NEW JERSEY News:

Michael Steele - Pete Hoekstra

"Last week, Bond led a bipartisan group of Senators in introducing an amendment to help provide needy families affordable housing. Bond’s amendment provides $2 billion to fund low-income housing tax credit (LIHTC) projects that have been stalled by the financial credit crisis. As part of the Democrats’ spending bill now signed into law, the Senate unanimously accepted Bond’s provision. […]"

"This provision will have a real impact in Missouri, especially for low-income, working families in need of safe and affordable housing. … Bond’s amendment will save more than 700 housing units and create 3,000 new jobs in Missouri."

WATCH: "Kit Bond Touts Stimulus Plan He Voted Against."

"– [Minnesota Republican Governor] Gov. Tim Pawlenty (R-MN), who complained that the “federal government is spending money they don’t have,” told Rachel Maddow he would nevertheless accept funds for Minnesota: “Our view is, if you buy the pizza, it’s OK if you have a slice.”"

"– [South Carolina Republican Senator] Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), who also campaigned ardently against the bill, said he would nevertheless gladly accept its funds for his state. “You don’t want to be crazy here,” he said."

"– [Florida Republican Representative] Rep. John Mica (R-FL) gushed over the bill, which he, too, voted against. “I applaud [Democratic] President Obama’s recognition that high-speed rail should be part of America’s future,” he said in a press release."

"– [Alaska Republican Representative] Rep. Don Young (R-AK) boasted that he “won a victory for…Alaska small business owners” in the recovery bill he refused to vote for."

"petehoekstra If you know of someone thinking of buying first home, now may be the time.Stimulus incentive is very generous!Up to 8k!Check it out."

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Water - Drugs - Human - Health - Environmental - Science - Investigation - Industry - Consumer - Safety - Federal - Law - Earth - Wildlife - California - New Jersey - Michigan - Ky - "Sex Hormones, Mood Stabilizers Found In Drinking Water Of 41 M Americans." ... "A vast array of pharmaceuticals _ including antibiotics, anti-convulsants, mood stabilizers and sex hormones _ have been found in the drinking water supplies of at least 41 million Americans, an Associated Press investigation shows." ... "To be sure, the concentrations of these pharmaceuticals are tiny, measured in quantities of parts per billion or trillion, far below the levels of a medical dose. Also, utilities insist their water is safe." ... "But the presence of so many prescription drugs _ and over-the-counter medicines like acetaminophen and ibuprofen _ in so much of our drinking water is heightening worries among scientists of long-term consequences to human health." ... "In the course of a five-month inquiry, the AP discovered that drugs have been detected in the drinking water supplies of 24 major metropolitan areas _ from Southern California to Northern New Jersey, from Detroit [Michigan] to Louisville, Ky. [Kentucky.]" ... "How do the drugs get into the water?" ... "People take pills. Their bodies absorb some of the medication, but the rest of it passes through and is flushed down the toilet. The wastewater is treated before it is discharged into reservoirs, rivers or lakes. Then, some of the water is cleansed again at drinking water treatment plants and piped to consumers. But most treatments do not remove all drug residue." ... "And while researchers do not yet understand the exact risks from decades of persistent exposure to random combinations of low levels of pharmaceuticals, recent studies _ which have gone virtually unnoticed by the general public _ have found alarming effects on human cells and wildlife." ... "The federal government doesn't require any testing and hasn't set safety limits for drugs in water." ... "The AP's investigation also indicates that watersheds, the natural sources of most of the nation's water supply, also are contaminated." ... "Even users of bottled water and home filtration systems don't necessarily avoid exposure. Bottlers, some of which simply repackage tap water, do not typically treat or test for pharmaceuticals, according to the industry's main trade group. The same goes for the makers of home filtration systems." ... "Pharmaceuticals also permeate aquifers deep underground, source of 40 percent of the nation's water supply." -By Jeff Donn, Martha Mendoza, and Justin Pritchard -AssociatedPress via -HuffingtonPost.com

