cm-
WILSON LIBRARY
M C COLLECTION
UNC-CH
CHAPEL HILL
OLUME 93 - NUMBER 3 DURHAM, NORTH CAROLINA - SATURDAY, JANUARY 25, 2014 TELEPHONE (919) 682-2913 PRICE: 30
Disrespected’ Obama Appointed the Most Black Judges
By Freddie Allen
NNPA Washington Correspondent
WASHINGTON (NNPA) - Despite the unprecedented
levels of obstruction from Republicans in the Senate.
President Obama has managed to get a higher rate of
black judges confirmed than any other president in his
tory. according to a court watchdog group.
Research compiled by the Alliance for Justice, a na
tional organization dedicated to progressive values and
the creation of a just and free society , shows that so far
during the Obama administration, blacks have accounted
for 18.7 "“'■cent of the federal judicial confirmations, a
sharp inci ver the George W. Bush administration,
where 7.3 ’ nt of the judicial confirmations were
black. Duringihe Clinton administration. 16.4 percent of
the federal judicial confirmations were African American.
During the Obama administration. 41 percent of the fed
eral judges that have been confirmed are women, com
pared to 22 percent under George W. Bush and 29 percent
for Clinton.
Barbara Arnwine sees need for more black judges
Obamacare: A
Midterm Report
Card
^w.^ M- ^^,>5
President Barack Obama checks in on l irst Lad) Michelle Obama and daughters Sasha and Malia as the) prepare burritos while
volunteering at the I)( ( entral Kitchen in Washington. D.( .. on Martin Luther King Dav. January 20. 2014. (Official White House
Photo b) Pete Sou/apresident Barack Obama talks with Prime Minister Mariano Rajo} of Spain following their bilateral meeting
in the Oval Office. Jan. 13. 2014. (Official White House Photo In Pete Souzapesident Barack Obama holds a bain in the air while
talking with patrons during a stop for lunch at The ( onpc in Washington. D.( .. Jan. 10. (Official VV bite House Photo In Pete Souza
President ()bama has also managed to gel more Asian
Americans, Hispanics. Native Americans and gays con
firmed to the federal bench than either Bush or Clinton.
" I bis is the best slate of judicial nominees I've seen
from any
president since I’ve been at the Lawycis’ Committee,
since 1989,’’ said Barbara Arnwine. president and execu
tive director of the Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights
Under Law, a nonprofit group that works for equal justice
under the law. "I've never seen a more diverse slate. I’ve
never seen a more highly-rated slate. I've never seen a
slate w ith this kind of deep diversity."
Yet. the eurrent slate of judicial nominees has faced
unparalleled delays in the Senate. President Obama’s ju
dicial nominees have waited an average of 115 days be
tween judiciary committee vote and confirmation, more
than double the average wait time of President Bush’s
(Continued On Page 2)
By Charles Ornstein
Special to the NNPA from ProPublica
1 he first half of the Obamacare open enrollment period
is over, and
yesterday.federal health officials announced figures
from the first three months.
After a disastrous start. HealthCare.gov (which han
dles enrollment for 36 states) began functioning properly.
It. along with state-run insurance exchanges, netted more
than 2.1 million signups between Oct. I and Dec. 28.
But are sign-ups on pace to meet the Congressional
Budget Office’s projection of 7 million this y ear? And is
there an adequate balance belw ecu young and old. sick
and healthy, to keep costs in line'? I hat's harder to say.
Here's what we know:
Some states are performing much better than others.
■ Connecticut has already exceeded the target the Cen
ters for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) wanted
it to have by the end of March, according to acasignups.
net/. New York and Rhode Island are also on pace to beat
expectations. But other states are lagging. They include
Maryland. Oregon and Massachusetts, which run their
own exchanges and continue to be plagued by website
problems. Also far behind are New Mexico and Missis
sippi. which rely on HealthCare.gov.
Enrollees are skewing older.
