View allAll Photos Tagged Reimbursement
Ok, actually, I just had 7956 Twitter followers as of breakfast time this morning, But I didn't get strawberry pancakes for #7000 or #6000...so I was overdue.
Every time you pick up another 1,000 Twitter followers, the company treats you to a free order of strawberry pancakes. It's precisely the sort of exciting, out-of-the-box thinking that any post-bubble Web 2.0 social portal needs to demonstrate if it's going to successfully chase the long tail.
In fact, I'm such a valuable supporter of Twitter that I'm the one who devised and announced this official company policy. I even helpfully published the CEO's home address along with the announcement. I'm certain that he'll want to process all of those receipts and write out the reimbursement checks personally.
(As soon as Twitter realizes that i've made this offer on their behalf.)
Behold, the strawberry pancakes served by Snoopy's Diner of North Kingstown, Rhode Island. Light, fluffy cakes with plenty of plump, juicy berries baked straight in.
"How's your food?" the waitress asked.
I looked down and sighed before responding.
"I'm very sad," I announced. "After I eat this last pancake, I won't have any more pancakes left."
"Can I bring you some more?"
I considered this.
"Check back with me in about two weeks," I said.
From eBay listing (thanks to Google Translate):
An Apple Newton - Schlumberger Watson the only in Newton OS2 in French!!!
Designed for medical corps (OCR) writing.
The Watson is a tool that has been designed for the medical body, it is based on Apple's Newton 2x00 Schulumberger authorized to make this model should be provided to all doctors, nurses and other medical professions body, the Watson enabled physicians to manage these patients automatically, sending data to the body familly ...
Unfortunately, this project was never implemented by the CAF, which is a shame.
Anyway, there were only a few copies issued to doctors for testing.
It is very rare to find in this condition, it is practically new, the screen has no marks and plastics of all is also like new. It is therefore particularly well keep a copy of that here.
From myapplenewton.blogspot.com/2010/05/schlumberger-watson-ne... :
… Newton 2x00 combined with a smartcard reader called the Schlumberger Watson. It was produced for the French medical industry as a companion for Doctors giving them ready access to patient records as well as processing transactions so that claims on their National Health System (SESAM-Vitale) could be processed electronically. The records carried no medical information, just their details on the SESAM-Vitale database.
The reader occupied the space normally taken up by Slot 0 and took two cards. One card was the Doctor's and had his unique i.d. The other was a patient card. When used together, the system could validate the care given by the Doctor and a reimbursement claim could be submitted to SESAM-Vitale by way of the modem built into the cradle. The cradle also provided a means for recharging the Watson's battery pack and giving a serial connection to a desktop.
The unit sold for 12,000 francs. The average monthly gross salary in France back then was 13,550 francs.
From eBay listing (thanks to Google Translate):
An Apple Newton - Schlumberger Watson the only in Newton OS2 in French!!!
Designed for medical corps (OCR) writing.
The Watson is a tool that has been designed for the medical body, it is based on Apple's Newton 2x00 Schulumberger authorized to make this model should be provided to all doctors, nurses and other medical professions body, the Watson enabled physicians to manage these patients automatically, sending data to the body familly ...
Unfortunately, this project was never implemented by the CAF, which is a shame.
Anyway, there were only a few copies issued to doctors for testing.
It is very rare to find in this condition, it is practically new, the screen has no marks and plastics of all is also like new. It is therefore particularly well keep a copy of that here.
From myapplenewton.blogspot.com/2010/05/schlumberger-watson-ne... :
… Newton 2x00 combined with a smartcard reader called the Schlumberger Watson. It was produced for the French medical industry as a companion for Doctors giving them ready access to patient records as well as processing transactions so that claims on their National Health System (SESAM-Vitale) could be processed electronically. The records carried no medical information, just their details on the SESAM-Vitale database.
The reader occupied the space normally taken up by Slot 0 and took two cards. One card was the Doctor's and had his unique i.d. The other was a patient card. When used together, the system could validate the care given by the Doctor and a reimbursement claim could be submitted to SESAM-Vitale by way of the modem built into the cradle. The cradle also provided a means for recharging the Watson's battery pack and giving a serial connection to a desktop.
The unit sold for 12,000 francs. The average monthly gross salary in France back then was 13,550 francs.
From eBay listing (thanks to Google Translate):
An Apple Newton - Schlumberger Watson the only in Newton OS2 in French!!!
Designed for medical corps (OCR) writing.
The Watson is a tool that has been designed for the medical body, it is based on Apple's Newton 2x00 Schulumberger authorized to make this model should be provided to all doctors, nurses and other medical professions body, the Watson enabled physicians to manage these patients automatically, sending data to the body familly ...
Unfortunately, this project was never implemented by the CAF, which is a shame.
Anyway, there were only a few copies issued to doctors for testing.
It is very rare to find in this condition, it is practically new, the screen has no marks and plastics of all is also like new. It is therefore particularly well keep a copy of that here.
From myapplenewton.blogspot.com/2010/05/schlumberger-watson-ne... :
… Newton 2x00 combined with a smartcard reader called the Schlumberger Watson. It was produced for the French medical industry as a companion for Doctors giving them ready access to patient records as well as processing transactions so that claims on their National Health System (SESAM-Vitale) could be processed electronically. The records carried no medical information, just their details on the SESAM-Vitale database.
The reader occupied the space normally taken up by Slot 0 and took two cards. One card was the Doctor's and had his unique i.d. The other was a patient card. When used together, the system could validate the care given by the Doctor and a reimbursement claim could be submitted to SESAM-Vitale by way of the modem built into the cradle. The cradle also provided a means for recharging the Watson's battery pack and giving a serial connection to a desktop.
The unit sold for 12,000 francs. The average monthly gross salary in France back then was 13,550 francs.
Rental reimbursement:It pays for a rental TRX car if the vehicle of the "insured" is damaged and under repair.Insurance may trx trx seem like money going down the drain. However, its true value will be realized when a person incurs great losses during an accident or theft. So, it is advisable not to wait for such a catastrophe to TRX Suspension Training realize the importance of insurance coverage. And for people who are looking for cheaper car insurance, there is an important piece of advice - being under insured is the same as being uninsured. Do not Trx Suspension compromise on the package to save just few dollars.
In trx 90 addition to available equipment, the trx p2 model Gym Sydney f10 trx tf CBD environment also provides nice opportunities like boxing classes Sydney. With boxing classes Sydney each men and girls trx pro kit ebay will get pleasure from the cluster atmosphere of the upbeat workout. Boxing classes Sydney offer the cardio workout essential to trx wholesale burning fat and calories together with a muscle building workout to boost health and metabolism. More people are finding satisfaction in their workouts once they incorporate boxing classes Sydney to assist breakup the monotony that is typically found with a workout routine.
Real Deal Fitness is a personalized training studio that gives its members personal training every visit trx fitness for $9 a day. They use boxing, kickboxing, outdoor classes, weights boot camps what ever it takes to get the results. They wash and store their members training clothes and give them a personal locker and towels so they don't have to TRX Suspension Trainer carry smelly gym gear.
Additional Requirements: While pursuing a teaching career always begins with a bachelor's degree, in some states this is not enough. Check the necessary f30 trx fg requirements in your home state and make sure you understand the minimum level of education for certification. Some states, such as New York, require a master's degree to be completed within a defined period of time before professional certification is granted. Also, check with the state and ask if best suspension trainer you are expected to complete course work in computer technology as this is often one of the state teacher certification requirements. Additionally, the number of hours of teaching experience needed, as well as the particulars defining it, trx shoes varies from state to state.
Some states are fully reciprocal, meaning that if you are changing locations you are eligible to transfer your certification without beginning the process all over again. If you already have a license in one state but wish to acquire a teaching degree elsewhere, familiarizing yourself with the reciprocity trx quad agreements could save you a lot of time and hassle.
Kundalini yoga is the fire that ignites and sustains the release and rising of the kundalini. Shaktipat activates the process through which a human being recognizes the intrinsic unbounded love that already dwells within their own heart. It yamaha trx is that love that ultimately reveals the secrets of our existence and our experience of the unity in all of trx yoga life. Kundalini is the energy of life, or the Divine, as it is experienced in the individual.Shaktipat is that same trx training nyc energy, transmitted from the teacher, which awakens that awareness within the student. Kundalini is the trx p2 model power of life; shaktipat is the switch that turns it on. When the kundalini is awakened through shaktipat from the teacher a process of cooperation, surrender, and union with the Divine reality begins. For more details visit
After a multi-year expansion of company formation and in biopharma valuations, 2018 was a year of heightened market volatility. Investors’ eagerness to support new modalities enabled more than 50 biotech IPOs, but with much less mature clinical development progress than traditionally demonstrated. More than half those companies are trading below their IPO prices, however, complicating conditions for the next new offering. As interest rate worries, international trade disputes, and regulatory reimbursement uncertainty have increased, biopharma stock indexes have seen significant corrections. With historically high valuations experiencing sudden dips, M&A deal-making seems to have reignited with notable, multi-billion dollar deals in recent weeks. This session will assemble market experts to discuss what forces continue to shape performance within the sector and what opportunities the market correction can reveal for investors and companies seeking resources to deliver the next wave of innovative therapies for patients.
Speakers
Sara Michelmore, MacDougall
Katherine Andersen, Silicon Valley Bank (SVB)
Noël Brown, Cantor Fitzgerald
Andrew Gitkin, Piper Jaffray
Geoffrey Goodman, Wells Fargo Securities
Philip Ross, J.P. Morgan
Jennifer Sheng, Citi
Yaron Werber, Cowen
U.S. Senator Claire McCaskill, the top-ranking Democrat on the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, today released the first product of her wide-ranging investigation into opioid manufacturers and distributors. “Fueling an Epidemic: Insys Therapeutics and the Systemic Manipulation of Prior Authorization” describes the emphasis Insys Therapeutics put on boosting approvals for its highly addictive fentanyl drug Subsys, even for inappropriate, off-label uses, and details an audio recording in which an Insys sales representative misidentifies herself and uses language designed to circumvent the prior authorization process.
Insurers often employ this process to prevent the overprescription and abuse of powerful and expensive drugs like Subsys. While the Food and Drug Administration has only approved Subsys for the treatment of breakthrough cancer pain—cancer pain that persists despite attempted treatment with other opioid medications—an internal document obtained by McCaskill shows that Insys lacked measures to prevent its representatives from manipulating the prior authorization process and gaining approval for Subsys treatment of non-cancer conditions like back pain, fibromyalgia and migraine headaches.
“There is extensive evidence that Insys aggressively pressured its employees and the entire medical system to increase the use of a fentanyl product during a national epidemic that was taking the lives of tens of thousands of Americans a year in order to make more money—it’s hard to imagine anything more despicable,” McCaskill said. “Their attempts to manipulate the prescription approval process for this drug appear to have been systemic, and anyone responsible for this manipulation deserves to be prosecuted.”
As part of its investigation, the minority staff received an audio recording of conversations between an Insys employee and pharmacy benefit manager representatives related to a Subsys prescription for Sarah Fuller, who later died from an alleged fentanyl overdose. This recording suggests the Insys employee in question repeatedly misled Envision Pharmaceutical Services to obtain approval for Ms. Fuller’s Subsys treatment—heavily implying she was employed by the prescribing physician and misrepresenting the type of pain the patient was experiencing.
The call occurred during a period in which Insys was aggressively pressuring its employees to increase their ratio of approvals. Employees reportedly received significant financial incentives and management pressure—including quotas and group and individual bonuses—to boost the rate of Subsys authorizations. “In an internal presentation dated 2012 and entitled, “2013 SUBSYS Brand Plan,” Insys identified one of six “key strategic imperatives” as “Mitigate Prior Authorization barriers,” the report notes. “On a later slide, the company identified several tasks associated with this effort, including “Build internal [prior authorization] assistance infrastructure,” “Establish an internal 1-800 reimbursement assistance hotline,” and “Educate field force on [prior authorization] process and facilitation.”
Subsys—a fentanyl sublingual spray product approved by the Food and Drug Administration in 2012 to treat breakthrough cancer pain—can cost over $20,000 per month, and proved incredibly successful financially after its introduction to the market. Insys had “the best-performing initial public offering in 2013,” and, over the next two years, revenues tripled and profits rose 45%. The value of company stock increased 296% between 2013 and 2016.
McCaskill has previously requested information related to sales and marketing materials, internal addiction studies, details on compliance with government settlements and donations to third party advocacy groups from major opioid manufacturers. She recently expanded her investigation, requesting documents and information from opioid manufacturers Mallinckrodt, Endo, Teva, and Allergan, while a request to McKesson Corporation, AmerisourceBergen Corporation, and Cardinal Health, Inc., focused on their distribution of opioid products.
When McCaskill was ranking member of the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, she joined Subcommittee Chairman Rob Portman to launch an investigation into the role Medicare Part D entities, private insurers, and pharmacy benefit managers play in detecting, reporting, and addressing opioid abuse, resulting in the in-depth report, “Combatting the Opioid Epidemic: A Review of Anti-Abuse Efforts in Medicare and Private Health Insurance Systems.”
Visit www.mccaskill.senate.gov/opioid-investigation to learn more about McCaskill’s investigation.
From eBay listing (thanks to Google Translate):
An Apple Newton - Schlumberger Watson the only in Newton OS2 in French!!!
Designed for medical corps (OCR) writing.
The Watson is a tool that has been designed for the medical body, it is based on Apple's Newton 2x00 Schulumberger authorized to make this model should be provided to all doctors, nurses and other medical professions body, the Watson enabled physicians to manage these patients automatically, sending data to the body familly ...
Unfortunately, this project was never implemented by the CAF, which is a shame.
Anyway, there were only a few copies issued to doctors for testing.
It is very rare to find in this condition, it is practically new, the screen has no marks and plastics of all is also like new. It is therefore particularly well keep a copy of that here.
From myapplenewton.blogspot.com/2010/05/schlumberger-watson-ne... :
… Newton 2x00 combined with a smartcard reader called the Schlumberger Watson. It was produced for the French medical industry as a companion for Doctors giving them ready access to patient records as well as processing transactions so that claims on their National Health System (SESAM-Vitale) could be processed electronically. The records carried no medical information, just their details on the SESAM-Vitale database.
The reader occupied the space normally taken up by Slot 0 and took two cards. One card was the Doctor's and had his unique i.d. The other was a patient card. When used together, the system could validate the care given by the Doctor and a reimbursement claim could be submitted to SESAM-Vitale by way of the modem built into the cradle. The cradle also provided a means for recharging the Watson's battery pack and giving a serial connection to a desktop.
The unit sold for 12,000 francs. The average monthly gross salary in France back then was 13,550 francs.
From eBay listing (thanks to Google Translate):
An Apple Newton - Schlumberger Watson the only in Newton OS2 in French!!!
Designed for medical corps (OCR) writing.
The Watson is a tool that has been designed for the medical body, it is based on Apple's Newton 2x00 Schulumberger authorized to make this model should be provided to all doctors, nurses and other medical professions body, the Watson enabled physicians to manage these patients automatically, sending data to the body familly ...
Unfortunately, this project was never implemented by the CAF, which is a shame.
Anyway, there were only a few copies issued to doctors for testing.
It is very rare to find in this condition, it is practically new, the screen has no marks and plastics of all is also like new. It is therefore particularly well keep a copy of that here.
From myapplenewton.blogspot.com/2010/05/schlumberger-watson-ne... :
… Newton 2x00 combined with a smartcard reader called the Schlumberger Watson. It was produced for the French medical industry as a companion for Doctors giving them ready access to patient records as well as processing transactions so that claims on their National Health System (SESAM-Vitale) could be processed electronically. The records carried no medical information, just their details on the SESAM-Vitale database.
The reader occupied the space normally taken up by Slot 0 and took two cards. One card was the Doctor's and had his unique i.d. The other was a patient card. When used together, the system could validate the care given by the Doctor and a reimbursement claim could be submitted to SESAM-Vitale by way of the modem built into the cradle. The cradle also provided a means for recharging the Watson's battery pack and giving a serial connection to a desktop.
The unit sold for 12,000 francs. The average monthly gross salary in France back then was 13,550 francs.
Do you have roadside assistance? Do you need it? Numerous people don't think too much about it but it's something that can eradicate some of the tension in your life. Most people spend at least an hour or two on the streets every day, even if they don't go far. But many never stop to think what they would do if they abruptly discovered themselves stuck on the side of the road.
Motor Club of America gives out a broad variety of goods and services to drivers, and people who don't have a car. Those advantages cover all over the United States, Canada & Puerto Rico. Which encompass roadside assistance, emergency room benefits, hotel discounts, travel assistance and many more.
Speaking specifically about MCA most popular $19.95 Total Security Motor plan it was designed to offer the highest grade of roadside services and advantages available on the market. This Total Security program presents all of the benefits you would obtain with the Security and Security Plus plans in addition very good roadside services and a number of other exceptional advantages.
Emergency Road Service*
Travel Assistance Reimbursement*
Travel Assistance Program*
Trip Planning and Travel Reservations*
Arrest Bond*
Bail Bonds*
Attorneys Fees*
Attorney Services*
Attorney Discounted Hourly Rates*
Discounts on Auto Related Services*
Stolen Vehicle Reward*
Credit Card Protection*
Legal Services Deeply Discounted Fixed Fee Schedule*
Discounts on Prescriptions, Vision Care, and Dental*
Emergency Reimbursement Benefits*
Daily Hospital Benefit*
Accidental Death Benefit*
Battery Boost
Fuel Delivery
Tire Change
Lock-Out Service
Wrecker Towing Service
And Much More
Emergency Road Service
Motor Club of America will pay up to $100 to provide Emergency Road Service on RVs, Motorcycles, Trailers, and vehicle's with a load capacity of 1 ton or greater.
Travel Assistance Reimbursement
If your vehicle is disabled in an auto misfortune, we will reimburse you up to $500 for rental vehicle or lodging, meal, and transportation expenses counting on where the accident happens.
Trip Planning & Travel Reservations
Motor Club of America offer a variety of travel benefits with all the roadside service membership plans including route planning and special airline, rental car, and hotel discounts.
Arrest Bond
Your Motor Club of America membership card can act in lieu of a cash bail for up to $500 when you are engaged in a traffic violation as allowed by state laws.
Bail Bonds
For all of the roadside service and motor club constituents, we can arrange up to a $25,000 bond to release you if you are ascribed with a going traffic law violation when driving a vehicle. This includes for vehicular manslaughter and auto associated negligent murder charges.
Attorney Fees
$2,000 in benefits for attorney fees in order to defend you from charges resulting from a covered auto. This includes:
Up to $200 for covered Moving Violations
Up to $500 for covered auto related Personal Injury matters
Up to $500 for covered Vehicle Damage issues
Up to $2,000 for covered auto related Negligent Homicide or Vehicular Manslaughter
Stolen Vehicle Reward
Motor Club of America will pay a $5,000 reward to law enforcement agency or individual who provides information that leads to the arrest and conviction of who's responsible for the theft of your covered vehicle in an attempt to encourage stolen vehicle recovery.
Discounts on Prescriptions, Vision Care, & Dental
Motor Club of America membership offers a variety of medical discounts up to a 65% discount on prescriptions, up to a 50% discount on vision, and up to a 50% discount on dental procedures.
Emergency Reimbursement Benefits
If you are injured in a covered accident, Motor Club of America will provide up to $500 in cash to pay for emergency room or trauma center treatment that is required for injuries caused in the accident. This includes reimbursement for the cost of:
Cast or Splints
Lab Work
Nursing Service
Transfusions
Anesthetics
Doctor Care
IV’s
Facility Care
Daily Hospital Benefits
Up to $54,500 in cash benefits to be paid at $150 per day for hospitalization that results from injuries received in a covered accident.
Accidental Death Benefits
Members of the Total Security program have the opportunity to enroll, free of charge, in one or all of the accidental death and dismemberment coverage packages. These include:
1. You, as named member, up to $50,000; or
2. You & your spouse, up to $25,000 each, plus job retraining is available for surviving spouse in many cases; or
3. You for up to $30,000, your spouse up to $15,000, children up to $3,500 each.
Other optional benefits include job retraining for surviving spouse, continuing child care plus continuing education support.
.
Travel Assistance Program
Motor Club of America offers a travel assistant program, which assists in worldwide travel for issues related to injuries or death that results from a covered accident.
Medical evacuation & repatriation
Non-Medical Repatriation
Return of Remains
Hospital Visits
Return of Child
Return of Companion
Emergency Roadside Assistance
Las Vegas, NV 89117
(702) 810-5812
emergency-roadside-assistance.info
Twitter: twitter.com/VEGASMotorClub
Facebook: www.facebook.com/MotorClubAmericaLV
Youtube: www.youtube.com/user/MCAVegas
The United States Astronaut Hall of Fame, located inside the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex Heroes & Legends building on Merritt Island, Florida, honors American astronauts and features the world's largest collection of their personal memorabilia, focusing on those astronauts who have been inducted into the Hall. Exhibits include Wally Schirra's Sigma 7 space capsule from the fifth crewed Mercury mission and the Gemini IX spacecraft flown by Gene Cernan and Thomas P. Stafford in 1966.
In the 1980s, the six then-surviving Mercury Seven astronauts conceived of establishing a place where US space travelers could be remembered and honored, along the lines of halls of fame for other fields. The Mercury Seven Foundation and Astronaut Scholarship Foundation were formed, and have a role in the ongoing operations of the Hall of Fame. The foundation's first executive director was former Associated Press space reporter Howard Benedict.
The Astronaut Hall of Fame was opened on October 29, 1990, by the U.S. Space Camp Foundation, which was the first owner of the facility. It was located next to the Florida branch of Space Camp.
The Hall of Fame closed for several months in 2002 when U.S. Space Camp Foundation's creditors foreclosed on the property due to low attendance and mounting debt. That September, an auction was held and the property was purchased by Delaware North Park Services on behalf of NASA and the property was added to the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex. The Hall of Fame re-opened December 14, 2002.
The Hall of Fame, which was originally located just west of the NASA Causeway, closed to the public on November 2, 2015, in preparation for its relocation to the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex 6 miles (9.7 km) to the east on Merritt Island. Outside of the original building was a full-scale replica of a Space Shuttle orbiter named Inspiration (originally named "Shuttle To Tomorrow" where visitors could enter and view a program). Inspiration served only as an outdoor, full scale, static display which visitors could not enter. After the Hall of Fame was transferred to the KSC Visitor Complex, Inspiration was acquired by LVX System and was placed in storage at the Shuttle Landing Facility at the Kennedy Space Center; in 2016, the shuttle was loaded on to a barge to be taken for refurbishment before going on an educational tour.
The building was purchased at auction by visitor complex operator Delaware North and renamed the ATX Center, and for a time housed educational programs including Camp Kennedy Space Center and the Astronaut Training Experience. Those programs have since been moved to the KSC Visitor Complex, and as of December 2019, the structure was being offered for lease. In July 2020, Lockheed Martin announced it would lease the building to support work on the NASA Orion crew capsule.
Inductees into the Hall of Fame are selected by a blue ribbon committee of former NASA officials and flight controllers, historians, journalists, and other space authorities (including former astronauts) based on their accomplishments in space or their contributions to the advancement of space exploration. Except for 2002, inductions have been held every year since 2001.
As its inaugural class in 1990, the Hall of Fame inducted the United States' original group of astronauts: the Mercury Seven. In addition to being the first American astronauts, they set several firsts in American spaceflight, both auspicious and tragic. Alan Shepard was the first American in space and later became one of the twelve people to walk on the Moon. John Glenn was the first American to orbit the Earth and after his induction went on, in 1998, to become the oldest man to fly in space, aged 77. Gus Grissom was the first American to fly in space twice and was the commander of the ill-fated Apollo 1, which resulted in the first astronaut deaths directly related to preparation for spaceflight.
Thirteen astronauts from the Gemini and Apollo programs were inducted in the second class of 1993. This class included the first and last humans to walk on the Moon, Neil Armstrong and Eugene Cernan; Ed White, the first American to walk in space (also killed in the Apollo 1 accident); Jim Lovell, commander of the famously near-tragic Apollo 13; and John Young, whose six flights included a moonwalk and command of the first Space Shuttle mission.
The third class was inducted in 1997 and consisted of the 24 additional Apollo, Skylab, and ASTP astronauts. Notable members of the class were Roger Chaffee, the third astronaut killed in the Apollo 1 fire and the only unflown astronaut in the Hall; Harrison Schmitt, the first scientist and next-to-last person to walk on the Moon; and Jack Swigert and Fred Haise, the Apollo 13 crewmembers not previously inducted.
The philosophy regarding the first three groups of inductees was that all astronauts who flew in NASA's "pioneering" programs (which would include Mercury, Gemini, Apollo, Apollo Applications Program (Skylab), and Apollo-Soyuz Test Project) would be included simply by virtue of their participation in a spaceflight in these early programs. The first group (the inaugural class of 1990) would only include the original Mercury astronauts (most of whom would go on to fly in later programs). The second group of inductees would include those astronauts who began their spaceflight careers during Gemini (all of whom would go on to fly in later programs). The third group of inductees would include those astronauts who began their spaceflight careers during Apollo, Skylab, and ASTP (some of whom would go on to fly in the Space Shuttle program). Since it would not be practical (or meaningful) to induct all astronauts who ever flew in space, all subsequent inductees (Space Shuttle program and beyond) are considered based on their accomplishments and contributions to the human spaceflight endeavor which would set them apart from their peers.
Over four dozen astronauts from the Space Shuttle program have been inducted since 2001. Among these are Sally Ride, the first American woman in space; Story Musgrave, who flew six missions in the 1980s and 90s; and Francis Scobee, commander of the ill-fated final Challenger mission.
The 2010 class consisted of Guion Bluford Jr., Kenneth Bowersox, Frank Culbertson and Kathryn Thornton. The 2011 inductees were Karol Bobko and Susan Helms. The 2012 inductees were Franklin Chang-Diaz, Kevin Chilton and Charles Precourt. Bonnie Dunbar, Curt Brown and Eileen Collins were inducted in 2013, and Shannon Lucid and Jerry Ross comprised the 2014 class.
Those inducted in 2015 were John Grunsfeld, Steven Lindsey, Kent Rominger, and Rhea Seddon. In 2016, inductees included Brian Duffy and Scott E. Parazynski. Ellen Ochoa and Michael Foale were announced as the 2017 class of the United States Astronaut Hall of Fame. Scott Altman and Thomas Jones followed in 2018. The 2019 inductees were James Buchli and Janet L. Kavandi.
Michael López-Alegría, Scott Kelly and Pamela Melroy were the 2020 inductees, inducted in a November 2021 ceremony. The 2022 inductees were Christopher Ferguson, David Leestma, and Sandra Magnus. Roy Bridges Jr. and Mark Kelly were the 2023 inductees.
The Hall of Heroes is composed of tributes to the inductees. Among the Hall of Fame's displays is Sigma 7, the Mercury spacecraft piloted by Wally Schirra which orbited the Earth six times in 1962, and the Gemini 9A capsule flown by Gene Cernan and Thomas P. Stafford in 1966. An Astronaut Adventure room includes simulators for use by children.
The spacesuit worn by Gus Grissom during his 1961 Liberty Bell 7 Mercury flight is on display and has been the subject of a dispute between NASA and Grissom's heirs and supporters since 2002. The spacesuit, along with other Grissom artifacts, were loaned to the original owners of the Hall of Fame by the Grissom family when it opened. After the Hall of Fame went into bankruptcy and was taken over by a NASA contractor in 2002, the family requested that all their items be returned. All of the items were returned to Grissom's family except the spacesuit, because both NASA and the Grissoms claim ownership of it. NASA claims Grissom checked out the spacesuit for a show and tell at his son's school, and then never returned it, while the Grissoms claim Gus rescued the spacesuit from a scrap heap.
The John F. Kennedy Space Center (KSC, originally known as the NASA Launch Operations Center), located on Merritt Island, Florida, is one of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) ten field centers. Since December 1968, KSC has been NASA's primary launch center of human spaceflight. Launch operations for the Apollo, Skylab and Space Shuttle programs were carried out from Kennedy Space Center Launch Complex 39 and managed by KSC.[4] Located on the east coast of Florida, KSC is adjacent to Cape Canaveral Space Force Station (CCSFS). The management of the two entities work very closely together, share resources and operate facilities on each other's property.
Though the first Apollo flights and all Project Mercury and Project Gemini flights took off from the then-Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, the launches were managed by KSC and its previous organization, the Launch Operations Directorate. Starting with the fourth Gemini mission, the NASA launch control center in Florida (Mercury Control Center, later the Launch Control Center) began handing off control of the vehicle to the Mission Control Center in Houston, shortly after liftoff; in prior missions it held control throughout the entire mission.