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Corporate - Government - US Attorney - Politics - New Jersey - Calif - Indiana - Manufacturer - Investigation - "Christie faces a grilling over Ashcroft role." ... "A congressional committee has called for New Jersey's U.S. attorney, Christopher Christie, to testify at a hearing next week about his appointment of former Attorney General John Ashcroft to a lucrative assignment as a corporate monitor." ... "[California Democratic Representative] Rep. Linda Sanchez (D-Calif.[Democratic-California]), who will chair the Feb. 26 hearing, said she and other Judiciary Committee members want to discuss Ashcroft's hiring, role and compensation at Zimmer Holdings, an Indiana-based manufacturer that accepted a monitor to settle a fraud investigation with Christie's office." ... "The contract calls for Ashcroft's Washington-based consulting firm to collect between $27 million and $52 million over 18 months." ... "The hearing, before members of a subcommittee on commercial and administrative law, represents part of the growing scrutiny on out-of-court settlements between corporations and federal prosecutors, a practice that has flourished in recent years without court or congressional oversight. In many of the settlements, called deferred prosecutions, prosecutors privately negotiate the terms with target companies, then appoint private lawyers to monitor the companies' compliance." -By John P. Martin andd Jeff Whelan -NJ.com

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Hospital Corporations - Pharmaceutical - Corporations - Federal - Investigators - New Jersey - New York - Tennessee - Ohio - Louisiana - Pennsylvania - "Federal investigators recoup $2.2B in healthcare-fraud prosecutions." ... "The largest recovery came from a settlement with Tenet Healthcare Corp. [Corporation], one of the largest for-profit hospital chains in the United States. In a well-publicized case, whistleblowers from inside the company alerted federal authorities, which uncovered evidence that Tenet was manipulating Medicare’s payment system to boost revenue and paid kickbacks to physicians who sent their patients to Tenet facilities. To settle the charges and avoid a court judgment on the accusations, Tenet agreed to pay the government $900 million over the course of four years." ... "Other hospital companies also coughed up millions to the federal government in fraud and abuse cases in fiscal 2006, including St. Barnabas Health Care System in New Jersey ($265 million), Beth Israel Medical Center in New York ($73 million), the Chattanooga-Hamilton County Hospital Authority in Tennessee ($37 million), University Hospitals Health System in Ohio ($13.8 million), Our Lady of Lourdes Regional Medical Center in Louisiana ($3.8 million) and the Milton S. Hershey Medical Center in Pennsylvania ($2.9 million)." ... "The pharmaceutical company Serono paid $704 million to settle charges that it illegally advised doctors to prescribe an AIDS medicine called Serostim for uses not approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), paid kickbacks to cooperative physicians, and conspired with the diagnostic device maker RJL Sciences to market a device not approved by the FDA. RJL Sciences pleaded guilty to its role." ... "Schering-Plough, another drug company, is on the hook for $435 million as a result of several charges, including allegedly giving false information to the FDA, which was investigating whether the company’s marketing practices violated the law." -By Jeffrey Young -TheHill.com

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John Ashcroft - Michael B Mukasey - Alberto R Gonzales - Debra Wong Yang - Criminal - Corporate - Government - Lawyers - US Attorneys - Politics - Medical - New Jersey - Indiana - New York - Los Angeles - California - "Ashcroft Deal Brings Scrutiny in Justice Dept.." ... "When the top federal prosecutor in New Jersey [Christopher J. Christie] needed to find an outside lawyer to monitor a large corporation willing to settle criminal charges out of court last fall, he turned to [Republican] former Attorney General John Ashcroft, his onetime boss. With no public notice and no bidding, the company awarded Mr. Ashcroft an 18-month contract worth $28 million to $52 million." ... "That contract, which Justice Department officials in Washington learned about only several weeks ago, has prompted an internal inquiry into the department’s procedures for selecting outside monitors to police settlements with large companies." ... "The contract between Mr. Ashcroft’s consulting firm, the Ashcroft Group, and Zimmer Holdings, a medical supply company in Indiana, has also drawn the attention of Congressional investigators." ... "The New Jersey prosecutor, United States Attorney Christopher J. Christie, directed similar monitoring contracts last year to two other former Justice Department colleagues from the [Republican President] Bush administration, as well as to a former Republican state attorney general in New Jersey." ... "Officials said that while there had been no accusations of wrongdoing on the part of Mr. Christie or Mr. Ashcroft, aides to Attorney General Michael B. Mukasey were concerned about the appearance of favoritism." ... "Mr. Mukasey, a former federal judge who was sworn in as attorney general in November, has vowed to remove political considerations from decision-making at the department in the wake of a series of scandals under his predecessor, Alberto R. Gonzales." ... "In the Bush administration, federal prosecutors have increasingly relied on out-of-court settlements with large corporations in criminal investigations that in the past might have resulted in indictments and trials." ... "Mr. Christie directed similar contracts in settlements with other medical-supply companies to two other former Justice Department colleagues — David N. Kelley, the former United States attorney in Manhattan [New York], and Debra Wong Yang, his counterpart in Los Angeles [California] — and to David Samson, the former Republican attorney general in New Jersey." (1, 2) -By Philip Shenon -NYTimes

