admissions (approximately 100,000 visas) to favor highly-skilled and educated immigrants and eliminating altogether the category of unskilled workers.|||-0.982948482|0.003349694
D0|Though we think that these ideas are well worth exploring, it is unlikely that Congress will want to consider an overhaul of legal immigration this year.|||-0.966573834|0.9937038
D0|Efforts to reduce legal immigration levels were defeated during consideration of the 1996 illegal immigration law.|||-0.934064806|1.22E-05
|||||
D1|Education -- Single Sex Schools in New York City: DPC has been meeting with the White House Counsel's office, the Education and Justice Departments, to address the OCR response to a complaint against the existence of the all girl's Women's Leadership Academy in New York City.|1||0.969518006|9.01E-06
D1|Both you and Secretary Riley are in complete agreement that, as a matter of policy, school districts should be (encouraged??? free???) to establish single sex schools as part of the mix of education options.|1||0.950479627|0.9335097
D1|The Office of Civil Rights has placed its investigation of the compliant on hold, and will take no steps in the foreseeable future to press New York City to change the status of the school.|1||-0.989940226|9.32E-05
D1|However, civil rights offices in both Education and Justice believe that such schools ultimately may be difficult to justify under Title IX or Article (relevant Constitutional reference), in part because they have discriminatory admissions policies, and partly because separate schools will inevitably become unequal and to the ultimate disadvantage of females.|1||-0.923715413|3.68E-05
D1|They believe that the strongest legal case for permitting single sex schools is an argument that they are an appropriate remedy for past discrimination, such as low academic performance of females in co-educational settings.|1||0.586974144|0.7044363
D1|Neither of the cognizant Civil Rights offices want to take formal action on this issue, because they believe they will be forced to oppose single-sex schools.|1||-0.999092579|0.7952869
|||||
D1|Late in December, Secretary Riley and Rudy Crew agreed to appoint small teams of educators from the Education Department and the NYC Schools to work collaboratively to develop the strongest case for the Women's Leadership Academy.|1||0.964397728|3.04E-11
D1|The teams will begin to plan their work next week.|1||0.99241966|1.56E-05
D1|This process may take some time, and during this period the Education Department's Office of Civil Rights will not take any further actions on this case.|1||-0.997180343|0.04812624
|||||
D1|Health Care-- Robert Reich's Proposal for Fixed Dollars for Health Care: You asked for an analysis of Robert Reich's proposal to forgo a new increase in the minimum wage and instead require that employers require a certain fixed dollar amount for health care.|1||-0.852508605|0.99991643
D1|As you will recall, we did forgo proposing a minimum wage increase when we proposed the Health Security Act because we did not want to load up the costs to employers.|1||-0.893057227|0.99894863
D1|The idea of having a defined minimum employer contribution certainly has some merit as it would make a significant contribution to decreasing the number of uninsured.|1||-0.866120756|0.9999256
D1|Having said that, there are a number of political and policy issues that have to be seriously considered prior to pursuing such a proposal.|1||-0.927915573|0.11513595
|||||
D1|There are numerous political and administrative complications that would have to be worked out before moving fonvard on such an initiative, such as: (1) whether or not we would be forced to add subsidies for this;|1||-0.942307591|0.078995295
D1|(2) whether employers would be accountable if their employees had coverage from their spouse's employers;|1||-0.81438899|2.56E-07
D1|or (3) whether certain employers would be exempt.|1||-0.758258164|9.50E-05
|||||
D1|Having said this, if you would like to further pursue this you should be aware that of some of the disadvantages.|1||0.848766744|0.9956756
D1|"We will have to use a great deal of capital with the employer community as we move forward on our other current health care policies such as health care quality and the COBRA extension for the ""promise breaker'' employees who have dropped retiree health care coverage."|1||-0.988729417|0.6388011
D1|Adding this proposal to the mix would no doubt create a great deal of public animosity from the employer community.|1||0.813843071|0.97462034
D1|"Moreover, in a Republican Congress there is no chance that this would pass and it would likely be characterized as another step to ""take over the health care system."""|1||-0.989677429|0.9183137
D1|Although liberal Democrats would be comfortable with this proposal, our centrist Democrats would not support it, primarily because of the opposition from the small business community.|1||-0.997479498|0.9959383
|||||
D1|Health Care -- Medicare HMOs Dropping Benefits: You asked us to respond to recent reports that Medicare lIMOs were dropping benefits because of changes in Medicare reimbursement policies.|1||-0.976244926|0.99998796
D1|We have asked HI-IS to review the extent to which this is occurring.|1||-0.991835237|0.98406905
D1|However, it is important to note that many independent policy experts believe that payments to HMOs still are, on average, excessive given the fact that they continue to attract disproportionately healthy populations.|1||-0.967582107|0.99741924
D1|They believe that any movement towards reducing 2 benefits are more attributable to HMO ' s desire for adequate profit margins for their investors rather than adjustments in reimbursement issue.|1||-0.988248169|0.9463474
D1|In fact, one corporate executive just informed us that Medicare continues to be their number one most profitable player.|1||-0.845475376|0.21786223
D1|Having said that, the fact that the BBA is starting to reduce Medicare reimbursements to HMOs will clearly contribute to lower revenues for these health plans.|1||-0.997054458|0.96645355
D1|It is important to note that the added benefits in Medicare HMO plans do help encourage beneficiaries to participate in these plans.|1||0.982626617|0.45341372
D1|The outstanding question is whether or not we want to allow payment rates to exceed what is necessary so as to ensure that these additional benefits are in place.|1||0.664503634|0.9997112
D1|Regardless , any move in this direction would be premature until we have better information about the extent to which HMOs are reducing benefits and the reasons behind such a trend.|1||0.598649204|0.9992914
|||||
D0|Q&A for Food Safety January 12, 1998|||-0.770640254|0.000215327
|||||
D0|Q: What steps will the Clinton Administration take to improve food safety?|||-0.995964885|0.69455886
|||||
D0|A: Last year we were able to increase spending on food safety by approximately $40 mil li on.|||-0.75127089|0.17942551
D0|This year, our budget will seek an even more substantial increase in resources to improve food safety.|||-0.97327143|0.763375
D0|The resources will go to a variety of initiatives, including: implementing our aggressive fresh produce plan to hire FDA inspectors to improve the safety of our nation's fruits and vegetables , both domestic and imported;|||0.985675633|0.0114388
D0|increasing the risk assessment on beef, chicken and pork to better determine the source of the greatest risk of contamination;|||-0.909335971|0.20373967
D0|developing more tests for meat and poultry for federal inspectors and others to detect food-borne illnesses ;|||0.894741714|0.000162539
D0|improve educational outreach on proper food handling; and expanding CDC's surveillance activities for food-borne illnesses.|||0.732765198|0.04932666
|||||
D0|Q: Why is your Administration proposing these actions?|||-0.997207105|0.9429212
|||||
D0|A: We have the ability to help Americans stay healthier and increase their confidence in the safety of the food they eat.|||0.998687565|0.11326027
D0|We also need to keep up with the changes in the agricultural marketplace, and in our diets.|||0.864025176|0.48637202
D0|For inst ance, there have been dramatic changes in the produce department of the grocery store.|||0.697205305|0.020522747
D0|Thirty years ago, most produce sections only had around a dozen items year round, increasing to as many as 50 in the summer.|||0.7917642|0.002470263
D0|Today, the chances are that there are 400 or more items in the produce section and they are there all year round.|||0.996192694|0.7084088
D0|Last year, 38 percent of the fruit and 12 percent of the vegetables Americans ate were imported .|||-0.999869108|0.000340806
|||||
D0|We have changed as well .|||-0.988722682|0.7066776
D0|Americans arc eating more fresh fruits and vegetables than ever before, and our nation's health experts tell us we will live longer , better quality lives as a result.|||0.903146029|0.9079079
D0|Our environment is also changing.|||0.766459227|0.019092266
D0|" We are finding "" new' ' exotic bugs such as cyclospora and E. coli 0 157: H7 on our food that once were not there ."|||-0.999628425|0.10426854
|||||
D0|We must ensure that these changes do not increase the risk to consumers of food borne illnesses.|||0.994509816|0.89498705
|||||
D0|Q. Is this a new issue for the Administration?|||-0.984806716|0.7537275
|||||
D0|A. No, our actions are part of a continuing effort that has seen real accomplishment every year:|||0.99879539|0.9978229
|||||
D0|* October, 1997 .|||-0.921236098|0.072538525
D0|President announces new initiative to enhance fDA oversight over imported foods and to develop guidance on good agricultural and manufacturing practices for fruits and vegetables ;|||0.606444299|0.024715213
D0|to seek legislation to give FDA the same authority that USDA has to inspect imports;|||-0.968657076|0.01951044
D0|and to seek funds to greatly expand FDA' s inspection force.|||-0.530805767|0.001466585
|||||
D0|• January , 1997 .|||-0.981223106|0.020773966
D0|Administration announces comprehensive new initiative to improve the safety of nation ' s food supply detailing a $43 million food safety program, including measures to improve surveillance, outbreak response, education, and research.|||-0.595703185|0.049589
|||||
D0|"""' August, 1996 ."|||-0.977708876|0.013934455
D0|President signs Safe Drinking Water Act of 1996.|||0.867522359|0.06110808
D0|The law requires drinking water systems to protect against dangerous contaminants like cryptosporidium , and gives people the right to know about contaminants in their tap water .|||0.96387589|0.018503724
|||||
D0|• August, 1996.|||-0.977292299|0.023638958
D0|President signs Food Quality Protection Act of 19 96, which streamlines regulation of pesticides by FDA and EPA and puts important new public-health protections in place, especially for children.|||0.982086182|0.35489774
|||||
D0|"""' July, 1996."|||-0.948590934|0.017478216
D0|President Clinton announces new regulations that modernize the nation ' s meat and poultry inspection system for the first time in 90 years.|||0.665654004|0.010371
D0|New standards help prevent E.coli bacteria contamination in meat.|||0.997620404|0.028627
|||||
D0|• December, 1995.|||-0.91566354|0.052783135
