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Washington (CNN) — Just five days before the fifth anniversary of Hurricane Katrina’s devastating assault on the Gulf coast, millions of dollars are heading to public and private projects for Louisianans still trying to recover, two top Obama administration officials said at a news conference Tuesday.

Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Janet Napolitano and Federal Emergency Management Agency Administrator Craig Fugate detailed how, courtesy of the federal disaster recovery fund established under the Stafford Act, seven projects in Louisiana will receive more than $26.8 million to contribute to the rebuilding process.

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All the money they have taken out of SSI because there was a surplus. They need that money now and no one will say that this is the reason SSI is running out of money. The goverment did this why don’t they straighten it out? Because the spent the money they should not have.

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama used the anniversary of Social Security to trumpet Democrats’ support for the popular program and accuse Republicans of trying to destroy it.

Seventy-five years after President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed Social Security into law, Obama said in his weekly radio and Internet address Saturday: “We have an obligation to keep that promise, to safeguard Social Security for our seniors, people with disabilities and all Americans — today, tomorrow and forever.”

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WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama says Medicare will exist for many more years, thanks to new legislation that helped put the health care program for America’s seniors on stronger financial footing.

Seniors already are benefiting from that new health care law, said Obama, noting that many have received $250 rebates to help buy medicine, for example.

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Washington (CNN) — President Obama signed a bill Tuesday reducing the disparity in penalties for the use of crack and powder cocaine, according to the White House.

The enactment of the law seals a hard-fought victory for civil rights activists who have argued for years that the differing punishments unfairly target African-Americans.

The Fair Sentencing Act repeals a five-year mandatory sentence for first time offenders, and for repeat offenders with less than 28 grams of crack cocaine. The old law set the mandatory sentence for conviction at five grams.

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WASHINGTON — Actor Andy Griffith has a new role: pitching President Barack Obama’s health care law to seniors in a cable television ad paid for by Medicare.

The TV star — whose role as sheriff of Mayberry made him an enduring symbol of small-town American values — tells seniors that “good things are coming” under the health care overhaul, including free preventive checkups and lower-cost prescriptions for Medicare recipients.

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(CNN) – Democratic Rep. Anthony Weiner was raging Thursday night on the House floor after it became clear that Republicans had enough votes to defeat a bill that provided health care to 9/11 first responder
Democratic leaders made a motion to suspend the rules, a maneuver that
prevented Republicans from offering amendments to the widely popular
James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act.

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Washington (CNN) — The House of Representatives on Tuesday gave final approval to a nearly $59 billion emergency spending bill, the bulk of which would go toward the U.S. troop buildup in Afghanistan.

Specifically, the bill includes almost $33 billion for Afghanistan, along with over $5 billion for the Federal Emergency Management Agency, almost $3 billion for Haiti relief programs and $68 million for the oil disaster response in the Gulf of Mexico.

It now goes to the president for his signature.

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Washington (CNN) – Senate Democratic leaders have concluded that the only way to pass critical war-funding before the fast-approaching August congressional recess is for the House to drop its insistence that the measure include billions of dollars for unrelated domestic programs, a top Senate Democratic leadership aide told CNN.

The extra money, which includes funds to help cash-strapped states avoid teacher layoffs, has drawn fire from Republicans who complain it’s a giveaway to the teachers’ unions.

The White House, which doesn’t oppose giving states money for teachers, also objects to the House legislation because it pays for the teacher initiative by cutting funding from President Obama’s “Race to the Top” education reform program.

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Washington (CNN) — The House of Representatives Tuesday began debate on a bill to extend jobless benefits through the end of November.

The measure would make the benefits effective retroactively, allowing those who may have been cut off from unemployment insurance at the end of May to collect those federal payments.

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(CNN) — Senate Democrats failed Thursday to overcome a Republican filibuster of a bill to extend unemployment benefits and prevent Medicare doctors from having their reimbursements cut.

All Republicans opposed ending debate on the wide-ranging bill, forcing further negotiations on specific provisions to seek a possible compromise.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid complained Republicans were simply stalling progress on the bill, and he and other Democratic leaders said the GOP filibuster showed Republicans were aligned with special interests such as oil companies and Wall Street hedge funds.