Additionally, the center manages launch of robotic and commercial crew missions and researches food production and In-Situ Resource Utilization for off-Earth exploration. Since 2010, the center has worked to become a multi-user spaceport through industry partnerships, even adding a new launch pad (LC-39C) in 2015.
There are about 700 facilities and buildings grouped across the center's 144,000 acres (580 km2). Among the unique facilities at KSC are the 525-foot (160 m) tall Vehicle Assembly Building for stacking NASA's largest rockets, the Launch Control Center, which conducts space launches at KSC, the Operations and Checkout Building, which houses the astronauts dormitories and suit-up area, a Space Station factory, and a 3-mile (4.8 km) long Shuttle Landing Facility. There is also a Visitor Complex open to the public on site.
Since 1949, the military had been performing launch operations at what would become Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. In December 1959, the Department of Defense transferred 5,000 personnel and the Missile Firing Laboratory to NASA to become the Launch Operations Directorate under NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center.
President John F. Kennedy's 1961 goal of a crewed lunar landing by 1970 required an expansion of launch operations. On July 1, 1962, the Launch Operations Directorate was separated from MSFC to become the Launch Operations Center (LOC). Also, Cape Canaveral was inadequate to host the new launch facility design required for the mammoth 363-foot (111 m) tall, 7,500,000-pound-force (33,000 kN) thrust Saturn V rocket, which would be assembled vertically in a large hangar and transported on a mobile platform to one of several launch pads. Therefore, the decision was made to build a new LOC site located adjacent to Cape Canaveral on Merritt Island.
NASA began land acquisition in 1962, buying title to 131 square miles (340 km2) and negotiating with the state of Florida for an additional 87 square miles (230 km2). The major buildings in KSC's Industrial Area were designed by architect Charles Luckman. Construction began in November 1962, and Kennedy visited the site twice in 1962, and again just a week before his assassination on November 22, 1963.
On November 29, 1963, the facility was given its current name by President Lyndon B. Johnson under Executive Order 11129. Johnson's order joined both the civilian LOC and the military Cape Canaveral station ("the facilities of Station No. 1 of the Atlantic Missile Range") under the designation "John F. Kennedy Space Center", spawning some confusion joining the two in the public mind. NASA Administrator James E. Webb clarified this by issuing a directive stating the Kennedy Space Center name applied only to the LOC, while the Air Force issued a general order renaming the military launch site Cape Kennedy Air Force Station.
Located on Merritt Island, Florida, the center is north-northwest of Cape Canaveral on the Atlantic Ocean, midway between Miami and Jacksonville on Florida's Space Coast, due east of Orlando. It is 34 miles (55 km) long and roughly six miles (9.7 km) wide, covering 219 square miles (570 km2). KSC is a major central Florida tourist destination and is approximately one hour's drive from the Orlando area. The Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex offers public tours of the center and Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.
The KSC Industrial Area, where many of the center's support facilities are located, is 5 miles (8 km) south of LC-39. It includes the Headquarters Building, the Operations and Checkout Building and the Central Instrumentation Facility. The astronaut crew quarters are in the O&C; before it was completed, the astronaut crew quarters were located in Hangar S[39] at the Cape Canaveral Missile Test Annex (now Cape Canaveral Space Force Station). Located at KSC was the Merritt Island Spaceflight Tracking and Data Network station (MILA), a key radio communications and spacecraft tracking complex.
Facilities at the Kennedy Space Center are directly related to its mission to launch and recover missions. Facilities are available to prepare and maintain spacecraft and payloads for flight. The Headquarters (HQ) Building houses offices for the Center Director, library, film and photo archives, a print shop and security. When the KSC Library first opened, it was part of the Army Ballistic Missile Agency. However, in 1965, the library moved into three separate sections in the newly opened NASA headquarters before eventually becoming a single unit in 1970. The library contains over four million items related to the history and the work at Kennedy. As one of ten NASA center libraries in the country, their collection focuses on engineering, science, and technology. The archives contain planning documents, film reels, and original photographs covering the history of KSC. The library is not open to the public but is available for KSC, Space Force, and Navy employees who work on site. Many of the media items from the collection are digitized and available through NASA's KSC Media Gallery or through their more up-to-date Flickr gallery.
A new Headquarters Building was completed in 2019 as part of the Central Campus consolidation. Groundbreaking began in 2014.
The center operated its own 17-mile (27 km) short-line railroad. This operation was discontinued in 2015, with the sale of its final two locomotives. A third had already been donated to a museum. The line was costing $1.3 million annually to maintain.
The Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex, operated by Delaware North since 1995, has a variety of exhibits, artifacts, displays and attractions on the history and future of human and robotic spaceflight. Bus tours of KSC originate from here. The complex also includes the separate Apollo/Saturn V Center, north of the VAB and the United States Astronaut Hall of Fame, six miles west near Titusville. There were 1.5 million visitors in 2009. It had some 700 employees.
It was announced on May 29, 2015, that the Astronaut Hall of Fame exhibit would be moved from its current location to another location within the Visitor Complex to make room for an upcoming high-tech attraction entitled "Heroes and Legends". The attraction, designed by Orlando-based design firm Falcon's Treehouse, opened November 11, 2016.
In March 2016, the visitor center unveiled the new location of the iconic countdown clock at the complex's entrance; previously, the clock was located with a flagpole at the press site. The clock was originally built and installed in 1969 and listed with the flagpole in the National Register of Historic Places in January 2000. In 2019, NASA celebrated the 50th anniversary of the Apollo program, and the launch of Apollo 10 on May 18. In summer of 2019, Lunar Module 9 (LM-9) was relocated to the Apollo/Saturn V Center as part of an initiative to rededicate the center and celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Apollo Program.
The John F. Kennedy Space Center (KSC, originally known as the NASA Launch Operations Center), located on Merritt Island, Florida, is one of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) ten field centers. Since December 1968, KSC has been NASA's primary launch center of American spaceflight, research, and technology. Launch operations for the Apollo, Skylab and Space Shuttle programs were carried out from Kennedy Space Center Launch Complex 39 and managed by KSC. Located on the east coast of Florida, KSC is adjacent to Cape Canaveral Space Force Station (CCSFS). The management of the two entities work very closely together, share resources and operate facilities on each other's property.
Though the first Apollo flights and all Project Mercury and Project Gemini flights took off from the then-Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, the launches were managed by KSC and its previous organization, the Launch Operations Directorate. Starting with the fourth Gemini mission, the NASA launch control center in Florida (Mercury Control Center, later the Launch Control Center) began handing off control of the vehicle to the Mission Control Center in Houston, shortly after liftoff; in prior missions it held control throughout the entire mission.
Additionally, the center manages launch of robotic and commercial crew missions and researches food production and in-situ resource utilization for off-Earth exploration. Since 2010, the center has worked to become a multi-user spaceport through industry partnerships, even adding a new launch pad (LC-39C) in 2015.
There are about 700 facilities and buildings grouped throughout the center's 144,000 acres (580 km2). Among the unique facilities at KSC are the 525-foot (160 m) tall Vehicle Assembly Building for stacking NASA's largest rockets, the Launch Control Center, which conducts space launches at KSC, the Operations and Checkout Building, which houses the astronauts dormitories and suit-up area, a Space Station factory, and a 3-mile (4.8 km) long Shuttle Landing Facility. There is also a Visitor Complex on site that is open to the public.
Since 1949, the military had been performing launch operations at what would become Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. In December 1959, the Department of Defense transferred 5,000 personnel and the Missile Firing Laboratory to NASA to become the Launch Operations Directorate under NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center.
President John F. Kennedy's 1961 goal of a crewed lunar landing by 1970 required an expansion of launch operations. On July 1, 1962, the Launch Operations Directorate was separated from MSFC to become the Launch Operations Center (LOC). Also, Cape Canaveral was inadequate to host the new launch facility design required for the mammoth 363-foot (111 m) tall, 7,500,000-pound-force (33,000 kN) thrust Saturn V rocket, which would be assembled vertically in a large hangar and transported on a mobile platform to one of several launch pads. Therefore, the decision was made to build a new LOC site located adjacent to Cape Canaveral on Merritt Island.
NASA began land acquisition in 1962, buying title to 131 square miles (340 km2) and negotiating with the state of Florida for an additional 87 square miles (230 km2). The major buildings in KSC's Industrial Area were designed by architect Charles Luckman. Construction began in November 1962, and Kennedy visited the site twice in 1962, and again just a week before his assassination on November 22, 1963.
On November 29, 1963, the facility was named by President Lyndon B. Johnson under Executive Order 11129. Johnson's order joined both the civilian LOC and the military Cape Canaveral station ("the facilities of Station No. 1 of the Atlantic Missile Range") under the designation "John F. Kennedy Space Center", spawning some confusion joining the two in the public mind. NASA Administrator James E. Webb clarified this by issuing a directive stating the Kennedy Space Center name applied only to the LOC, while the Air Force issued a general order renaming the military launch site Cape Kennedy Air Force Station.
Located on Merritt Island, Florida, the center is north-northwest of Cape Canaveral on the Atlantic Ocean, midway between Miami and Jacksonville on Florida's Space Coast, due east of Orlando. It is 34 miles (55 km) long and roughly six miles (9.7 km) wide, covering 219 square miles (570 km2). KSC is a major central Florida tourist destination and is approximately one hour's drive from the Orlando area. The Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex offers public tours of the center and Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.
From 1967 through 1973, there were 13 Saturn V launches, including the ten remaining Apollo missions after Apollo 7. The first of two uncrewed flights, Apollo 4 (Apollo-Saturn 501) on November 9, 1967, was also the first rocket launch from KSC. The Saturn V's first crewed launch on December 21, 1968, was Apollo 8's lunar orbiting mission. The next two missions tested the Lunar Module: Apollo 9 (Earth orbit) and Apollo 10 (lunar orbit). Apollo 11, launched from Pad A on July 16, 1969, made the first Moon landing on July 20. The Apollo 11 launch included crewmembers Neil Armstrong, Michael Collins, and Buzz Aldrin, and attracted a record-breaking 650 million television viewers. Apollo 12 followed four months later. From 1970 to 1972, the Apollo program concluded at KSC with the launches of missions 13 through 17.
On May 14, 1973, the last Saturn V launch put the Skylab space station in orbit from Pad 39A. By this time, the Cape Kennedy pads 34 and 37 used for the Saturn IB were decommissioned, so Pad 39B was modified to accommodate the Saturn IB, and used to launch three crewed missions to Skylab that year, as well as the final Apollo spacecraft for the Apollo–Soyuz Test Project in 1975.
As the Space Shuttle was being designed, NASA received proposals for building alternative launch-and-landing sites at locations other than KSC, which demanded study. KSC had important advantages, including its existing facilities; location on the Intracoastal Waterway; and its southern latitude, which gives a velocity advantage to missions launched in easterly near-equatorial orbits. Disadvantages included: its inability to safely launch military missions into polar orbit, since spent boosters would be likely to fall on the Carolinas or Cuba; corrosion from the salt air; and frequent cloudy or stormy weather. Although building a new site at White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico was seriously considered, NASA announced its decision in April 1972 to use KSC for the shuttle. Since the Shuttle could not be landed automatically or by remote control, the launch of Columbia on April 12, 1981 for its first orbital mission STS-1, was NASA's first crewed launch of a vehicle that had not been tested in prior uncrewed launches.
In 1976, the VAB's south parking area was the site of Third Century America, a science and technology display commemorating the U.S. Bicentennial. Concurrent with this event, the U.S. flag was painted on the south side of the VAB. During the late 1970s, LC-39 was reconfigured to support the Space Shuttle. Two Orbiter Processing Facilities were built near the VAB as hangars with a third added in the 1980s.
KSC's 2.9-mile (4.7 km) Shuttle Landing Facility (SLF) was the orbiters' primary end-of-mission landing site, although the first KSC landing did not take place until the tenth flight, when Challenger completed STS-41-B on February 11, 1984; the primary landing site until then was Edwards Air Force Base in California, subsequently used as a backup landing site. The SLF also provided a return-to-launch-site (RTLS) abort option, which was not utilized. The SLF is among the longest runways in the world.
On October 28, 2009, the Ares I-X launch from Pad 39B was the first uncrewed launch from KSC since the Skylab workshop in 1973.
Beginning in 1958, NASA and military worked side by side on robotic mission launches (previously referred to as unmanned), cooperating as they broke ground in the field. In the early 1960s, NASA had as many as two robotic mission launches a month. The frequent number of flights allowed for quick evolution of the vehicles, as engineers gathered data, learned from anomalies and implemented upgrades. In 1963, with the intent of KSC ELV work focusing on the ground support equipment and facilities, a separate Atlas/Centaur organization was formed under NASA's Lewis Center (now Glenn Research Center (GRC)), taking that responsibility from the Launch Operations Center (aka KSC).
Though almost all robotics missions launched from the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station (CCSFS), KSC "oversaw the final assembly and testing of rockets as they arrived at the Cape." In 1965, KSC's Unmanned Launch Operations directorate became responsible for all NASA uncrewed launch operations, including those at Vandenberg Space Force Base. From the 1950s to 1978, KSC chose the rocket and payload processing facilities for all robotic missions launching in the U.S., overseeing their near launch processing and checkout. In addition to government missions, KSC performed this service for commercial and foreign missions also, though non-U.S. government entities provided reimbursement. NASA also funded Cape Canaveral Space Force Station launch pad maintenance and launch vehicle improvements.
All this changed with the Commercial Space Launch Act of 1984, after which NASA only coordinated its own and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) ELV launches. Companies were able to "operate their own launch vehicles" and utilize NASA's launch facilities. Payload processing handled by private firms also started to occur outside of KSC. Reagan's 1988 space policy furthered the movement of this work from KSC to commercial companies. That same year, launch complexes on Cape Canaveral Air Force Force Station started transferring from NASA to Air Force Space Command management.
In the 1990s, though KSC was not performing the hands-on ELV work, engineers still maintained an understanding of ELVs and had contracts allowing them insight into the vehicles so they could provide knowledgeable oversight. KSC also worked on ELV research and analysis and the contractors were able to utilize KSC personnel as a resource for technical issues. KSC, with the payload and launch vehicle industries, developed advances in automation of the ELV launch and ground operations to enable competitiveness of U.S. rockets against the global market.
In 1998, the Launch Services Program (LSP) formed at KSC, pulling together programs (and personnel) that already existed at KSC, GRC, Goddard Space Flight Center, and more to manage the launch of NASA and NOAA robotic missions. Cape Canaveral Space Force Station and VAFB are the primary launch sites for LSP missions, though other sites are occasionally used. LSP payloads such as the Mars Science Laboratory have been processed at KSC before being transferred to a launch pad on Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.
On 16 November 2022, at 06:47:44 UTC the Space Launch System (SLS) was launched from Complex 39B as part of the Artemis 1 mission.
As the International Space Station modules design began in the early 1990s, KSC began to work with other NASA centers and international partners to prepare for processing before launch onboard the Space Shuttles. KSC utilized its hands-on experience processing the 22 Spacelab missions in the Operations and Checkout Building to gather expectations of ISS processing. These experiences were incorporated into the design of the Space Station Processing Facility (SSPF), which began construction in 1991. The Space Station Directorate formed in 1996. KSC personnel were embedded at station module factories for insight into their processes.
From 1997 to 2007, KSC planned and performed on the ground integration tests and checkouts of station modules: three Multi-Element Integration Testing (MEIT) sessions and the Integration Systems Test (IST). Numerous issues were found and corrected that would have been difficult to nearly impossible to do on-orbit.
Today KSC continues to process ISS payloads from across the world before launch along with developing its experiments for on orbit. The proposed Lunar Gateway would be manufactured and processed at the Space Station Processing Facility.
The following are current programs and initiatives at Kennedy Space Center:
Commercial Crew Program
Exploration Ground Systems Program
NASA is currently designing the next heavy launch vehicle known as the Space Launch System (SLS) for continuation of human spaceflight.
On December 5, 2014, NASA launched the first uncrewed flight test of the Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle (MPCV), currently under development to facilitate human exploration of the Moon and Mars.
Launch Services Program
Educational Launch of Nanosatellites (ELaNa)
Research and Technology
Artemis program
Lunar Gateway
International Space Station Payloads
Camp KSC: educational camps for schoolchildren in spring and summer, with a focus on space, aviation and robotics.
The KSC Industrial Area, where many of the center's support facilities are located, is 5 miles (8 km) south of LC-39. It includes the Headquarters Building, the Operations and Checkout Building and the Central Instrumentation Facility. The astronaut crew quarters are in the O&C; before it was completed, the astronaut crew quarters were located in Hangar S at the Cape Canaveral Missile Test Annex (now Cape Canaveral Space Force Station). Located at KSC was the Merritt Island Spaceflight Tracking and Data Network station (MILA), a key radio communications and spacecraft tracking complex.
Facilities at the Kennedy Space Center are directly related to its mission to launch and recover missions. Facilities are available to prepare and maintain spacecraft and payloads for flight. The Headquarters (HQ) Building houses offices for the Center Director, library, film and photo archives, a print shop and security. When the KSC Library first opened, it was part of the Army Ballistic Missile Agency. However, in 1965, the library moved into three separate sections in the newly opened NASA headquarters before eventually becoming a single unit in 1970. The library contains over four million items related to the history and the work at Kennedy. As one of ten NASA center libraries in the country, their collection focuses on engineering, science, and technology. The archives contain planning documents, film reels, and original photographs covering the history of KSC. The library is not open to the public but is available for KSC, Space Force, and Navy employees who work on site. Many of the media items from the collection are digitized and available through NASA's KSC Media Gallery Archived December 6, 2020, at the Wayback Machine or through their more up-to-date Flickr gallery.
A new Headquarters Building was completed in 2019 as part of the Central Campus consolidation. Groundbreaking began in 2014.
The center operated its own 17-mile (27 km) short-line railroad. This operation was discontinued in 2015, with the sale of its final two locomotives. A third had already been donated to a museum. The line was costing $1.3 million annually to maintain.
The Neil Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building (O&C) (previously known as the Manned Spacecraft Operations Building) is a historic site on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places dating back to the 1960s and was used to receive, process, and integrate payloads for the Gemini and Apollo programs, the Skylab program in the 1970s, and for initial segments of the International Space Station through the 1990s. The Apollo and Space Shuttle astronauts would board the astronaut transfer van to launch complex 39 from the O&C building.
The three-story, 457,000-square-foot (42,500 m2) Space Station Processing Facility (SSPF) consists of two enormous processing bays, an airlock, operational control rooms, laboratories, logistics areas and office space for support of non-hazardous Space Station and Shuttle payloads to ISO 14644-1 class 5 standards. Opened in 1994, it is the largest factory building in the KSC industrial area.
The Vertical Processing Facility (VPF) features a 71-by-38-foot (22 by 12 m) door where payloads that are processed in the vertical position are brought in and manipulated with two overhead cranes and a hoist capable of lifting up to 35 short tons (32 t).
The Hypergolic Maintenance and Checkout Area (HMCA) comprises three buildings that are isolated from the rest of the industrial area because of the hazardous materials handled there. Hypergolic-fueled modules that made up the Space Shuttle Orbiter's reaction control system, orbital maneuvering system and auxiliary power units were stored and serviced in the HMCF.
The Multi-Payload Processing Facility is a 19,647 square feet (1,825.3 m2) building used for Orion spacecraft and payload processing.
The Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility (PHSF) contains a 70-by-110-foot (21 by 34 m) service bay, with a 100,000-pound (45,000 kg), 85-foot (26 m) hook height. It also contains a 58-by-80-foot (18 by 24 m) payload airlock. Its temperature is maintained at 70 °F (21 °C).[55]
The Blue Origin rocket manufacturing facility is located immediately south of the KSC visitor complex. Completed in 2019, it serves as the company's factory for the manufacture of New Glenn orbital rockets.
Launch Complex 39 (LC-39) was originally built for the Saturn V, the largest and most powerful operational launch vehicle until the Space Launch System, for the Apollo crewed Moon landing program. Since the end of the Apollo program in 1972, LC-39 has been used to launch every NASA human space flight, including Skylab (1973), the Apollo–Soyuz Test Project (1975), and the Space Shuttle program (1981–2011).
Since December 1968, all launch operations have been conducted from launch pads A and B at LC-39. Both pads are on the ocean, 3 miles (4.8 km) east of the VAB. From 1969 to 1972, LC-39 was the "Moonport" for all six Apollo crewed Moon landing missions using the Saturn V, and was used from 1981 to 2011 for all Space Shuttle launches.
Human missions to the Moon required the large three-stage Saturn V rocket, which was 363 feet (111 meters) tall and 33 feet (10 meters) in diameter. At KSC, Launch Complex 39 was built on Merritt Island to accommodate the new rocket. Construction of the $800 million project began in November 1962. LC-39 pads A and B were completed by October 1965 (planned Pads C, D and E were canceled), the VAB was completed in June 1965, and the infrastructure by late 1966.
The complex includes: the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB), a 130,000,000 cubic feet (3,700,000 m3) hangar capable of holding four Saturn Vs. The VAB was the largest structure in the world by volume when completed in 1965.
a transporter capable of carrying 5,440 tons along a crawlerway to either of two launch pads;
a 446-foot (136 m) mobile service structure, with three Mobile Launcher Platforms, each containing a fixed launch umbilical tower;
the Launch Control Center; and
a news media facility.
Launch Complex 48 (LC-48) is a multi-user launch site under construction for small launchers and spacecraft. It will be located between Launch Complex 39A and Space Launch Complex 41, with LC-39A to the north and SLC-41 to the south. LC-48 will be constructed as a "clean pad" to support multiple launch systems with differing propellant needs. While initially only planned to have a single pad, the complex is capable of being expanded to two at a later date.
As a part of promoting commercial space industry growth in the area and the overall center as a multi-user spaceport, KSC leases some of its properties. Here are some major examples:
Exploration Park to multiple users (partnership with Space Florida)
Shuttle Landing Facility to Space Florida (who contracts use to private companies)
Orbiter Processing Facility (OPF)-3 to Boeing (for CST-100 Starliner)
Launch Complex 39A, Launch Control Center Firing Room 4 and land for SpaceX's Roberts Road facility (Hanger X) to SpaceX
O&C High Bay to Lockheed Martin (for Orion processing)
Land for FPL's Space Coast Next Generation Solar Energy Center to Florida Power and Light (FPL)
Hypergolic Maintenance Facility (HMF) to United Paradyne Corporation (UPC)
The Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex, operated by Delaware North since 1995, has a variety of exhibits, artifacts, displays and attractions on the history and future of human and robotic spaceflight. Bus tours of KSC originate from here. The complex also includes the separate Apollo/Saturn V Center, north of the VAB and the United States Astronaut Hall of Fame, six miles west near Titusville. There were 1.5 million visitors in 2009. It had some 700 employees.
It was announced on May 29, 2015, that the Astronaut Hall of Fame exhibit would be moved from its current location to another location within the Visitor Complex to make room for an upcoming high-tech attraction entitled "Heroes and Legends". The attraction, designed by Orlando-based design firm Falcon's Treehouse, opened November 11, 2016.
In March 2016, the visitor center unveiled the new location of the iconic countdown clock at the complex's entrance; previously, the clock was located with a flagpole at the press site. The clock was originally built and installed in 1969 and listed with the flagpole in the National Register of Historic Places in January 2000. In 2019, NASA celebrated the 50th anniversary of the Apollo program, and the launch of Apollo 10 on May 18. In summer of 2019, Lunar Module 9 (LM-9) was relocated to the Apollo/Saturn V Center as part of an initiative to rededicate the center and celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Apollo Program.
Historic locations
NASA lists the following Historic Districts at KSC; each district has multiple associated facilities:
Launch Complex 39: Pad A Historic District
Launch Complex 39: Pad B Historic District
Shuttle Landing Facility (SLF) Area Historic District
Orbiter Processing Historic District
Solid Rocket Booster (SRB) Disassembly and Refurbishment Complex Historic District
NASA KSC Railroad System Historic District
NASA-owned Cape Canaveral Space Force Station Industrial Area Historic District
There are 24 historic properties outside of these historic districts, including the Space Shuttle Atlantis, Vehicle Assembly Building, Crawlerway, and Operations and Checkout Building.[71] KSC has one National Historic Landmark, 78 National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) listed or eligible sites, and 100 Archaeological Sites.
Further information: John F. Kennedy Space Center MPS
Other facilities
The Rotation, Processing and Surge Facility (RPSF) is responsible for the preparation of solid rocket booster segments for transportation to the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB). The RPSF was built in 1984 to perform SRB operations that had previously been conducted in high bays 2 and 4 of the VAB at the beginning of the Space Shuttle program. It was used until the Space Shuttle's retirement, and will be used in the future by the Space Launch System[75] (SLS) and OmegA rockets.
One of the photographs from the recent portrait session that I had with Penn State professor of acoustics Dr. Steve Garrett. He had seen some of my previous photos and hired me for photos for some upcoming publications. It was the first gig I've had where I was paid for my efforts beyond reimbursement for film and/or processing. It's something I wouldn't mind doing again. (Take note, Internet.) I did use my Canon digital camera to proof the lighting, but I was confident enough to use a 36-exposure roll of slide film for the rest of my 35mm shots.
(This would be a good time to reiterate that I reserve all rights to all my photos.)
Camera: Nikon FE2
Film: Agfa CT Precisa 100 slide film
Strobist information: 2 Nikon SB-26 speedlights, one camera left through umbrella, one camera right with 1/8" grid and cyan gel.
Governor Jack Markell today announced the start of the next phase of Delaware’s plan to improve the quality of early childhood education. Starting on October 1st, early care and education providers statewide will receive an increased reimbursement rate for caring for children eligible for Delaware’s Purchase of Care system.
In June, the Legislature approved the Governor’s proposal to invest an additional $22 million to help build stronger staff and encourage stronger services at early childhood education centers.
Because reimbursement rates varied across the state for the Purchase of Care system, which reimburses providers for caring for low-income children, the plan allocated $12 million to increase rates to 65% of the market rate, plus an additional $0.50 per child per day. Providers will receive this new rate when they are reimbursed for October care in November.
The $10 million expansion of the Delaware Stars for Early Success quality rating program, which provides technical and financial assistance to enable centers to achieve quality standards, will also kick off in October.
More info: www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=271911722829467
From eBay listing (thanks to Google Translate):
An Apple Newton - Schlumberger Watson the only in Newton OS2 in French!!!
Designed for medical corps (OCR) writing.
The Watson is a tool that has been designed for the medical body, it is based on Apple's Newton 2x00 Schulumberger authorized to make this model should be provided to all doctors, nurses and other medical professions body, the Watson enabled physicians to manage these patients automatically, sending data to the body familly ...
Unfortunately, this project was never implemented by the CAF, which is a shame.
Anyway, there were only a few copies issued to doctors for testing.
It is very rare to find in this condition, it is practically new, the screen has no marks and plastics of all is also like new. It is therefore particularly well keep a copy of that here.
From myapplenewton.blogspot.com/2010/05/schlumberger-watson-ne... :
… Newton 2x00 combined with a smartcard reader called the Schlumberger Watson. It was produced for the French medical industry as a companion for Doctors giving them ready access to patient records as well as processing transactions so that claims on their National Health System (SESAM-Vitale) could be processed electronically. The records carried no medical information, just their details on the SESAM-Vitale database.
The reader occupied the space normally taken up by Slot 0 and took two cards. One card was the Doctor's and had his unique i.d. The other was a patient card. When used together, the system could validate the care given by the Doctor and a reimbursement claim could be submitted to SESAM-Vitale by way of the modem built into the cradle. The cradle also provided a means for recharging the Watson's battery pack and giving a serial connection to a desktop.
The unit sold for 12,000 francs. The average monthly gross salary in France back then was 13,550 francs.
From eBay listing (thanks to Google Translate):
An Apple Newton - Schlumberger Watson the only in Newton OS2 in French!!!
Designed for medical corps (OCR) writing.
The Watson is a tool that has been designed for the medical body, it is based on Apple's Newton 2x00 Schulumberger authorized to make this model should be provided to all doctors, nurses and other medical professions body, the Watson enabled physicians to manage these patients automatically, sending data to the body familly ...
Unfortunately, this project was never implemented by the CAF, which is a shame.
Anyway, there were only a few copies issued to doctors for testing.
It is very rare to find in this condition, it is practically new, the screen has no marks and plastics of all is also like new. It is therefore particularly well keep a copy of that here.