D0|Administration issues new rules to ensure seafood safety.|||-0.967273712|0.24778172
D0|Utilizes HACCP regulatory programs to require food industries to design and implement preventive measures and increase the industries ' responsibility for and control of their safety assurance actions.|||0.997815609|0.9356277
|||||
D0|"""' 199 4."|||-0.515407979|0.089875974
D0|CDC embarks on strategic program to detect, prevent, and control emerging infectious disease threats, some of which are food borne, making significant progress toward this goal in each successive year .|||0.997582555|0.21384045
|||||
D0|• 1993 .|||0.995146573|0.67169636
D0|Vice-President ' s National Performance Review issues report recommending government and industry move toward a system of preventive controls.|||0.760617495|0.9933264
|||||
D1|I mentioned in Gene's office the other day an alternative approach to addressing the struggle to raise educational achievement in high poverty areas (urban or rural in my formulation);|1||-0.674112141|0.52370304
D1|this came out of the Education Branch's consideration of the Education Department FY 1999 Budget submission.|1||-0.966291666|0.97282404
D1|I had discussed this some with Mike Cohen earlier, and I had the benefit of attending one meeting with Mike and ED'S Tirozzi and Johnson.|1||0.884379148|0.006976413
D1|Attached is a two-page draft summary of the OMB staff proposal.|1||-0.676949918|0.19424276
D1|It would: reinforce and support current programs, like Title I, by mainly providing sizable money awards for demonstrated progress in raising student achievement, not just providing more money for more plans for the same things schools are supposed to be doing with Goals and title I and IDEA, etc.;|1||-0.621199906|0.9915861
|||||
D1|"reach 50-100 districts or more, depending on award size; for current needs money, incorporate the now free-standing Obey grants in a way that supports base program goals, without generating a separate program unconnected to the Administration""s flagship efforts."|1||0.846886992|0.9982456
D1|pick up some ideas from the DPC/Education discussions.|1||0.988223672|0.29417843
|||||
D1|We propose to discuss this approach with Education next week as part of Passback as an item for the Presidential Priorities Reserve.|1||-0.632358909|0.99956423
D1|We would appreciate the chance to go over it with you first to see how it looks to you compared to what you have been working on with Education.|1||0.986599803|0.99995005
|||||
D1|I am also sharing this draft with Mike Smith, since we seem to be chatting collectively about the education initiatives these days.|1||0.99252069|0.98632044
|||||
D1|As all of you probably are aware, the special provisions of VAWA for battered immigr Additionally, Bonnie says the Justice Dept. is supportive of remedies on this issue.|||0.855698645|0.98898125
|||||
D0|If there is no plan, could we have a discussion!|||-0.866104484|0.8809919
D0|thanks.|||0.986550331|0.5661136
|||||
D1|As all of you probably are aware, the special provisions of VAWA for battered immigrant women have been undercut by recent legislation.|1||-0.834024072|0.75172603
D1|A number of our congressional friends, especially those in the Congressional Women's Caucus, spoke of their concern about this during their one minute floor speeches prior to adjournment.|1||0.909081995|0.9832486
D1|"The advocacy groups are getting geared-up and are wanting relief on this issue and would like for the White House, the groups and our congressional friends to have a united front in getting this ""fixed"" before Congress reconvenes."|1||-0.993386567|0.059162084
D1|Bonnie Campbell and Janna Sidley have spoken with me about this but do not want to encourage the groups one way or the other until they know the White House plan.|1||-0.649821281|0.27255684
D1|Additionally, Bonnie says the Justice Dept. is supportive of remedies on this issue.|1||0.966623247|0.63675857
D1|Please advise as to our plan.|1||0.659295857|0.04402363
|||||
D0|If there is no plan, could we have a discussion thanks.|||-0.7318753|0.99724007
|||||
D1|Andrea put together the attached one and a half page chart to show you two alternatives ways to link a proposal for 50,000 more housing vouchers to welfare reform.|1||-0.858646572|0.97656643
D1|Please take a quick look and let me know if you have a preference.|1||-0.537924826|0.9910528
|||||
D1|Barry White seems to think that in order to have a strong tie between the new vouchers and welfare to work, the vouchers must be tied specifically to the $3 billion welfare to work program.|1||-0.984261751|0.94497985
D1|As much as I love Barry, I just don't agree.|1||0.554322898|0.881716
D1|There is no reason why the public housing authority could not link with a welfare to work program operated by the local TANF agency instead.|1||-0.942737997|0.001160949
|||||
D1|One reason why Barry may prefer the link to $3 billion program is that those dollars are targetted to hard-to-employ, long-term recipients.|1||-0.976507068|0.9881974
D1|If we want to target vouchers to long-term recipients, we could do so without requiring that they be long-term recipients in the $3 billion program.|1||-0.946282506|0.999941
D1|Or, as illustrated in our alternative, we could let the local housing authorities propose the program linkage and the individuals to be targetted in their application for vouchers.|1||-0.92934376|0.75274235
|||||
D0|so I'll have Andrea talk to Cathy|||0.683328688|0.2994618
|||||
D0|Yes.|||0.995916903|0.83662367
D0|No problem.|||0.997941434|0.44248292
D0|Since you still do not have your support person, why don't you ask Cathy to help her fill out the travel voucher.|||0.627262831|0.9359784
D0|This should be done before we leave for Thanksgiving if we can.|||-0.886423528|0.75429654
D0|Also, we should pay for the whole amount.|||-0.979379654|0.89306456
|||||
D0|The most immediate thing happening on this front is a petition pending at the FDA on using the technology on meat.|||-0.998835146|0.69762695
D0|Friedman has said publicly that a decision is close.|||0.850092471|0.75375175
|||||
D0|You dropped me a note about whether the Doggett amendment passed.|||-0.989623606|0.98950255
D0|It did in State/Commerce, but has not been signed yet.|||-0.790442646|0.0614717
D0|(It formalized the US position on tobacco exports-- prohibting promotion of tobacco overseas but allowing the government to fight discrimination specifically against US tobacco).|||0.900323093|0.023086129
|||||
D1|Scott and Maria have arranged for a meeting next Tuesday at 3pm in Rm 208 with DOJ and INS to discuss how we want to proceed with administrative relief for the Central - Americans -- - i.e., whether to promulgate a reg or whether to proceed with guidance to the field, with no reg.|1||0.579665482|3.66E-07
D1|INS/DOJ are opposed to a reg.|1||-0.869838834|0.7714257
D1|Maria is in favor.|1||0.983012617|0.001767428
D1|I have yet to read the memo from the advocates, but will do so and then take it from there.|1||0.974416435|0.89210844
|||||
D0|Grade Average Class Size|||-0.55708164|0.9767272
|||||
D0|The articles on class size reduction have been copied and are on their way over.|||-0.999869227|0.12837677
|||||
D0|Maria would like to invite you to attend a meeting tomorrow morning with Sylvia Mathews, Ann Lewis and Judy Winston to make the final decision on the authors for the Akron town hall meeting and the following Conservative meeting.|||-0.832808971|8.28E-07
|||||
D0|Please come to Maria's office at 9am or send your comments to us, should you wish to make additional comments.|||-0.967446983|0.9773934
D0|Thank you.|||0.921120048|0.9742234
|||||
D0|Speaker Bustamante says that we will know in the next two weeks whether there is agreement on the Cal. bilingual education legislation.|||-0.795189798|0.84237415
D0|There is a negotiating team working now, and they will meet Dec. 10 or 11.|||0.82718575|1.58E-07
D0|I will circulate the proposed bill and analysis to ya'll.|||0.993141711|0.5586916
|||||
D1|We decided that John Callahan was going to send us a new version of the spending updated to reflect the passbacks.|1||-0.999847651|0.99403363
D1|But we agreed Chris would go ahead and talk to Josh about the need for more money -- outside of the grant program.|1||-0.597794533|0.22923571
|||||
D1|We are also going to talk to NIH about getting them to focus some of their outreach/campaign dollars on minority outreach -- as they receive the vast portion of discretionary funding.|1||-0.998977184|0.9999027
|||||
D1|We are talking to Bill Corr again about other things necessary to plan the event tomorrow.|1||0.623081982|0.88910246
|||||
D1|As always, I am sure we will be filled with confidence.|1||0.998920918|0.9806974
|||||
D1|Chris and I have already talked to Julie, OPL and the race commission about pulling together an outreach meeting when we get back from Thanksgiving.|1||0.971296072|0.044370413
|||||
D0|We plan to have a group of Conservative/Republicans meet with the President (and possibly one or more of the Advisory Committee members) in the month of December.|||-0.985600471|0.000245098
D0|There are several objectives to this meeting: a) reduce the criticism that the President's Race Initiative is a monologue and is not including people who may disagree with some or all of the President' s vision regarding race;|||0.969245315|0.9263117
D0|b) obtain constructive suggestions, if any, from the conservative perspective on how best to address the continuing effects of racism, discrimination and lack of equal opportunity for all Americans;|||-0.806187093|0.9748751
D0|c) show that even within the conservative wing there are differences of opinion as to how best to address continuing problems of discrimination.|||0.659210801|0.6441829
|||||
D0|After consultation with a number of people (i.e,, Gov. Keane, Chris Edley, Bill Galston, Emanuel, McCurry, Blumenthal, Mathews and Murguia), we have compiled a list of conservative/Republicans.|||0.959717453|7.74E-06
D0|We will only be able to select 8 to 10 to meet with the President.|||-0.987549186|0.001705066
D0|In order to finalize our invite list, below is a first cut in priority order, with alternates listed separately.|||-0.613687038|0.011633053
D0|We need your reaction and input to make sure this meeting will meet the objectives outlined above.|||0.992753923|0.99972874
|||||
D0|Initial Invite List Jack Kemp Ward Connerly Ralph Reed Elizabeth Dole Linda Chavez JC Watts Dinesh D'Souza William Bennett|||0.982399702|0.000704195
D0|Alternates Thaddeus Garrett Ken Blackwell Lynn Martin Irwin Clark Steven and Abigail Thumstrun Shelby Steele Newt Gingrich John Dunne William Kristol Gary Bauer Glenn Loury Richard Rodriguez Robert Woodson Orlando Patterson Randall Kennedy|||0.996119976|0.28326306
|||||
D0|FYI, the President sent a note to Bruce and Todd Stern about an article in last week's USA Today by Andrea Stone, which was critical of progress since the service summit.|||-0.988699973|0.05411021
D0|"He wrote, ""We should send our summit update to this author -- seek to merge our race/service initiatives more."""|||-0.975627244|0.009619051
|||||
D0|I am following up with Ann Lewis's office to get the piece to the reporter, but I thought you'd be interested that he made the connection.|||-0.953594625|0.52271116