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Money - Politics - Federal - Housing - Legislation - New Jersey - Georgia - California - Texas - Utah - Maryland - Nevada - Oregon - Washington - 2004 Election - US - Netherlands - "Lender Lobbying Blitz Abetted Mortgage Mess: Ameriquest Pressed For Changes in Laws; A Battle in New Jersey." ... "During the housing boom, the subprime industry succeeded at more than just writing mortgages. It also shot down efforts by some states to curtail risky lending to borrowers with spotty credit." ... "Ameriquest Mortgage Co. [ACC Capital Holdings], until recently one of the nation's largest subprime lenders, was at the center of those battles. Working with a husband-and-wife team of Washington lobbyists, it handed out more than $20 million in political donations and played a big role in persuading legislators in New Jersey and Georgia to relax tough new laws. Those victories, in turn, helped blunt efforts by other states to crack down on reckless lending, critics of the industry contend." ... "Home loans made by Ameriquest and other subprime lenders are defaulting now in large numbers, roiling global credit markets and sparking debate about whether regulators and lawmakers should have anticipated the mess and taken action. A close look at Ameriquest's lobbying and political donations shows how the subprime industry maneuvered to defeat legislation that might have contained some of the damage." ... "Data from federal and state campaign-finance records, Internal Revenue Service filings, and the National Institute on Money in State Politics show that from 2002 through 2006, Ameriquest, its executives and their spouses and business associates donated at least $20.5 million to state and federal political groups. In comparison, over the same time period, Countrywide Financial, another large subprime lender, gave about $2 million in campaign gifts, and spent an additional $6.7 million lobbying in Washington, records indicate." ... "Some of the giving by Ameriquest executives and associates was high-profile. [Republican] President Bush received more than $200,000 for his 2004 re-election campaign, and Ameriquest founder Roland Arnall and his wife, Dawn, contributed more than $5 million to political organizations that backed the president. Last year, [Republican] President Bush appointed Mr. Arnall ambassador to the Netherlands, and his wife took over as chairman of Ameriquest's parent company. California [Republican Governor] Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's campaigns received at least $1.4 million, along with stacks of tickets to a Rolling Stones concert that were used to lure big donors." ... "Last year, ACC Capital, its [Ameriquest Mortgage Company] parent company, agreed to pay $325 million to settle regulators' claims that it charged excessively high mortgage rates and didn't adequately disclose loan risks. Some of the state attorneys general who signed the settlement, including Greg Abbott of Texas, received campaign donations from the firm. Utah's attorney general, Mark Shurtleff, received a $1,000 contribution and Rolling Stones tickets." ... "Ameriquest also handed out Rolling Stones tickets to state legislators in Georgia, Maryland, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, Washington and California, according to ethics records and local news accounts." ... "Federal lawmakers didn't pose much of a threat to the subprime industry in recent years. Members of Congress received at least $645,000 in donations from Ameriquest and large sums from other big subprime lenders, Federal Election Commission records indicate." ... "ACC Capital, Ameriquest's parent company, and its executives gave more than $350,000 to Texas politicians in 2006, including $100,000 to [Republican Governor] Gov. Rick Perry, according to state records." -By Glenn R. Simpson -WSJ.com 

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University - Politics - New Jersey - "Police: Princeton student faked attack, e-mail threats." ... "A [New Jersey] Princeton University student who argued that his conservative views were not accepted on the campus confessed to fabricating an assault and sending threatening e-mail messages to himself and some friends who shared his views, authorities said Monday." ... "Princeton Township police said Francisco Nava was not immediately charged with any crime, but the investigation was continuing." ... "Nava claimed to have been assaulted Friday by two men off-campus, police said. But he later confessed that scrapes and scratches on his face were self-inflicted, and that the threats were his work, too, said Detective Sgt. [Sergeant] Ernie Silagyi." -By Geoff Mulvihill -AP via -Newsday.com 

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