Recent Headlines

International Business Times, August 26, 2010

Rep. Jerrold Nadler, D-NY, today added his name to the growing list of those calling on President Obama to fire former Wyoming Republican Sen. Alan Simpson from the president's fiscal reform commission for remarks Simpson made to Ashley Carson, executive director of the Older Women's League.

"We cannot trust the integrity of any product or recommendations of the Commission as long as former Senator Simpson is the Chairman," Nadler said in a release.

"His insulting and outrageous comments reveal his own mistaken belief that Social Security is a) in crisis, b) about to collapse, and c) contributes to the deficit.  None of this is true, " Nadler said.

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International Business Times, August 19, 2010

The effort to provide medical treatment and compensation to the more than 20,000 people made ill working on Ground Zero has strengthened, with President Obama voicing his support.

"The President looks forward to signing the 9/11 health bill into law, once it passes both houses of Congress, to help the first responders whose health and livelihood were devastated by the events of September 11," said the White House in a statement issued Wednesday evening.

"We applaud the President's statement that he will sign the Zadroga Act, and we hope that he will join us in urging both houses of Congress to pass the bill on a bipartisan basis when we return in September," said U.S. Reps. Carolyn Maloney and Jerrold Nadler, both D-NY, two of the bill's sponsors.

"The thousands of responders and survivors who are sick as a result of 9/11 have been suffering for too long with too little help from the federal government, and we have a moral obligation to help them," they said in a joint release.

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Salon, August 5, 2010

Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-NY), whose district includes ground zero, has issued a new statement on the Cordoba House project in which he calls out as "shameful and divisive" those who are attacking Muslim-Americans because of their religion.

"As an elected official who believes strongly in the separation of church and state, I contend that the government has no business deciding whether there should or should not be a Muslim house of worship near Ground Zero. And, as a representative of New Yorkers of all faiths and cultures, I find the singling out of Muslim-Americans -- because of their faith -- for animus and hate to be shameful and divisive," Nadler said.

"For centuries, New Yorkers have exhibited a great capacity to incorporate and benefit from diversity. The Cordoba House, which is the product of moderate Muslims, has the support of the local community board and a wide swath of Lower Manhattan community leaders."

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Business Week, August 3, 2010

Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano should meet a 2012 deadline to inspect all maritime cargo bound for the U.S. to ensure it’s free of explosives, lawmakers said today.

Representatives Bennie Thompson of Mississippi, the chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, told Napolitano in a letter today that members have concerns about her agency’s lack of progress in meeting the deadline set in a 2007 law passed in response to the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. He was joined by fellow Democrats Edward Markey of Massachusetts and Jerrold Nadler of New York.

“Congress did not intend for the department to seek an indefinite extension for all ports in the absence of any meaningful efforts to implement the law,” the lawmakers wrote. “While we understand that implementation challenges exist, we are troubled by the department’s apparent intent to grant all ports a two-year delay for implementation, without presenting a concomitant plan of action.”

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via Earth Times, July 29, 2010

A nationwide coalition of 120 environmental, public health, labor, business, consumer advocacy, faith and community organizations today applauded Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) and 57 other House members from 15 states for introducing promising new legislation that would accelerate the speed and success of clean fleet turnover plans at U.S. seaports, lower public health costs for taxpayers, and help America's truck drivers re-enter the ranks of the middle class.

"The Clean Ports Act is a simple way for Washington to help local governments reduce emissions, create green jobs, improve public health, and help responsible businesses grow and compete as part of a national economic recovery strategy," said David Foster, Executive Director of the BlueGreen Alliance, a partner in the Coalition for Clean & Safe Ports. "We commend Congressman Nadler and his colleagues, and we look forward to working with Congress this session to remove this barrier to progress in federal transportation policy."

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Religion Dispatches, July 15, 2010

At a Capitol Hill press conference this morning, House Democrats reiterated their support for comprehensive immigration reform package that would include equality for LGBT people and expressed confidence that such a bill would pass this year.

Nadler told me that “we should reach out to everybody” for support, but he hoped “evangelicals and others can see they should support this [Uniting American Families Act] too. Because it has nothing to do with the issue of marriage... The immigration laws of the United States should not work to keep couples separated. It’s cruelty.”

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Raw Story, July 13, 2010

A New York Democrat argued that failing to prosecute former Bush administration officials complicit in the use of torture would create a dangerous precedent and place America on a path to "tyranny."

In an interview with Raw Story, Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) invoked a "supremacy of laws" when critiquing President Barack Obama’s decision to "look forward and not backwards" on his predecessor’s abuses of power.

"Those who misuse government power to break the law and subject people to improper pressure or torture ought to be prosecuted," said Nadler, chairman of the House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights, and Civil Liberties. "That’s why we have laws."

"Since the Patriot Act, I think we've gone overboard," Nadler said. "Not that we've gone overboard on security, we certainly need the security, but we've done things that are unnecessary to do in terms of restricting civil liberties."

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NBC 10 News, July 7, 2010

Following the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks, the New York Police Department barricaded off its headquarters on Park Row. About 2,000 residents in two apartment complexes found themselves living inside a security zone.

Nine years later, they still are.

Many vehicles, including commercial traffic, are forbidden on the street, which used to be a key link between the Financial District and Chinatown.

Earlier this month, U.S. Rep. Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y., and other politicians sent a letter to Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano urging that the street be reopened.

"Right after 9/11, you say, 'OK, fine,' but nine years later, people are saying, 'How much longer am I going to have to suffer?'" Nadler said.

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Downtown Express, July 1, 2010 

The new health reform bill, which President Obama signed into law on March 23, got high marks at a special health care forum held by Community Board 1 and co-organized by District 8 U.S. Congressman Jerrold Nadler on Monday evening.

“Forty-five thousand Americans die per year because of the lack of health insurance today – this law will save most of those lives,” said Nadler.

The House member described the reform bill as “beginning to catch up to Bismarck,” referring to the late-19th- century German chancellor who implemented a successful national health care system. “It’s a tremendous improvement and puts us on the path to realizing the goal” of safe and affordable health care.

The new law will eliminate lifetime caps on the amount of insurance a person can have and do other things to “ensure that nobody goes broke,” said Nadler.

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