D0|"The article refers to the race initiative by saying the President ""now devotes his bully pulpit to other concerns [than service], such as race."""|||-0.999370396|0.17317313
|||||
D0|No paper, unless Sandy plans to hand some out.|||-0.998221219|0.01477602
D0|It's a continuation of a previous meeting.|||0.803355217|0.9352231
D0|Key topics will be needle exchange and upcoming report of President's Council on HIV/AIDS.|||0.827338696|0.9747985
|||||
D0|Here it is.|||0.987663448|0.072971486
D0|Also, Chuck did say that their document was intended for distribution.|||-0.97876966|0.003636003
D0|I told him what we agreed I would.|||0.980886936|0.017345544
D0|He didn't seem concerned but he has just stepped in to take Emil's place so I think it is important for you to talk to Gene.|||0.951850057|0.87206984
D0|Also, FYI, Gene is meeting with Marian Wright Edelman tomorrow.|||0.973291993|0.001363293
|||||
D1|We are developing a child care proposal that will help working families afford child care, make targeted investments to improve the safety and quality of child care, particularly for infants and toddlers, and provide safe, constructive activities for school-age children.|1||0.872477174|0.002812661
D1|To help working families afford child care, the proposal: (1) increases funding for federal child care subsidies through the Child Care and Development Block Grant;|1||-0.708999932|3.51E-09
D1|and (2) changes the Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit by raising the percentage of child care expenses for which a taxpayer may take a credit and by increasing the income levels of taxpayers who may claim it.|1||0.915936887|1.26E-08
D1|Currently, the credit rate is phased down from 30% for taxpayers with adjusted gross income of $10,000 or less to 20% for taxpayers with AGI above $28,000.|||-0.998246908|0.8867025
D1|We are considering a series of options, including raising the credit rate from 50% for taxpayers with AGI of $30,000 to 20% for those with AGI above $59,000.)|1||-0.987894356|0.89132214
D1|We are also considering targeted investments to improve the safety and quality of care.|1||-0.772836149|0.8552691
D1|First, the proposal adds funding to the scholarship program for child care providers, which you announced at the child care conference and which has received strong support.|1||0.934204519|0.007724288
D1|Second, it includes a new program that will ensure safety and healthy early learning and development for children in the critical first years.|1||0.989357531|0.000613553
D1|Third, the proposal provides resources for states to improve their enforcement of health and safety standards, and fourth, it funds parent education, research and technology.|1||0.814591587|0.001360599
D1|Finally, the proposal makes safe, constructive activities for youth during after-school hours more available by creating a new program for school age children and by coordinating existing programs.|1||0.974356592|0.000155163
|||||
D0|O'Hara informs me that CNN is running its food safety hour long special this evening.|||-0.95511359|0.9816512
D0|We don't know what the take away message will be.|||-0.998292148|0.9585345
|||||
D0|Also, the NYTs series continues to grow and slide.|||0.998743474|0.008580434
D0|Current thinking is that it will begin a week from this Sunday but don't hold your breath.|||-0.982850313|0.8675501
D0|The first pieces are likely to cover E. coli outbreaks on produce.|||-0.853654206|0.051805843
|||||
D0|"Sylvia Mathew's Office has asked that we submit the names on the ""Conservative List"" for the Race Mtg by 5pm today."|||-0.999442637|0.010923362
|||||
D0|Please send your final comments (or questions) to me as soon as possible-Â and we apologize for the short notice .|||-0.995621502|0.99758387
|||||
D0|Elena, Do we have an Education directive yet?|||0.777825296|0.16916603
D0|The final town hall meeting before Thanksgiving is tomorrow at 11am.|||-0.81620729|5.01E-05
D0|I know that they will want to know more about what we plan to do.|||0.976928294|0.89370334
D0|I have sked Mike this morning, but I haven't heard back yet.|||0.82096988|0.95159125
|||||
D0|Also, I spoke with Christa about what other role we should be playing in this process.|||-0.637694299|0.6524242
D0|She has hooked me up with the press and speech people, to allow us to review q&a and statements.|||0.997644484|0.017951999
D0|Otherwise, I asked Minyon to let me know in what other ways we should be plugged in.|||-0.99434942|0.9721469
D0|Does that seem right?|||0.637781858|0.9458274
|||||
D0|Attached is a copy of the conservative list that I sent you all on November 20th.|||-0.999854445|0.013600632
D0|Please let me know if you have any changes to make before tomorrow morning.|||-0.982810378|0.98737204
|||||
D1|Press (Lori McHugh) advised Friday that they wanted to put the report and EO out this Friday, March 28th, at the top of McCurry's briefing, but now Press office is revisiting.|||0.991268396|5.95E-08
D1|I do not want to sit on this beyond Monday as the main coalition of interest groups -- the Task Force on Radiation and Human Rights -- has asked us to get it out the door before their meeting April 1 (per a letter Diane brought to my attention Friday).|1||-0.999462903|0.003713872
D1|DOE and my preference is to release the report, however we can, this week.|1||-0.965427458|0.73254853
D1|Pena and key Asst. Secretary are available Friday and MAY be available Thursday.|1||0.899075687|0.11994668
D1|Barry Toiv is now working to get closure in the press office.|1||-0.516535938|0.022208884
D1|If this comes up again, please let people know we need to get it out the door.|1||-0.970562637|0.9542038
D1|We just need 2 days notice to get to advisory committee members, certain reporters, and key Hill people if we want to get any decent press and not offend anyone.|1||-0.790494025|0.9747431
D1|Since 7 agencies are involved, outreach can't be done at very last minute.|1||0.915111244|0.27293757
D1|Thanks for your help.|||0.686332822|0.45278445
|||||
D0|The Administration Announces Actions Responding to President Clinton's Advisory Committee on Human Radiation Experiments March 28, 1997|||-0.920228124|0.015478944
|||||
D0|Background In January, 1994 President Clinton established the Advisory Committee on Human Radiation Experiments (ACHRE) to examine reports that the government had supported unethical human radiation experiments and releases of radiation during the Cold War.|||-0.652482867|2.55E-06
D0|He asked ACHRE to uncover the truth, recommend ways to right past wrongs, and suggest ways to make sure the government will not repeat past mistakes.|||-0.5279423|0.05803322
|||||
D0|In October, 1995 ACHRE issued its report.|||-0.915437996|0.04024369
D0|ACHRE found that the-government had conducted several thousand human radiation experiments from 1945 to 1975 and that the majority advanced biomedical research.|||-0.998028934|5.09E-05
D0|The Committee found, however, that some were conducted unethically.|||-0.991425037|0.48645607
D0|For example, scientists injected plutonium into 18 patients without their knowledge, and researchers conducted experiments on indigent patients and children.|||-0.998929799|0.000473652
D0|ACHRE made 18 recommendations to open the public record, protect human subjects of future research, and compensate those wronged by the government's actions.|||0.946806192|0.2491481
|||||
D0|"In October, 1995 the President received the Advisory Committee's report and made it clear that the report would ""not be left on a shelf to gather dust"" He directed his Cabinet to ""use and build on these recommendations."""|||-0.903723955|0.002341933
D0|Over the past year and a half, the Administration has acted to implement ACHRE's recommendations to improve openness in government, strengthen ethics in human subjects research, and compensate individuals for the government's mistakes.|||0.975571334|0.5232958
|||||
D0|Today's Announcement • The Administration released Building Public Trust, outlining its comprehensive response to the President's Advisory Committee on Human Radiation Experiments (ACHRE).|||0.992132008|0.8659305
D0|The report summarizes actions to address ACHRE's 18 recommendations.|||0.925240934|0.8060191
|||||
D0|• The Departments of Energy and Justice announced that the government has settled compensation claims with families of all of the known individuals ACHRE recommended for compensation.|||0.975375295|0.001022113
D0|ACHRE recommended the government compensate the families of 18 subjects of plutonium injection experiments.|||-0.977384984|0.8366935
D0|The government has settled with all 16 families that came forward.|||0.979563057|0.000813166
|||||
D0|• President Clinton signed a memorandum to strengthen the rights and protections of people participating in secret, government-supported research.|||0.919237256|0.018632147
D0|ACHRE recommended that subjects of secret experiments have special protections and information.|||0.923922956|0.07663699
D0|Acting on that recommendation, the President directed agencies today to propose new rules for secret research that would require scientists to: obtain informed consent from all potential subjects of all secret experiments (current rules allow researchers to waive informed consent in certain cases);|||0.755657017|3.87E-07
D0|disclose the identity of the sponsoring agency to potential subjects;|||0.938800335|6.44E-05
D0|and tell potential subjects that an experiment is classified.|||0.986750782|0.002485713
D0|The new rules would also establish a more independent review process;|||0.915517271|0.14964963
D0|require the head of the agency conducting secret human research to approve each project;|||-0.95748198|0.000389262
D0|and require permanent records of secret experiments.|||-0.997559667|0.002323946
D0|The President also directed federal agencies to report annually on the number of classified human research projects and the number of subjects in each project.|||-0.604080617|0.001717452
D0|A preliminary review by the Administration's human radiation lnteragency Working Group indicates that the government is not supporting any classified human research at this time;|||-0.999536157|0.5637713
D0|today's directive initiates a formal, routine accounting of secret human studies.|||-0.99197042|0.24139144
|||||
D0|• The Administration announced proposed amendments to the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act of 1990 to compensate hundreds of uranium miners who would not be compensated under current law.|||0.625983357|0.9119562
D0|ACHRE found that some deserving miners do not qualify for compensation under the Act.|||-0.998414159|0.99254566
D0|The amendments would establish fairer, science based criteria for compensation.|||-0.979290664|0.84295267
D0|The Administration will also propose regulatory changes to RECA to facilitate claims processing.|||-0.927307069|0.57750016
|||||
D0|Previous and On-going Actions Described in Building Public Trust Include:|||0.993878841|0.03498001
|||||
D0|Actions to Improve Openness in Government.|||0.965937197|0.81413233
D0|• ACHRE transferred more than 4,000 cubic feet of documents to the National Archives.|||0.959044933|0.8152443
D0|The Administration has made 300,000 fully searchable pages of documents available on the Internet, and will add an additional 200,000 pages shortly.|||0.860126674|0.97579724
