130-Year-Old Picnic Kicks Off Fall Campaign In Kentucky
Today
Many are speculating that the U.S. Senate seat left by Sen. Bunning (R) will be the race to watch this fall in Kentucky. Traditionally those candidates who are vying for the seat will make an appearance today at the “Fancy Farm Picnic.”
The Fancy Farm Picnic in Kentucky is the unofficial kick-off for fall campaigns in Kentucky politics. Speaking at this annual picnic is open to candidates running for any Kentucky or national office and this year will include U.S. Senate candidates Rand Paul (R) and Jack Conway (D). Now in its 130th year, the picnic is held on the first Saturday in August and is organized by St. Jerome’s Catholic Church, located in the small town of Fancy Farm, near Mayfield in Graves County, Kentucky. C‑SPAN is partnering with Kentucky Educational Television to broadcast the event nationally.
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July unemployment rate stays at 9.5%; Trustees report Released
Today
The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported yesterday that the unemployment rate for July stayed at 9.5% with 71,000 jobs created during the month.
Overall, the nation lost 131,000 jobs last month, but those losses came as 143,000 Census Bureau workers left their temporary employment, the Labor Department said. June’s number was revised downward to a total loss of 221,000 jobs. The agency originally reported that the nation lost 125,000 jobs in June.
To further examine BLS's report, the Joint Economic Committee heard testimony from Keith Hall, the Commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics, on unemployment numbers for July, and national employment trends.
Pres. Obama spoke at Gelberg Signs, a small business in Washington, about the employment report. He also discussed the Adminisration's plans to expand small business with the support of loans from the Small Business Administration.
Also this week, Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner and Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, who serve on the Board of Trustees of the Social Security and Medicare trust funds, released a new Trustees report on the fiscal condition of Social Security and Medicare. They outlined the report which piggy-backed an earlier announcement by the Obama Administration that projected that new spending cuts would save the Medicare program $8 billion dollars by the end of 2011.
Under the new health care law, signed by the president in March, Medicare spending will increase by 5.3 percent a year over the next decade and allow the program’s trust fund to remain solvent until 2029.
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