The WonkLine: September 18, 2009

“The Arctic’s sea ice pack thawed to its third-lowest summer level on record” because of global warming, leading to “increasingly turbulent waters for scientific research as countries exert sovereignty over Arctic territory and Big Oil boosts exploration efforts.”

“U.S. EPA is poised to establish a national registry for heat-trapping emissions” after “the White House Office of Management and Budget finalized its review of the final rule” on Wednesday.

“Climate change is something we’re going to have to do as quickly as we can,” said Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV), after a European official blasted the United States Senate for inaction.

Reuters reports that “NATO proposed a new era of cooperation with the United States and Russia on Friday, calling for joint work on missile defense systems after Washington scrapped a planned anti-missile system.”

The Christian Science Monitor reports that Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said in an interview “that Iran has no need for nuclear weapons, but he did not rule out the possibility that Iran might develop them in the future.”

BBC reports that “US envoy George Mitchell’s latest round of shuttle diplomacy in the Middle East has ended without agreement, Palestinian officials said.”

Sen. Robert Menendez (D-NJ) said he is withholding his support for the Senate health care bill until his concerns about immigration are addressed. The Hill reports that Menendez “has joined Hispanic advocacy groups in criticizing the bill for placing too heavy a burden on legal and illegal immigrants.”

Immigration and Customs Enforcement authorities in Los Angeles have reached a settlement in a lawsuit filed by the ACLU (among others), which alleged that immigrants were held for weeks in a Los Angeles federal building “without access to drinking water, clean clothes or items such as sanitary napkins.”

Sheriff Joe Arpaio’s office, as it defends itself in a racial profiling case, has subpoenaed the records of ACORN, despite the fact that ACORN “is not a plaintiff, and has not joined the lawsuit.”

Household wealth grew 3.9 percent in the second quarter, the first such increase in nearly two years. However, it is still 19 percent below its 2007 peak.

The SEC has released a proposal to ban flash orders, “which allow a select group of traders to see requests to buy and sell stocks and other securities a split second before the rest of the market,” which means that “traders with the technical savvy and clout to gain access to flash orders will have a leg up.”

Sen. Chris Dodd (D-CT) is working on legislation to limit bank overdraft fees. American Banker reports that “though details of the legislation are unclear, it is likely to require banks to get their customers’ permission before enrolling them in an overdraft program.”

Some pro-life groups are still insisting that the government would fund ‘elective’ abortions under the Baucus mark. “Tony Perkins, head of the Family Research Council, charged that that Sen. Baucus’ “America’s Healthy Future Act” includes abortion “pure and simple.”

“People without health insurance are 40 percent more likely to die than those with private insurance, according to a new study whose authors say the finding underscores the need to expand coverage to the 46 million who lack it.”

The New York Times explains why “saving patients money would cost the Medicare drug program billions.”

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