D0|The Departments of Energy and Defense have published document search guides.|||0.564591944|0.001844479
D0|• The President signed Executive Order 12958 directing Federal agencies to review and declassify thousands of documents, including documents on radiation experiments.|||0.963834465|0.01752942
|||||
D0|Actions to Protect human subjects in the future.|||0.986527622|0.006644669
D0|• President Clinton established the National Bioethics Advisory Commission (NBAC) to examine bioethical issues, including human research issues.|||0.953849912|0.001731863
D0|A subcommittee of NBAC will address certain broad questions raised by ACHRE, including how to strengthen Institutional Review Boards -- the local ethics panels for Federally-sponsored research.|||0.949324906|0.98721826
D0|• In October, 1995 President Clinton directed agencies to develop plans to improve their oversight of ethics rules.|||-0.931936264|0.16542168
D0|The agencies have completed their review and upgraded protections, and NBAC will review agency procedures in the coming months.|||0.966774642|0.000826637
D0|• Agencies have undertaken nationwide education efforts to raise the profile of ethical considerations, and are funding research to improve our understanding of informed consent.|||0.997770071|0.17723949
|||||
D0|Actions to Right Past Wrongs.|||0.998378873|0.2780389
D0|• In October, 1995 President Clinton apologized to subjects of radiation experiments and their families on behalf of an earlier generation of American leadersand citizens;|||-0.984735012|7.67E-05
D0|former Energy Secretary O'Leary made apologies in certain individual cases.|||-0.785131872|0.732176
D0|• The Administration will propose legislation to make veterans treated with nasopharyngeal radiation eligible for health care services under the Veteran's Administration's Ionizing Radiation Program.|||0.813732982|0.998949
|||||
D0|No problem getting this done by the 25th.|||0.996435881|0.9891389
D0|We will have the report responding to all 18 recommendations and uranium miner legislation done too.|||0.973681152|0.82967955
D0|We'll get back to you with suggestions on briefing -- as you know, O'Leary wanted to be involved in any announcement.|||-0.884166658|0.99976534
|||||
D1|We have tentatively put the ACHRE EO on the schedule for Tues March 25.|1||-0.915437639|0.8714176
D1|This is the Pres's day off, so his only involvement would be to make sure the e.o. got signed sometime that day.|1||-0.630419374|0.12469138
D1|Perhaps Pena could go to the WH briefing room to explain the details (unless there's someone better to do it).|1||-0.991170645|0.9817147
|||||
D1|One issue is not resolved how to make sure the Tuskegee folks don't feel slighted.|1||-0.788638115|0.99761665
D1|I argued that since this wasn't a POTUS event, that shouldn't be as difficult but we'll have to deal with that issue with Ann Lewis somehow.|1||-0.877789795|0.9894796
D1|Maybe a stmt goes out on that sometime too (not same day).|1||-0.959310055|0.93941104
|||||
D0|Can you get everything wrapped and ready?|||0.968042731|0.8813245
D0|It may fall off and on the schedule a few more times, but the odds look pretty good.|||0.983519495|0.9973779
|||||
D0|In January 1994, after accounts of Cold War-era experiments involving the effects of radiation on humans came to light, I established an independent Advisory Committee on Human Radiation Experiments to investigate these reports.||1|0.960982561|1.52E-05
D0|I asked the Committee to determine the truth about this dark chapter in our nation's history.||1|0.709275663|0.4809666
|||||
D0|After taking extensive testimony and conducting numerous public hearings, the Advisory Committee issued its report in October, 1995.||1|0.690969408|0.000573309
D0|The Committee's report included recommendations to make the record of these experiments open to the public, improve ethics in human research today, and right the wrongs of the past inflicted on unknowing citizens.||1|0.954233527|0.15175708
D0|In my remarks when I accepted the report, I promised that it would not be left on the shelf to gather dust.||1|-0.995999455|0.6042331
D0|I made a commitment that we would learn from the lessons that the Committee's report offered and use it as a road map to lead us to better choices in the future.||1|0.991665065|0.971032
|||||
D0|This document -- my Administration's response to the Advisory Committee's report -- is a milestone in meeting that commitment.||1|0.999136627|0.99876827
D0|We have actively worked to respond to the important recommendations made by the Advisory Committee through a special interagency working group.||1|0.998620152|0.009273233
D0|This group includes representatives from the Executive Office of the President, the Departments of Energy, Defense, Health and Human Services, Justice, Veterans Affairs, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, and the Central Intelligence Agency.||1|0.989692867|7.30E-09
D0|The Environmental Protection Agency has also joined the effort.||1|0.940657735|0.001183367
D0|This report reflects the joint progress of these agencies to address the Advisory Committee's recommendations.||1|0.996888101|0.14066
|||||
D0|My Administration has made significant achievements in opening government and making information more easily available to the citizens to whom it belongs.||1|0.994405031|0.7152717
D0|Agencies have also improved the protections in place for subjects of future human research.||1|0.709685385|0.00079208
D0|Finally, the Federal government is providing redress to those who have suffered from radiation experiments, as recommended by the Advisory Committee.||1|0.908867121|1.12E-06
|||||
D0|I emphasize that this document is by no means the end of the journey.||1|0.674457431|0.9630334
D0|Much work remains to be done.||1|-0.575579166|0.6370718
D0|I am confident that all of us -- the eminent committee that produced the original report, the Federal officials who worked so hard to support the Committee's efforts and now are implementing its recommendations, and most importantly, the citizens of this great country from whose experiences we have learned so much -- can together help ensure a better world for our children.||1|0.999256074|0.99555993
|||||
D0|My thanks to all of you for a job well done, I pledge my strong support for your continued efforts.||1|0.977576554|0.98481965
|||||
D0|President Clinton took steps today to protect those who participate in secret, government-sponsored experiments from mistreatment and assure they are fully informed of the risks.||1|0.845959008|2.09E-05
D0|The administration also said it has settled the last of a number of claims, totalling $6.5 million, from families of civilians who were injected with plutonium or uranium as part of secret experiments in the 1940s.||1|-0.74211067|0.14690596
D0|"The actions are designed to increase public trust ... and make our government accountable to the American people,"" said Energy Secretary Federico Pena, whose department has spearheaded the public review of past radiation experiments."||1|0.580691576|0.56119365
D0|Pena said the administration also will ask Congress to expand a program that provides compensation to uranium miners who were exposed to radiation as part of the government nuclear weapons program.||1|-0.990297258|0.8900639
D0|He said up to 600 additional miners would be compensated at a cost of about $ 50 million.||1|-0.978966355|0.002517003
D0|The plans for giving greater protection to research participants were prompted by recommendations more than a year ago by a presidential commission that investigated the government's use of humans in radiation research during the Cold War years.||1|-0.970083535|0.14296441
D0|The advisory panel warned that past excesses might be repeated unless there are new safeguards.||1|-0.982182801|0.9596472
D0|The White House said today that Clinton had signed a memorandum strengthening the rights and protections afforded individuals who agree to be subjects of secret, government-supported research.||1|-0.955581427|0.000834011
D0|The White House said a review by an interagency task force uncovered no government-supported classified human research at this time.||1|-0.989678025|0.000264062
D0|But officials acknowledged that formal accounting for such research needs to be improved.||1|-0.987140894|0.8202372
D0|Meanwhile, the White House said it had settled claims with four additional families of 1B individuals who were given plutonium injections as part of 1940s experiments.||1|-0.964575887|0.000477317
D0|One victim has not been located and the family of another does not want compensation, said Tara O'Toole, DOE's assistant secretary for environment, safety and health.||1|-0.989945233|1.78E-07
D0|Associate Attorney General John Dwyer said the 16 claims 12 of which totalling $4.B million were made public last November total $6.5 million.||1|-0.977056682|0.000571717
D0|The government has said it is prepared to provide compensation to the families of 52 other individuals who the advisory commission said were believed to be subjected to improper radiation experiments.||1|-0.991943002|0.022671476
D0|The identity of those 52 are not known, and so far no families have come forward, according to the White House.||1|-0.995696783|0.003051148
D0|Under the new presidential directive on human research, agencies must develop new rules that clearly require scientists to obtain informed consent from all potential subjects of secret experiments.||1|0.664552212|0.000581612
D0|Currently, such consent may be waived under some circumstances.||1|0.667052627|0.01765116
D0|The president also ordered that any research subject be told the identity of the sponsoring agency and whether the experimentation is classified.||1|-0.995042205|0.002683352
D0|The new rules also would require the head of the agency to approve such research and develop a more independent review process than currently provided.||1|-0.941061258|0.7515445
D0|Also in response to the October 1995 findings by the Advisory Committee on Human Radiation Experiments, the president said he will: Ask Congress to broaden a 1990 law that allows compensation to underground uranium miners who became ill because of exposure to radiation.||1|-0.936704636|2.82E-05
D0|Under current law, hundreds of miners are ineligible for compensation.||1|-0.996089816|0.000146893
D0|Will propose legislation to make veterans' health care benefits available to airmen and sailors who were subjects of radioactive nasal treatments more than 50 years ago.||1|0.880940139|0.017088769
D0|The treatments were to prevent broken eardrums during flight or in submarines.||1|0.871910393|0.03282815
D0|Will seek broader epidemiological studies to determine the long-term health impact of nuclear bomb testing during the Cold War to military personnel and civilian populations near the test areas.||1|-0.848466992|4.70E-06
|||||
D0|ACTIONS TO RESPOND TO THE PRESIDENT'S ADVISORY COMMITTEE ON HUMAN RADIATION EXPERIMENTS QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS (NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION) April 28, 1997|||0.940722644|0.9998863
|||||
D0|Overview of Advisory Committee Scope, Findings, and Recommendations|||0.999278486|0.92753357
|||||