From myapplenewton.blogspot.com/2010/05/schlumberger-watson-ne... :
… Newton 2x00 combined with a smartcard reader called the Schlumberger Watson. It was produced for the French medical industry as a companion for Doctors giving them ready access to patient records as well as processing transactions so that claims on their National Health System (SESAM-Vitale) could be processed electronically. The records carried no medical information, just their details on the SESAM-Vitale database.
The reader occupied the space normally taken up by Slot 0 and took two cards. One card was the Doctor's and had his unique i.d. The other was a patient card. When used together, the system could validate the care given by the Doctor and a reimbursement claim could be submitted to SESAM-Vitale by way of the modem built into the cradle. The cradle also provided a means for recharging the Watson's battery pack and giving a serial connection to a desktop.
The unit sold for 12,000 francs. The average monthly gross salary in France back then was 13,550 francs.
From eBay listing (thanks to Google Translate):
An Apple Newton - Schlumberger Watson the only in Newton OS2 in French!!!
Designed for medical corps (OCR) writing.
The Watson is a tool that has been designed for the medical body, it is based on Apple's Newton 2x00 Schulumberger authorized to make this model should be provided to all doctors, nurses and other medical professions body, the Watson enabled physicians to manage these patients automatically, sending data to the body familly ...
Unfortunately, this project was never implemented by the CAF, which is a shame.
Anyway, there were only a few copies issued to doctors for testing.
It is very rare to find in this condition, it is practically new, the screen has no marks and plastics of all is also like new. It is therefore particularly well keep a copy of that here.
From myapplenewton.blogspot.com/2010/05/schlumberger-watson-ne... :
… Newton 2x00 combined with a smartcard reader called the Schlumberger Watson. It was produced for the French medical industry as a companion for Doctors giving them ready access to patient records as well as processing transactions so that claims on their National Health System (SESAM-Vitale) could be processed electronically. The records carried no medical information, just their details on the SESAM-Vitale database.
The reader occupied the space normally taken up by Slot 0 and took two cards. One card was the Doctor's and had his unique i.d. The other was a patient card. When used together, the system could validate the care given by the Doctor and a reimbursement claim could be submitted to SESAM-Vitale by way of the modem built into the cradle. The cradle also provided a means for recharging the Watson's battery pack and giving a serial connection to a desktop.
The unit sold for 12,000 francs. The average monthly gross salary in France back then was 13,550 francs.
Governor Abercrombie signed the following bills:
House Bill 2052 (Relating to Provider Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment) increases access to Provider Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment (POLST) by updating references from “physicians orders for life-sustaining treatment” to “provider orders for life-sustaining treatment.” The measure also expands health care provider signatory authority to include advance practice registered nurses and corrects inconsistencies of terms describing who may sign a POLST form on behalf of a patient.
House Bill 1616 (Relating to Health Planning) adds to the Hawaii State Planning Act’s objectives and policies for health, the identification of social determinants of health and prioritization of programs, services, interventions, and activities that address identified social determinants of health to improve Native Hawaiian health in accordance with federal law and reduce health disparities of disproportionately affected demographics.
House Bill 1723 (Relating to Psychiatric Facilities) amends the notice requirements for the discharge of an involuntary patient committed pursuant to legal proceeding involving fitness to proceed and requires the family court to conduct a timely hearing prior to the termination of a standing commitment order.
House Bill 2320 (Relating to Health) establishes health equity as a goal for the DOH and requires the DOH to consider social determinants of health in assessing health needs in the state. The measure is known as “Loretta’s Law” for the late DOH Director Loretta Fuddy, who was passionate proponent.
House Bill 2581 (Relating to Insurance) establishes the State Innovation Waiver Task Force and requires the task force to submit two interim reports and a final report to the legislature.
Senate Bill 2469 (Relating to Telehealth) requires equivalent reimbursement for services, including behavioral health services, provided through telehealth as for the same services provided via face-to-face contact between a health care provider and a patient. The measure also clarifies that health care providers for purposes of telehealth include primary care providers, mental health providers, oral health providers, physicians and osteopathic physicians, advanced practice registered nurses, psychologists, and dentists. For consistency purposes, the bill changes statutory references of “telemedicine” to “telehealth.”
House Bill 2400 (Relating to Temporary Disability Benefits) provides temporary disability benefits to employees who suffer disabilities as a result of donating organs.
Senate Bill 1233 (Relating to Leaves of Absence) requires certain private employers to allow employees to take leaves of absence for organ, bone marrow, or peripheral blood stem cell donation. Unused sick leave, vacation, or paid time off, or unpaid time off, may be used for these leaves of absence. The measure also requires employers to restore an employee returning from leave to the same or equivalent position and establishes a private right of action for employees seeking enforcement of provisions.
Duomo Milan Lombardy Italy
Milan Cathedral (Italian: Duomo di Milano ; Lombard: Domm de Milan ) is the cathedral church of Milan, Lombardy, Italy. Dedicated to St Mary of the Nativity (Santa Maria Nascente), it is the seat of the Archbishop of Milan, currently Archbishop Mario Delpini. The Gothic cathedral took nearly six centuries to complete. It is the largest church in Italy (the larger St. Peter's Basilica is in the State of Vatican City) and the third largest in the world.
History
St Thecla's
Construction begins
Milan's layout, with streets either radiating from the Duomo or circling it, reveals that the Duomo occupies what was the most central site in Roman Mediolanum, that of the public basilica facing the forum. The first cathedral, the "new basilica" (basilica nuova) dedicated to St Thecla, was completed by 355. It seems to share, on a slightly smaller scale, the plan of the contemporaneous church recently rediscovered beneath Tower Hill in London.bAn adjoining basilica was erected in 836. The old octagonal baptistery, the Battistero Paleocristiano, dates to 335 and still can be visited under the Milan Cathedral. When a fire damaged the cathedral and basilica in 1075, they were rebuilt as the Duomo.
In 1386, Archbishop Antonio da Saluzzo began construction of the cathedral.Start of the construction coincided with the ascension to power in Milan of the archbishop's cousin Gian Galeazzo Visconti, and was meant as a reward to the noble and working classes, who had suffered under his tyrannical Visconti predecessor Barnabò. Before actual work began, three main buildings were demolished: the palace of the Archbishop, the Ordinari Palace and the Baptistry of St. Stephen at the Spring, while the old church of Sta. Maria Maggiore was exploited as a stone quarry. Enthusiasm for the immense new building soon spread among the population, and the shrewd Gian Galeazzo, together with his cousin the archbishop, collected large donations for the work-in-progress. The construction program was strictly regulated under the "Fabbrica del Duomo", which had 300 employees led by first chief engineer Simone da Orsenigo. Orsenigo initially planned to build the cathedral from brick in Lombard Gothic style.
Visconti had ambitions to follow the newest trends in European architecture. In 1389, a French chief engineer, Nicolas de Bonaventure, was appointed, adding to the church its Rayonnant Gothic, a French style not typical for Italy. He decided that the brick structure should be panelled with marble. Galeazzo gave the Fabbrica del Duomo exclusive use of the marble from the Candoglia quarry and exempted it from taxes. Ten years later another French architect, Jean Mignot, was called from Paris to judge and improve upon the work done, as the masons needed new technical aid to lift stones to an unprecedented height. Mignot declared all the work done up till then as in pericolo di ruina ("peril of ruin"), as it had been done sine scienzia ("without science"). In the following years Mignot's forecasts proved untrue, but they spurred Galeazzo's engineers to improve their instruments and techniques. Work proceeded quickly, and at the death of Gian Galeazzo in 1402, almost half the cathedral was complete. Construction, however, stalled almost totally until 1480, for lack of money and ideas: the most notable works of this period were the tombs of Marco Carelli and Pope Martin V (1424) and the windows of the apse (1470s), of which those extant portray St. John the Evangelist, by Cristoforo de' Mottis, and Saint Eligius and San John of Damascus, both by Niccolò da Varallo. In 1452, under Francesco Sforza, the nave and the aisles were completed up to the sixth bay.
During the subsequent Spanish domination, the new church proved usable, even though the interior remained largely unfinished, and some bays of the nave and the transepts were still missing. In 1552 Giacomo Antegnati was commissioned to build a large organ for the north side of the choir, and Giuseppe Meda provided four of the sixteen pales which were to decorate the altar area (the program was completed by Federico Borromeo). In 1562, Marco d' Agrate's St. Bartholomew and the famous Trivulzio candelabrum (12th century) were added.In 1500 to 1510, under Ludovico Sforza, the octagonal cupola was completed, and decorated in the interior with four series of 15 statues each, portraying saints, prophets, sibyls and other Figures from the Bible. The exterior long remained without any decoration, except for the Guglietto dell'Amadeo ("Amadeo's Little Spire"), constructed 1507-1510. This is a Renaissance masterwork which nevertheless harmonized well with the general Gothic appearance of the church.
Borromeo
Borromeo and Pellegrini strove for a new, Renaissance appearance for the cathedral, that would emphasise its Roman / Italian nature, and subdue the Gothic style, which was now seen as foreign. As the façade still was largely incomplete, Pellegrini designed a "Roman" style one, with columns, obelisks and a large tympanum. When Pellegrini's design was revealed, a competition for the design of the façade was announced, and this elicited nearly a dozen entries, including one by Antonio BarcaAfter the accession of Carlo Borromeo to the archbishop's throne, all lay monuments were removed from the Duomo. These included the tombs of Giovanni, and Filippo Maria Visconti, Francesco I and his wife Bianca, Galeazzo Maria, which were brought to unknown destinations. However, Borromeo's main intervention was the appointment, in 1571, of Pellegrino Pellegrini as chief engineer— a contentious move, since to appoint Pellegrino, who was not a lay brother of the duomo, required a revision of the Fabbrica's statues.
This design was never carried out, but the interior decoration continued: in 1575-1585 the presbytery was rebuilt, while new altars and the baptistry were added. The wooden choir stalls were constructed by 1614 for the main altar by Francesco Brambilla. In 1577 Borromeo finally consecrated the whole edifice as a new church, distinct from the old Santa Maria Maggiore and Santa Tecla (which had been unified in 1549 after heavy disputes).
17th century
In 1762 one of the main features of the cathedral, the Madonnina's spire, was erected at the dizzying height of 108.5 m. The spire was designed by Carlo Pellicani and sports at the top a famous polychrome Madonnina statue, designed by Giuseppe Perego that befits the original stature of the cathedral. Given Milan's notoriously damp and foggy climate, the Milanese consider it a fair-weather day when the Madonnina is visible from a distance, as it is so often covered by mist.At the beginning of the 17th century Federico Borromeo had the foundations of the new façade laid by Francesco Maria Richini and Fabio Mangone. Work continued until 1638 with the construction of five portals and two middle windows. In 1649, however, the new chief architect Carlo Buzzi introduced a striking revolution: the façade was to revert to original Gothic style, including the already finished details within big Gothic pilasters and two giant belfries. Other designs were provided by, among others, Filippo Juvarra (1733) and Luigi Vanvitelli (1745), but all remained unapplied. In 1682 the façade of Santa Maria Maggiore was demolished and the cathedral's roof covering completed.
Completion
In the following years, most of the missing arches and spires were constructed. The statues on the southern wall were also finished, while in 1829-1858, new stained glass windows replaced the old ones, though with less aesthetically significant results. The last details of the cathedral were finished only in the 20th century: the last gate was inaugurated on January 6, 1965. This date is considered the very end of a process which had proceeded for generations, although even now, some uncarved blocks remain to be completed as statues. The Allied bombing of Milan in World War II further delayed construction. Like many other cathedrals in cities bombed by the Allied forces, the Duomo suffered some damage, although to a lesser degree compared to other major buildings in the vicinity such as the La Scala Theatre. It was quickly repaired and became a place of solace and gathering for displaced local residents.On May 20, 1805, Napoleon Bonaparte, about to be crowned King of Italy, ordered the façade to be finished by Pellicani. In his enthusiasm, he assured that all expenses would fall to the French treasurer, who would reimburse the Fabbrica for the real estate it had to sell. Even though this reimbursement was never paid, it still meant that finally, within only seven years, the Cathedral had its façade completed. Pellicani, largely followed Buzzi's project, adding some neo-Gothic details to the upper windows. As a form of thanksgiving, a statue of Napoleon was placed at the top of one of the spires. Napoleon was crowned King of Italy at the Duomo.
The Duomo's main façade went under renovation from 2003 to early 2009: as of February 2009, it has been completely uncovered, showing again the colours of the Candoglia marble.
In November 2012 officials announced a campaign to raise funds for the cathedral's preservation by asking patrons to adopt the building's spires. The effects of pollution on the 14th-century building entail regular maintenance, and recent austerity cuts to Italy's culture budget has left less money for upkeep of cultural institutions, including the cathedral. To help make up funds, Duomo management launched a campaign offering its 135 spires up for "adoption." Donors who contribute €100,000 (about $110,505) or more will have a plaque with their name engraved on it placed on the spire.
Rosa DeLauro, U.S. Representative for Connecticut’s 3rd Congressional District, discusses the Wage Theft Prevention and Wage Recovery Act. H.R. 4763. 114th Congress (2015-2016), 2nd Session. United States Congress. House of Representatives. Committee on Education and the Workforce, New Haven Legal Assistance Association, Inc., 426 State Street, New Haven, Connecticut, Tuesday, April 5, 2016.
www.congress.gov/bill/114th-congress/house-bill/4763/text
A BILL
To amend the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 and the Portal-to-Portal Act of 1947 to prevent wage theft and assist in the recovery of stolen wages, to authorize the Secretary of Labor to administer grants to prevent wage and hour violations, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the “Wage Theft Prevention and Wage Recovery Act”.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds the following:
(1) Wage theft occurs when an employer does not pay an employee for work that the employee has performed, depriving the worker of wages and earnings to which the worker is legally entitled. This theft occurs in many forms, including by employers violating minimum wage requirements, failing to pay overtime compensation, requiring off-the-clock work, failing to provide final payments, misclassifying employees as being exempt from overtime compensation or as independent contractors rather than as employees, and improperly withholding tips.
(2) Wage theft poses a serious and growing problem across industries for working individuals of the United States. Wage theft is widespread and is estimated to cost workers more than $8,600,000,000 per year. In certain industries, compliance with Federal wage and hour laws is less than 50 percent.
(3) Wage theft is closely associated with employment discrimination, with women, immigrants, and minorities being disproportionately affected. Women are significantly more likely to experience minimum wage violations than men, foreign-born workers are nearly 2 times as likely to experience minimum wage violations as their counterparts born in the United States, and African-Americans are 3 times more likely to experience minimum wage violations than their White counterparts.
(4) Wage theft is closely associated with unsafe working conditions.
(5) Wage theft—
(A) depresses the wages of working families who are already struggling to make ends meet;
(B) strains social services funds;
(C) diminishes consumer spending power and hurts local economies;
(D) reduces vital State and Federal tax revenues;
(E) places law-abiding employers at a competitive disadvantage with noncompliant employers;
(F) burdens commerce and the free flow of goods; and
(G) lowers labor standards throughout labor markets.
(6) Low-wage workers are at the greatest risk of suffering from wage theft. A survey of 4,387 low-wage workers in New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago found that 68 percent of the workers surveyed had experienced some form of wage theft in the workweek immediately before the survey was conducted. These workers experienced a range of wage and hour violations: 26 percent of such workers were not paid minimum wage; 76 percent of such workers who worked more than 40 hours in the workweek immediately before the survey was conducted were not paid at the overtime rate; and, in the year before the survey was conducted, 43 percent of the workers who attempted to address such issues by filing a complaint with their employer or who attempted to form a labor organization experienced retaliation by their employers, including by being fired, suspended, or receiving threats of reductions in their hours or pay.
(7) In 2012, State and Federal authorities as well as private attorneys recovered at least $933,000,000 in wage theft enforcement actions, which was nearly 3 times the value of all bank robberies, residential robberies, convenience store and gas station robberies, and street robberies in the United States during that year.
(8) A Department of Labor study of wage theft in California and New York found that wage theft deprived workers of 37 percent to 49 percent of their income, pushing at least 15,000 families below the poverty line and driving another 50,000 to 100,000 families deeper into poverty.
(9) A study analyzing wage theft claims in the State of Washington from 2009 to 2013 estimated that the total economic cost of wage theft to the State totaled more than $64,000,000 resulting from the lower economic activity and spending of low-wage workers due to their lost wages.
(10) A Department of Labor study of wage violations in California and New York found that wage theft deprived families of $5,600,000 in possible earned income tax credits and resulted in a $22,000,000 loss in State tax revenue, a $238,000,000 loss in payroll tax revenue, and a $113,000,000 loss in Federal income tax revenue.
(11) Barriers to addressing wage theft continue to exist decades after the enactment of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 201 et seq.). These barriers have resulted, in significant part, because enforcement of such Act has not worked as Congress originally intended and because many of the provisions of such Act do not include sufficient penalties to discourage violations. Improvements to enforcement and amendments to such Act are necessary to ensure that such Act provides effective protection to individuals subject to wage theft.
(12) The lack of a Federal right for employees to receive full compensation at the agreed upon wage rate for all work performed by the employee has resulted in workers being able to recover only the applicable minimum wage, or the overtime rate if applicable, when employers engage in wage theft.
(13) The lack of a Federal requirement to provide employees with paystubs indicating how their pay is calculated or to allow employees to inspect their employers’ payroll records significantly impedes efforts to identify and challenge wage theft.
(14) The lack of a Federal requirement to pay employees their final payments in a timely manner upon termination of the employment relationship between the employer and employee has led to unreasonable, and sometimes indefinite, delays in compensation after an employment relationship ends.
(15) While the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, and regulations promulgated by the Secretary of Labor, as in effect on the day before the date of enactment of this Act, require employers to compensate employees at the minimum wage rate and to provide overtime compensation when appropriate, the lack of civil penalties for violations of these requirements has dampened their effectiveness.
(16) While the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 and regulations promulgated by the Secretary of Labor, as in effect on the day before the date of enactment of this Act, provide employees who are subject to wage theft with the right to unpaid minimum wages or unpaid overtime compensation plus an additional equal amount as liquidated damages, this low level of damages has proved insufficient to deter employers from stealing the wages of their employees.
(17) While the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 and regulations promulgated by the Secretary of Labor, as in effect on the day before the date of enactment of this Act, require employers to keep records of employees’ pay, the lack of remedies for this requirement diminishes the effectiveness of the requirement.
(18) While the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 and regulations promulgated by the Secretary of Labor, as in effect on the day before the date of enactment of this Act, provide for limited criminal penalties when employers violate the provisions of such Act, the Secretary of Labor rarely resorts to these penalties, causing them to serve as a hollow threat.
(19) The statute of limitations under section 6 of the Portal-to-Portal Act of 1947 (29 U.S.C. 255), in effect on the day before the date of enactment of this Act, precludes employees from bringing claims for wage theft 2 years after the cause of action accrued, or 3 years after the cause of action accrued if the claim is with respect to a willful or repeat violation by the employer. Additionally, the statute of limitations is not suspended while the Secretary of Labor investigates a complaint. These strict confines of the statute of limitations sometimes result in employees being deprived of their ability to institute a private lawsuit against their employer in order to recover their stolen wages.
(20) Section 16(b) of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 216(b)), as in effect on the day before the date of enactment of this Act, requires employees to affirmatively “opt-in” in order to be a party plaintiff in a collective action brought by another aggrieved employee seeking to recover stolen wages in court. This provision limits the ability of employees to unite and pursue private lawsuits against employers.
(21) Under the penalty structure of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, as in effect on the day before the date of enactment of this Act, many employers who are caught violating such Act continue to violate the Act. A Department of Labor investigation found that one-third of employers who had previously engaged in wage theft continued to do so.
(22) The Government Accountability Office and the Department of Labor have recognized that when employers are assessed civil penalties, they are more likely to comply with the law in the future and other employers in the same region—regardless of industry—are also more likely to comply with the law.
(23) States that have enacted legislation to address wage theft by increasing the damages to which employees are entitled following violations of wage and hour laws have positively impacted the workers in such States. However, many States have not enacted such legislation and, worse still, some States do not have any laws protecting workers from wage theft or even agencies to enforce workers’ rights to compensation for work. This discrepancy in State laws has resulted in a fragmentation of workers’ rights across the United States, with some workers having a measure of protection from wage theft and other workers being left extremely vulnerable to wage theft.
(24) Effective enforcement of wage and hour laws is critical to increasing compliance. Given the limited resources available for enforcement, enhanced strategic enforcement of Federal wage and hour laws is crucial.
(25) For enhanced strategic enforcement to be effective, government regulators must work with community stakeholders who have direct knowledge of ongoing violations of Federal wage and hour requirements and who are in a position to prevent such violations.
(26) Partnerships between regulators, workers, nonprofit organizations, and businesses can increase compliance by educating workers about their rights, collecting evidence, reporting violations, identifying noncompliant employers, and modeling good practices.
(27) Partnerships between regulators, workers, nonprofit organizations, and businesses have been successful in combating wage theft. In 2006, the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement of California created a janitorial enforcement team to work closely with a local janitorial watchdog organization. As of 2015, the partnership had resulted in countless administrative, civil, and criminal actions against employers and in the collection of more than $68,000,000 in back pay for janitorial workers.
(28) The Government Accountability Office has recommended that the Department of Labor identify ways to leverage its resources to better combat wage theft by improving services provided through partnerships.
SEC. 3. PURPOSES.
The purposes of this Act are to prevent wage theft and facilitate the recovery of stolen wages by—
(1) strengthening the penalties for engaging in wage theft;
(2) giving workers the right to receive, in a timely manner, full compensation for the work they perform, certain disclosures, regular paystubs, and final payments;
(3) providing workers with improved tools to recover their stolen wages in court; and
(4) making assistance available to enhance enforcement of and compliance with Federal wage and hour laws through—
(A) supporting initiatives that address and prevent violations of such laws and assist workers in wage recovery;
(B) supporting individual entities and developing community partnerships that expand and improve cooperative efforts between enforcement agencies and community-based organizations in the prevention of wage and hour violations and enforcement of wage and hour laws;
(C) expanding outreach to workers in industries or geographic areas identified by the Secretary of Labor as highly noncompliant with Federal wage and hour laws;
(D) improving detection of employers who are not complying with such laws and aiding in the identification of violations of such laws; and
(E) facilitating the collection of evidence to assist enforcement efforts.
TITLE I—AMENDMENTS TO THE FAIR LABOR STANDARDS ACT OF 1938
SEC. 101. REQUIREMENTS TO PROVIDE CERTAIN DISCLOSURES, REGULAR PAYSTUBS, AND FINAL PAYMENTS.
The Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 is amended by inserting after section 4 (29 U.S.C. 204) the following:
“SEC. 5. REQUIREMENTS TO PROVIDE CERTAIN DISCLOSURES, REGULAR PAYSTUBS, AND FINAL PAYMENTS.
“(a) Disclosures.—
“(1) INITIAL DISCLOSURES.—Not later than 15 days after the date on which an employer hires an employee who in any workweek is engaged in commerce or in the production of goods for commerce, or is employed in an enterprise engaged in commerce or in the production of goods for commerce, the employer of such employee shall provide such employee with an initial disclosure containing the information described in paragraph (3).
“(2) MODIFICATION DISCLOSURES.—Not later than 15 days after the date on which any of the information described in paragraph (3) changes with respect to an employee described in paragraph (1), the employer of such employee shall provide the employee with a modification disclosure containing the information described in paragraph (3).
“(3) INFORMATION.—The information described in this paragraph shall include—
“(A) the rate of pay and whether the employee is paid by the hour, shift, day, week, or job, or by salary, piece rate, commission, or other form of compensation;
“(B) an indication of whether the employee is being classified by the employer as an employee subject to the maximum hours and overtime compensation requirements of section 7 or as an employee exempt from such requirements as provided under section 13;
“(C) the name of the employer and any other name used by the employer to conduct business; and
“(D) the physical address of and telephone number for the employer’s main office or principle place of business, and a mailing address for such office or place of business if the mailing address is different than the physical address.
“(b) Paystubs.—
“(1) IN GENERAL.—Every employer shall provide each employee of such employer who in any workweek is engaged in commerce or in the production of goods for commerce, or is employed in an enterprise engaged in commerce or in the production of goods for commerce, a paystub that corresponds to work performed by the employee during the applicable pay period and contains the information required under paragraph (3) in any form provided under paragraph (2).
“(2) FORMS.—A paystub required under this subsection shall be a written statement and may be provided in any of the following forms:
“(A) As a separate document accompanying any payment to an employee for work performed during the applicable pay period.
“(B) In the case of an employee who receives paychecks from the employer, as a detachable statement accompanying each paycheck.
“(C) As a digital document provided through electronic communication, subject to the employee affirmatively consenting to receive the paystubs in this form.
“(3) CONTENTS.—Each paystub shall contain all of the following information:
“(A) The name of the employee.
“(B) In the case of an employee who is paid an hourly wage, an employee who is employed at piece rates, or an employee who is paid a salary and is not exempt from the overtime requirements of section 7, the total number of hours worked by the employee, including the number of hours worked per workweek, during the applicable pay period.
“(C) The total gross and net wages paid, and, in the case of an employee who is paid an hourly wage, an employee who is employed at piece rates, or an employee who is paid a salary and is not exempt from the overtime requirements of section 7, the rate of pay for each hour worked during the applicable pay period.
“(D) In the case of an employee who is paid a salary in lieu of an hourly wage, the amount of salary paid during the applicable pay period.
“(E) In the case of an employee employed at piece rates, the number of piece rate units earned, the applicable piece rates, and the total amount paid to the employee for the applicable pay period in accordance with such piece rates.
“(F) The rate of pay of the employee during the applicable pay period and an explanation of the basis for such rate.
“(G) The number of overtime hours worked by the employee during the applicable pay period and the compensation required under section 7 that is provided to the employee for such hours.
“(H) Any additional compensation provided to the employee during the applicable pay period, with an explanation of each type of compensation, including any allowances or reimbursements such as amounts related to meals, clothing, lodging, or any other item, and any cost to the employee associated with such allowance or reimbursements.
“(I) Itemized deductions from the gross income of the employee during the applicable pay period, and an explanation for each deduction.
“(J) The date that is the beginning of the applicable pay period and the date that is the end of such applicable pay period.
“(K) The name of the employer and any other name used by the employer to conduct business.
“(L) The name and phone number of a representative of the employer for contact purposes.
“(M) Any additional information that the Secretary reasonably requires to be included through notice and comment rulemaking.
“(c) Final Payments.—
“(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 14 days after an individual described in paragraph (4) terminates employment with an employer (by action of the employer or the individual), or on the date on which such employer pays other employees for the pay period during which the individual so terminates such employment, whichever date is earlier, the employer shall provide the individual with a final payment, by compensating such individual for any uncompensated hours worked or benefits incurred by the individual as an employee for the employer.
“(2) CONTINUING WAGES.—An employer who violates the requirement under paragraph (1) shall, for each day, not to exceed 30 days, of such violation provide the individual described in paragraph (4) with compensation at a rate that is equal to the regular rate of compensation to which such individual was entitled when such individual was an employee of such employer.
“(3) LIMITATION.—Notwithstanding paragraphs (1) and (2), any individual described in paragraph (4) who intentionally avoids receiving a final payment described in paragraph (1), or who refuses to receive the final payment when fully tendered, resulting in the employer violating the requirement under such paragraph, shall not be entitled to the compensation provided under paragraph (2) for the time during which the individual so avoids final payment.
“(4) INDIVIDUAL.—An individual described in this paragraph is an individual who was employed by the employer, and through such employment, in any workweek, was engaged in commerce or in the production of goods for commerce, or was employed in an enterprise engaged in commerce or in the production of goods for commerce.”.
SEC. 102. RIGHT TO FULL COMPENSATION.
Section 6 of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 206) is amended by adding at the end the following:
“(h) Right To Full Compensation.—
“(1) IN GENERAL.—In the case of an employment contract or other employment agreement, including a collective bargaining agreement, that specifies that an employer shall compensate an employee (who is described in paragraph (2)) at a rate that is higher than the rate provided under subsection (a), the employer shall compensate such employee at the rate specified in such contract or other employment agreement.
“(2) EMPLOYEE ENGAGED IN COMMERCE.—The requirement under paragraph (1) shall apply with respect to any employee who in any workweek is engaged in commerce or in the production of goods for commerce, or is employed in an enterprise engaged in commerce or in the production of goods for commerce.”.
SEC. 103. CIVIL AND CRIMINAL ENFORCEMENT.
