Star is a 6-month-old female kitten. She was adopted as a baby from VHS, then returned. She’s a little bigger now than in the picture. Her adoption fee is $30 and she’s ready to go home today spayed, microchipped, and vaccinated! Contact the Vanderburgh Humane Society at (812) 426-2563 Tuesday-Saturday 12-6 for adoption details!
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INDIANAPOLIS – Clad in their Dearborn County Jail attire and under guard, four inmates participating in a Jail Chemical Addictions Program (JCAP) made presentations Wednesday to the Indiana Attorney General’s Public Safety Coalition (PSC). The four men, along with two ex-offender graduates of the program, offered raw depictions of addiction along with this startling conclusion: “Getting arrested saved my life!†Attorney General Curtis Hill organized the PSC to focus Indiana law enforcement and other experts on finding constructive solutions to the state’s crime and drug problems. He appointed Decatur County Prosecuting Attorney Nathan Harter to chair the effort. Wednesday’s conference at the Indiana Government Center highlighted chemical addiction programs at the Boone and Dearborn county jails. Targeting inmate populations, Hill said, represents one of the best methods of reaching drug users most in need of services. “Everyone recognizes the need for more treatment facilities,†Hill said, “but it would be unwise to expect addicts to just line up and ask for help. The nature of addiction will not allow such rational behavior.†Incarceration, therefore, plays a vital role in helping addicts recognize their need for intervention, Hill said. On Wednesday, the JCAP participants themselves confirmed they needed the constraints of jail to break their cycles of addiction. Such realities call into question the wisdom of recent trends toward reducing jail time for people arrested in connection with drug use, Hill said. “Efforts to limit jail time for drug users might be well-intended,†Hill said, “but based on what we’ve heard from inmates, one must conclude that the most compassionate course might actually be giving them more jail time.†The point of incarcerating drug users is not to dole out maximum punishment, Hill said, but rather to provide them the best possible opportunity to overcome their addiction. “When we allow drug users easily to bail out without treatment, we do them a disservice,†Hill said. “They typically go right back to the routines and habits that got them in trouble in the first place.†A better course, he said, is to provide addicts prolonged sustainable programming while they are incarcerated followed by a solid after-care plan upon their release. Hill envisions all counties in Indiana having access to the JCAP model – either by operating their own quality programs or participating in regional JCAPs. Working with the Public Safety Coalition, Hill plans to press policymakers statewide to support jail chemical addiction programming as an effective weapon in Indiana’s ongoing battle against substance abuse. If you would like to learn more about the Public Safety Coalition, contact Outreach Coordinator Matt Row at Matthew.Row@atg.in.gov. |
On Thursday, the House of Representatives passed H.R. 10, the Financial CHOICE Act, the plan to replace the Dodd-Frank Act and protect the financial futures of Americans. This legislative overhaul prioritizes Main Street – farmers, small business owners, and middle-income families – over Wall Street.
Eighth District Congressman Larry Bucshon, M.D. released the following statement after voting in favor of the legislation:
“When the Democrats passed Dodd-Frank in 2010, we were promised an end to taxpayer funded bailouts and a system that protects consumers. Instead, this massive regulatory monstrosity enshrined “too big to fail†and taxpayer bailouts into law, led to the loss of community financial institutions while the big banks got bigger, and created a new, unaccountable and structurally unconstitutional government agency with the unilateral power to decided what type of mortgages, credit cards, and bank accounts Americans can have,†said Bucshon.
“Wall Street is doing just fine under Dodd-Frank’s status quo, while millions of Americans in the heartland are struggling to get ahead. The hardworking Americans who rely on community financial institutions to get a mortgage to buy their first home or take out a small business loan to start a business are being hit the hardest. These are our farmers, small business owners, and middle-income families. With the Financial CHOICE Act, we are offering a better way forward by putting Main Street ahead of Wall Street and unleashing America’s economic potential. This legislation ends unfair taxpayer bailouts, protects consumers by holding Wall Street accountable with the steepest penalties in history, increases transparency and accountability, and expands access to capital for small businesses and gives consumers more choice and options when it comes to credit so that Americans can plan their own financial futures.â€
Indiana Bankers Association (IBA) strongly supports CHOICE:
“The Indiana Bankers Association (IBA) stands in strong support of the Financial CHOICE Act (H.R. 10), a regulatory relief bill designed to usher in economic growth and prosperity for Americans everywhere. The Indiana banking community is supportive of much-needed and overdue relief from the choking regulatory burden that impedes banks’ ability to best serve the needs of their customers and local communities. Passage of the Act will bolster free-market choice for consumers, reform the overregulation that chokes business ventures and economic growth, and bring much-needed transparency to the regulatory process,†said Amber R. Van Til, President and CEO of IBA.