D0|Q: What is the universe of experiments studied by the Advisory Committee?|||-0.924013317|0.1925834
|||||
D0|A: The President directed the Advisory Committee on Human Radiation Experiments (ACHRE) to review government sponsored biomedical experiments on individuals involving intentional exposure to ionizing radiation, focusing on the period from 1944 until 1974.|||0.891039729|0.000188947
D0|The Committee did not consider common clinical practices that involved incidental exposures to ionizing radiation (e.g. x-rays).|||-0.993631899|0.46213803
|||||
D0|The President's charge also covered intentional releases of ionizing radiation designed to test human health effects or to measure the extent of human exposure.|||-0.99875164|0.66435313
D0|The Committee studied a number of populations exposed to radiation during the government's Cold War activities, including veterans of atomic test blasts, western uranium miners, and residents of the Marshall Islands.|||0.990677476|5.60E-06
|||||
D0|Q: How many experiments does this include?|||-0.957104146|0.582866
|||||
D0|A: No one knows exactly how many experiments this includes.|||0.808178484|0.88971937
D0|The Advisory Committee reported that the government had sponsored several thousand human radiation experiments between 1945 and 1974.|||-0.842290461|7.61E-06
|||||
D0|Q:How many people were involved in these experiments?|||-0.998081923|0.40171796
|||||
D0|A: Because only fragmentary information has survived about many of these experiments it was not possible for the Advisory Committee to estimate how many people were involved.|||-0.986878812|0.93783337
|||||
D0|Q:How many people were harmed in the experiments?|||-0.998905182|0.5405601
|||||
D0|A: The Advisory Committee was not in a position to answer this question completely.|||-0.999108136|0.92659193
D0|In general, the Committee found that the majority of experiments they studied involved trace amounts of radiation given to adults, similar to those used in research today.|||-0.999842644|0.000421793
D0|These were unlikely to have caused physical harm.|||-0.930977285|0.000843023
D0|The Committee identified several groups of experiments that may have increased individuals' risks, including total body irradiation experiments on ill patients and iodine-1 31 experiments involving children.|||-0.916060328|9.82E-05
|||||
D0|Q: How many people were not informed in advance that they were the subject of an experiment?|||-0.999720275|0.65474635
|||||
D0|A: Only very limited documentation about consent in individual experiments has survived and no estimates can be made.|||-0.999599278|0.99645007
D0|Generally, the Committee found that researchers obtained consent from healthy subjects, but not from patient-subjects.|||-0.98892349|0.000942941
D0|The Advisory Committee did look more broadly at issues of informed consent across the government and found that the government did not have comprehensive policies in place before 1974.|||-0.975437999|0.022790078
D0|Although the government has strengthen informed consent procedures significantly since 1974, the Committee recommended -- and the Administration is taking -- additional steps to improve informed consent, including requiring informed consent in all classified research (eliminating a current waiver provision) and studying further the informed consent process.|||0.904106855|1.38E-05
|||||
D0|Q: What did the Advisory Committee recommend?|||-0.940786123|0.5816337
|||||
D0|A: The Committee made 18 recommendations to open the record to the public, compensate those who were wronged, and protect human subjects of future research.|||0.991639197|0.34178293
|||||
D0|Q: What has the Administration done to respond?|||-0.990499794|0.9484818
|||||
D0|A: The Administration has already taken steps in each of these areas.|||0.966537476|0.52582496
D0|For example, to open up the record, the Administration has put thousands of pages of documents on the Internet and in the National Archives, and has developed document search guides.|||0.776159763|0.001056135
D0|To better protect human subjects in the future, the President established the National Bioethics Advisory Committee (NBAC) and asked NBAC to examine many of the questions raised by ACHRE.|||-0.855422378|7.75E-06
D0|To redress the wrongs of the past, the President apologized to subjects of radiation experiments and their families, and agencies have worked hard to settle compensation claims.|||-0.959180951|4.20E-06
D0|These and many other actions responding to the Committee's recommendations are outlined in the report released today.|||0.981883168|0.16138655
|||||
D0|Today the Administration also announced two new actions -- the President is issuing a directive strengthening protections for subjects of classified research, and the Administration is proposing legislation to improve compensation for uranium miners.|||-0.917696655|0.16583566
|||||
D0|Q: Are current protections for subjects of human research inadequate?|||-0.993666947|0.65250885
|||||
D0|A: A strong system of Federal oversight, education, and sanctions is currently in place to ensure the protection of the subjects of government sponsored human research.|||0.934303224|0.31814814
D0|The Administration has taken a number of steps to further strengthen protections for human subjects based on the Advisory Committee's recommendations.|||0.522322774|0.2483851
D0|For example, the National Bioethics Advisory Commission is reviewing Institutional Review Board policies -- IRBs are the local boards that review the ethics of individual research projects.|||-0.89355123|0.85765636
D0|And today the President signed a directive to protect subjects of classified research.|||-0.955873251|4.76E-05
|||||
D0|The Administration is also working to improve the informed consent process.|||0.816994965|0.003712766
D0|Despite the vigor with which all parties embrace the informed consent process, the Advisory Committee found that little is actually known about the effectiveness of this transaction between researcher and prospective subject.|||-0.950790644|0.90936977
D0|In response, the NIH and the Departments of Energy and Veterans Affairs are initiating research to develop new knowledge about the informed consent process.|||0.924106598|0.000299595
|||||
D0|Q: Now that the National Bioethics Advisory Commission has been given a special assignment on cloning, does this mean that there will be a delay in addressing protection of human research subjects.|||-0.999317765|0.9336685
|||||
D0|A: No.|||-0.999829173|0.67469716
D0|the National Bioethics Advisory Commission has already established an ambitious plan of work to address the current status of Federal protection for human research subjects.|||0.993224442|0.017090883
D0|The work will proceed in parallel with the special assignment on cloning.|||0.967289329|0.050989684
D0|NBAC is planning to issue a report to the President and to Congress in October and hopes that little or no delay will be incurred as a result of the additional work.|||-0.824196696|0.23502587
|||||
D0|Q: What is being done to provide compensation in connection with the human radiation experiments?|||-0.977823019|0.4733185
|||||
D0|A: The Advisory Committee recommended the government compensate or consider compensate subjects of certain biomedical experiments.|||0.789978504|0.39469847
D0|The Department of Justice has worked closely with other Departments to resolve individual claims.|||0.943626642|1.60E-06
D0|As announced today, the Administration has resolved all claims brought forward for experiments the Advisory Committee specifically identified for compensation.|||0.995942295|0.000151522
D0|The Administration has settled with families of 16 plutonium injection subjects.|||-0.933429658|0.845614
D0|The plutonium injection cases were singled out by the Advisory Committee as being particularly troubling ethically and deserving of compensation because efforts were made by the government to keep information secret from the subjects or their families to avoid government liabilities or embarrassment.|||-0.966970325|0.9970824
D0|The Advisory Committee also identified two other experiments for compensation (see Recommendation 1 ), but the subjects of those experiments are unknown.|||-0.518452287|1.42E-06
|||||
D0|Several other experiments were identified by the Advisory Committee for consideration for possible compensation, subject to further development of the facts surrounding the experiments.|||-0.642881989|0.000227168
D0|That fact-finding continues in a number of these cases.|||0.986033976|0.031852856
D0|[Refer detailed questions to DoJ].|||-0.68566215|0.9710472
|||||
D0|Some populations exposed to radiation releases studied by the Committee are already eligible for compensation under existing law, including atomic vets and uranium miners.|||-0.980669558|0.00039236
D0|The Committee recommended certain changes to these programs.|||0.924991488|0.7374747
D0|The Administration has reviewed and acted on those recommendations.|||0.985830724|0.8682547
D0|For example, today we are announcing new legislation to improve compensation for uranium miners.|||-0.994172513|0.38730192
|||||
D1|I will be out of the office most of Monday, Feb. 3 (10:30-4:30), and all of Monday, Feb. 1O for medical school interviews.|||-0.953651249|4.64E-06
D1|Mike and I think the Wed. educ. roundtable is in good shape, so I don't anticipate any conflicts with these dates.|||0.98129499|0.99967754
D1|Any idea when/if you will want to resurrect radiation report/eo on classified research?|1||-0.999756753|0.3726103
|||||
D0|Thanks for you help on the radiation issue.|||0.820800722|0.8706772
D0|Your thoughts helped to stimulate a productive discussion with DOJ on alternative approaches.|||0.997652829|0.91526
|||||
D1|DOJ and I are planning to put a revised proposal into 0MB review on Friday.|1||-0.918943286|0.99509674
D1|The new approach quantifies uncertainties in the claims process, and proposes to give the miners the benefit of the doubt in resolving the uncertainties.|1||0.99878341|0.9464353
D1|This approach avoids the precedential issue that DOJ was concerned about, while expanding the number of miners eligible for compensation.|1||0.999084949|0.9997191
D1|(Miners who fall within this approach would still get partial compensation.)|1||-0.960143566|0.33742306
|||||
D0|Please let me know if you wish to discuss this.|||-0.648410976|0.9337437
D0|We are still planning a Tuesday press conference.|||-0.626396477|0.02677394
|||||
D0|White House Press Release In Acceptance Of Human Radiation Final Report|||-0.723452091|0.001121471
|||||
D0|For Immediate Release October 3, 1995 Remarks By The President In Acceptance Of Human Radiation Final Report Old Executive Office Building||1|-0.942537487|0.000128552
|||||
D0|The President: Let me begin with a simple thank you to everyone who participated in this extraordinary project and to everyone who supported them.||1|0.918554425|0.5233498
|||||
D0|I am especially glad to see here today Senator Glenn, who's been so active in working on medical ethics issue, Congressman Markey, who’s worked on this issue for a very long time;||1|0.997688055|0.08762297
D0|Congressman Frost, Secretary Shalala, Deputy Secretary of Veterans Affairs Herschel Goqer, and of course, the Attorney General who basically tries to get us all to do the right thing all the time.||1|0.91956979|8.42E-05