(a) Damages.—The Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 201 et seq.), as amended by section 102, is further amended—
(1) in section 4(f) (29 U.S.C. 204(f)), in the third sentence—
(A) by striking “minimum”; and
(B) by striking “and liquidated damages” and inserting “damages, and interest”;
(2) in section 6(d)(3) (29 U.S.C. 206(d)(3)) by striking “minimum”;
(3) in section 16 (29 U.S.C. 216)—
(A) in subsection (b)—
(i) by striking “minimum” each place it appears;
(ii) in the first sentence, by striking “and in an additional equal amount as liquidated damages” and inserting “, an additional amount as damages that is equal to (subject to the second sentence of this subsection) 2 times such amount of unpaid wages or unpaid overtime compensation, and the amount of any interest on such unpaid wages or unpaid overtime compensation accrued at the prevailing rate”;
(iii) in the second sentence, by striking “wages lost and an additional equal amount as liquidated damages” and inserting “wages lost, including any unpaid wages or any unpaid overtime compensation, an additional amount as damages that is equal to 3 times the amount of such wages lost, and the amount of any interest on such wages lost accrued at the prevailing rate”;
(iv) by striking the fourth sentence; and
(v) by adding at the end the following: “Notwithstanding chapter 1 of title 9, United States Code (commonly known as the‘Federal Arbitration Act’) or any other law, the right to bring an action, including a collective action, in court under this section cannot be waived by an employee as a condition of employment or in a pre-dispute arbitration agreement.”; and
(B) in subsection (c)—
(i) by striking “minimum” each place the term appears;
(ii) in the first sentence, by striking “and an additional equal amount as liquidated damages” and inserting “, an additional amount as damages that is equal to (subject to the third sentence of this subsection) 2 times such amount of unpaid wages or unpaid overtime compensation, and any interest on such unpaid wages or unpaid overtime compensation accrued at the prevailing rate”;
(iii) in the second sentence, by striking “and an equal amount as liquidated damages.” and inserting “, an additional amount as damages that is equal to (subject to the third sentence of this subsection) 2 times such amount of unpaid wages or unpaid overtime compensation, and any interest on such unpaid wages or unpaid overtime compensation accrued at the prevailing rate. In the event that the employer violates section 15(a)(3), the Secretary may bring an action in any court of competent jurisdiction to recover the amount of any wages lost, including any unpaid wages or any unpaid overtime compensation, an additional amount as damages that is equal to 3 times the amount of such wages lost, and any interest on such wages lost accrued at the prevailing rate.”; and
(iv) in the fourth sentence, by striking “or liquidated”; and
(4) in section 17 (29 U.S.C. 217), by striking “minimum”.
(b) Civil Fines.—Section 16(e) of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 216(e)) is amended—
(1) by striking paragraph (2) and inserting the following:
“(2) (A) Subject to subparagraph (B), any person who violates section 6 or 7, relating to wages, shall be subject to a civil fine that is not to exceed $2,000 per each employee affected for each initial violation of such section.
“(B) Any person who repeatedly or willfully violates section 6 or 7, relating to wages, shall be subject to a civil fine that is not to exceed $10,000 per each employee affected for each such violation.”; and
(2) by adding at the end the following:
“(6) Any person who violates subsection (a) or (b) of section 5 shall—
“(A) for the first violation of such subsection, be subject to a civil fine that is not to exceed $50 per each employee affected; and
“(B) for each subsequent violation of such subsection, be subject to a civil fine that is not to exceed $100 per each employee affected.
“(7) Any person who violates section 11(c) shall—
“(A) for the first violation, be subject to a civil fine that is not to exceed $1,000 per each employee affected; and
“(B) for each subsequent violation, be subject to a civil fine that is not to exceed $5,000 per each employee affected.”.
(c) Criminal Penalties.—Section 16(a) of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 216(a)) is amended—
(1) by striking “Any person” and inserting “(1) Any person”;
(2) in the first sentence, by striking “$10,000” and inserting “$10,000 per each employee affected”;
(3) in the second sentence, by striking “No person” and inserting “Subject to paragraph (2), no person”; and
(4) by adding at the end the following:
“(2) (A) Notwithstanding any other provision of this Act, the Secretary shall refer any case involving a covered offender described in subparagraph (B) to the Department of Justice for prosecution.
“(B) A covered offender described in this subparagraph is an offender who willfully violates each of the following:
“(i) Section 11(c) by falsifying any records described in such section.
“(ii) Section 6 or 7, relating to wages.
“(iii) Section 15(a)(3).”.
SEC. 104. RECORDKEEPING.
Section 11(c) of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 211(c)) is amended by adding at the end the following: “In the event that an employee requests an inspection of the records described in this subsection that pertain to such employee, the employer shall provide the employee with a copy of the records for a period of up to 5 years prior to such request being made. Not later than 21 days after an employee requests such an inspection, the employer shall comply with the request. In the event that an employer violates this subsection, resulting in a lack of a complete record of an employee’s hours worked or wages owed, notwithstanding whether the employer or employee is responsible for maintaining the employer’s official records, any evidence of the hours worked or wages owed set forth by the employee, including evidence of a documentary, testimonial, representative, or statistical nature, that is sufficient to establish to a finder of fact a just and reasonable inference that the employee was not fully compensated at the rate required by this Act, including under section 6(h) as applicable, for all of the work that the employee performed for the employer shall establish a rebuttable presumption that the employer violated section 6 or 7 by failing to fully compensate the employee at the required rate for all work performed by the employee for the employer and a rebuttable presumption that the evidence set forth by the employee regarding the specific number of hours worked by the employee for the employer for which the employee was not compensated and the wage rate for each of those hours is accurate. The employer may only overcome the rebuttable presumptions described in this subsection by providing clear and convincing evidence that the employee's evidence is inaccurate.”.
TITLE II—AMENDMENTS TO THE PORTAL-TO-PORTAL ACT OF 1947
SEC. 201. INCREASING AND TOLLING STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS.
Section 6 of the Portal-to-Portal Act of 1947 (29 U.S.C. 255) is amended—
(1) in the matter preceding subsection (a)—
(A) by striking “minimum”; and
(B) by striking “liquidated damages” and inserting “other damages”;
(2) in subsection (a)—
(A) by striking “may be commenced within two years” and inserting “may be commenced within 4 years”;
(B) by striking “unless commenced within two years” and inserting “unless commenced within 4 years”; and
(C) by striking “may be commenced within three years” and inserting “may be commenced within 5 years”;
(3) in subsection (d), by striking the period and inserting “; and”; and
(4) by adding at the end the following:
“(e) with respect to the running of the statutory periods of limitation for such action, the running of such statutory periods shall be deemed suspended during the period beginning on the date on which the Secretary of Labor notifies an employer of an initiation of an investigation or enforcement action and ending on the date on which the Secretary notifies the employer that the matter has been officially resolved by the Secretary.”.
TITLE III—WAGE THEFT PREVENTION AND WAGE RECOVERY GRANT PROGRAM
SEC. 301. DEFINITIONS.
In this title:
(1) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term the “Administrator” means the Administrator of the Wage and Hour Division of the Department of Labor.
(2) COMMUNITY PARTNER.—The term “community partner” means any stakeholder with a commitment to enforcing wage and hour laws and preventing abuses of such laws, including any—
(A) State department of labor;
(B) attorney general of a State, or other similar authorized official of a political subdivision thereof;
(C) law enforcement agency;
(D) consulate;
(E) employee or advocate of employees, including a labor organization, community and faith-based organization, business association, or nonprofit legal aid organization;
(F) academic institution that plans, coordinates, and implements programs and activities to prevent wage and hour violations and recover unpaid wages, damages, and penalties; and
(G) any municipal agency responsible for the enforcement of local wage and hour laws.
(3) COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIP.—The term “community partnership” means a partnership between—
(A) a working group consisting of community partners; and
(B) the Department of Labor.
(4) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term “eligible entity” means an entity that is any of the following:
(A) A nonprofit organization, including a community-based organization, faith-based organization, or labor organization, that provides services and support to employees, including assisting such employees in recovering unpaid wages.
(B) An employer.
(C) A business association.
(D) An institution of higher education, as defined by section 101 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001).
(E) A partnership between any of the entities described in subparagraphs (A) through (D).
(5) EMPLOY; EMPLOYEE; EMPLOYER.—The terms “employ”, “employee”, and “employer” have the meanings given such terms in section 3 of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 203).
(6) SECRETARY.—The term “Secretary” means the Secretary of Labor.
(7) STRATEGIC ENFORCEMENT.—The term “strategic enforcement” means the process by which the Secretary—
(A) targets highly noncompliant industries, as identified by the Secretary, using industry-specific structures to influence, and ultimately reform, networks of interconnected employers;
(B) analyzes regulatory regimes under which specific industries operate; and
(C) modifies the enforcement approach of such regulatory regimes in order to ensure the greatest impact.
(8) WAGE AND HOUR LAW.—The term “wage and hour law” means any Federal law enforced by the Wage and Hour Division of the Department of Labor, including any provision of this Act enforced by such division.
(9) WAGE AND HOUR VIOLATION.—The term “wage and hour violation” refers to any violation of a Federal law enforced by the Wage and Hour Division of the Department of Labor, including any provision of this Act enforced by such division.
SEC. 302. WAGE THEFT PREVENTION AND WAGE RECOVERY GRANT PROGRAM.
(a) In General.—The Secretary, acting through the Administrator of the Wage and Hour Division of the Department of Labor, shall provide grants to eligible entities to assist such entities in enhancing the enforcement of wage and hour laws, in accordance with this section and consistent with the purposes of this Act.
(b) Grants.—The grants provided under this section shall be designed to—
(1) support individual eligible entities in establishing and supporting the activities described in subsection (c)(1); and
(2) develop community partnerships to expand and improve cooperative efforts between enforcement agencies and members of the community to—
(A) prevent and reduce wage and hour violations; and
(B) assist employees in recovering back pay for any such violations.
(c) Use Of Funds.—
(1) PERMISSIBLE ACTIVITIES.—The grants described in this section shall assist eligible entities in establishing and supporting activities that include—
(A) disseminating information and conducting outreach and training to educate employees about their rights under wage and hour laws;
(B) conducting educational training for employers about their obligations under wage and hour laws;
(C) conducting orientations and trainings jointly with officials of the Wage and Hour Division of the Department of Labor;
(D) providing assistance to employees in filing claims of wage and hour violations;
(E) assisting enforcement agencies in conducting investigations, including in the collection of evidence and recovering back pay;
(F) monitoring compliance with wage and hour laws;
(G) performing joint visitations to worksites that violate wage and hour laws with officials from the Wage and Hour Division of the Department of Labor;
(H) establishing networks for education, communication, and participation in the workplace and community;
(I) evaluating the effectiveness of programs designed to prevent wage and hour violations and enforce wage and hour laws;
(J) recruiting and hiring of staff and volunteers;
(K) production and dissemination of outreach and training materials; and
(L) any other activities as the Secretary may reasonably prescribe through notice and comment rulemaking.
(2) PROHIBITED ACTIVITIES.—Notwithstanding paragraph (1), an eligible entity receiving a grant under this section may not use the grant funds for any purpose reasonably prohibited by the Secretary through notice and comment rulemaking.
(d) Term Of Grants.—Each grant made under this section shall be available for expenditure for a period that is not to exceed 3 years.
(e) Applications.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—An eligible entity seeking a grant under this section shall submit an application for such grant to the Secretary in accordance with this subsection.
(2) PARTNERSHIPS.—In the case of an eligible entity that is a partnership described in section 301(4)(E), the eligible entity may submit a joint application that designates a single entity as the lead entity for purposes of receiving and disbursing funds.
(3) CONTENTS.—An application under this subsection shall include—
(A) a description of a plan for the program that the eligible entity proposes to carry out with a grant under this section, including a long-term strategy and detailed implementation plan that reflects expected participation of, and partnership with, community groups and appropriate private and public agencies;
(B) information on the prevalence of wage and hour violations in each community or State of the eligible entity;
(C) information on any industry or geographic area targeted by the plan for such program;
(D) information on the type of outreach and relationship building that will be conducted under such program;
(E) information on the training and education that will be provided to employees and employers under such program; and
(F) the method by which the eligible entity will measure results of such program.
(f) Selection.—
(1) COMPETITIVE BASIS.—In accordance with this subsection, the Secretary shall, on a competitive basis, select grant recipients from among qualified eligible entities that have submitted an application under subsection (e).
(2) PRIORITY.—In selecting grant recipients under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall give priority to eligible entities that—
(A) serve employees in any industry or geographic area that is most highly at risk for noncompliance with wage and hour violations, as identified by the Secretary; and
(B) demonstrate past and ongoing work to prevent wage and hour violations or to recover unpaid wages.
(3) OTHER CONSIDERATIONS.—In selecting grant recipients under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall also consider—
(A) the prevalence of ongoing community support for each eligible entity, including financial and other contributions; and
(B) the eligible entity's past and ongoing partnerships with other organizations.
(g) Memoranda Of Understanding.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 60 days after receiving a grant under this section, the grant recipient shall negotiate and finalize with the Administrator a memorandum of understanding that sets forth specific goals, objectives, strategies, and activities that will be carried out under the grant by such recipient through a community partnership.
(2) SIGNATURES.—A representative of the grant recipient (or, in the case of a grant recipient that is an eligible entity described in section 301(4)(E), a representative of each entity that composes the grant recipient) and the Administrator shall sign the memorandum of understanding under this subsection.
(3) REVISIONS.—The memorandum of understanding under this subsection shall be reviewed and revised by the grant recipient and the Administrator each year of the duration of the grant.
(h) Performance Evaluations.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—Each grant recipient under this section shall develop procedures for reporting, monitoring, measuring, and evaluating the activities of each program or project funded under this section.
(2) GUIDELINES.—The procedures required under paragraph (1) shall be in accordance with guidelines established by the Secretary.
(i) Revocation Or Suspension Of Funding.—If the Secretary determines that a recipient of a grant under this section is not in compliance with the terms and requirements of the memorandum of understanding under subsection (g), the Secretary may revoke or suspend (in whole or in part) the funding of the grant.
(j) Use Of Components.—The Secretary may use any division or agency of the Department of Labor in carrying out this Act.
SEC. 303. GAO STUDY.
(a) In General.—The Comptroller General of the United States shall conduct a study to identify successful programs carried out by grants under section 302, and the elements, policies, or procedures of such programs that can be replicated by other programs carried out by grants under such section.
(b) Report.—Not later than 3 years after the date of enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General of the United States shall submit a report to the Secretary and Congress containing the results of the study conducted under subsection (a).
(c) Use Of Information.—The Secretary shall use information contained in the report submitted under subsection (b)—
(1) to improve the quality of community partnership programs assisted or carried out under this Act that are in existence as of the publication of the report; and
(2) to develop models for new community partnership programs to be assisted or carried out under this Act.
SEC. 304. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
There is authorized to be appropriated $50,000,000 for fiscal year 2017 and for each subsequent fiscal year through fiscal year 2020, to remain available until expended, to carry out the grant program under section 302.
TITLE IV—REGULATIONS AND EFFECTIVE DATE
SEC. 401. REGULATIONS.
Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Labor shall promulgate such regulations as are necessary to carry out this Act, and the amendments made by this Act.
SEC. 402. EFFECTIVE DATE.
The amendments made by titles I and II shall take effect on the date that is the earlier of—
(1) the date that is 6 months after the date on which the final regulations are promulgated by the Secretary of Labor under section 401; and
(2) the date that is 18 months after the date of enactment of this Act.
On March 12, 2014, VA’s Office of Tribal Government Relations participated in the Indian Health Service’s Annual Tribal Consultation in Sparks, Nevada. 207 attendees participated in the meeting which brought together California tribal leaders and VA and Indian Health Service officials to discuss the Tribal Health Programs Reimbursement Agreement program. Photos courtesy Dept of Veteran Affairs.
U.S. Senator Claire McCaskill, the top-ranking Democrat on the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, today released the first product of her wide-ranging investigation into opioid manufacturers and distributors. “Fueling an Epidemic: Insys Therapeutics and the Systemic Manipulation of Prior Authorization” describes the emphasis Insys Therapeutics put on boosting approvals for its highly addictive fentanyl drug Subsys, even for inappropriate, off-label uses, and details an audio recording in which an Insys sales representative misidentifies herself and uses language designed to circumvent the prior authorization process.
Insurers often employ this process to prevent the overprescription and abuse of powerful and expensive drugs like Subsys. While the Food and Drug Administration has only approved Subsys for the treatment of breakthrough cancer pain—cancer pain that persists despite attempted treatment with other opioid medications—an internal document obtained by McCaskill shows that Insys lacked measures to prevent its representatives from manipulating the prior authorization process and gaining approval for Subsys treatment of non-cancer conditions like back pain, fibromyalgia and migraine headaches.
“There is extensive evidence that Insys aggressively pressured its employees and the entire medical system to increase the use of a fentanyl product during a national epidemic that was taking the lives of tens of thousands of Americans a year in order to make more money—it’s hard to imagine anything more despicable,” McCaskill said. “Their attempts to manipulate the prescription approval process for this drug appear to have been systemic, and anyone responsible for this manipulation deserves to be prosecuted.”
As part of its investigation, the minority staff received an audio recording of conversations between an Insys employee and pharmacy benefit manager representatives related to a Subsys prescription for Sarah Fuller, who later died from an alleged fentanyl overdose. This recording suggests the Insys employee in question repeatedly misled Envision Pharmaceutical Services to obtain approval for Ms. Fuller’s Subsys treatment—heavily implying she was employed by the prescribing physician and misrepresenting the type of pain the patient was experiencing.
The call occurred during a period in which Insys was aggressively pressuring its employees to increase their ratio of approvals. Employees reportedly received significant financial incentives and management pressure—including quotas and group and individual bonuses—to boost the rate of Subsys authorizations. “In an internal presentation dated 2012 and entitled, “2013 SUBSYS Brand Plan,” Insys identified one of six “key strategic imperatives” as “Mitigate Prior Authorization barriers,” the report notes. “On a later slide, the company identified several tasks associated with this effort, including “Build internal [prior authorization] assistance infrastructure,” “Establish an internal 1-800 reimbursement assistance hotline,” and “Educate field force on [prior authorization] process and facilitation.”
Subsys—a fentanyl sublingual spray product approved by the Food and Drug Administration in 2012 to treat breakthrough cancer pain—can cost over $20,000 per month, and proved incredibly successful financially after its introduction to the market. Insys had “the best-performing initial public offering in 2013,” and, over the next two years, revenues tripled and profits rose 45%. The value of company stock increased 296% between 2013 and 2016.
McCaskill has previously requested information related to sales and marketing materials, internal addiction studies, details on compliance with government settlements and donations to third party advocacy groups from major opioid manufacturers. She recently expanded her investigation, requesting documents and information from opioid manufacturers Mallinckrodt, Endo, Teva, and Allergan, while a request to McKesson Corporation, AmerisourceBergen Corporation, and Cardinal Health, Inc., focused on their distribution of opioid products.
When McCaskill was ranking member of the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, she joined Subcommittee Chairman Rob Portman to launch an investigation into the role Medicare Part D entities, private insurers, and pharmacy benefit managers play in detecting, reporting, and addressing opioid abuse, resulting in the in-depth report, “Combatting the Opioid Epidemic: A Review of Anti-Abuse Efforts in Medicare and Private Health Insurance Systems.”
Visit www.mccaskill.senate.gov/opioid-investigation to learn more about McCaskill’s investigation.
Duomo Milan Lombardy Italy
Milan Cathedral (Italian: Duomo di Milano ; Lombard: Domm de Milan ) is the cathedral church of Milan, Lombardy, Italy. Dedicated to St Mary of the Nativity (Santa Maria Nascente), it is the seat of the Archbishop of Milan, currently Archbishop Mario Delpini. The Gothic cathedral took nearly six centuries to complete. It is the largest church in Italy (the larger St. Peter's Basilica is in the State of Vatican City) and the third largest in the world.
History
St Thecla's
Construction begins
Milan's layout, with streets either radiating from the Duomo or circling it, reveals that the Duomo occupies what was the most central site in Roman Mediolanum, that of the public basilica facing the forum. The first cathedral, the "new basilica" (basilica nuova) dedicated to St Thecla, was completed by 355. It seems to share, on a slightly smaller scale, the plan of the contemporaneous church recently rediscovered beneath Tower Hill in London.bAn adjoining basilica was erected in 836. The old octagonal baptistery, the Battistero Paleocristiano, dates to 335 and still can be visited under the Milan Cathedral. When a fire damaged the cathedral and basilica in 1075, they were rebuilt as the Duomo.
In 1386, Archbishop Antonio da Saluzzo began construction of the cathedral.Start of the construction coincided with the ascension to power in Milan of the archbishop's cousin Gian Galeazzo Visconti, and was meant as a reward to the noble and working classes, who had suffered under his tyrannical Visconti predecessor Barnabò. Before actual work began, three main buildings were demolished: the palace of the Archbishop, the Ordinari Palace and the Baptistry of St. Stephen at the Spring, while the old church of Sta. Maria Maggiore was exploited as a stone quarry. Enthusiasm for the immense new building soon spread among the population, and the shrewd Gian Galeazzo, together with his cousin the archbishop, collected large donations for the work-in-progress. The construction program was strictly regulated under the "Fabbrica del Duomo", which had 300 employees led by first chief engineer Simone da Orsenigo. Orsenigo initially planned to build the cathedral from brick in Lombard Gothic style.
Visconti had ambitions to follow the newest trends in European architecture. In 1389, a French chief engineer, Nicolas de Bonaventure, was appointed, adding to the church its Rayonnant Gothic, a French style not typical for Italy. He decided that the brick structure should be panelled with marble. Galeazzo gave the Fabbrica del Duomo exclusive use of the marble from the Candoglia quarry and exempted it from taxes. Ten years later another French architect, Jean Mignot, was called from Paris to judge and improve upon the work done, as the masons needed new technical aid to lift stones to an unprecedented height. Mignot declared all the work done up till then as in pericolo di ruina ("peril of ruin"), as it had been done sine scienzia ("without science"). In the following years Mignot's forecasts proved untrue, but they spurred Galeazzo's engineers to improve their instruments and techniques. Work proceeded quickly, and at the death of Gian Galeazzo in 1402, almost half the cathedral was complete. Construction, however, stalled almost totally until 1480, for lack of money and ideas: the most notable works of this period were the tombs of Marco Carelli and Pope Martin V (1424) and the windows of the apse (1470s), of which those extant portray St. John the Evangelist, by Cristoforo de' Mottis, and Saint Eligius and San John of Damascus, both by Niccolò da Varallo. In 1452, under Francesco Sforza, the nave and the aisles were completed up to the sixth bay.
During the subsequent Spanish domination, the new church proved usable, even though the interior remained largely unfinished, and some bays of the nave and the transepts were still missing. In 1552 Giacomo Antegnati was commissioned to build a large organ for the north side of the choir, and Giuseppe Meda provided four of the sixteen pales which were to decorate the altar area (the program was completed by Federico Borromeo). In 1562, Marco d' Agrate's St. Bartholomew and the famous Trivulzio candelabrum (12th century) were added.In 1500 to 1510, under Ludovico Sforza, the octagonal cupola was completed, and decorated in the interior with four series of 15 statues each, portraying saints, prophets, sibyls and other Figures from the Bible. The exterior long remained without any decoration, except for the Guglietto dell'Amadeo ("Amadeo's Little Spire"), constructed 1507-1510. This is a Renaissance masterwork which nevertheless harmonized well with the general Gothic appearance of the church.
Borromeo
Borromeo and Pellegrini strove for a new, Renaissance appearance for the cathedral, that would emphasise its Roman / Italian nature, and subdue the Gothic style, which was now seen as foreign. As the façade still was largely incomplete, Pellegrini designed a "Roman" style one, with columns, obelisks and a large tympanum. When Pellegrini's design was revealed, a competition for the design of the façade was announced, and this elicited nearly a dozen entries, including one by Antonio BarcaAfter the accession of Carlo Borromeo to the archbishop's throne, all lay monuments were removed from the Duomo. These included the tombs of Giovanni, and Filippo Maria Visconti, Francesco I and his wife Bianca, Galeazzo Maria, which were brought to unknown destinations. However, Borromeo's main intervention was the appointment, in 1571, of Pellegrino Pellegrini as chief engineer— a contentious move, since to appoint Pellegrino, who was not a lay brother of the duomo, required a revision of the Fabbrica's statues.
This design was never carried out, but the interior decoration continued: in 1575-1585 the presbytery was rebuilt, while new altars and the baptistry were added. The wooden choir stalls were constructed by 1614 for the main altar by Francesco Brambilla. In 1577 Borromeo finally consecrated the whole edifice as a new church, distinct from the old Santa Maria Maggiore and Santa Tecla (which had been unified in 1549 after heavy disputes).
17th century
In 1762 one of the main features of the cathedral, the Madonnina's spire, was erected at the dizzying height of 108.5 m. The spire was designed by Carlo Pellicani and sports at the top a famous polychrome Madonnina statue, designed by Giuseppe Perego that befits the original stature of the cathedral. Given Milan's notoriously damp and foggy climate, the Milanese consider it a fair-weather day when the Madonnina is visible from a distance, as it is so often covered by mist.At the beginning of the 17th century Federico Borromeo had the foundations of the new façade laid by Francesco Maria Richini and Fabio Mangone. Work continued until 1638 with the construction of five portals and two middle windows. In 1649, however, the new chief architect Carlo Buzzi introduced a striking revolution: the façade was to revert to original Gothic style, including the already finished details within big Gothic pilasters and two giant belfries. Other designs were provided by, among others, Filippo Juvarra (1733) and Luigi Vanvitelli (1745), but all remained unapplied. In 1682 the façade of Santa Maria Maggiore was demolished and the cathedral's roof covering completed.
Completion
In the following years, most of the missing arches and spires were constructed. The statues on the southern wall were also finished, while in 1829-1858, new stained glass windows replaced the old ones, though with less aesthetically significant results. The last details of the cathedral were finished only in the 20th century: the last gate was inaugurated on January 6, 1965. This date is considered the very end of a process which had proceeded for generations, although even now, some uncarved blocks remain to be completed as statues. The Allied bombing of Milan in World War II further delayed construction. Like many other cathedrals in cities bombed by the Allied forces, the Duomo suffered some damage, although to a lesser degree compared to other major buildings in the vicinity such as the La Scala Theatre. It was quickly repaired and became a place of solace and gathering for displaced local residents.On May 20, 1805, Napoleon Bonaparte, about to be crowned King of Italy, ordered the façade to be finished by Pellicani. In his enthusiasm, he assured that all expenses would fall to the French treasurer, who would reimburse the Fabbrica for the real estate it had to sell. Even though this reimbursement was never paid, it still meant that finally, within only seven years, the Cathedral had its façade completed. Pellicani, largely followed Buzzi's project, adding some neo-Gothic details to the upper windows. As a form of thanksgiving, a statue of Napoleon was placed at the top of one of the spires. Napoleon was crowned King of Italy at the Duomo.
The Duomo's main façade went under renovation from 2003 to early 2009: as of February 2009, it has been completely uncovered, showing again the colours of the Candoglia marble.
In November 2012 officials announced a campaign to raise funds for the cathedral's preservation by asking patrons to adopt the building's spires. The effects of pollution on the 14th-century building entail regular maintenance, and recent austerity cuts to Italy's culture budget has left less money for upkeep of cultural institutions, including the cathedral. To help make up funds, Duomo management launched a campaign offering its 135 spires up for "adoption." Donors who contribute €100,000 (about $110,505) or more will have a plaque with their name engraved on it placed on the spire.
Urbex Benelux -
It is possible that you suffer damage because, for example, a municipality gives a building or piece of land a different destination. This can decrease the value of your home. In some cases you are eligible for (partial) reimbursement for this 'plan illness'. This is only possible if you could not have foreseen the decrease in value when you bought the house and you have not yet received any other compensation. You can request compensation from your municipality.
The review method assists our editors to make a decision on what to publish and how to publish, and it assures that the excellence and reliability of the papers and of the journal itself. The reviewer must recognize any fault in the paper and offer useful advice to the authors so that they can progress their work before publication. Other researchers in the field of research offer this service to you when they review papers you have written, and as a great knowledged member of the scientific research community, every researcher should respond by reviewing the research papers in return. Additionally, peer review can offer another reimbursement such as keeping you on current progress in the field of research and awareness of the latest research consequences before they are published.