Currently. 33 percent of enrollees are 55 to 64 years
fold, compared to only 30 percent who are under 35. In
Arkansas. Maine. Ohio. West Virginia and Wisconsin, at
least 40 percent of enrollees are over 55. A higher propor
tion of y ounger enrollees are going to have to be signed
up before the end of March in order to help offset the costs
of older ones. CMS officials say y ounger enrollees tend to
sign up later in the process, as they did several y ears ago
"hen Massachusetts implemented its individual mandate.
'Continued On Page 3)
White House Seeks to Help
Expand Education Opportunity
Bv .la/elle Hum
NNPA Washington Correspondent
WASIIING ION (NNPAi - I hill} } cars ago. ong }ear of tuition. room, and board at a nation s four-xear. degree-granting institution co t
$8.756 011 average (or S3.460. when adjusted for inllationr
As of 2010. that figure had almost tripled to $22.002 - and that's just for one }car.
Io meet this economic hurdle. 30.6 mdli ■ Americans have turned to the student loan market, taking on more than SI trillion in debt ol
last \ear. according to the I)cparimeni o. 1 J" •«,. N I .sical Stud-mi Aid office. Higher education, once a pipeline to the American Dream,
is quickl} becoming just a pipedream for low-income ano uiiderscrved Americans.
On I hursday President and I list | adv ( .amu iiivim 1 ’ucation 'caders ami decision-makers to the W hite I louse to announce an inter
vention to allow more \mcrica . the chance .1 a degree. I he l.\panding I ducation Opportunitv summit aims to foster collaboration and
brainstorm solutions to lim c. rth of college opportunities for low-inci ne and dr 'vanhred students. I he summit is part of the President's
overall education agend \ Inch has adv anced through Congress in fits and starts.
President Obama addressed the attendees and the press. Jing. ” The one reason we're here todav is we want to make sure more young
people have a change to earn a higher education, lodav ,s a great exam) . . f how we can advance this agenda without a bunch of new leg
islation."
Without a college degree, children born in the bottom 20 percent of income distribution have just a 5 percent chance of getting into the top
20 percent as adults - ami onlv a 55 percent chance of ever making it out of that income bracket, according to a 2008 Brookings Institute study.
But there was a catch: I hose inv ited could onlv attend the summit if the} put their mone} w here their mouths are. Attendees, were required
to submit (for rev iew ) a concise in-house plan of new actions for 2014 to combat the ^pportunil} gap. and public!} commit funds to execute
their plan.
"We do not have a more clear ladder of economic mobilit} than the attainment of a college degree for someone born into a low-income
family And vet the research shows that if vou arc born in the bottom quartile, b} the accident of birth vou have onlv a nine percent chance
of graduating from college." sacs Director of the National I conomic Council. Gene Sperling, who organized the summit. "We are a countr}
that does not believe that the outcomes of vour life should be over!} determined bv the accident of}our birth. Yet these numbers show that
to make good on that, we have to do much more as a countr} to help more people to succeed in college."
In preliminar} efforts, the Department of I ducation and stakeholders identified four areas of focus that could have the greatest impact in
expanding access to higher education: Malching students to their best possible schools and encouraging completion: increasing the pool ot
college-read} students: reducing inequalities in college adv iscmeni and test prep: and making remediation more effective.
An arra} ofsecondar} institutions arc included in the ongoing initiative, such as Mi l. College of the Hol} Cross. Princeton University
Vassar College, and Navajo lechnical I iniversity I IBC I Is I loward I Iniversity Morehouse College. Morgan Stale Universit}, and Spelman
College are also making commitments. Notable organizations involved include the College Board. Posse f oundation, and the American As
sociation ofCommunit} Colleges.
Participants were required to focus their plans and resources on improv ing one or more "''these areas. A majorit} ol the schools and orga
nizations involved have made pledges around increasing match and college completion.
(Continued On Page 4)