|||||
D0|I want to thank Secretary O'Leary for her extraordinary devotion to this cause.||1|0.973589838|0.7513562
D0|And you heard in her remarks basically the way that she views this.||1|0.783017457|0.25401837
D0|It's a part of her ongoing commitment to finish the end of the Cold War.||1|0.998364508|0.6973029
D0|And perhaps no Energy Secretary has ever done as much as she has to be an advocate, whether it is for continued reforms within the Energy Department or her outspoken endorsement of the strongest possible commitment on the part of the United States to a Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty, which I believe we will achieve next year in no small measure thanks to the support of the Secretary of Energy.||1|0.898396373|0.9934401
|||||
D0|And, of course, I want to thank Dr. Ruth Faden for her extraordinary commitment of about a year and a half of her life to this unusual but important task.||1|0.997431576|0.014924733
|||||
D0|And all of you who served·on the committee -- I remember the first time we put this committee together.||1|0.985891759|0.37938038
D0|I looked -- I said, that's a pretty distinguished outfit.||1|0.922941387|0.99885964
D0|I wish I could give them five or six jobs to do.||1|0.813505471|0.1030918
D0|(Laughter.)||1|0.99914372|0.93775284
D0|I'll expect you back next Monday and then we'll (laughter).||1|-0.864095867|0.9838299
D0|I do thank you so much for the work you have done.||1|0.960411012|0.99762076
|||||
D0|Let me tell you that, just as this is an important part of the efforts that Secretary O'Leary outlined, I saw this committee as.||1|0.99135989|0.99546486
D0|an indispensable part of our effort to restore the confidence of the American people in the integrity of their government.||1|0.99864608|0.93246436
D0|All of these political reform issues to me are integrated.||1|0.999131382|0.28886926
D0|When I became the President, I realized we had great new economic challenges, we had profound social problems, that a lot of these things had to be done by an energized American citizenry, but that our national government had role to play in moving our country through this period of transition.||1|0.997351408|0.88856465
D0|And in order to do it, we needed to increase the capacity of the government to do it through political reform, but we also needed, as much as anything else, to increase the confidence of the American people that, at the very least, they could trust the United States government to tell the truth and to do the right things.||1|0.872319281|0.96967363
|||||
D0|So you have to understand that, for me, one reason this is so important is that I see it as part of our ongoing effort to give this government back to the American people -- Senator Glenn's long effort to get Congress to apply to itself the same laws it imposes on the private sector;||1|0.975887954|0.9998124
D0|the restrictions that I imposed on members of my administration in high positions for lobbying for foreign governments;||1|-0.963579476|0.015452282
D0|and when the lobby bill failed in the Congress, I just imposed it by executive order on members of the Executive Branch.||1|-0.986002922|1.63E-05
D0|All these efforts at political reform, it seems to me, are important.||1|0.997202396|0.7639327
|||||
D0|But none of these efforts can succeed unless people believe that they can rely on their government to tell them the truth and to do the right thing.||1|-0.994235337|0.12466444
D0|We have declassified thousands of government documents, files from second world war, the Cold War, President Kennedy's assassination.||1|0.810653806|0.000114635
D0|These actions are not only consistent with our national security, they are essential to advance our values.||1|0.99843508|0.32956728
|||||
D0|So, to me, that's what this is all about.||1|-0.996986687|0.9763865
D0|And to all those who represent the families who have been involved in these incidents, let me say to you, I hope you feel that your government has kept its commitment to the American people to tell the truth and to do the right thing.||1|0.997183621|0.027210481
|||||
D0|We discovered soon after I entered office that with the specter of an atomic war looming like Armageddon far nearer than it does today, the United States government actually did carry out on our citizens experiments involving radiation.||1|-0.680650175|0.8832036
D0|That's when I ordered the creation of this committee.||1|0.961227357|0.504221
D0|Dr. Faden and the others did a superb job.||1|0.999522567|0.5936767
D0|They enlisted many of our nation's most significant and important medical and scientific-ethicists.||1|0.999242187|0.000391672
D0|They had to determine first whether experiments conducted or sponsored by our government between 1944 and 1974 met the ethical and scientific standards of that time and of our time.||1|0.992466509|2.53E-08
D0|And then they had to see to it that our research today lives up to nothing less than our highest values and our most deeply-held beliefs.||1|0.970764041|0.01539111
|||||
D0|From the beginning, it was obvious to me that this energetic committee was prepared to do its part.||1|0.992639661|0.9761179
D0|We declassified thousands of pages of documents.||1|-0.995339036|0.43441582
D0|We gave committee members the keys to the government's doors, file cabinets and safes.||1|0.978241086|0.023522075
D0|For the last year and a half, the only thing that stood between them and the truth were all the late nights and hard work they had to put in.||1|-0.993748307|0.002172218
|||||
D0|This report I received today is a monumental document (laughter) -- in more ways than one.||1|0.991266787|0.99943143
D0|But it is a very, very important piece of America's history, and it will shape America's future in ways that will make us a more honorable, more successful and more ethical country.||1|0.998838246|0.99966264
|||||
D0|What this committee learned I would like to review today with a little more detail than Dr. Faden said, because I think it must be engraved on our national memory.||1|0.998104095|0.99877626
D0|Thousands of government-sponsored experiments did take place at hospitals, universities and military bases around our nation.||1|-0.712216079|4.91E-07
D0|The goal was to understand the effects of radiation exposure on the human body.||1|0.870466113|0.35261938
|||||
D0|While most of the tests were ethical by any standards, some were unethical, not only by today's standards, but by the standards of the time in which they were conducted.||1|-0.996749163|0.5669225
D0|They failed both the test of our national values and the test of humanity.||1|-0.996152341|6.29E-05
|||||
D0|In one experience, scientists -- experiment -Â scientists injected plutonium into 18 patients without their knowledge.||1|-0.999768794|0.353249
D0|In another, doctors exposed indigent cancer patients to excessive doses of radiation, a treatment from which it is virtually impossible that they could ever benefit.||1|-0.999671459|0.9944449
|||||
D0|The report also demonstrates that these and other experiments were carried out on precisely those citizens who count most: on the government for its help the destitute and the gravely ill.||1|0.652902722|0.025016434
D0|But the dispossessed were not alone.||1|-0.853697002|0.015691966
D0|Members of the military -- precisely those on whom we and our government count most -- they were also test subjects.||1|0.993186235|0.9405677
|||||
D0|Informed consent means your doctor tells you the risk of the treatment you are about to undergo.||1|0.554965317|0.09541309
D0|In too many cases, informed consent was withheld.||1|-0.990767121|0.06819484
D0|Americans were kept in the dark about the effects of what was being done to them.||1|-0.991189241|0.012557107
D0|The deception extended beyond the test subjects themselves to encompass their families and i the American people as awhole, for these experiments were kept secret.||1|-0.784809828|0.0366504
D0|And they were shrouded not for a compelling reason of national security, but for the simple fear of embarrassment, and that was wrong.||1|-0.994387329|0.027427392
|||||
D0|Those who led the government when these decisions were made are no longer here to take responsibility for what they did.||1|0.804893196|0.002214034
D0|They are not here to apologize to the survivors, the family members or the communities who's lives were darkened by the shadow of the atom and these choices||1|-0.539814293|1.84E-05
|||||
D0|So today, on behalf of another generation of American leaders and another generation of American citizens, the united States of America offers a sincere apology to those of our citizens who were subjected to these experiments, to their families, and to their communities.||1|0.994216025|5.69E-05
|||||
D0|When the government does wrong, we have a moral responsibility to admit it.||1|0.980678618|0.3060616
D0|The duty we owe to one another to tell the truth and to protect our fellow citizens from excesses like these is one we can never walk away from.||1|0.991176367|0.13052665
D0|Our government failed in that duty, and it offers an apology to the survivors and their families and to all the American people who must -- who must be able to rely upon the United States to keep its word, to tell the truth, and to do the right thing.||1|-0.84920013|0.011383507
|||||
D0|We know there are moments when words alone are not enough.||1|0.973417342|0.99954647
D0|That's why I am instructing my Cabinet to use and build on these recommendations, to devise promptly a system of relief, including compensation, that meets the standards of justice and conscience.||1|0.985330105|0.37034297
|||||
D0|When called for, we will work with Congress to serve the best needs of those who were harmed.||1|0.990157127|9.22E-05
D0|Make no mistake, as the committee report says, there are circumstances where compensation is appropriate as a matter of ethics and principle.||1|0.936709046|0.9850936
D0|I am committed to seeing to it that the United States of America lives up to its responsibility.||1|0.996451259|0.86712027
|||||
D0|Our greatness is measured not only in how we so frequently do right, but also how we act when we know we've done the wrong thing;||1|0.994271636|0.99850994
D0|how we confront our mistakes, make our apologies, and take action,||1|0.999282181|0.77776724
|||||
D0|That's why this morning, I signed an executive order instructing every arm and agency of our government that conducts, supports or regulates research involving human beings to review immediately their procedures, in light of the recommendations of this report, and the best knowledge and standards available today, and to report back to me by Christmas.||1|0.872476816|0.011730076
|||||
D0|I have also created a Bioethics Advisory Commission to supervise the process, to watch over all such research, and to see to it that never again do we stray from the basic values of potecting our people and being straight with them;||1|0.9545452|0.17660616
|||||
D0|The report I received today will not be left on a shelf to gather dust.||1|-0.999707639|0.08077328
D0|Every one of its pages offers a lesson, and every lesson will be learned from these good people who put a year and a half of their lives into the effort to set America straight.||1|0.897790313|0.95750767