Environmental Lawsuits Rake in Billions for Lawyers
By Jake Putnam
Cheyenne--During harsh economic times, rancher Karen Budd-Falen reached the breaking point on a day last fall. Falen had read about a huge court settlement the Federal Government paid out to a non-profit environmental group and after talking to the ranchers in the Western Legacy Alliance, it set her off.
Falen channeled the frustration into a quest; she wanted to know how much money the Federal Government had paid out in lawsuit legal fees over the past decade and what she found is astounding.
In just six years non- profit environmental groups filed more than 15-hundred lawsuits and in turn the Federal Government paid out more than $4.7 billion in taxpayer dollars in settlements and legal fees in cases against the U.S. government.
Between 2000 and 2009, Idaho’s Western Watersheds Project out of Hailey filed at least 91 lawsuits in federal district court with 31 appeals in federal appellate court according to Falen, who not only is a rancher but a former Department of Interior law clerk. She and husband Frank represent cattlemen in range issues throughout the west.
Falen often wondered how tiny non-profit organizations like Western Watersheds could afford an attorney like the famed Laird Lucas of Boise who is known as one of the best natural resource attorneys in the country.
“We tried to track the fees paid to environmental groups in certain federal courts. These guys are charging between $350 and $450 an hour in legal fees.” Falen says the Federal government is picking up the tab and adds: “In Federal District Court in Boise, over the last ten years, WWP received a total of $999,190 in tax dollars for ‘reimbursement’ for attorney fees and costs.”
“We’ve had a lot of litigation with WWP,” said Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark Haws of Boise. “We’ve have a lot of cases with them and they have prevailed on cases and been awarded Equal Access to Justice Attorney fees. I don’t have a total, but that amount wouldn’t surprise me.”
“It’s atrocious, as a private operator I can’t gather that kind of money to fight anything like that,” said rancher Ted Higley of Malta, Idaho. “If they’re going to fight personal causes it should be with their personal money, not government money.”
Falen’s research shows that of the cases filed by Western Watersheds in Idaho’s Federal Court, 19 went before Judge Lynn Winmill; eight resulted in decisions on merit with WWP prevailing with total attorney fees awarded to the tune of $746,184; six of the cases were settled by the feds paying of $118,000. WWP lost six cases but still managed a payday in two cases, but the payment amount is confidential. Falen’s findings show a pattern: there’s a payday in court, win or lose or draw.
“I’m not going to point fingers at WWP but there are organizations out there that are just sitting there scrutinizing, watching every decision an agency makes waiting for that ‘low hanging fruit’ to jump on-- just to get fees,” said U.S. Attorney Mark Haws.
“Nonprofit, tax exempt groups are making billions of dollars in funding,” said Falen. She says the majority of this legal fee money is not going into programs to protect people, jobs, wildlife, or endangered species but to fund more lawsuits from ‘non-profit environmental groups.
Farmers and Ranchers that struggle to make a living off the land are forced to spend money out of their pocket to defend themselves; that’s what happened to ranchers Tim Lowry and Paul Nettleton of Owyhee County.
The ranchers successfully defended a decade-long fight for water rights on their land against the BLM. The Idaho Supreme Court ruled on their side in a precedent setting case but the U.S. Supreme Court denied them attorney fees under EAJA from the government because the decision came in state court. That left the ranchers with a $1.5 million legal bill from a case in which the Federal Government dragged them into court.
“There’s a lot of a things wrong with this picture,” said Falen. “The federal government is spending billions in taxpayer dollars without any accounting of where the money is going or to whom it is going. There is no oversight in spending this money, especially the money that’s coming out of agency budgets that should be funding programs to protect public lands, national forests, ranchers, recreationists, wildlife and other land uses,” said Falen.
Falen’s research shows that between 2000 and 2009, Forest Guardians (NKA as WildEarth Guardians) filed 180 lawsuits in federal district courts with at least 61appeals in the federal appellate courts during the same time frame the Center for Biological Diversity filed at least 409 lawsuits in the federal district courts with at least 165 appeals in the federal appellate courts.
In addition she found over the past 15 years that the Wilderness Society filed 149 federal court lawsuits, the Idaho Conservation League filed 69 lawsuits, the Oregon Natural Desert Association filed 58 lawsuits, the Southern Utah Wilderness Association filed 88 lawsuits and the National Wildlife Federation filed an astonishing 427 federal court lawsuits.
Falen says she found cases in which the Federal Government paid legal fees for both sides of a case--just so they could turn around and sue the federal government who in turn will force ranchers off the range.
In 2001 the Western Watersheds Project sued Verl Jones of Challis claiming that the rancher violated the Endangered Species act by diverting water from a creek on his ranch to irrigate an alfalfa field, killing endangered bull trout. Federal District Court Judge Winmill ordered Jones to stop diverting water, which cut into the families hay production and nearly bankrupted the ranch. But the harshest blow came when Jones was ordered to pay $36,000.00 to Watershed’s attorney Laird Lucas. In the end the 9th Circuit Court of Appeal overturned Winmill’s decision and the order to pay Lucas, but the family was left with a $50,000 bill from their attorney.
Falen also documented numerous cases in which the federal government agreed to pay attorney fees, but hid the exact amount from public view. “Somewhere this has to stop and the government has to be held accountable for the money it’s spending,” adds Falen.
“If you just look at the raw number and say ‘why in the world is the United States paying a million dollars bankrolling them to sue us,’ well that’s what congress set up through EAJA. That’s the law, we’re bound by it,” said Mark Haws.
“My firm did this because it makes me so mad,” said Falen. She says agrees with Haws, these groups have mastered the art of filing suits and collecting taxpayer money from the Federal Government by “prevailing” in litigation. They can prevail either by winning the case on the merits or by the Justice Department agreeing that the group “prevailed” in a settlement.
The main funding source is called the “Judgment Fund.” It’s a Congressional line-item appropriation that’s used for Endangered Species Act cases, Clean Water Act cases, and with other statutes that directly allow plaintiffs like Western Watersheds to recover attorney fees just by filing, even if there’s no hope in winning.
“I wish we could get a payday just for showing up,” said rancher Ted Higley. Falen uncovered six years of paydays for ‘non-profit’ lawyers, she found:
In fiscal year 2003, the federal government made 10,595 individual payments from the Judgment Fund to federal court plaintiffs for a price tag of $1,081,328,420.00.
In 2004, the federal government made 8,161 payments from the Judgment Fund for $800,450,029.00.
In 2005, 7,794 payments were made from the Judgment Fund for a total of $1,074,131,007.00.
In 2006, the federal government made 8,736 payments from the Judgment Fund for $697,968,132.00.
In just the first half of fiscal year 2007, the federal government made 6,595 payments from the Judgment Fund for $1,062,387,142.00.
In total, $4,716,264,730.00 (that is billion with a “b”) in total payments were paid in taxpayer dollars from the Judgment Fund from 2003 through July 2007 for attorney fees and costs in cases against the federal government.
Falen says another major source of payments to “winning” litigants against the federal government is the Equal Access to Justice Act. Equal Access funds are taken from the “losing” federal agencies’ budget. So if the BLM loses a case in Federal District Court attorney fees are paid from the “losing” BLM office’s budget. “That’s money that could be used for range improvement, habitat enhancement, timber projects, and archeology and cultural clearances and other agency programs,” adds Falen.
Between 2003 to 2005, Region 1 of the Forest Service (Montana, North Dakota, northern Idaho) paid $383,094 in Equal Access to Judgment fees.
Between 2003 to 2005, Region 2 of the Forest Service (Wyoming, South Dakota, Colorado, Nebraska, Oklahoma) paid $97,750 in EAJA fees.
Between 2003 to 2005, Region 3 of the Forest Service (Arizona, New Mexico) paid $261,289.85 in EAJA fees.
Between 2003 to 2005, Region 4 of the Forest Service (southern Idaho, Utah, Nevada) paid $297,705 in EAJA fees.
Between 2003 to 2005, Region 5 (California) of the Forest Service paid $357, 023 in EAJA fees.
Between 2003 to 2005, Region 6 (Washington State, Oregon) of the Forest Service paid $282,302 in EAJA fees.
Out of the 44 total cases in which the Forest Service paid EAJA fees between 2003 and 2005, 35 payments went to ‘nonprofit’ environmental group plaintiffs.
Governor Jack Markell today announced the start of the next phase of Delaware’s plan to improve the quality of early childhood education. Starting on October 1st, early care and education providers statewide will receive an increased reimbursement rate for caring for children eligible for Delaware’s Purchase of Care system.
In June, the Legislature approved the Governor’s proposal to invest an additional $22 million to help build stronger staff and encourage stronger services at early childhood education centers.
Because reimbursement rates varied across the state for the Purchase of Care system, which reimburses providers for caring for low-income children, the plan allocated $12 million to increase rates to 65% of the market rate, plus an additional $0.50 per child per day. Providers will receive this new rate when they are reimbursed for October care in November.
The $10 million expansion of the Delaware Stars for Early Success quality rating program, which provides technical and financial assistance to enable centers to achieve quality standards, will also kick off in October.
More info: www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=271911722829467
Do you have roadside assistance? Do you need it? Numerous people don't think too much about it but it's something that can eradicate some of the tension in your life. Most people spend at least an hour or two on the streets every day, even if they don't go far. But many never stop to think what they would do if they abruptly discovered themselves stuck on the side of the road.
Motor Club of America gives out a broad variety of goods and services to drivers, and people who don't have a car. Those advantages cover all over the United States, Canada & Puerto Rico. Which encompass roadside assistance, emergency room benefits, hotel discounts, travel assistance and many more.
Speaking specifically about MCA most popular $19.95 Total Security Motor plan it was designed to offer the highest grade of roadside services and advantages available on the market. This Total Security program presents all of the benefits you would obtain with the Security and Security Plus plans in addition very good roadside services and a number of other exceptional advantages.
Emergency Road Service*
Travel Assistance Reimbursement*
Travel Assistance Program*
Trip Planning and Travel Reservations*
Arrest Bond*
Bail Bonds*
Attorneys Fees*
Attorney Services*
Attorney Discounted Hourly Rates*
Discounts on Auto Related Services*
Stolen Vehicle Reward*
Credit Card Protection*
Legal Services Deeply Discounted Fixed Fee Schedule*
Discounts on Prescriptions, Vision Care, and Dental*
Emergency Reimbursement Benefits*
Daily Hospital Benefit*
Accidental Death Benefit*
Battery Boost
Fuel Delivery
Tire Change
Lock-Out Service
Wrecker Towing Service
And Much More
Emergency Road Service
Motor Club of America will pay up to $100 to provide Emergency Road Service on RVs, Motorcycles, Trailers, and vehicle's with a load capacity of 1 ton or greater.
Travel Assistance Reimbursement
If your vehicle is disabled in an auto misfortune, we will reimburse you up to $500 for rental vehicle or lodging, meal, and transportation expenses counting on where the accident happens.
Trip Planning & Travel Reservations
Motor Club of America offer a variety of travel benefits with all the roadside service membership plans including route planning and special airline, rental car, and hotel discounts.
Arrest Bond
Your Motor Club of America membership card can act in lieu of a cash bail for up to $500 when you are engaged in a traffic violation as allowed by state laws.
Bail Bonds
For all of the roadside service and motor club constituents, we can arrange up to a $25,000 bond to release you if you are ascribed with a going traffic law violation when driving a vehicle. This includes for vehicular manslaughter and auto associated negligent murder charges.
Attorney Fees
$2,000 in benefits for attorney fees in order to defend you from charges resulting from a covered auto. This includes:
Up to $200 for covered Moving Violations
Up to $500 for covered auto related Personal Injury matters
Up to $500 for covered Vehicle Damage issues
Up to $2,000 for covered auto related Negligent Homicide or Vehicular Manslaughter
Stolen Vehicle Reward
Motor Club of America will pay a $5,000 reward to law enforcement agency or individual who provides information that leads to the arrest and conviction of who's responsible for the theft of your covered vehicle in an attempt to encourage stolen vehicle recovery.
Discounts on Prescriptions, Vision Care, & Dental
Motor Club of America membership offers a variety of medical discounts up to a 65% discount on prescriptions, up to a 50% discount on vision, and up to a 50% discount on dental procedures.
Emergency Reimbursement Benefits
If you are injured in a covered accident, Motor Club of America will provide up to $500 in cash to pay for emergency room or trauma center treatment that is required for injuries caused in the accident. This includes reimbursement for the cost of:
Cast or Splints
Lab Work
Nursing Service
Transfusions
Anesthetics
Doctor Care
IV’s
Facility Care
Daily Hospital Benefits
Up to $54,500 in cash benefits to be paid at $150 per day for hospitalization that results from injuries received in a covered accident.
Accidental Death Benefits
Members of the Total Security program have the opportunity to enroll, free of charge, in one or all of the accidental death and dismemberment coverage packages. These include:
1. You, as named member, up to $50,000; or
2. You & your spouse, up to $25,000 each, plus job retraining is available for surviving spouse in many cases; or
3. You for up to $30,000, your spouse up to $15,000, children up to $3,500 each.
Other optional benefits include job retraining for surviving spouse, continuing child care plus continuing education support.
.
Travel Assistance Program
Motor Club of America offers a travel assistant program, which assists in worldwide travel for issues related to injuries or death that results from a covered accident.
Medical evacuation & repatriation
Non-Medical Repatriation
Return of Remains
Hospital Visits
Return of Child
Return of Companion
Emergency Roadside Assistance
Las Vegas, NV 89117
(702) 810-5812
emergency-roadside-assistance.info
Twitter: twitter.com/VEGASMotorClub
Facebook: www.facebook.com/MotorClubAmericaLV
Youtube: www.youtube.com/user/MCAVegas
Do you have roadside assistance? Do you need it? Numerous people don't think too much about it but it's something that can eradicate some of the tension in your life. Most people spend at least an hour or two on the streets every day, even if they don't go far. But many never stop to think what they would do if they abruptly discovered themselves stuck on the side of the road.
Motor Club of America gives out a broad variety of goods and services to drivers, and people who don't have a car. Those advantages cover all over the United States, Canada & Puerto Rico. Which encompass roadside assistance, emergency room benefits, hotel discounts, travel assistance and many more.
Speaking specifically about MCA most popular $19.95 Total Security Motor plan it was designed to offer the highest grade of roadside services and advantages available on the market. This Total Security program presents all of the benefits you would obtain with the Security and Security Plus plans in addition very good roadside services and a number of other exceptional advantages.
Emergency Road Service*
Travel Assistance Reimbursement*
Travel Assistance Program*
Trip Planning and Travel Reservations*
Arrest Bond*
Bail Bonds*
Attorneys Fees*
Attorney Services*
Attorney Discounted Hourly Rates*
Discounts on Auto Related Services*
Stolen Vehicle Reward*
Credit Card Protection*
Legal Services Deeply Discounted Fixed Fee Schedule*
Discounts on Prescriptions, Vision Care, and Dental*
Emergency Reimbursement Benefits*
Daily Hospital Benefit*
Accidental Death Benefit*
Battery Boost
Fuel Delivery
Tire Change
Lock-Out Service
Wrecker Towing Service
And Much More
Emergency Road Service
Motor Club of America will pay up to $100 to provide Emergency Road Service on RVs, Motorcycles, Trailers, and vehicle's with a load capacity of 1 ton or greater.
Travel Assistance Reimbursement
If your vehicle is disabled in an auto misfortune, we will reimburse you up to $500 for rental vehicle or lodging, meal, and transportation expenses counting on where the accident happens.
Trip Planning & Travel Reservations
Motor Club of America offer a variety of travel benefits with all the roadside service membership plans including route planning and special airline, rental car, and hotel discounts.
Arrest Bond
Your Motor Club of America membership card can act in lieu of a cash bail for up to $500 when you are engaged in a traffic violation as allowed by state laws.
Bail Bonds
For all of the roadside service and motor club constituents, we can arrange up to a $25,000 bond to release you if you are ascribed with a going traffic law violation when driving a vehicle. This includes for vehicular manslaughter and auto associated negligent murder charges.
Attorney Fees
$2,000 in benefits for attorney fees in order to defend you from charges resulting from a covered auto. This includes:
Up to $200 for covered Moving Violations
Up to $500 for covered auto related Personal Injury matters
Up to $500 for covered Vehicle Damage issues
Up to $2,000 for covered auto related Negligent Homicide or Vehicular Manslaughter
Stolen Vehicle Reward
Motor Club of America will pay a $5,000 reward to law enforcement agency or individual who provides information that leads to the arrest and conviction of who's responsible for the theft of your covered vehicle in an attempt to encourage stolen vehicle recovery.
Discounts on Prescriptions, Vision Care, & Dental
Motor Club of America membership offers a variety of medical discounts up to a 65% discount on prescriptions, up to a 50% discount on vision, and up to a 50% discount on dental procedures.
Emergency Reimbursement Benefits
If you are injured in a covered accident, Motor Club of America will provide up to $500 in cash to pay for emergency room or trauma center treatment that is required for injuries caused in the accident. This includes reimbursement for the cost of:
Cast or Splints
Lab Work
Nursing Service
Transfusions
Anesthetics
Doctor Care
IV’s
Facility Care
Daily Hospital Benefits
Up to $54,500 in cash benefits to be paid at $150 per day for hospitalization that results from injuries received in a covered accident.
Accidental Death Benefits
Members of the Total Security program have the opportunity to enroll, free of charge, in one or all of the accidental death and dismemberment coverage packages. These include:
1. You, as named member, up to $50,000; or
2. You & your spouse, up to $25,000 each, plus job retraining is available for surviving spouse in many cases; or
3. You for up to $30,000, your spouse up to $15,000, children up to $3,500 each.
Other optional benefits include job retraining for surviving spouse, continuing child care plus continuing education support.
.
Travel Assistance Program
Motor Club of America offers a travel assistant program, which assists in worldwide travel for issues related to injuries or death that results from a covered accident.
Medical evacuation & repatriation
Non-Medical Repatriation
Return of Remains
Hospital Visits
Return of Child
Return of Companion
Emergency Roadside Assistance
Las Vegas, NV 89117
(702) 810-5812
emergency-roadside-assistance.info
Twitter: twitter.com/VEGASMotorClub
Facebook: www.facebook.com/MotorClubAmericaLV
Youtube: www.youtube.com/user/MCAVegas
Southern Company only building nukes because they re not paying, we are --Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
Pictures by for Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange (LAKE), Valdosta, Lowndes County, Georgia, .
www.l-a-k-e.org/blog/2013/06/southern-company-only-buildi...
Rosa DeLauro, U.S. Representative for Connecticut’s 3rd Congressional District, discusses the Wage Theft Prevention and Wage Recovery Act. H.R. 4763. 114th Congress (2015-2016), 2nd Session. United States Congress. House of Representatives. Committee on Education and the Workforce, New Haven Legal Assistance Association, Inc., 426 State Street, New Haven, Connecticut, Tuesday, April 5, 2016.
www.congress.gov/bill/114th-congress/house-bill/4763/text
A BILL
To amend the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 and the Portal-to-Portal Act of 1947 to prevent wage theft and assist in the recovery of stolen wages, to authorize the Secretary of Labor to administer grants to prevent wage and hour violations, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the “Wage Theft Prevention and Wage Recovery Act”.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds the following:
(1) Wage theft occurs when an employer does not pay an employee for work that the employee has performed, depriving the worker of wages and earnings to which the worker is legally entitled. This theft occurs in many forms, including by employers violating minimum wage requirements, failing to pay overtime compensation, requiring off-the-clock work, failing to provide final payments, misclassifying employees as being exempt from overtime compensation or as independent contractors rather than as employees, and improperly withholding tips.
(2) Wage theft poses a serious and growing problem across industries for working individuals of the United States. Wage theft is widespread and is estimated to cost workers more than $8,600,000,000 per year. In certain industries, compliance with Federal wage and hour laws is less than 50 percent.
(3) Wage theft is closely associated with employment discrimination, with women, immigrants, and minorities being disproportionately affected. Women are significantly more likely to experience minimum wage violations than men, foreign-born workers are nearly 2 times as likely to experience minimum wage violations as their counterparts born in the United States, and African-Americans are 3 times more likely to experience minimum wage violations than their White counterparts.
(4) Wage theft is closely associated with unsafe working conditions.
(5) Wage theft—
(A) depresses the wages of working families who are already struggling to make ends meet;
(B) strains social services funds;
(C) diminishes consumer spending power and hurts local economies;
(D) reduces vital State and Federal tax revenues;
(E) places law-abiding employers at a competitive disadvantage with noncompliant employers;
(F) burdens commerce and the free flow of goods; and
(G) lowers labor standards throughout labor markets.
(6) Low-wage workers are at the greatest risk of suffering from wage theft. A survey of 4,387 low-wage workers in New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago found that 68 percent of the workers surveyed had experienced some form of wage theft in the workweek immediately before the survey was conducted. These workers experienced a range of wage and hour violations: 26 percent of such workers were not paid minimum wage; 76 percent of such workers who worked more than 40 hours in the workweek immediately before the survey was conducted were not paid at the overtime rate; and, in the year before the survey was conducted, 43 percent of the workers who attempted to address such issues by filing a complaint with their employer or who attempted to form a labor organization experienced retaliation by their employers, including by being fired, suspended, or receiving threats of reductions in their hours or pay.
(7) In 2012, State and Federal authorities as well as private attorneys recovered at least $933,000,000 in wage theft enforcement actions, which was nearly 3 times the value of all bank robberies, residential robberies, convenience store and gas station robberies, and street robberies in the United States during that year.
(8) A Department of Labor study of wage theft in California and New York found that wage theft deprived workers of 37 percent to 49 percent of their income, pushing at least 15,000 families below the poverty line and driving another 50,000 to 100,000 families deeper into poverty.
(9) A study analyzing wage theft claims in the State of Washington from 2009 to 2013 estimated that the total economic cost of wage theft to the State totaled more than $64,000,000 resulting from the lower economic activity and spending of low-wage workers due to their lost wages.
(10) A Department of Labor study of wage violations in California and New York found that wage theft deprived families of $5,600,000 in possible earned income tax credits and resulted in a $22,000,000 loss in State tax revenue, a $238,000,000 loss in payroll tax revenue, and a $113,000,000 loss in Federal income tax revenue.
(11) Barriers to addressing wage theft continue to exist decades after the enactment of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 201 et seq.). These barriers have resulted, in significant part, because enforcement of such Act has not worked as Congress originally intended and because many of the provisions of such Act do not include sufficient penalties to discourage violations. Improvements to enforcement and amendments to such Act are necessary to ensure that such Act provides effective protection to individuals subject to wage theft.
(12) The lack of a Federal right for employees to receive full compensation at the agreed upon wage rate for all work performed by the employee has resulted in workers being able to recover only the applicable minimum wage, or the overtime rate if applicable, when employers engage in wage theft.
(13) The lack of a Federal requirement to provide employees with paystubs indicating how their pay is calculated or to allow employees to inspect their employers’ payroll records significantly impedes efforts to identify and challenge wage theft.
(14) The lack of a Federal requirement to pay employees their final payments in a timely manner upon termination of the employment relationship between the employer and employee has led to unreasonable, and sometimes indefinite, delays in compensation after an employment relationship ends.
(15) While the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, and regulations promulgated by the Secretary of Labor, as in effect on the day before the date of enactment of this Act, require employers to compensate employees at the minimum wage rate and to provide overtime compensation when appropriate, the lack of civil penalties for violations of these requirements has dampened their effectiveness.
(16) While the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 and regulations promulgated by the Secretary of Labor, as in effect on the day before the date of enactment of this Act, provide employees who are subject to wage theft with the right to unpaid minimum wages or unpaid overtime compensation plus an additional equal amount as liquidated damages, this low level of damages has proved insufficient to deter employers from stealing the wages of their employees.
(17) While the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 and regulations promulgated by the Secretary of Labor, as in effect on the day before the date of enactment of this Act, require employers to keep records of employees’ pay, the lack of remedies for this requirement diminishes the effectiveness of the requirement.
(18) While the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 and regulations promulgated by the Secretary of Labor, as in effect on the day before the date of enactment of this Act, provide for limited criminal penalties when employers violate the provisions of such Act, the Secretary of Labor rarely resorts to these penalties, causing them to serve as a hollow threat.
(19) The statute of limitations under section 6 of the Portal-to-Portal Act of 1947 (29 U.S.C. 255), in effect on the day before the date of enactment of this Act, precludes employees from bringing claims for wage theft 2 years after the cause of action accrued, or 3 years after the cause of action accrued if the claim is with respect to a willful or repeat violation by the employer. Additionally, the statute of limitations is not suspended while the Secretary of Labor investigates a complaint. These strict confines of the statute of limitations sometimes result in employees being deprived of their ability to institute a private lawsuit against their employer in order to recover their stolen wages.
(20) Section 16(b) of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 216(b)), as in effect on the day before the date of enactment of this Act, requires employees to affirmatively “opt-in” in order to be a party plaintiff in a collective action brought by another aggrieved employee seeking to recover stolen wages in court. This provision limits the ability of employees to unite and pursue private lawsuits against employers.
(21) Under the penalty structure of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, as in effect on the day before the date of enactment of this Act, many employers who are caught violating such Act continue to violate the Act. A Department of Labor investigation found that one-third of employers who had previously engaged in wage theft continued to do so.
(22) The Government Accountability Office and the Department of Labor have recognized that when employers are assessed civil penalties, they are more likely to comply with the law in the future and other employers in the same region—regardless of industry—are also more likely to comply with the law.
(23) States that have enacted legislation to address wage theft by increasing the damages to which employees are entitled following violations of wage and hour laws have positively impacted the workers in such States. However, many States have not enacted such legislation and, worse still, some States do not have any laws protecting workers from wage theft or even agencies to enforce workers’ rights to compensation for work. This discrepancy in State laws has resulted in a fragmentation of workers’ rights across the United States, with some workers having a measure of protection from wage theft and other workers being left extremely vulnerable to wage theft.
(24) Effective enforcement of wage and hour laws is critical to increasing compliance. Given the limited resources available for enforcement, enhanced strategic enforcement of Federal wage and hour laws is crucial.
(25) For enhanced strategic enforcement to be effective, government regulators must work with community stakeholders who have direct knowledge of ongoing violations of Federal wage and hour requirements and who are in a position to prevent such violations.
(26) Partnerships between regulators, workers, nonprofit organizations, and businesses can increase compliance by educating workers about their rights, collecting evidence, reporting violations, identifying noncompliant employers, and modeling good practices.
(27) Partnerships between regulators, workers, nonprofit organizations, and businesses have been successful in combating wage theft. In 2006, the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement of California created a janitorial enforcement team to work closely with a local janitorial watchdog organization. As of 2015, the partnership had resulted in countless administrative, civil, and criminal actions against employers and in the collection of more than $68,000,000 in back pay for janitorial workers.
(28) The Government Accountability Office has recommended that the Department of Labor identify ways to leverage its resources to better combat wage theft by improving services provided through partnerships.
SEC. 3. PURPOSES.
The purposes of this Act are to prevent wage theft and facilitate the recovery of stolen wages by—
(1) strengthening the penalties for engaging in wage theft;
(2) giving workers the right to receive, in a timely manner, full compensation for the work they perform, certain disclosures, regular paystubs, and final payments;
(3) providing workers with improved tools to recover their stolen wages in court; and
(4) making assistance available to enhance enforcement of and compliance with Federal wage and hour laws through—
(A) supporting initiatives that address and prevent violations of such laws and assist workers in wage recovery;
(B) supporting individual entities and developing community partnerships that expand and improve cooperative efforts between enforcement agencies and community-based organizations in the prevention of wage and hour violations and enforcement of wage and hour laws;
(C) expanding outreach to workers in industries or geographic areas identified by the Secretary of Labor as highly noncompliant with Federal wage and hour laws;
(D) improving detection of employers who are not complying with such laws and aiding in the identification of violations of such laws; and
(E) facilitating the collection of evidence to assist enforcement efforts.
TITLE I—AMENDMENTS TO THE FAIR LABOR STANDARDS ACT OF 1938
SEC. 101. REQUIREMENTS TO PROVIDE CERTAIN DISCLOSURES, REGULAR PAYSTUBS, AND FINAL PAYMENTS.
The Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 is amended by inserting after section 4 (29 U.S.C. 204) the following:
“SEC. 5. REQUIREMENTS TO PROVIDE CERTAIN DISCLOSURES, REGULAR PAYSTUBS, AND FINAL PAYMENTS.
“(a) Disclosures.—
“(1) INITIAL DISCLOSURES.—Not later than 15 days after the date on which an employer hires an employee who in any workweek is engaged in commerce or in the production of goods for commerce, or is employed in an enterprise engaged in commerce or in the production of goods for commerce, the employer of such employee shall provide such employee with an initial disclosure containing the information described in paragraph (3).