“The IBA joins with bank trade associations nationwide in advocating for passage of this key legislation. The Financial CHOICE Act is needed in order to reform overregulation in critical areas, including mortgage lending, call reports and data collection. Streamlining these systems and more will ultimately benefits consumers, as they enjoy more efficient financial services and financial freedom of choice. Passage of the CHOICE Act will help foster a more sensible and proportionate financial regulatory system that will facilitate economic growth and job creation. We urge lawmakers on the Hill to look at the needs of their constituents and vote in support of H.R. 10. Each vote for passage of the Financial CHOICE Act is a vote in favor of American prosperity.â€
MORE >>> Read the Bill
Summary of the Bill
Get the Facts: The Financial CHOICE Act
The Financial CHOICE Act: Opportunity for All, Bailouts for None
Top 10 Wins for the American People with the Financial CHOICE Act
Support Builds for the Financial CHOICE Act
What They’re Saying About the Financial CHOICE Act
Claims vs. Facts
The Vanderburgh County Coroners Office and the Vanderburgh County Sheriffs Office are investigating the death of an Evansville man killed in a single vehicle motorcycle collision. The collision took place on US 41 at I69 on ramp. Pending notification of extended family his name will not be released. The Vanderburgh County Sheriffs Office can provide details of their investigation.
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 The Financial CHOICE Act will replace the failed Dodd-Frank Act with reforms that will deliver:
Protecting consumers and growing our economy requires accountability from both Washington and Wall Street. That’s why accountability is at the heart of the Financial CHOICE Act. It imposes the toughest penalties in history for financial fraud, it puts Washington’s financial regulators on budget, and requires rules to pass a cost-benefit test and holds them accountable to Congress for major regulations.
Dodd-Frank did not end “too big to fail.” Hardworking taxpayers still remain on the hook for Wall Street risk-taking thanks to Dodd-Frank’s bailout fund. The Financial CHOICE Act ends bank bailouts and “too big to fail” once and for all. There will be bankruptcy — not taxpayer-funded bailouts — for financial firms that fail. A “no more bailouts” policy also lays the foundation for a more resilient, stable financial system that creates economic opportunity for all Americans.
Dodd-Frank’s excessive regulatory complexity has produced a less resilient financial system and stifled economic growth. By reducing obstacles to credit and capital, the Financial CHOICE Act strengthens our financial system and promotes a dynamic economy with more jobs, higher wages and faster growth. These reforms “will allow the private sector to fuel economic growth in our 21st century economy,” the Small Business Investor Alliance said.
The “regulatory taxes” imposed by Dodd-Frank are passed on to consumers in the form of increased fees, fewer products and services, and more limited credit options. For example, since Dodd-Frank became law, the share of banks offering free checking accounts has fallen by almost half. The Financial CHOICE Act gives consumers more choices and options when it comes to credit, providing access to products and services they want and need. Consumers must be vigorously protected not only from fraud and deception, but also from the loss of economic opportunity and freedom. HELP FOR SMALL BUSINESS, AMERICA’S JOB CREATING ENGINE Even President Obama’s Small Business Administration director admitted Dodd-Frank’s regulations hurt small business lending. “Small banks have been laden with excessive costs and confusion from overlapping regulations, which are getting in the way of their ability to make small business loans,” she said. The Financial CHOICE Act includes numerous provisions — many of them strongly bipartisan — to eliminate unnecessary regulations in order to provide small businesses, start-ups, and entrepreneurs greater freedom to innovate, grow their businesses, and create jobs in our communities.
The best way for the Federal Reserve to help the economy is by adopting a transparent, strategy-based policy strategy that will provide more predictability for the American people. But currently, the Fed’s so-called “forward guidance” is vague and leaves hardworking taxpayers uncertain as they attempt to plan their financial futures. By promoting a more predictable and transparent rules-based monetary policy, the Financial CHOICE Act provides a stronger foundation for economic growth than the Fed’s improvisational approach of recent years. A MORE LEVEL PLAYING FIELD Dodd-Frank didn’t end “too big to fail,” but it did create “too small to succeed.” Unlike big banks, community banks can’t afford the armies of lawyers and compliance officers it takes to sort through Dodd-Frank’s red tape. This creates an uneven playing field. Since Dodd-Frank became law the big banks are bigger and the small banks are fewer. The Financial CHOICE Act provides desperately needed regulatory relief for Main Street banks and credit unions. This will help level the playing field and allow community financial institutions to devote more time and resources to meeting customer needs and free up resources for lending.
The Department of Labor’s Fiduciary Rule will cost working Americans billions of dollars in lost retirement savings. The Financial CHOICE Act repeals this misguided, unnecessary, and excessively complex regulation that makes it harder for working Americans to save and invest for retirement, college, and their future.
There are numerous provisions in Dodd-Frank touted as “investor protections” that actually increase costs, including rules that force companies to waste money on burdensome requirements rather than using that money to grow, thrive and create jobs. The Financial CHOICE Act will amend and eliminate provisions that restrict financial opportunity and investment options for hardworking Americans and make it harder for businesses to create good-paying jobs.
Despite its failures during the run-up to the financial crisis, the Federal Reserve gained extraordinary new powers thanks to Dodd-Frank but no corresponding increase in its transparency or accountability to the American people. The Financial CHOICE Act protects the Fed’s independence when it comes to the conduct of monetary policy, but demands greater oversight, accountability and transparency at the nation’s central bank. For example, the Financial CHOICE Act requires an audit of all aspects of Federal Reserve operations — not just those that the Fed wants us to see. This is a necessary antidote to the secrecy and lack of transparency that have characterized the Fed for far too long. This information was compiled by the House Financial Services Committee and can be access on the committee’s website here: https://goo.gl/vQDzJw.
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