|||||
D0|Medical and scientific progress depends upon learning about people's responses to new medicines, to new cutting-edge treatments.||1|-0.915992916|0.6996447
D0|Without this kind of research, our children would still be dying from polio and other killers.||1|0.67297703|0.002242623
D0|Without responsible radiation research, we wouldn't be making the progress we are in thewar on cancer.||1|-0.993524313|0.9865269
D0|We have to continue to research, but there is a right way and a wrong way to do it.||1|-0.514211357|0.8872871
|||||
D0|There are local citizens' review boards, there are regulations that establish proper informed consent and ensure that experiments are conducted ethically.||1|0.948965132|0.09897384
D0|But in overseeing this necessary research, we must never relax our vigilance.||1|-0.951013207|0.24853735
|||||
D0|The breathtaking advances in science and technology demand that we always keep our ethical watchlight burning.||1|0.997232974|0.9891206
D0|No matter how rapid the pace of change, it can never outrun our core convictions that have stood us so well as a nation for more than 200 years now, through many different scientific revolutions.||1|0.998130858|0.9998921
|||||
D0|I believe we will meet the test of our times -- that as and technology evolve, our ethical conscience will grow, not Informed consent, community right-to-know, our entire of essential human protections -- all these grew up in response They are to the health and humanitarian crises of this 20th century.||1|0.995092034|0.21371165
|||||
D0|Science is not ever simply objective.||1|0.98556906|0.8110243
D0|It emerges from the crucible of historical circumstances and personal experience.||1|0.999738514|0.1549923
D0|Times of crisis and fear can call forth bad science, even science we know in retrospect to be unethical.||1|-0.97290808|0.8650315
D0|Let us remember the difficult years chronicled in this report, and think about how good people could have done things that we know were wrong.||1|0.964725435|0.9937065
|||||
D0|Let these pages serve as an internal reminder to hold humility and moral accountability in-higher esteem than we do the latest development in technology.||1|0.97990042|0.9988219
D0|Let us remember, too, that cynicism about government has roots in historical circumstances.||1|0.985776722|0.9857475
D0|Because of stonewallings and evasions in the past times when a family member or a neighbor suffered an injustice and had nowhere to turn and couldn't even get the facts, some Americans lost faith in the promise of our democracy.||1|-0.998644412|0.018592162
D0|Government was very powerful, but very far away and not trusted to be ethical.||1|-0.996985853|0.5693922
|||||
D0|So today, by making ourselves accountable for the sins of the past;||1|0.975537837|0.6599595
D0|I hope more than anything else we are laying a foundation stone for a new era.||1|0.998869479|0.9337894
D0|Good people, like these members of Congress who have labored on this issue for a long time, and have devoted their careers to trying to do the-right thing, and having people justifiably feel confidence in the work of their representatives.||1|0.998476326|0.8845222
D0|They will continue to work to see that we implement these recommendations.||1|0.993588448|0.02476354
|||||
D0|And under our watch, we will no longer hide the truth from our citizens.||1|-0.978467941|0.001055146
D0|We will act as if all that we do will see the light of day.||1|0.999022722|0.9379016
D0|Nothing-that happens in Washington will ever be more important in anyone's life affected by these experiments, perhaps, than these reports we issue today.||1|-0.770435095|0.99577385
D0|But all of us as Americans will be better off because of the larger lesson we learned in this exercise and because of our continuing effort to demonstrate to our people that we can be faithful to their values.||1|-0.932178617|0.96001685
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D0|Thank you very much.||1|0.894638479|0.99890554
D0|End (Applause.)||1|0.928003311|0.83232564
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D0|We expect to announce the Administration's response to the Presidential Advisory Committee on Human Radiation Experiments next week.|||-0.943296671|0.40675712
D0|As part of that announcement, the staff is recommending legislation to amend the Radiation Exposure and Compensation Act of 1990 (RECA).|||0.668029964|0.002964616
D0|There is one outstanding issue with respect to the Administration's bill and, on Friday, the Department of Justice (DOJ) asked us to seek your view of the change before going ahead.|||-0.840437233|0.004028152
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D0|ISSUE: Should the Administration propose any compensation for uranium miners with lung cancer where the probability is between 20%-50% that their cancer was caused by government's failure to appropriately ventilate the mines?|||-0.999396086|0.96080744
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D0|BACKGROUND:|||0.848831415|0.7563657
D0|From the 1940s to the 1960s the United States' nuclear weapons program relied on uranium from mines in the Southwestern United States.|||-0.978786647|6.29E-07
D0|Miners working in those mines were exposed to levels of radiation known to be dangerous because the United States did not ensure that the mines were adequately ventilated.|||-0.999645948|0.22052084
D0|As a result hundreds of miners contracted or will contract fatal lung cancer.|||-0.998679459|0.000382653
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D0|The Radiation Exposure and Compensation Act of 1990 (RECA) provides for compensation of some miners, as well as those living downwind of nuclear test sites.|||0.787714422|0.3363056
D0|Uranium miners qualify for $100,000 compensation if they were exposed to a certain amount of radiation and they contract lung cancer (almost always fatal).|||-0.994337857|0.016133765
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D0|"The Advisory Committee on Human Radiation Experiments (ACHRE) recommended that the President seek legislation that would ""provide compensation to all miners who develop lung cancer after some minimal duration of employment underground..."""|||-0.986100614|2.02E-05
D0|Their recommendation was based, in part, on the conclusion that the actions of the United States with respect to the miners was egregious.|||-0.98307091|0.014831433
D0|The government knowingly allowed the miners to work under conditions likely to cause fatal cancers and neither warned the miners nor took action to mitigate the danger.|||-0.999263585|3.82E-05
D0|See ACHRE Final Report, pages 565-582.|||-0.837494493|0.72735023
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D0|The Inter-Agency Working Group on Human Radiation (IAWG), chaired by DPC staff, has developed proposed legislation to respond to the ACHRE recommendations on RECA.|||0.884161532|0.003755578
D0|Different aspects of the proposal would address two different populations:|||-0.925644815|0.12952226
|||||
D1|Miners for whom the probability is greater than 50% that exposure in the mines caused their disease.|||-0.999825776|0.009233044
D1|(The calculated probability is population-based and does not account for individual susceptibility.)|||-0.999834776|0.6851832
D1|All agencies in the IAWG support proposing legislation that would affect these miners.|1||0.973941267|0.16523683
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D1|Miners for whom the population analysis suggests that the probability is less than 50% that mining exposure caused the disease.|||-0.999893665|0.6127299
D1|DOJ has expressed concern about proposing legislation that would compensate these miners.|1||-0.965228736|0.991895
|||||
D1|Miners with a Probability of Causation of Greater than 50%|||-0.99618113|0.19424945
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D1|The legislative history suggests that Congress intended RECA to provide compensation to uranium miners for whom the probability that their illness was caused by radiation exposure while mining is greater than 50 percent.|||-0.998728573|0.06760011
D1|In these cases, RECA provides $100,000 in compensation per uranium miner.|||-0.971242845|0.07686023
D1|In practice, RECA does not accomplish this goal because documenting exact exposures is too difficult and because the scientific premises underlying RECA are not accurate.|||-0.999587476|0.992861
D1|Therefore the current law denies compensation to some miners who clearly should be eligible.|1||-0.993034482|0.006727659
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D1|A working group of the Department of Justice and the National Cancer Institute analyzed the current compensation scheme and recommended changes to ensure that miners are eligible for compensation if it is more likely than not (probability >50%) that their lung cancer was caused by exposure in the mines.|1||-0.722687602|4.14E-08
D1|The proposed measures provide new, less burdensome methods for miners to establish that radiation caused their illness.|1||0.664728701|0.8763594
D1|The measures also expand the list of compensable diseases, based on new scientific evidence.|1||0.881934941|0.3453433
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D1|All departments in the IAWG agree that the Administration should propose these changes.|1||0.916925132|0.34907356
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D1|Miners with a Probability of Causation of Less than 50%|||-0.998012662|0.65514046
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D1|The AWG has also been considering a proposal to provide partial compensation to miners for whom there is a significant probability that their lung cancer was caused by exposure in the mines, but the probability is less than 50%.|1||-0.990708113|0.99903226
D1|DOJ has voiced concerns about this proposal.|1||-0.873957992|0.9940684
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D1|Option A: Propose legislation to provide at least partial compensation ($50,000) to all miners for whom the probability is between 20% and 50% that their lung cancer was caused by exposure to radiation in uranium mines.|1||-0.96529603|0.001109803
D1|This approach would also include proposing the measures outlined in Section 1, above, for miners with greater than 50% probability.|1||-0.885943353|0.9995443
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D1|Option B: Limit the Administration's proposed legislation to compensation of miners with lung cancer for whom it is more probable than not that the cancer was caused by exposure to radiation in uranium mines (i.e. only propose measures outlined in Section 1 above).|1||-0.996918321|0.99990404
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D1|OPTION A: Expanding compensation to miners should be viewed in the context of the Administration's response to ACHRE more generally.|1||0.764083803|0.9998822
D1|In responding to ACHRE, the Administration's policy has been to be as generous as is reasonable because the government's actions in these cases denied fair protection to individuals, and undermined democratic control over the government.|1||-0.999151707|0.999172