“(2) MODIFICATION DISCLOSURES.—Not later than 15 days after the date on which any of the information described in paragraph (3) changes with respect to an employee described in paragraph (1), the employer of such employee shall provide the employee with a modification disclosure containing the information described in paragraph (3).
“(3) INFORMATION.—The information described in this paragraph shall include—
“(A) the rate of pay and whether the employee is paid by the hour, shift, day, week, or job, or by salary, piece rate, commission, or other form of compensation;
“(B) an indication of whether the employee is being classified by the employer as an employee subject to the maximum hours and overtime compensation requirements of section 7 or as an employee exempt from such requirements as provided under section 13;
“(C) the name of the employer and any other name used by the employer to conduct business; and
“(D) the physical address of and telephone number for the employer’s main office or principle place of business, and a mailing address for such office or place of business if the mailing address is different than the physical address.
“(b) Paystubs.—
“(1) IN GENERAL.—Every employer shall provide each employee of such employer who in any workweek is engaged in commerce or in the production of goods for commerce, or is employed in an enterprise engaged in commerce or in the production of goods for commerce, a paystub that corresponds to work performed by the employee during the applicable pay period and contains the information required under paragraph (3) in any form provided under paragraph (2).
“(2) FORMS.—A paystub required under this subsection shall be a written statement and may be provided in any of the following forms:
“(A) As a separate document accompanying any payment to an employee for work performed during the applicable pay period.
“(B) In the case of an employee who receives paychecks from the employer, as a detachable statement accompanying each paycheck.
“(C) As a digital document provided through electronic communication, subject to the employee affirmatively consenting to receive the paystubs in this form.
“(3) CONTENTS.—Each paystub shall contain all of the following information:
“(A) The name of the employee.
“(B) In the case of an employee who is paid an hourly wage, an employee who is employed at piece rates, or an employee who is paid a salary and is not exempt from the overtime requirements of section 7, the total number of hours worked by the employee, including the number of hours worked per workweek, during the applicable pay period.
“(C) The total gross and net wages paid, and, in the case of an employee who is paid an hourly wage, an employee who is employed at piece rates, or an employee who is paid a salary and is not exempt from the overtime requirements of section 7, the rate of pay for each hour worked during the applicable pay period.
“(D) In the case of an employee who is paid a salary in lieu of an hourly wage, the amount of salary paid during the applicable pay period.
“(E) In the case of an employee employed at piece rates, the number of piece rate units earned, the applicable piece rates, and the total amount paid to the employee for the applicable pay period in accordance with such piece rates.
“(F) The rate of pay of the employee during the applicable pay period and an explanation of the basis for such rate.
“(G) The number of overtime hours worked by the employee during the applicable pay period and the compensation required under section 7 that is provided to the employee for such hours.
“(H) Any additional compensation provided to the employee during the applicable pay period, with an explanation of each type of compensation, including any allowances or reimbursements such as amounts related to meals, clothing, lodging, or any other item, and any cost to the employee associated with such allowance or reimbursements.
“(I) Itemized deductions from the gross income of the employee during the applicable pay period, and an explanation for each deduction.
“(J) The date that is the beginning of the applicable pay period and the date that is the end of such applicable pay period.
“(K) The name of the employer and any other name used by the employer to conduct business.
“(L) The name and phone number of a representative of the employer for contact purposes.
“(M) Any additional information that the Secretary reasonably requires to be included through notice and comment rulemaking.
“(c) Final Payments.—
“(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 14 days after an individual described in paragraph (4) terminates employment with an employer (by action of the employer or the individual), or on the date on which such employer pays other employees for the pay period during which the individual so terminates such employment, whichever date is earlier, the employer shall provide the individual with a final payment, by compensating such individual for any uncompensated hours worked or benefits incurred by the individual as an employee for the employer.
“(2) CONTINUING WAGES.—An employer who violates the requirement under paragraph (1) shall, for each day, not to exceed 30 days, of such violation provide the individual described in paragraph (4) with compensation at a rate that is equal to the regular rate of compensation to which such individual was entitled when such individual was an employee of such employer.
“(3) LIMITATION.—Notwithstanding paragraphs (1) and (2), any individual described in paragraph (4) who intentionally avoids receiving a final payment described in paragraph (1), or who refuses to receive the final payment when fully tendered, resulting in the employer violating the requirement under such paragraph, shall not be entitled to the compensation provided under paragraph (2) for the time during which the individual so avoids final payment.
“(4) INDIVIDUAL.—An individual described in this paragraph is an individual who was employed by the employer, and through such employment, in any workweek, was engaged in commerce or in the production of goods for commerce, or was employed in an enterprise engaged in commerce or in the production of goods for commerce.”.
SEC. 102. RIGHT TO FULL COMPENSATION.
Section 6 of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 206) is amended by adding at the end the following:
“(h) Right To Full Compensation.—
“(1) IN GENERAL.—In the case of an employment contract or other employment agreement, including a collective bargaining agreement, that specifies that an employer shall compensate an employee (who is described in paragraph (2)) at a rate that is higher than the rate provided under subsection (a), the employer shall compensate such employee at the rate specified in such contract or other employment agreement.
“(2) EMPLOYEE ENGAGED IN COMMERCE.—The requirement under paragraph (1) shall apply with respect to any employee who in any workweek is engaged in commerce or in the production of goods for commerce, or is employed in an enterprise engaged in commerce or in the production of goods for commerce.”.
SEC. 103. CIVIL AND CRIMINAL ENFORCEMENT.
(a) Damages.—The Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 201 et seq.), as amended by section 102, is further amended—
(1) in section 4(f) (29 U.S.C. 204(f)), in the third sentence—
(A) by striking “minimum”; and
(B) by striking “and liquidated damages” and inserting “damages, and interest”;
(2) in section 6(d)(3) (29 U.S.C. 206(d)(3)) by striking “minimum”;
(3) in section 16 (29 U.S.C. 216)—
(A) in subsection (b)—
(i) by striking “minimum” each place it appears;
(ii) in the first sentence, by striking “and in an additional equal amount as liquidated damages” and inserting “, an additional amount as damages that is equal to (subject to the second sentence of this subsection) 2 times such amount of unpaid wages or unpaid overtime compensation, and the amount of any interest on such unpaid wages or unpaid overtime compensation accrued at the prevailing rate”;
(iii) in the second sentence, by striking “wages lost and an additional equal amount as liquidated damages” and inserting “wages lost, including any unpaid wages or any unpaid overtime compensation, an additional amount as damages that is equal to 3 times the amount of such wages lost, and the amount of any interest on such wages lost accrued at the prevailing rate”;
(iv) by striking the fourth sentence; and
(v) by adding at the end the following: “Notwithstanding chapter 1 of title 9, United States Code (commonly known as the‘Federal Arbitration Act’) or any other law, the right to bring an action, including a collective action, in court under this section cannot be waived by an employee as a condition of employment or in a pre-dispute arbitration agreement.”; and
(B) in subsection (c)—
(i) by striking “minimum” each place the term appears;
(ii) in the first sentence, by striking “and an additional equal amount as liquidated damages” and inserting “, an additional amount as damages that is equal to (subject to the third sentence of this subsection) 2 times such amount of unpaid wages or unpaid overtime compensation, and any interest on such unpaid wages or unpaid overtime compensation accrued at the prevailing rate”;
(iii) in the second sentence, by striking “and an equal amount as liquidated damages.” and inserting “, an additional amount as damages that is equal to (subject to the third sentence of this subsection) 2 times such amount of unpaid wages or unpaid overtime compensation, and any interest on such unpaid wages or unpaid overtime compensation accrued at the prevailing rate. In the event that the employer violates section 15(a)(3), the Secretary may bring an action in any court of competent jurisdiction to recover the amount of any wages lost, including any unpaid wages or any unpaid overtime compensation, an additional amount as damages that is equal to 3 times the amount of such wages lost, and any interest on such wages lost accrued at the prevailing rate.”; and
(iv) in the fourth sentence, by striking “or liquidated”; and
(4) in section 17 (29 U.S.C. 217), by striking “minimum”.
(b) Civil Fines.—Section 16(e) of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 216(e)) is amended—
(1) by striking paragraph (2) and inserting the following:
“(2) (A) Subject to subparagraph (B), any person who violates section 6 or 7, relating to wages, shall be subject to a civil fine that is not to exceed $2,000 per each employee affected for each initial violation of such section.
“(B) Any person who repeatedly or willfully violates section 6 or 7, relating to wages, shall be subject to a civil fine that is not to exceed $10,000 per each employee affected for each such violation.”; and
(2) by adding at the end the following:
“(6) Any person who violates subsection (a) or (b) of section 5 shall—
“(A) for the first violation of such subsection, be subject to a civil fine that is not to exceed $50 per each employee affected; and
“(B) for each subsequent violation of such subsection, be subject to a civil fine that is not to exceed $100 per each employee affected.
“(7) Any person who violates section 11(c) shall—
“(A) for the first violation, be subject to a civil fine that is not to exceed $1,000 per each employee affected; and
“(B) for each subsequent violation, be subject to a civil fine that is not to exceed $5,000 per each employee affected.”.
(c) Criminal Penalties.—Section 16(a) of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 216(a)) is amended—
(1) by striking “Any person” and inserting “(1) Any person”;
(2) in the first sentence, by striking “$10,000” and inserting “$10,000 per each employee affected”;
(3) in the second sentence, by striking “No person” and inserting “Subject to paragraph (2), no person”; and
(4) by adding at the end the following:
“(2) (A) Notwithstanding any other provision of this Act, the Secretary shall refer any case involving a covered offender described in subparagraph (B) to the Department of Justice for prosecution.
“(B) A covered offender described in this subparagraph is an offender who willfully violates each of the following:
“(i) Section 11(c) by falsifying any records described in such section.
“(ii) Section 6 or 7, relating to wages.
“(iii) Section 15(a)(3).”.
SEC. 104. RECORDKEEPING.
Section 11(c) of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 211(c)) is amended by adding at the end the following: “In the event that an employee requests an inspection of the records described in this subsection that pertain to such employee, the employer shall provide the employee with a copy of the records for a period of up to 5 years prior to such request being made. Not later than 21 days after an employee requests such an inspection, the employer shall comply with the request. In the event that an employer violates this subsection, resulting in a lack of a complete record of an employee’s hours worked or wages owed, notwithstanding whether the employer or employee is responsible for maintaining the employer’s official records, any evidence of the hours worked or wages owed set forth by the employee, including evidence of a documentary, testimonial, representative, or statistical nature, that is sufficient to establish to a finder of fact a just and reasonable inference that the employee was not fully compensated at the rate required by this Act, including under section 6(h) as applicable, for all of the work that the employee performed for the employer shall establish a rebuttable presumption that the employer violated section 6 or 7 by failing to fully compensate the employee at the required rate for all work performed by the employee for the employer and a rebuttable presumption that the evidence set forth by the employee regarding the specific number of hours worked by the employee for the employer for which the employee was not compensated and the wage rate for each of those hours is accurate. The employer may only overcome the rebuttable presumptions described in this subsection by providing clear and convincing evidence that the employee's evidence is inaccurate.”.
TITLE II—AMENDMENTS TO THE PORTAL-TO-PORTAL ACT OF 1947
SEC. 201. INCREASING AND TOLLING STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS.
Section 6 of the Portal-to-Portal Act of 1947 (29 U.S.C. 255) is amended—
(1) in the matter preceding subsection (a)—
(A) by striking “minimum”; and
(B) by striking “liquidated damages” and inserting “other damages”;
(2) in subsection (a)—
(A) by striking “may be commenced within two years” and inserting “may be commenced within 4 years”;
(B) by striking “unless commenced within two years” and inserting “unless commenced within 4 years”; and
(C) by striking “may be commenced within three years” and inserting “may be commenced within 5 years”;
(3) in subsection (d), by striking the period and inserting “; and”; and
(4) by adding at the end the following:
“(e) with respect to the running of the statutory periods of limitation for such action, the running of such statutory periods shall be deemed suspended during the period beginning on the date on which the Secretary of Labor notifies an employer of an initiation of an investigation or enforcement action and ending on the date on which the Secretary notifies the employer that the matter has been officially resolved by the Secretary.”.
TITLE III—WAGE THEFT PREVENTION AND WAGE RECOVERY GRANT PROGRAM
SEC. 301. DEFINITIONS.
In this title:
(1) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term the “Administrator” means the Administrator of the Wage and Hour Division of the Department of Labor.
(2) COMMUNITY PARTNER.—The term “community partner” means any stakeholder with a commitment to enforcing wage and hour laws and preventing abuses of such laws, including any—
(A) State department of labor;
(B) attorney general of a State, or other similar authorized official of a political subdivision thereof;
(C) law enforcement agency;
(D) consulate;
(E) employee or advocate of employees, including a labor organization, community and faith-based organization, business association, or nonprofit legal aid organization;
(F) academic institution that plans, coordinates, and implements programs and activities to prevent wage and hour violations and recover unpaid wages, damages, and penalties; and
(G) any municipal agency responsible for the enforcement of local wage and hour laws.
(3) COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIP.—The term “community partnership” means a partnership between—
(A) a working group consisting of community partners; and
(B) the Department of Labor.
(4) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term “eligible entity” means an entity that is any of the following:
(A) A nonprofit organization, including a community-based organization, faith-based organization, or labor organization, that provides services and support to employees, including assisting such employees in recovering unpaid wages.
(B) An employer.
(C) A business association.
(D) An institution of higher education, as defined by section 101 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001).
(E) A partnership between any of the entities described in subparagraphs (A) through (D).
(5) EMPLOY; EMPLOYEE; EMPLOYER.—The terms “employ”, “employee”, and “employer” have the meanings given such terms in section 3 of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 203).
(6) SECRETARY.—The term “Secretary” means the Secretary of Labor.
(7) STRATEGIC ENFORCEMENT.—The term “strategic enforcement” means the process by which the Secretary—
(A) targets highly noncompliant industries, as identified by the Secretary, using industry-specific structures to influence, and ultimately reform, networks of interconnected employers;
(B) analyzes regulatory regimes under which specific industries operate; and
(C) modifies the enforcement approach of such regulatory regimes in order to ensure the greatest impact.
(8) WAGE AND HOUR LAW.—The term “wage and hour law” means any Federal law enforced by the Wage and Hour Division of the Department of Labor, including any provision of this Act enforced by such division.
(9) WAGE AND HOUR VIOLATION.—The term “wage and hour violation” refers to any violation of a Federal law enforced by the Wage and Hour Division of the Department of Labor, including any provision of this Act enforced by such division.
SEC. 302. WAGE THEFT PREVENTION AND WAGE RECOVERY GRANT PROGRAM.
(a) In General.—The Secretary, acting through the Administrator of the Wage and Hour Division of the Department of Labor, shall provide grants to eligible entities to assist such entities in enhancing the enforcement of wage and hour laws, in accordance with this section and consistent with the purposes of this Act.
(b) Grants.—The grants provided under this section shall be designed to—
(1) support individual eligible entities in establishing and supporting the activities described in subsection (c)(1); and
(2) develop community partnerships to expand and improve cooperative efforts between enforcement agencies and members of the community to—
(A) prevent and reduce wage and hour violations; and
(B) assist employees in recovering back pay for any such violations.
(c) Use Of Funds.—
(1) PERMISSIBLE ACTIVITIES.—The grants described in this section shall assist eligible entities in establishing and supporting activities that include—
(A) disseminating information and conducting outreach and training to educate employees about their rights under wage and hour laws;
(B) conducting educational training for employers about their obligations under wage and hour laws;
(C) conducting orientations and trainings jointly with officials of the Wage and Hour Division of the Department of Labor;
(D) providing assistance to employees in filing claims of wage and hour violations;
(E) assisting enforcement agencies in conducting investigations, including in the collection of evidence and recovering back pay;
(F) monitoring compliance with wage and hour laws;
(G) performing joint visitations to worksites that violate wage and hour laws with officials from the Wage and Hour Division of the Department of Labor;
(H) establishing networks for education, communication, and participation in the workplace and community;
(I) evaluating the effectiveness of programs designed to prevent wage and hour violations and enforce wage and hour laws;
(J) recruiting and hiring of staff and volunteers;
(K) production and dissemination of outreach and training materials; and
(L) any other activities as the Secretary may reasonably prescribe through notice and comment rulemaking.
(2) PROHIBITED ACTIVITIES.—Notwithstanding paragraph (1), an eligible entity receiving a grant under this section may not use the grant funds for any purpose reasonably prohibited by the Secretary through notice and comment rulemaking.
(d) Term Of Grants.—Each grant made under this section shall be available for expenditure for a period that is not to exceed 3 years.
(e) Applications.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—An eligible entity seeking a grant under this section shall submit an application for such grant to the Secretary in accordance with this subsection.
(2) PARTNERSHIPS.—In the case of an eligible entity that is a partnership described in section 301(4)(E), the eligible entity may submit a joint application that designates a single entity as the lead entity for purposes of receiving and disbursing funds.
(3) CONTENTS.—An application under this subsection shall include—
(A) a description of a plan for the program that the eligible entity proposes to carry out with a grant under this section, including a long-term strategy and detailed implementation plan that reflects expected participation of, and partnership with, community groups and appropriate private and public agencies;
(B) information on the prevalence of wage and hour violations in each community or State of the eligible entity;
(C) information on any industry or geographic area targeted by the plan for such program;
(D) information on the type of outreach and relationship building that will be conducted under such program;
(E) information on the training and education that will be provided to employees and employers under such program; and
(F) the method by which the eligible entity will measure results of such program.
(f) Selection.—
(1) COMPETITIVE BASIS.—In accordance with this subsection, the Secretary shall, on a competitive basis, select grant recipients from among qualified eligible entities that have submitted an application under subsection (e).
(2) PRIORITY.—In selecting grant recipients under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall give priority to eligible entities that—
(A) serve employees in any industry or geographic area that is most highly at risk for noncompliance with wage and hour violations, as identified by the Secretary; and
(B) demonstrate past and ongoing work to prevent wage and hour violations or to recover unpaid wages.
(3) OTHER CONSIDERATIONS.—In selecting grant recipients under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall also consider—
(A) the prevalence of ongoing community support for each eligible entity, including financial and other contributions; and
(B) the eligible entity's past and ongoing partnerships with other organizations.
(g) Memoranda Of Understanding.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 60 days after receiving a grant under this section, the grant recipient shall negotiate and finalize with the Administrator a memorandum of understanding that sets forth specific goals, objectives, strategies, and activities that will be carried out under the grant by such recipient through a community partnership.
(2) SIGNATURES.—A representative of the grant recipient (or, in the case of a grant recipient that is an eligible entity described in section 301(4)(E), a representative of each entity that composes the grant recipient) and the Administrator shall sign the memorandum of understanding under this subsection.
(3) REVISIONS.—The memorandum of understanding under this subsection shall be reviewed and revised by the grant recipient and the Administrator each year of the duration of the grant.
(h) Performance Evaluations.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—Each grant recipient under this section shall develop procedures for reporting, monitoring, measuring, and evaluating the activities of each program or project funded under this section.
(2) GUIDELINES.—The procedures required under paragraph (1) shall be in accordance with guidelines established by the Secretary.
(i) Revocation Or Suspension Of Funding.—If the Secretary determines that a recipient of a grant under this section is not in compliance with the terms and requirements of the memorandum of understanding under subsection (g), the Secretary may revoke or suspend (in whole or in part) the funding of the grant.
(j) Use Of Components.—The Secretary may use any division or agency of the Department of Labor in carrying out this Act.
SEC. 303. GAO STUDY.
(a) In General.—The Comptroller General of the United States shall conduct a study to identify successful programs carried out by grants under section 302, and the elements, policies, or procedures of such programs that can be replicated by other programs carried out by grants under such section.
(b) Report.—Not later than 3 years after the date of enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General of the United States shall submit a report to the Secretary and Congress containing the results of the study conducted under subsection (a).
(c) Use Of Information.—The Secretary shall use information contained in the report submitted under subsection (b)—
(1) to improve the quality of community partnership programs assisted or carried out under this Act that are in existence as of the publication of the report; and
(2) to develop models for new community partnership programs to be assisted or carried out under this Act.
SEC. 304. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
There is authorized to be appropriated $50,000,000 for fiscal year 2017 and for each subsequent fiscal year through fiscal year 2020, to remain available until expended, to carry out the grant program under section 302.
TITLE IV—REGULATIONS AND EFFECTIVE DATE
SEC. 401. REGULATIONS.
Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Labor shall promulgate such regulations as are necessary to carry out this Act, and the amendments made by this Act.
SEC. 402. EFFECTIVE DATE.
The amendments made by titles I and II shall take effect on the date that is the earlier of—
(1) the date that is 6 months after the date on which the final regulations are promulgated by the Secretary of Labor under section 401; and
(2) the date that is 18 months after the date of enactment of this Act.
Governor Abercrombie signed the following bills:
House Bill 2052 (Relating to Provider Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment) increases access to Provider Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment (POLST) by updating references from “physicians orders for life-sustaining treatment” to “provider orders for life-sustaining treatment.” The measure also expands health care provider signatory authority to include advance practice registered nurses and corrects inconsistencies of terms describing who may sign a POLST form on behalf of a patient.
House Bill 1616 (Relating to Health Planning) adds to the Hawaii State Planning Act’s objectives and policies for health, the identification of social determinants of health and prioritization of programs, services, interventions, and activities that address identified social determinants of health to improve Native Hawaiian health in accordance with federal law and reduce health disparities of disproportionately affected demographics.
House Bill 1723 (Relating to Psychiatric Facilities) amends the notice requirements for the discharge of an involuntary patient committed pursuant to legal proceeding involving fitness to proceed and requires the family court to conduct a timely hearing prior to the termination of a standing commitment order.
House Bill 2320 (Relating to Health) establishes health equity as a goal for the DOH and requires the DOH to consider social determinants of health in assessing health needs in the state. The measure is known as “Loretta’s Law” for the late DOH Director Loretta Fuddy, who was passionate proponent.
House Bill 2581 (Relating to Insurance) establishes the State Innovation Waiver Task Force and requires the task force to submit two interim reports and a final report to the legislature.
Senate Bill 2469 (Relating to Telehealth) requires equivalent reimbursement for services, including behavioral health services, provided through telehealth as for the same services provided via face-to-face contact between a health care provider and a patient. The measure also clarifies that health care providers for purposes of telehealth include primary care providers, mental health providers, oral health providers, physicians and osteopathic physicians, advanced practice registered nurses, psychologists, and dentists. For consistency purposes, the bill changes statutory references of “telemedicine” to “telehealth.”
House Bill 2400 (Relating to Temporary Disability Benefits) provides temporary disability benefits to employees who suffer disabilities as a result of donating organs.
Senate Bill 1233 (Relating to Leaves of Absence) requires certain private employers to allow employees to take leaves of absence for organ, bone marrow, or peripheral blood stem cell donation. Unused sick leave, vacation, or paid time off, or unpaid time off, may be used for these leaves of absence. The measure also requires employers to restore an employee returning from leave to the same or equivalent position and establishes a private right of action for employees seeking enforcement of provisions.
Lifetime Dream # 31 of my list of 155: I will finish my college degree, in the field of Business Management. I will finish my courses at Texas State or at the University of Phoenix. I will have a large celebration upon the day that I finish my degree and walk the stage to pick up my diploma.
I spent 5 years at Texas State (it was Southwest Texas State University back then) as a Physics and Mathematics major. I quit going for a few reasons, but I remember when I told my parents that I was “taking a break” before finishing, that I would one day complete what I had started. After my divorce, well… it was hard being on a single income, and then it was one reason after another.
My employer, United Healthcare, like many other employers offers tuition reimbursement programs, but with the rising costs of education- they fall short. In 2010 they started a program in San Antonio where the top-performing employees could go back to school at no cost through the University of Phoenix. United Healthcare pays 100% of the costs, and we have to agree to stay with the company for 3 years after graduation. It’s an amazing gesture, and truly it instills a lot of loyalty and pride in the workplace.
The degree I’m pursuing is in Business Management; I plan to specialize my degree and get my Master’s degree- perhaps even my doctorate. I just want to be called Dr. so and so… (kidding- I’m not that egotistical!). Everything is online with the University of Phoenix, so that was a bit of a change. Because I was a Math and Physics major, I don’t have to take any math; everyone in my cohort hates me for that!
Pictured is my new Sony Vaio laptop. I delayed getting a new one for a while now, but with more and more photo editing and music recording coming up, it was much needed. I love so much about this laptop that I wouldn’t know where to start. Back-lit keys, super-fast processor, high-definition screen… the list goes on!
I kind of hate that my degree plan is spread out, but in some ways it’s nice. My classes are 5 weeks long, I get to take 2 in a row then have a 1 course break; 10 weeks on then 5 weeks off. I really can’t complain because most others have little or no breaks. Come 2013, I will be super happy to be done with the program… I will definitely be taking a nice long vacation after that!!!
The astronaut transfer van, known as the Astrovan during the Space Shuttle era, was a NASA vehicle used at the Kennedy Space Center to transport astronauts from the Operations and Checkout Building to the launch pad before a mission and for launch dress rehearsals, and back to the Operations and Checkout Building following a shuttle landing.
According to driver Ronnie King, the early shuttle astronauts liked the history-filled vehicle, even if it was somewhat old, and even argued against upgrading the vehicle. "We were staged to get a new one," King said, and added that word came that the rookie astronauts wanted to keep the vehicle that was a tradition of the astronauts who traveled those nine miles to the pad before them.
During the twenty-minute drive to the launch pad for shuttle launches, the Astrovan usually stopped at least once along the way. An astronaut rode with the crew and was let off near the Vehicle Assembly Building to board the Shuttle Training Aircraft and assess local weather conditions. Senior NASA managers occasionally rode along as well, and were dropped off at the Launch Control Center.
During Project Mercury a modified semi truck and trailer was used to transport astronauts to the launch pads LC-5 and LC-14.
During Project Gemini a fleet of converted delivery vans were used to transport astronauts to the launch pad LC-19.
A modified Clark-Cortez motorhome was used to transport Apollo-era crews to the launch pad, beginning with Apollo 7 in 1967 and continuing through the Apollo–Soyuz launch in 1975. This vehicle remained in use through STS-6, and is now on display at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex's Apollo/Saturn V Center.
An Itasca Suncruiser M-22RB was used to transport the STS-7 and STS-8 astronauts to the launch pad, as the size of shuttle crews had increased.
A modified 1983 Airstream Excella motorhome, popularly known as the Astrovan, was used from STS-9 through the final Space Shuttle mission (STS-135), and is also on display at the KSC Visitor Center.
On October 21, 2019, the Boeing Company and Airstream announced Astrovan II, a modified Airstream Atlas (with a Mercedes-Benz Sprinter chassis) touring coach to carry Boeing commercial crew astronauts to the launch pad where they will board the CST-100 Starliner on their way to the International Space Station. Astrovan II has seating for up to eight (including the driver), and was built at Airstream's Jackson Center, Ohio production facility.
SpaceX does not use a van to transport astronauts for the SpaceX Dragon 2 missions, instead using a set of specially made Tesla Model X cars.
On April 13, 2022, NASA announced that Canoo Technologies Inc would build three new crew transportation vehicles designed to take the fully suited astronauts, their support team, and their equipment on the nine-mile stretch of road from the Neil Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building to the launch pad for the Artemis program.
In Russia and China cosmonauts and taikonauts have always relied on a bus to take them to the Launch Pad.
The John F. Kennedy Space Center (KSC, originally known as the NASA Launch Operations Center), located on Merritt Island, Florida, is one of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) ten field centers. Since December 1968, KSC has been NASA's primary launch center of American spaceflight, research, and technology. Launch operations for the Apollo, Skylab and Space Shuttle programs were carried out from Kennedy Space Center Launch Complex 39 and managed by KSC. Located on the east coast of Florida, KSC is adjacent to Cape Canaveral Space Force Station (CCSFS). The management of the two entities work very closely together, share resources and operate facilities on each other's property.
Though the first Apollo flights and all Project Mercury and Project Gemini flights took off from the then-Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, the launches were managed by KSC and its previous organization, the Launch Operations Directorate. Starting with the fourth Gemini mission, the NASA launch control center in Florida (Mercury Control Center, later the Launch Control Center) began handing off control of the vehicle to the Mission Control Center in Houston, shortly after liftoff; in prior missions it held control throughout the entire mission.
Additionally, the center manages launch of robotic and commercial crew missions and researches food production and in-situ resource utilization for off-Earth exploration. Since 2010, the center has worked to become a multi-user spaceport through industry partnerships, even adding a new launch pad (LC-39C) in 2015.
There are about 700 facilities and buildings grouped throughout the center's 144,000 acres (580 km2). Among the unique facilities at KSC are the 525-foot (160 m) tall Vehicle Assembly Building for stacking NASA's largest rockets, the Launch Control Center, which conducts space launches at KSC, the Operations and Checkout Building, which houses the astronauts dormitories and suit-up area, a Space Station factory, and a 3-mile (4.8 km) long Shuttle Landing Facility. There is also a Visitor Complex on site that is open to the public.
Since 1949, the military had been performing launch operations at what would become Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. In December 1959, the Department of Defense transferred 5,000 personnel and the Missile Firing Laboratory to NASA to become the Launch Operations Directorate under NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center.
President John F. Kennedy's 1961 goal of a crewed lunar landing by 1970 required an expansion of launch operations. On July 1, 1962, the Launch Operations Directorate was separated from MSFC to become the Launch Operations Center (LOC). Also, Cape Canaveral was inadequate to host the new launch facility design required for the mammoth 363-foot (111 m) tall, 7,500,000-pound-force (33,000 kN) thrust Saturn V rocket, which would be assembled vertically in a large hangar and transported on a mobile platform to one of several launch pads. Therefore, the decision was made to build a new LOC site located adjacent to Cape Canaveral on Merritt Island.
NASA began land acquisition in 1962, buying title to 131 square miles (340 km2) and negotiating with the state of Florida for an additional 87 square miles (230 km2). The major buildings in KSC's Industrial Area were designed by architect Charles Luckman. Construction began in November 1962, and Kennedy visited the site twice in 1962, and again just a week before his assassination on November 22, 1963.
On November 29, 1963, the facility was named by President Lyndon B. Johnson under Executive Order 11129. Johnson's order joined both the civilian LOC and the military Cape Canaveral station ("the facilities of Station No. 1 of the Atlantic Missile Range") under the designation "John F. Kennedy Space Center", spawning some confusion joining the two in the public mind. NASA Administrator James E. Webb clarified this by issuing a directive stating the Kennedy Space Center name applied only to the LOC, while the Air Force issued a general order renaming the military launch site Cape Kennedy Air Force Station.
Located on Merritt Island, Florida, the center is north-northwest of Cape Canaveral on the Atlantic Ocean, midway between Miami and Jacksonville on Florida's Space Coast, due east of Orlando. It is 34 miles (55 km) long and roughly six miles (9.7 km) wide, covering 219 square miles (570 km2). KSC is a major central Florida tourist destination and is approximately one hour's drive from the Orlando area. The Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex offers public tours of the center and Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.
From 1967 through 1973, there were 13 Saturn V launches, including the ten remaining Apollo missions after Apollo 7. The first of two uncrewed flights, Apollo 4 (Apollo-Saturn 501) on November 9, 1967, was also the first rocket launch from KSC. The Saturn V's first crewed launch on December 21, 1968, was Apollo 8's lunar orbiting mission. The next two missions tested the Lunar Module: Apollo 9 (Earth orbit) and Apollo 10 (lunar orbit). Apollo 11, launched from Pad A on July 16, 1969, made the first Moon landing on July 20. The Apollo 11 launch included crewmembers Neil Armstrong, Michael Collins, and Buzz Aldrin, and attracted a record-breaking 650 million television viewers. Apollo 12 followed four months later. From 1970 to 1972, the Apollo program concluded at KSC with the launches of missions 13 through 17.
On May 14, 1973, the last Saturn V launch put the Skylab space station in orbit from Pad 39A. By this time, the Cape Kennedy pads 34 and 37 used for the Saturn IB were decommissioned, so Pad 39B was modified to accommodate the Saturn IB, and used to launch three crewed missions to Skylab that year, as well as the final Apollo spacecraft for the Apollo–Soyuz Test Project in 1975.
As the Space Shuttle was being designed, NASA received proposals for building alternative launch-and-landing sites at locations other than KSC, which demanded study. KSC had important advantages, including its existing facilities; location on the Intracoastal Waterway; and its southern latitude, which gives a velocity advantage to missions launched in easterly near-equatorial orbits. Disadvantages included: its inability to safely launch military missions into polar orbit, since spent boosters would be likely to fall on the Carolinas or Cuba; corrosion from the salt air; and frequent cloudy or stormy weather. Although building a new site at White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico was seriously considered, NASA announced its decision in April 1972 to use KSC for the shuttle. Since the Shuttle could not be landed automatically or by remote control, the launch of Columbia on April 12, 1981 for its first orbital mission STS-1, was NASA's first crewed launch of a vehicle that had not been tested in prior uncrewed launches.
In 1976, the VAB's south parking area was the site of Third Century America, a science and technology display commemorating the U.S. Bicentennial. Concurrent with this event, the U.S. flag was painted on the south side of the VAB. During the late 1970s, LC-39 was reconfigured to support the Space Shuttle. Two Orbiter Processing Facilities were built near the VAB as hangars with a third added in the 1980s.
KSC's 2.9-mile (4.7 km) Shuttle Landing Facility (SLF) was the orbiters' primary end-of-mission landing site, although the first KSC landing did not take place until the tenth flight, when Challenger completed STS-41-B on February 11, 1984; the primary landing site until then was Edwards Air Force Base in California, subsequently used as a backup landing site. The SLF also provided a return-to-launch-site (RTLS) abort option, which was not utilized. The SLF is among the longest runways in the world.
On October 28, 2009, the Ares I-X launch from Pad 39B was the first uncrewed launch from KSC since the Skylab workshop in 1973.
Beginning in 1958, NASA and military worked side by side on robotic mission launches (previously referred to as unmanned), cooperating as they broke ground in the field. In the early 1960s, NASA had as many as two robotic mission launches a month. The frequent number of flights allowed for quick evolution of the vehicles, as engineers gathered data, learned from anomalies and implemented upgrades. In 1963, with the intent of KSC ELV work focusing on the ground support equipment and facilities, a separate Atlas/Centaur organization was formed under NASA's Lewis Center (now Glenn Research Center (GRC)), taking that responsibility from the Launch Operations Center (aka KSC).
Though almost all robotics missions launched from the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station (CCSFS), KSC "oversaw the final assembly and testing of rockets as they arrived at the Cape." In 1965, KSC's Unmanned Launch Operations directorate became responsible for all NASA uncrewed launch operations, including those at Vandenberg Space Force Base. From the 1950s to 1978, KSC chose the rocket and payload processing facilities for all robotic missions launching in the U.S., overseeing their near launch processing and checkout. In addition to government missions, KSC performed this service for commercial and foreign missions also, though non-U.S. government entities provided reimbursement. NASA also funded Cape Canaveral Space Force Station launch pad maintenance and launch vehicle improvements.
All this changed with the Commercial Space Launch Act of 1984, after which NASA only coordinated its own and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) ELV launches. Companies were able to "operate their own launch vehicles" and utilize NASA's launch facilities. Payload processing handled by private firms also started to occur outside of KSC. Reagan's 1988 space policy furthered the movement of this work from KSC to commercial companies. That same year, launch complexes on Cape Canaveral Air Force Force Station started transferring from NASA to Air Force Space Command management.
In the 1990s, though KSC was not performing the hands-on ELV work, engineers still maintained an understanding of ELVs and had contracts allowing them insight into the vehicles so they could provide knowledgeable oversight. KSC also worked on ELV research and analysis and the contractors were able to utilize KSC personnel as a resource for technical issues. KSC, with the payload and launch vehicle industries, developed advances in automation of the ELV launch and ground operations to enable competitiveness of U.S. rockets against the global market.
In 1998, the Launch Services Program (LSP) formed at KSC, pulling together programs (and personnel) that already existed at KSC, GRC, Goddard Space Flight Center, and more to manage the launch of NASA and NOAA robotic missions. Cape Canaveral Space Force Station and VAFB are the primary launch sites for LSP missions, though other sites are occasionally used. LSP payloads such as the Mars Science Laboratory have been processed at KSC before being transferred to a launch pad on Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.
On 16 November 2022, at 06:47:44 UTC the Space Launch System (SLS) was launched from Complex 39B as part of the Artemis 1 mission.
As the International Space Station modules design began in the early 1990s, KSC began to work with other NASA centers and international partners to prepare for processing before launch onboard the Space Shuttles. KSC utilized its hands-on experience processing the 22 Spacelab missions in the Operations and Checkout Building to gather expectations of ISS processing. These experiences were incorporated into the design of the Space Station Processing Facility (SSPF), which began construction in 1991. The Space Station Directorate formed in 1996. KSC personnel were embedded at station module factories for insight into their processes.
From 1997 to 2007, KSC planned and performed on the ground integration tests and checkouts of station modules: three Multi-Element Integration Testing (MEIT) sessions and the Integration Systems Test (IST). Numerous issues were found and corrected that would have been difficult to nearly impossible to do on-orbit.
Today KSC continues to process ISS payloads from across the world before launch along with developing its experiments for on orbit. The proposed Lunar Gateway would be manufactured and processed at the Space Station Processing Facility.
The following are current programs and initiatives at Kennedy Space Center:
Commercial Crew Program
Exploration Ground Systems Program
NASA is currently designing the next heavy launch vehicle known as the Space Launch System (SLS) for continuation of human spaceflight.
On December 5, 2014, NASA launched the first uncrewed flight test of the Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle (MPCV), currently under development to facilitate human exploration of the Moon and Mars.
Launch Services Program
Educational Launch of Nanosatellites (ELaNa)
Research and Technology
Artemis program
Lunar Gateway
International Space Station Payloads
Camp KSC: educational camps for schoolchildren in spring and summer, with a focus on space, aviation and robotics.
The KSC Industrial Area, where many of the center's support facilities are located, is 5 miles (8 km) south of LC-39. It includes the Headquarters Building, the Operations and Checkout Building and the Central Instrumentation Facility. The astronaut crew quarters are in the O&C; before it was completed, the astronaut crew quarters were located in Hangar S at the Cape Canaveral Missile Test Annex (now Cape Canaveral Space Force Station). Located at KSC was the Merritt Island Spaceflight Tracking and Data Network station (MILA), a key radio communications and spacecraft tracking complex.
Facilities at the Kennedy Space Center are directly related to its mission to launch and recover missions. Facilities are available to prepare and maintain spacecraft and payloads for flight. The Headquarters (HQ) Building houses offices for the Center Director, library, film and photo archives, a print shop and security. When the KSC Library first opened, it was part of the Army Ballistic Missile Agency. However, in 1965, the library moved into three separate sections in the newly opened NASA headquarters before eventually becoming a single unit in 1970. The library contains over four million items related to the history and the work at Kennedy. As one of ten NASA center libraries in the country, their collection focuses on engineering, science, and technology. The archives contain planning documents, film reels, and original photographs covering the history of KSC. The library is not open to the public but is available for KSC, Space Force, and Navy employees who work on site. Many of the media items from the collection are digitized and available through NASA's KSC Media Gallery Archived December 6, 2020, at the Wayback Machine or through their more up-to-date Flickr gallery.
A new Headquarters Building was completed in 2019 as part of the Central Campus consolidation. Groundbreaking began in 2014.
The center operated its own 17-mile (27 km) short-line railroad. This operation was discontinued in 2015, with the sale of its final two locomotives. A third had already been donated to a museum. The line was costing $1.3 million annually to maintain.
The Neil Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building (O&C) (previously known as the Manned Spacecraft Operations Building) is a historic site on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places dating back to the 1960s and was used to receive, process, and integrate payloads for the Gemini and Apollo programs, the Skylab program in the 1970s, and for initial segments of the International Space Station through the 1990s. The Apollo and Space Shuttle astronauts would board the astronaut transfer van to launch complex 39 from the O&C building.
The three-story, 457,000-square-foot (42,500 m2) Space Station Processing Facility (SSPF) consists of two enormous processing bays, an airlock, operational control rooms, laboratories, logistics areas and office space for support of non-hazardous Space Station and Shuttle payloads to ISO 14644-1 class 5 standards. Opened in 1994, it is the largest factory building in the KSC industrial area.
The Vertical Processing Facility (VPF) features a 71-by-38-foot (22 by 12 m) door where payloads that are processed in the vertical position are brought in and manipulated with two overhead cranes and a hoist capable of lifting up to 35 short tons (32 t).
The Hypergolic Maintenance and Checkout Area (HMCA) comprises three buildings that are isolated from the rest of the industrial area because of the hazardous materials handled there. Hypergolic-fueled modules that made up the Space Shuttle Orbiter's reaction control system, orbital maneuvering system and auxiliary power units were stored and serviced in the HMCF.
The Multi-Payload Processing Facility is a 19,647 square feet (1,825.3 m2) building used for Orion spacecraft and payload processing.
The Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility (PHSF) contains a 70-by-110-foot (21 by 34 m) service bay, with a 100,000-pound (45,000 kg), 85-foot (26 m) hook height. It also contains a 58-by-80-foot (18 by 24 m) payload airlock. Its temperature is maintained at 70 °F (21 °C).[55]
The Blue Origin rocket manufacturing facility is located immediately south of the KSC visitor complex. Completed in 2019, it serves as the company's factory for the manufacture of New Glenn orbital rockets.
Launch Complex 39 (LC-39) was originally built for the Saturn V, the largest and most powerful operational launch vehicle until the Space Launch System, for the Apollo crewed Moon landing program. Since the end of the Apollo program in 1972, LC-39 has been used to launch every NASA human space flight, including Skylab (1973), the Apollo–Soyuz Test Project (1975), and the Space Shuttle program (1981–2011).
Since December 1968, all launch operations have been conducted from launch pads A and B at LC-39. Both pads are on the ocean, 3 miles (4.8 km) east of the VAB. From 1969 to 1972, LC-39 was the "Moonport" for all six Apollo crewed Moon landing missions using the Saturn V, and was used from 1981 to 2011 for all Space Shuttle launches.
Human missions to the Moon required the large three-stage Saturn V rocket, which was 363 feet (111 meters) tall and 33 feet (10 meters) in diameter. At KSC, Launch Complex 39 was built on Merritt Island to accommodate the new rocket. Construction of the $800 million project began in November 1962. LC-39 pads A and B were completed by October 1965 (planned Pads C, D and E were canceled), the VAB was completed in June 1965, and the infrastructure by late 1966.
The complex includes: the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB), a 130,000,000 cubic feet (3,700,000 m3) hangar capable of holding four Saturn Vs. The VAB was the largest structure in the world by volume when completed in 1965.
a transporter capable of carrying 5,440 tons along a crawlerway to either of two launch pads;
a 446-foot (136 m) mobile service structure, with three Mobile Launcher Platforms, each containing a fixed launch umbilical tower;
the Launch Control Center; and
a news media facility.
Launch Complex 48 (LC-48) is a multi-user launch site under construction for small launchers and spacecraft. It will be located between Launch Complex 39A and Space Launch Complex 41, with LC-39A to the north and SLC-41 to the south. LC-48 will be constructed as a "clean pad" to support multiple launch systems with differing propellant needs. While initially only planned to have a single pad, the complex is capable of being expanded to two at a later date.
As a part of promoting commercial space industry growth in the area and the overall center as a multi-user spaceport, KSC leases some of its properties. Here are some major examples:
Exploration Park to multiple users (partnership with Space Florida)
Shuttle Landing Facility to Space Florida (who contracts use to private companies)
Orbiter Processing Facility (OPF)-3 to Boeing (for CST-100 Starliner)
Launch Complex 39A, Launch Control Center Firing Room 4 and land for SpaceX's Roberts Road facility (Hanger X) to SpaceX
O&C High Bay to Lockheed Martin (for Orion processing)
Land for FPL's Space Coast Next Generation Solar Energy Center to Florida Power and Light (FPL)
Hypergolic Maintenance Facility (HMF) to United Paradyne Corporation (UPC)
The Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex, operated by Delaware North since 1995, has a variety of exhibits, artifacts, displays and attractions on the history and future of human and robotic spaceflight. Bus tours of KSC originate from here. The complex also includes the separate Apollo/Saturn V Center, north of the VAB and the United States Astronaut Hall of Fame, six miles west near Titusville. There were 1.5 million visitors in 2009. It had some 700 employees.
It was announced on May 29, 2015, that the Astronaut Hall of Fame exhibit would be moved from its current location to another location within the Visitor Complex to make room for an upcoming high-tech attraction entitled "Heroes and Legends". The attraction, designed by Orlando-based design firm Falcon's Treehouse, opened November 11, 2016.
In March 2016, the visitor center unveiled the new location of the iconic countdown clock at the complex's entrance; previously, the clock was located with a flagpole at the press site. The clock was originally built and installed in 1969 and listed with the flagpole in the National Register of Historic Places in January 2000. In 2019, NASA celebrated the 50th anniversary of the Apollo program, and the launch of Apollo 10 on May 18. In summer of 2019, Lunar Module 9 (LM-9) was relocated to the Apollo/Saturn V Center as part of an initiative to rededicate the center and celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Apollo Program.
Historic locations
NASA lists the following Historic Districts at KSC; each district has multiple associated facilities:
Launch Complex 39: Pad A Historic District
Launch Complex 39: Pad B Historic District
Shuttle Landing Facility (SLF) Area Historic District
Orbiter Processing Historic District
Solid Rocket Booster (SRB) Disassembly and Refurbishment Complex Historic District
NASA KSC Railroad System Historic District
NASA-owned Cape Canaveral Space Force Station Industrial Area Historic District
There are 24 historic properties outside of these historic districts, including the Space Shuttle Atlantis, Vehicle Assembly Building, Crawlerway, and Operations and Checkout Building.[71] KSC has one National Historic Landmark, 78 National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) listed or eligible sites, and 100 Archaeological Sites.
Further information: John F. Kennedy Space Center MPS
Other facilities
The Rotation, Processing and Surge Facility (RPSF) is responsible for the preparation of solid rocket booster segments for transportation to the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB). The RPSF was built in 1984 to perform SRB operations that had previously been conducted in high bays 2 and 4 of the VAB at the beginning of the Space Shuttle program. It was used until the Space Shuttle's retirement, and will be used in the future by the Space Launch System[75] (SLS) and OmegA rockets.
Do you have roadside assistance? Do you need it? Numerous people don't think too much about it but it's something that can eradicate some of the tension in your life. Most people spend at least an hour or two on the streets every day, even if they don't go far. But many never stop to think what they would do if they abruptly discovered themselves stuck on the side of the road.
Motor Club of America gives out a broad variety of goods and services to drivers, and people who don't have a car. Those advantages cover all over the United States, Canada & Puerto Rico. Which encompass roadside assistance, emergency room benefits, hotel discounts, travel assistance and many more.
Speaking specifically about MCA most popular $19.95 Total Security Motor plan it was designed to offer the highest grade of roadside services and advantages available on the market. This Total Security program presents all of the benefits you would obtain with the Security and Security Plus plans in addition very good roadside services and a number of other exceptional advantages.
Emergency Road Service*
Travel Assistance Reimbursement*
Travel Assistance Program*
Trip Planning and Travel Reservations*
Arrest Bond*
Bail Bonds*
Attorneys Fees*
Attorney Services*
Attorney Discounted Hourly Rates*
Discounts on Auto Related Services*
Stolen Vehicle Reward*
Credit Card Protection*
Legal Services Deeply Discounted Fixed Fee Schedule*
Discounts on Prescriptions, Vision Care, and Dental*
Emergency Reimbursement Benefits*
Daily Hospital Benefit*
Accidental Death Benefit*
Battery Boost
Fuel Delivery
Tire Change
Lock-Out Service
Wrecker Towing Service
And Much More
Emergency Road Service
Motor Club of America will pay up to $100 to provide Emergency Road Service on RVs, Motorcycles, Trailers, and vehicle's with a load capacity of 1 ton or greater.
Travel Assistance Reimbursement
If your vehicle is disabled in an auto misfortune, we will reimburse you up to $500 for rental vehicle or lodging, meal, and transportation expenses counting on where the accident happens.
Trip Planning & Travel Reservations
Motor Club of America offer a variety of travel benefits with all the roadside service membership plans including route planning and special airline, rental car, and hotel discounts.
Arrest Bond
Your Motor Club of America membership card can act in lieu of a cash bail for up to $500 when you are engaged in a traffic violation as allowed by state laws.
Bail Bonds
For all of the roadside service and motor club constituents, we can arrange up to a $25,000 bond to release you if you are ascribed with a going traffic law violation when driving a vehicle. This includes for vehicular manslaughter and auto associated negligent murder charges.
Attorney Fees
$2,000 in benefits for attorney fees in order to defend you from charges resulting from a covered auto. This includes:
Up to $200 for covered Moving Violations
Up to $500 for covered auto related Personal Injury matters
Up to $500 for covered Vehicle Damage issues
Up to $2,000 for covered auto related Negligent Homicide or Vehicular Manslaughter
Stolen Vehicle Reward
Motor Club of America will pay a $5,000 reward to law enforcement agency or individual who provides information that leads to the arrest and conviction of who's responsible for the theft of your covered vehicle in an attempt to encourage stolen vehicle recovery.
Discounts on Prescriptions, Vision Care, & Dental
Motor Club of America membership offers a variety of medical discounts up to a 65% discount on prescriptions, up to a 50% discount on vision, and up to a 50% discount on dental procedures.
Emergency Reimbursement Benefits
If you are injured in a covered accident, Motor Club of America will provide up to $500 in cash to pay for emergency room or trauma center treatment that is required for injuries caused in the accident. This includes reimbursement for the cost of:
Cast or Splints
Lab Work
Nursing Service
Transfusions
Anesthetics
Doctor Care
IV’s
Facility Care
Daily Hospital Benefits
Up to $54,500 in cash benefits to be paid at $150 per day for hospitalization that results from injuries received in a covered accident.
Accidental Death Benefits
Members of the Total Security program have the opportunity to enroll, free of charge, in one or all of the accidental death and dismemberment coverage packages. These include:
1. You, as named member, up to $50,000; or
2. You & your spouse, up to $25,000 each, plus job retraining is available for surviving spouse in many cases; or
3. You for up to $30,000, your spouse up to $15,000, children up to $3,500 each.
Other optional benefits include job retraining for surviving spouse, continuing child care plus continuing education support.
.
Travel Assistance Program
Motor Club of America offers a travel assistant program, which assists in worldwide travel for issues related to injuries or death that results from a covered accident.
Medical evacuation & repatriation
Non-Medical Repatriation
Return of Remains
Hospital Visits
Return of Child
Return of Companion
Emergency Roadside Assistance
Las Vegas, NV 89117
(702) 810-5812
emergency-roadside-assistance.info
Twitter: twitter.com/VEGASMotorClub
Facebook: www.facebook.com/MotorClubAmericaLV
Youtube: www.youtube.com/user/MCAVegas
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has proposed piloting an “International Pricing Index” (IPI) payment model to reduce reimbursement levels for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), as well as proposing other reforms to long-standing policies regarding commercialized medicines. In a year with a record number of new medicines being approved to reach patients in the United States, such reforms introduce significant uncertainty for many investors’ valuation models. This session will feature drug developers, investors, and policy experts to explain the resource allocation implications if these reforms proceed and risks of shrinking the pipelines of new medicines for years to come unless alternative approaches can be introduced.
Speakers
James C. Greenwood, Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO)
Paul Lammers, Triumvira Immunologics
Susan Peschin, Alliance for Aging Research
Peter Pitts, Center for Medicine in the Public Interest
Duane Schulthess, Vital Transformation
Erica Whittaker, UCB Ventures
Peter Young, Pappas Capital
Governor Abercrombie signed the following bills:
House Bill 2052 (Relating to Provider Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment) increases access to Provider Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment (POLST) by updating references from “physicians orders for life-sustaining treatment” to “provider orders for life-sustaining treatment.” The measure also expands health care provider signatory authority to include advance practice registered nurses and corrects inconsistencies of terms describing who may sign a POLST form on behalf of a patient.
House Bill 1616 (Relating to Health Planning) adds to the Hawaii State Planning Act’s objectives and policies for health, the identification of social determinants of health and prioritization of programs, services, interventions, and activities that address identified social determinants of health to improve Native Hawaiian health in accordance with federal law and reduce health disparities of disproportionately affected demographics.
House Bill 1723 (Relating to Psychiatric Facilities) amends the notice requirements for the discharge of an involuntary patient committed pursuant to legal proceeding involving fitness to proceed and requires the family court to conduct a timely hearing prior to the termination of a standing commitment order.
House Bill 2320 (Relating to Health) establishes health equity as a goal for the DOH and requires the DOH to consider social determinants of health in assessing health needs in the state. The measure is known as “Loretta’s Law” for the late DOH Director Loretta Fuddy, who was passionate proponent.
House Bill 2581 (Relating to Insurance) establishes the State Innovation Waiver Task Force and requires the task force to submit two interim reports and a final report to the legislature.
Senate Bill 2469 (Relating to Telehealth) requires equivalent reimbursement for services, including behavioral health services, provided through telehealth as for the same services provided via face-to-face contact between a health care provider and a patient. The measure also clarifies that health care providers for purposes of telehealth include primary care providers, mental health providers, oral health providers, physicians and osteopathic physicians, advanced practice registered nurses, psychologists, and dentists. For consistency purposes, the bill changes statutory references of “telemedicine” to “telehealth.”
House Bill 2400 (Relating to Temporary Disability Benefits) provides temporary disability benefits to employees who suffer disabilities as a result of donating organs.
Senate Bill 1233 (Relating to Leaves of Absence) requires certain private employers to allow employees to take leaves of absence for organ, bone marrow, or peripheral blood stem cell donation. Unused sick leave, vacation, or paid time off, or unpaid time off, may be used for these leaves of absence. The measure also requires employers to restore an employee returning from leave to the same or equivalent position and establishes a private right of action for employees seeking enforcement of provisions.
GOVERNOR JUSTICE PROCLAIMS NATIONAL SCHOOL BREAKFAST WEEK IN WEST VIRGINIA
CHARLESTON, W.Va. - Gov. Jim Justice today proclaimed the week of March 6-10, 2017 as national school breakfast week in West Virginia. This year’s theme, “Take the School Breakfast Challenge,” encourages parents, students and school officials to start their morning with a healthy breakfast to provide an energizing start to the day.
During the ceremony, Justice, along with West Virginia Superintendent of Schools, Dr. Michael Martirano, West Virginia School Nutrition Association President, Chris Derico, Roberta Hodsdon with USDA and West Virginia student ambassador, Miranda Pate from Hurricane High School signed the school breakfast pledge, vowing to eat a healthy breakfast every day.
“Breakfast is the most important meal of the day for all of us, but especially for our kids,” said Governor Jim Justice. “It fuels their learning experience and ability to achieve. However, we are told that more than half of our school children don’t eat breakfast and that is a significant problem. Hungry children are more likely to have discipline problems, lower grades and are more likely to be tardy or absent. So making sure our kids eat a healthy breakfast is a top priority.”
The West Virginia Feed to Achieve Act, recently signed into law, emphasizes all Mountain State students have adequate time and availability for school breakfast. As a result, more than 2.9 million school breakfasts are served monthly to students at more than 700 schools and feeding sites throughout West Virginia.
The Food Research and Action Center (FRAC) has ranked West Virginia first in the nation in school breakfast participation for three years in a row. West Virginia schools implement innovative breakfast strategies such as breakfast in the classroom and grab and go breakfast that allow every student to have easy access to a healthy meal to start their day.
“Children perform at their best when they receive proper nutrition," Martirano said. “The School Breakfast Program is an important tool for educators to ensure that students receive adequate nutrition to learn and thrive so they are not distracted in the classroom.”
Students who participate in school breakfast exhibit decreased behavioral and psychological problems and have lower rates of absence and tardiness. West Virginia receives up to $5 million per month in federal reimbursement statewide for breakfast participation.
About National School Breakfast Week
National School Breakfast Week was launched in 1989 to raise awareness of the availability of the School Breakfast Program to all children and to promote the links between eating a good breakfast, academic achievement and healthy lifestyles. The “Take the School Breakfast Challenge” is made possible by the nonprofit School Nutrition Association, Kellogg’s and Potatoes USA. To learn more, visit: schoolnutrition.org/Meetings/Events/NSBW/2017/.
The United States Astronaut Hall of Fame, located inside the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex Heroes & Legends building on Merritt Island, Florida, honors American astronauts and features the world's largest collection of their personal memorabilia, focusing on those astronauts who have been inducted into the Hall. Exhibits include Wally Schirra's Sigma 7 space capsule from the fifth crewed Mercury mission and the Gemini IX spacecraft flown by Gene Cernan and Thomas P. Stafford in 1966.