D1|According to ACHRE's chair, Dr. Ruth Faden, expanded compensation for uranium miners is one of the most strongly-felt of ACHRE's recommendations.|1||0.977562666|0.08288958
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D1|ACHRE's recommendation to expand compensation without requiring individualized proof of causation is appropriate because of the egregiousness of the government's conduct, the impact of the increased cancer rates in these communities and the government's support for studying the miners without taking reasonable steps to reduce the known risk.|1||-0.767794073|0.9914518
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D1|Without a change, uranium miners who are not now compensated under RECA will continue to be held to a higher standard of causation than others who are compensated under RECA.|1||0.972778201|0.97497034
D1|Under RECA, people living downwind of certain areas are compensated ($50,000) if they get a radiogenic disease--even though the probability is very low (<10%) that the disease was caused by the government's action.|||-0.966766179|0.7790176
D1|In addition, because RECA is not currently based on a probabilistic standard, a significant number of uranium miners who fall within the 20%-50% probability range in Option A are already eligible for compensation.|||-0.998894155|0.9751129
D1|Option A would overcome some of these inequities.|1||0.83972615|0.90721375
|||||
D1|The Clinton Administration has, in certain cases, advocated compensation where there is less than a 50% probability that physical harm was caused by the government's action.|||-0.994332552|0.9998671
D1|First, within the last two months, the government has compensated 13 experimental subjects, as recommended by ACHRE, without any causal link to physical disease.|||-0.816811144|0.00362485
D1|Second, the President announced that children of veterans exposed to agent orange will be compensated with medical care if they are born with spina bifida.|||-0.999240398|2.84E-07
D1|This decision was tnade despite the extremely low probability of a connection and in the absence of biological plausibility. ·|||-0.99170953|0.9935528
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D1|Our current best estimate of the total additional cost of this proposal combined with the changes to RECA that we have already agreed upon is between $13 and $14 million over the next 20 years.|1||0.658627152|0.99636143
D1|The expected cost of option A is only a fraction of this amount.|1||-0.985279918|0.99934715
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D1|Outside of the DPC staff, this option is strongly supported by DOE.|1||0.984662056|0.005487434
D1|I expect that OSTP will also support this option, and OMB will express a view within the next day or so.|1||-0.952442646|0.9859136
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D1|OPTION B: (A memo from DOJ making a full argument on this point is attached.]|1||-0.969683647|0.99214196
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D1|The general rule in litigation should remain that the government will only pay compensation if it is more likely than not that the government's action caused the harm.|1||-0.987800002|0.9998516
D1|Any decision to expand the government's liability to other cases is setting a bad precedent.|1||-0.999064982|0.9123868
D1|The possible result will be further expansion of the government's liability within RECA--possibly to new populations--and the creation of a model that may be used in entirely different circumstances.|1||-0.992413461|0.9990023
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D1|This option is supported by DOJ.|1||0.583843827|0.68579865
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D0|PUBLIC REACTION:|||0.76668632|0.8663857
D0|Stuart Udall, former Secretary of the Interior and his clients, mostly Navaho, are likely to react strongly if the Administration does not propose some compensation for most miners with lung cancer.|||-0.975972235|0.038984623
D0|I expect they will have some success in the New Mexico Congressional Delegation and with the Governor.|||0.875677705|0.009490778
D0|The decision on this issue, however, is unlikely to affect the overall reception of the Administration's response to ACHRE.|||0.836203992|0.99057466
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D1|I recommend that you support Option A. Whatever your decision, OMB will inform key Departments to determine whether any Department wishes to request a principals meeting to discuss this issue further.|1||0.950398505|0.96352446
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D0|This responds to your request for the views of the Civil Division on the amendments to the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act (RECA) which would authorize the payment of partial compensation to uranium miners for whom the probability is 50\ or less that their lung cancer was caused by exposure to radiation in the mines.|||-0.58020103|0.17446123
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D1|First, we support the other proposed amendments to RECA because we believe they will result in a fairer program for the claimants.|1||-0.925723135|0.97903067
D1|We helped to develop many of these proposals based on our experience in administering the program.|1||0.995505095|0.7277359
D1|We have worked hard to improve the administration of the program and are proud of what we have achieved and fully support the bulk of what has been proposed.|1||0.992011011|0.9951427
D1|We feel, however, that we must object to one of the proposals.|1||-0.835507989|0.99492353
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D1|The current RECA provisions authorize the payment of $100,000 in compensation to miners who demonstrate that they were exposed to defined minimum levels of radiation.|||-0.996722281|0.91149473
D1|The legislative history of RECA indicates that Congress set the minimum exposure levels to approximate the point where, on average, it was more likely than not the miner's exposure caused his lung cancer; i.e., where the probability of causation was greater than 50%.|||-0.999320269|0.9997036
D1|RECA also authorizes the payment of compensation in the amount $50,000 to downwinders, persons who demonstrate that they were physically present in certain specified counties or geographic areas in the States of Arizona, Nevada, and Utah during periods when atmospheric testing was carried out at the Nevada Test Site, and who suffer from certain statutorily specified radiogenic cancers.|||-0.909578502|0.023849407
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D1|we understand that because the minimum exposure levels currently specified in the statute do not accurately reflect a 50% probability of causation for most miners, the Department has proposed legislation to amend RECA to incorporate new, more accurate criteria.|1||-0.997930765|0.99999475
D1|We support these proposals.|1||0.98929137|0.960253
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D1|One of the proposed amendments to RECA would add provisions authorizing the payment of compensation in the amount of $50,000 to uranium miners who demonstrate that they were exposed to levels of radiation in the mines at which the probability is only between 20% and 50% that their lung cancer was caused by exposure to radiation in the mines.|1||-0.995823026|0.8206958
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D0|It is our understanding that the rationale for these proposed amendments is to more nearly equalize the treatment of uranium miners and downwinders.|||-0.970309258|0.98868495
D0|Scientific evidence indicates that downwinders were exposed to much lower levels of radiation and, therefore, a much smaller increased risk of cancer, than were uranium miners.|||-0.977641404|0.9779724
D0|Therefore, the argument goes, it is unfair to allow downwinders whose probability of causation is below 50% to recover compensation while denying such recovery to uranium miners.|||-0.998168945|0.7855584
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D1|We believe this reasoning is flawed.|1||-0.986134827|0.9728792
D1|If the current scheme is providing payments to individuals whose illnesses more likely than not were not caused by radiation does not justify expanding payments to other individuals whose illnesses were not likely caused by radiation.|1||-0.998982131|0.99211556
D1|We do not believe the case has adequately been made to overcompensate the miners which would be favored by the proposed legislation.|1||-0.997264504|0.98321205
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D1|Our main concern is that if this legislation is enacted, it can be anticipated that other groups will seek to be included in a similar way.|1||-0.931017995|0.99199593
D1|For example, the geographical limits on the downwinder population will be subject to expansion.|||-0.945524573|0.9503866
D1|The counties and geographic areas currently specified in the statute exclude persons in adjacent counties and geographic areas where they were exposed to comparable levels of radiation from the nuclear testing program.|||-0.987347245|5.90E-07
D1|Moreover, the costs of an expanding program are difficult to predict.|1||-0.982922792|0.42193416
D1|For instance, the initial assessment of the cost of the Black Lung Program proved to be dramatically low.|||-0.999074459|0.9990048
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D1|Very importantly, expansion of the precedent for paying individuals compensation for injuries which, more likely than not, were not caused by the events triggering the compensation program is a profound policy decision.|1||0.999486446|0.9999362
D1|We would draw the policy line short of providing recovery for persons who probably were not injured by the government activities involved.|1||-0.989743292|0.44272792
D1|The rule in litigation is that those who sue the government for injuries caused by governmental action must prove that the injuries were caused by the governmental action.|1||0.910088897|0.010873278
D1|[This standard is encompassed in 28 use 1346(b)]|||-0.980498314|0.89665705
D1|In many of these cases the plaintiffs may have a sympathetic case but lack the evidence to prove causation by the preponderance standard.|||-0.99849093|0.99918836
D1|"Once the precedent is established that in some “exceptionable"" cases the government, although not legally liable, is willing to legislatively compensate claimants, it will be hard to justify denying compensation to one group of citizens having granted it to others."|1||-0.779663861|0.98436004
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D1|Moreover, reducing the level of compensation does not derogate from the adverse consequences.|1||0.989084423|0.9689396
D1|The issue remains whether an individual should receive compensation for injuries most likely unrelated to the activities giving rise to the compensation.|1||-0.992814898|0.19033502
D1|The bottom line is the same, the government would provide compensation even though most of the claimants receiving compensation would be compensated for injuries unrelated to the government's conduct.|1||-0.994600892|0.9967514
D1|We believe the dangers of allowing compensation in these instances will invite many more such requests.|1||-0.994212806|0.89060587