In the 1980s, the six then-surviving Mercury Seven astronauts conceived of establishing a place where US space travelers could be remembered and honored, along the lines of halls of fame for other fields. The Mercury Seven Foundation and Astronaut Scholarship Foundation were formed, and have a role in the ongoing operations of the Hall of Fame. The foundation's first executive director was former Associated Press space reporter Howard Benedict.
The Astronaut Hall of Fame was opened on October 29, 1990, by the U.S. Space Camp Foundation, which was the first owner of the facility. It was located next to the Florida branch of Space Camp.
The Hall of Fame closed for several months in 2002 when U.S. Space Camp Foundation's creditors foreclosed on the property due to low attendance and mounting debt. That September, an auction was held and the property was purchased by Delaware North Park Services on behalf of NASA and the property was added to the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex. The Hall of Fame re-opened December 14, 2002.
The Hall of Fame, which was originally located just west of the NASA Causeway, closed to the public on November 2, 2015, in preparation for its relocation to the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex 6 miles (9.7 km) to the east on Merritt Island. Outside of the original building was a full-scale replica of a Space Shuttle orbiter named Inspiration (originally named "Shuttle To Tomorrow" where visitors could enter and view a program). Inspiration served only as an outdoor, full scale, static display which visitors could not enter. After the Hall of Fame was transferred to the KSC Visitor Complex, Inspiration was acquired by LVX System and was placed in storage at the Shuttle Landing Facility at the Kennedy Space Center; in 2016, the shuttle was loaded on to a barge to be taken for refurbishment before going on an educational tour.
The building was purchased at auction by visitor complex operator Delaware North and renamed the ATX Center, and for a time housed educational programs including Camp Kennedy Space Center and the Astronaut Training Experience. Those programs have since been moved to the KSC Visitor Complex, and as of December 2019, the structure was being offered for lease. In July 2020, Lockheed Martin announced it would lease the building to support work on the NASA Orion crew capsule.
Inductees into the Hall of Fame are selected by a blue ribbon committee of former NASA officials and flight controllers, historians, journalists, and other space authorities (including former astronauts) based on their accomplishments in space or their contributions to the advancement of space exploration. Except for 2002, inductions have been held every year since 2001.
As its inaugural class in 1990, the Hall of Fame inducted the United States' original group of astronauts: the Mercury Seven. In addition to being the first American astronauts, they set several firsts in American spaceflight, both auspicious and tragic. Alan Shepard was the first American in space and later became one of the twelve people to walk on the Moon. John Glenn was the first American to orbit the Earth and after his induction went on, in 1998, to become the oldest man to fly in space, aged 77. Gus Grissom was the first American to fly in space twice and was the commander of the ill-fated Apollo 1, which resulted in the first astronaut deaths directly related to preparation for spaceflight.
Thirteen astronauts from the Gemini and Apollo programs were inducted in the second class of 1993. This class included the first and last humans to walk on the Moon, Neil Armstrong and Eugene Cernan; Ed White, the first American to walk in space (also killed in the Apollo 1 accident); Jim Lovell, commander of the famously near-tragic Apollo 13; and John Young, whose six flights included a moonwalk and command of the first Space Shuttle mission.
The third class was inducted in 1997 and consisted of the 24 additional Apollo, Skylab, and ASTP astronauts. Notable members of the class were Roger Chaffee, the third astronaut killed in the Apollo 1 fire and the only unflown astronaut in the Hall; Harrison Schmitt, the first scientist and next-to-last person to walk on the Moon; and Jack Swigert and Fred Haise, the Apollo 13 crewmembers not previously inducted.
The philosophy regarding the first three groups of inductees was that all astronauts who flew in NASA's "pioneering" programs (which would include Mercury, Gemini, Apollo, Apollo Applications Program (Skylab), and Apollo-Soyuz Test Project) would be included simply by virtue of their participation in a spaceflight in these early programs. The first group (the inaugural class of 1990) would only include the original Mercury astronauts (most of whom would go on to fly in later programs). The second group of inductees would include those astronauts who began their spaceflight careers during Gemini (all of whom would go on to fly in later programs). The third group of inductees would include those astronauts who began their spaceflight careers during Apollo, Skylab, and ASTP (some of whom would go on to fly in the Space Shuttle program). Since it would not be practical (or meaningful) to induct all astronauts who ever flew in space, all subsequent inductees (Space Shuttle program and beyond) are considered based on their accomplishments and contributions to the human spaceflight endeavor which would set them apart from their peers.
Over four dozen astronauts from the Space Shuttle program have been inducted since 2001. Among these are Sally Ride, the first American woman in space; Story Musgrave, who flew six missions in the 1980s and 90s; and Francis Scobee, commander of the ill-fated final Challenger mission.
The 2010 class consisted of Guion Bluford Jr., Kenneth Bowersox, Frank Culbertson and Kathryn Thornton. The 2011 inductees were Karol Bobko and Susan Helms. The 2012 inductees were Franklin Chang-Diaz, Kevin Chilton and Charles Precourt. Bonnie Dunbar, Curt Brown and Eileen Collins were inducted in 2013, and Shannon Lucid and Jerry Ross comprised the 2014 class.
Those inducted in 2015 were John Grunsfeld, Steven Lindsey, Kent Rominger, and Rhea Seddon. In 2016, inductees included Brian Duffy and Scott E. Parazynski. Ellen Ochoa and Michael Foale were announced as the 2017 class of the United States Astronaut Hall of Fame. Scott Altman and Thomas Jones followed in 2018. The 2019 inductees were James Buchli and Janet L. Kavandi.
Michael López-Alegría, Scott Kelly and Pamela Melroy were the 2020 inductees, inducted in a November 2021 ceremony. The 2022 inductees were Christopher Ferguson, David Leestma, and Sandra Magnus. Roy Bridges Jr. and Mark Kelly were the 2023 inductees.
The Hall of Heroes is composed of tributes to the inductees. Among the Hall of Fame's displays is Sigma 7, the Mercury spacecraft piloted by Wally Schirra which orbited the Earth six times in 1962, and the Gemini 9A capsule flown by Gene Cernan and Thomas P. Stafford in 1966. An Astronaut Adventure room includes simulators for use by children.
The spacesuit worn by Gus Grissom during his 1961 Liberty Bell 7 Mercury flight is on display and has been the subject of a dispute between NASA and Grissom's heirs and supporters since 2002. The spacesuit, along with other Grissom artifacts, were loaned to the original owners of the Hall of Fame by the Grissom family when it opened. After the Hall of Fame went into bankruptcy and was taken over by a NASA contractor in 2002, the family requested that all their items be returned. All of the items were returned to Grissom's family except the spacesuit, because both NASA and the Grissoms claim ownership of it. NASA claims Grissom checked out the spacesuit for a show and tell at his son's school, and then never returned it, while the Grissoms claim Gus rescued the spacesuit from a scrap heap.
The John F. Kennedy Space Center (KSC, originally known as the NASA Launch Operations Center), located on Merritt Island, Florida, is one of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) ten field centers. Since December 1968, KSC has been NASA's primary launch center of human spaceflight. Launch operations for the Apollo, Skylab and Space Shuttle programs were carried out from Kennedy Space Center Launch Complex 39 and managed by KSC.[4] Located on the east coast of Florida, KSC is adjacent to Cape Canaveral Space Force Station (CCSFS). The management of the two entities work very closely together, share resources and operate facilities on each other's property.
Though the first Apollo flights and all Project Mercury and Project Gemini flights took off from the then-Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, the launches were managed by KSC and its previous organization, the Launch Operations Directorate. Starting with the fourth Gemini mission, the NASA launch control center in Florida (Mercury Control Center, later the Launch Control Center) began handing off control of the vehicle to the Mission Control Center in Houston, shortly after liftoff; in prior missions it held control throughout the entire mission.
Additionally, the center manages launch of robotic and commercial crew missions and researches food production and In-Situ Resource Utilization for off-Earth exploration. Since 2010, the center has worked to become a multi-user spaceport through industry partnerships, even adding a new launch pad (LC-39C) in 2015.
There are about 700 facilities and buildings grouped across the center's 144,000 acres (580 km2). Among the unique facilities at KSC are the 525-foot (160 m) tall Vehicle Assembly Building for stacking NASA's largest rockets, the Launch Control Center, which conducts space launches at KSC, the Operations and Checkout Building, which houses the astronauts dormitories and suit-up area, a Space Station factory, and a 3-mile (4.8 km) long Shuttle Landing Facility. There is also a Visitor Complex open to the public on site.
Since 1949, the military had been performing launch operations at what would become Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. In December 1959, the Department of Defense transferred 5,000 personnel and the Missile Firing Laboratory to NASA to become the Launch Operations Directorate under NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center.
President John F. Kennedy's 1961 goal of a crewed lunar landing by 1970 required an expansion of launch operations. On July 1, 1962, the Launch Operations Directorate was separated from MSFC to become the Launch Operations Center (LOC). Also, Cape Canaveral was inadequate to host the new launch facility design required for the mammoth 363-foot (111 m) tall, 7,500,000-pound-force (33,000 kN) thrust Saturn V rocket, which would be assembled vertically in a large hangar and transported on a mobile platform to one of several launch pads. Therefore, the decision was made to build a new LOC site located adjacent to Cape Canaveral on Merritt Island.
NASA began land acquisition in 1962, buying title to 131 square miles (340 km2) and negotiating with the state of Florida for an additional 87 square miles (230 km2). The major buildings in KSC's Industrial Area were designed by architect Charles Luckman. Construction began in November 1962, and Kennedy visited the site twice in 1962, and again just a week before his assassination on November 22, 1963.
On November 29, 1963, the facility was given its current name by President Lyndon B. Johnson under Executive Order 11129. Johnson's order joined both the civilian LOC and the military Cape Canaveral station ("the facilities of Station No. 1 of the Atlantic Missile Range") under the designation "John F. Kennedy Space Center", spawning some confusion joining the two in the public mind. NASA Administrator James E. Webb clarified this by issuing a directive stating the Kennedy Space Center name applied only to the LOC, while the Air Force issued a general order renaming the military launch site Cape Kennedy Air Force Station.
Located on Merritt Island, Florida, the center is north-northwest of Cape Canaveral on the Atlantic Ocean, midway between Miami and Jacksonville on Florida's Space Coast, due east of Orlando. It is 34 miles (55 km) long and roughly six miles (9.7 km) wide, covering 219 square miles (570 km2). KSC is a major central Florida tourist destination and is approximately one hour's drive from the Orlando area. The Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex offers public tours of the center and Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.
The KSC Industrial Area, where many of the center's support facilities are located, is 5 miles (8 km) south of LC-39. It includes the Headquarters Building, the Operations and Checkout Building and the Central Instrumentation Facility. The astronaut crew quarters are in the O&C; before it was completed, the astronaut crew quarters were located in Hangar S[39] at the Cape Canaveral Missile Test Annex (now Cape Canaveral Space Force Station). Located at KSC was the Merritt Island Spaceflight Tracking and Data Network station (MILA), a key radio communications and spacecraft tracking complex.
Facilities at the Kennedy Space Center are directly related to its mission to launch and recover missions. Facilities are available to prepare and maintain spacecraft and payloads for flight. The Headquarters (HQ) Building houses offices for the Center Director, library, film and photo archives, a print shop and security. When the KSC Library first opened, it was part of the Army Ballistic Missile Agency. However, in 1965, the library moved into three separate sections in the newly opened NASA headquarters before eventually becoming a single unit in 1970. The library contains over four million items related to the history and the work at Kennedy. As one of ten NASA center libraries in the country, their collection focuses on engineering, science, and technology. The archives contain planning documents, film reels, and original photographs covering the history of KSC. The library is not open to the public but is available for KSC, Space Force, and Navy employees who work on site. Many of the media items from the collection are digitized and available through NASA's KSC Media Gallery or through their more up-to-date Flickr gallery.
A new Headquarters Building was completed in 2019 as part of the Central Campus consolidation. Groundbreaking began in 2014.
The center operated its own 17-mile (27 km) short-line railroad. This operation was discontinued in 2015, with the sale of its final two locomotives. A third had already been donated to a museum. The line was costing $1.3 million annually to maintain.
The Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex, operated by Delaware North since 1995, has a variety of exhibits, artifacts, displays and attractions on the history and future of human and robotic spaceflight. Bus tours of KSC originate from here. The complex also includes the separate Apollo/Saturn V Center, north of the VAB and the United States Astronaut Hall of Fame, six miles west near Titusville. There were 1.5 million visitors in 2009. It had some 700 employees.
It was announced on May 29, 2015, that the Astronaut Hall of Fame exhibit would be moved from its current location to another location within the Visitor Complex to make room for an upcoming high-tech attraction entitled "Heroes and Legends". The attraction, designed by Orlando-based design firm Falcon's Treehouse, opened November 11, 2016.
In March 2016, the visitor center unveiled the new location of the iconic countdown clock at the complex's entrance; previously, the clock was located with a flagpole at the press site. The clock was originally built and installed in 1969 and listed with the flagpole in the National Register of Historic Places in January 2000. In 2019, NASA celebrated the 50th anniversary of the Apollo program, and the launch of Apollo 10 on May 18. In summer of 2019, Lunar Module 9 (LM-9) was relocated to the Apollo/Saturn V Center as part of an initiative to rededicate the center and celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Apollo Program.
The John F. Kennedy Space Center (KSC, originally known as the NASA Launch Operations Center), located on Merritt Island, Florida, is one of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) ten field centers. Since December 1968, KSC has been NASA's primary launch center of American spaceflight, research, and technology. Launch operations for the Apollo, Skylab and Space Shuttle programs were carried out from Kennedy Space Center Launch Complex 39 and managed by KSC. Located on the east coast of Florida, KSC is adjacent to Cape Canaveral Space Force Station (CCSFS). The management of the two entities work very closely together, share resources and operate facilities on each other's property.
Though the first Apollo flights and all Project Mercury and Project Gemini flights took off from the then-Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, the launches were managed by KSC and its previous organization, the Launch Operations Directorate. Starting with the fourth Gemini mission, the NASA launch control center in Florida (Mercury Control Center, later the Launch Control Center) began handing off control of the vehicle to the Mission Control Center in Houston, shortly after liftoff; in prior missions it held control throughout the entire mission.
Additionally, the center manages launch of robotic and commercial crew missions and researches food production and in-situ resource utilization for off-Earth exploration. Since 2010, the center has worked to become a multi-user spaceport through industry partnerships, even adding a new launch pad (LC-39C) in 2015.
There are about 700 facilities and buildings grouped throughout the center's 144,000 acres (580 km2). Among the unique facilities at KSC are the 525-foot (160 m) tall Vehicle Assembly Building for stacking NASA's largest rockets, the Launch Control Center, which conducts space launches at KSC, the Operations and Checkout Building, which houses the astronauts dormitories and suit-up area, a Space Station factory, and a 3-mile (4.8 km) long Shuttle Landing Facility. There is also a Visitor Complex on site that is open to the public.
Since 1949, the military had been performing launch operations at what would become Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. In December 1959, the Department of Defense transferred 5,000 personnel and the Missile Firing Laboratory to NASA to become the Launch Operations Directorate under NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center.
President John F. Kennedy's 1961 goal of a crewed lunar landing by 1970 required an expansion of launch operations. On July 1, 1962, the Launch Operations Directorate was separated from MSFC to become the Launch Operations Center (LOC). Also, Cape Canaveral was inadequate to host the new launch facility design required for the mammoth 363-foot (111 m) tall, 7,500,000-pound-force (33,000 kN) thrust Saturn V rocket, which would be assembled vertically in a large hangar and transported on a mobile platform to one of several launch pads. Therefore, the decision was made to build a new LOC site located adjacent to Cape Canaveral on Merritt Island.
NASA began land acquisition in 1962, buying title to 131 square miles (340 km2) and negotiating with the state of Florida for an additional 87 square miles (230 km2). The major buildings in KSC's Industrial Area were designed by architect Charles Luckman. Construction began in November 1962, and Kennedy visited the site twice in 1962, and again just a week before his assassination on November 22, 1963.
On November 29, 1963, the facility was named by President Lyndon B. Johnson under Executive Order 11129. Johnson's order joined both the civilian LOC and the military Cape Canaveral station ("the facilities of Station No. 1 of the Atlantic Missile Range") under the designation "John F. Kennedy Space Center", spawning some confusion joining the two in the public mind. NASA Administrator James E. Webb clarified this by issuing a directive stating the Kennedy Space Center name applied only to the LOC, while the Air Force issued a general order renaming the military launch site Cape Kennedy Air Force Station.
Located on Merritt Island, Florida, the center is north-northwest of Cape Canaveral on the Atlantic Ocean, midway between Miami and Jacksonville on Florida's Space Coast, due east of Orlando. It is 34 miles (55 km) long and roughly six miles (9.7 km) wide, covering 219 square miles (570 km2). KSC is a major central Florida tourist destination and is approximately one hour's drive from the Orlando area. The Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex offers public tours of the center and Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.
From 1967 through 1973, there were 13 Saturn V launches, including the ten remaining Apollo missions after Apollo 7. The first of two uncrewed flights, Apollo 4 (Apollo-Saturn 501) on November 9, 1967, was also the first rocket launch from KSC. The Saturn V's first crewed launch on December 21, 1968, was Apollo 8's lunar orbiting mission. The next two missions tested the Lunar Module: Apollo 9 (Earth orbit) and Apollo 10 (lunar orbit). Apollo 11, launched from Pad A on July 16, 1969, made the first Moon landing on July 20. The Apollo 11 launch included crewmembers Neil Armstrong, Michael Collins, and Buzz Aldrin, and attracted a record-breaking 650 million television viewers. Apollo 12 followed four months later. From 1970 to 1972, the Apollo program concluded at KSC with the launches of missions 13 through 17.
On May 14, 1973, the last Saturn V launch put the Skylab space station in orbit from Pad 39A. By this time, the Cape Kennedy pads 34 and 37 used for the Saturn IB were decommissioned, so Pad 39B was modified to accommodate the Saturn IB, and used to launch three crewed missions to Skylab that year, as well as the final Apollo spacecraft for the Apollo–Soyuz Test Project in 1975.
As the Space Shuttle was being designed, NASA received proposals for building alternative launch-and-landing sites at locations other than KSC, which demanded study. KSC had important advantages, including its existing facilities; location on the Intracoastal Waterway; and its southern latitude, which gives a velocity advantage to missions launched in easterly near-equatorial orbits. Disadvantages included: its inability to safely launch military missions into polar orbit, since spent boosters would be likely to fall on the Carolinas or Cuba; corrosion from the salt air; and frequent cloudy or stormy weather. Although building a new site at White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico was seriously considered, NASA announced its decision in April 1972 to use KSC for the shuttle. Since the Shuttle could not be landed automatically or by remote control, the launch of Columbia on April 12, 1981 for its first orbital mission STS-1, was NASA's first crewed launch of a vehicle that had not been tested in prior uncrewed launches.
In 1976, the VAB's south parking area was the site of Third Century America, a science and technology display commemorating the U.S. Bicentennial. Concurrent with this event, the U.S. flag was painted on the south side of the VAB. During the late 1970s, LC-39 was reconfigured to support the Space Shuttle. Two Orbiter Processing Facilities were built near the VAB as hangars with a third added in the 1980s.
KSC's 2.9-mile (4.7 km) Shuttle Landing Facility (SLF) was the orbiters' primary end-of-mission landing site, although the first KSC landing did not take place until the tenth flight, when Challenger completed STS-41-B on February 11, 1984; the primary landing site until then was Edwards Air Force Base in California, subsequently used as a backup landing site. The SLF also provided a return-to-launch-site (RTLS) abort option, which was not utilized. The SLF is among the longest runways in the world.
On October 28, 2009, the Ares I-X launch from Pad 39B was the first uncrewed launch from KSC since the Skylab workshop in 1973.
Beginning in 1958, NASA and military worked side by side on robotic mission launches (previously referred to as unmanned), cooperating as they broke ground in the field. In the early 1960s, NASA had as many as two robotic mission launches a month. The frequent number of flights allowed for quick evolution of the vehicles, as engineers gathered data, learned from anomalies and implemented upgrades. In 1963, with the intent of KSC ELV work focusing on the ground support equipment and facilities, a separate Atlas/Centaur organization was formed under NASA's Lewis Center (now Glenn Research Center (GRC)), taking that responsibility from the Launch Operations Center (aka KSC).
Though almost all robotics missions launched from the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station (CCSFS), KSC "oversaw the final assembly and testing of rockets as they arrived at the Cape." In 1965, KSC's Unmanned Launch Operations directorate became responsible for all NASA uncrewed launch operations, including those at Vandenberg Space Force Base. From the 1950s to 1978, KSC chose the rocket and payload processing facilities for all robotic missions launching in the U.S., overseeing their near launch processing and checkout. In addition to government missions, KSC performed this service for commercial and foreign missions also, though non-U.S. government entities provided reimbursement. NASA also funded Cape Canaveral Space Force Station launch pad maintenance and launch vehicle improvements.
All this changed with the Commercial Space Launch Act of 1984, after which NASA only coordinated its own and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) ELV launches. Companies were able to "operate their own launch vehicles" and utilize NASA's launch facilities. Payload processing handled by private firms also started to occur outside of KSC. Reagan's 1988 space policy furthered the movement of this work from KSC to commercial companies. That same year, launch complexes on Cape Canaveral Air Force Force Station started transferring from NASA to Air Force Space Command management.
In the 1990s, though KSC was not performing the hands-on ELV work, engineers still maintained an understanding of ELVs and had contracts allowing them insight into the vehicles so they could provide knowledgeable oversight. KSC also worked on ELV research and analysis and the contractors were able to utilize KSC personnel as a resource for technical issues. KSC, with the payload and launch vehicle industries, developed advances in automation of the ELV launch and ground operations to enable competitiveness of U.S. rockets against the global market.
In 1998, the Launch Services Program (LSP) formed at KSC, pulling together programs (and personnel) that already existed at KSC, GRC, Goddard Space Flight Center, and more to manage the launch of NASA and NOAA robotic missions. Cape Canaveral Space Force Station and VAFB are the primary launch sites for LSP missions, though other sites are occasionally used. LSP payloads such as the Mars Science Laboratory have been processed at KSC before being transferred to a launch pad on Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.
On 16 November 2022, at 06:47:44 UTC the Space Launch System (SLS) was launched from Complex 39B as part of the Artemis 1 mission.
As the International Space Station modules design began in the early 1990s, KSC began to work with other NASA centers and international partners to prepare for processing before launch onboard the Space Shuttles. KSC utilized its hands-on experience processing the 22 Spacelab missions in the Operations and Checkout Building to gather expectations of ISS processing. These experiences were incorporated into the design of the Space Station Processing Facility (SSPF), which began construction in 1991. The Space Station Directorate formed in 1996. KSC personnel were embedded at station module factories for insight into their processes.
From 1997 to 2007, KSC planned and performed on the ground integration tests and checkouts of station modules: three Multi-Element Integration Testing (MEIT) sessions and the Integration Systems Test (IST). Numerous issues were found and corrected that would have been difficult to nearly impossible to do on-orbit.
Today KSC continues to process ISS payloads from across the world before launch along with developing its experiments for on orbit. The proposed Lunar Gateway would be manufactured and processed at the Space Station Processing Facility.
The following are current programs and initiatives at Kennedy Space Center:
Commercial Crew Program
Exploration Ground Systems Program
NASA is currently designing the next heavy launch vehicle known as the Space Launch System (SLS) for continuation of human spaceflight.
On December 5, 2014, NASA launched the first uncrewed flight test of the Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle (MPCV), currently under development to facilitate human exploration of the Moon and Mars.
Launch Services Program
Educational Launch of Nanosatellites (ELaNa)
Research and Technology
Artemis program
Lunar Gateway
International Space Station Payloads
Camp KSC: educational camps for schoolchildren in spring and summer, with a focus on space, aviation and robotics.
The KSC Industrial Area, where many of the center's support facilities are located, is 5 miles (8 km) south of LC-39. It includes the Headquarters Building, the Operations and Checkout Building and the Central Instrumentation Facility. The astronaut crew quarters are in the O&C; before it was completed, the astronaut crew quarters were located in Hangar S at the Cape Canaveral Missile Test Annex (now Cape Canaveral Space Force Station). Located at KSC was the Merritt Island Spaceflight Tracking and Data Network station (MILA), a key radio communications and spacecraft tracking complex.
Facilities at the Kennedy Space Center are directly related to its mission to launch and recover missions. Facilities are available to prepare and maintain spacecraft and payloads for flight. The Headquarters (HQ) Building houses offices for the Center Director, library, film and photo archives, a print shop and security. When the KSC Library first opened, it was part of the Army Ballistic Missile Agency. However, in 1965, the library moved into three separate sections in the newly opened NASA headquarters before eventually becoming a single unit in 1970. The library contains over four million items related to the history and the work at Kennedy. As one of ten NASA center libraries in the country, their collection focuses on engineering, science, and technology. The archives contain planning documents, film reels, and original photographs covering the history of KSC. The library is not open to the public but is available for KSC, Space Force, and Navy employees who work on site. Many of the media items from the collection are digitized and available through NASA's KSC Media Gallery Archived December 6, 2020, at the Wayback Machine or through their more up-to-date Flickr gallery.
A new Headquarters Building was completed in 2019 as part of the Central Campus consolidation. Groundbreaking began in 2014.
The center operated its own 17-mile (27 km) short-line railroad. This operation was discontinued in 2015, with the sale of its final two locomotives. A third had already been donated to a museum. The line was costing $1.3 million annually to maintain.
The Neil Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building (O&C) (previously known as the Manned Spacecraft Operations Building) is a historic site on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places dating back to the 1960s and was used to receive, process, and integrate payloads for the Gemini and Apollo programs, the Skylab program in the 1970s, and for initial segments of the International Space Station through the 1990s. The Apollo and Space Shuttle astronauts would board the astronaut transfer van to launch complex 39 from the O&C building.
The three-story, 457,000-square-foot (42,500 m2) Space Station Processing Facility (SSPF) consists of two enormous processing bays, an airlock, operational control rooms, laboratories, logistics areas and office space for support of non-hazardous Space Station and Shuttle payloads to ISO 14644-1 class 5 standards. Opened in 1994, it is the largest factory building in the KSC industrial area.
The Vertical Processing Facility (VPF) features a 71-by-38-foot (22 by 12 m) door where payloads that are processed in the vertical position are brought in and manipulated with two overhead cranes and a hoist capable of lifting up to 35 short tons (32 t).
The Hypergolic Maintenance and Checkout Area (HMCA) comprises three buildings that are isolated from the rest of the industrial area because of the hazardous materials handled there. Hypergolic-fueled modules that made up the Space Shuttle Orbiter's reaction control system, orbital maneuvering system and auxiliary power units were stored and serviced in the HMCF.
The Multi-Payload Processing Facility is a 19,647 square feet (1,825.3 m2) building used for Orion spacecraft and payload processing.
The Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility (PHSF) contains a 70-by-110-foot (21 by 34 m) service bay, with a 100,000-pound (45,000 kg), 85-foot (26 m) hook height. It also contains a 58-by-80-foot (18 by 24 m) payload airlock. Its temperature is maintained at 70 °F (21 °C).[55]
The Blue Origin rocket manufacturing facility is located immediately south of the KSC visitor complex. Completed in 2019, it serves as the company's factory for the manufacture of New Glenn orbital rockets.
Launch Complex 39 (LC-39) was originally built for the Saturn V, the largest and most powerful operational launch vehicle until the Space Launch System, for the Apollo crewed Moon landing program. Since the end of the Apollo program in 1972, LC-39 has been used to launch every NASA human space flight, including Skylab (1973), the Apollo–Soyuz Test Project (1975), and the Space Shuttle program (1981–2011).
Since December 1968, all launch operations have been conducted from launch pads A and B at LC-39. Both pads are on the ocean, 3 miles (4.8 km) east of the VAB. From 1969 to 1972, LC-39 was the "Moonport" for all six Apollo crewed Moon landing missions using the Saturn V, and was used from 1981 to 2011 for all Space Shuttle launches.
Human missions to the Moon required the large three-stage Saturn V rocket, which was 363 feet (111 meters) tall and 33 feet (10 meters) in diameter. At KSC, Launch Complex 39 was built on Merritt Island to accommodate the new rocket. Construction of the $800 million project began in November 1962. LC-39 pads A and B were completed by October 1965 (planned Pads C, D and E were canceled), the VAB was completed in June 1965, and the infrastructure by late 1966.
The complex includes: the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB), a 130,000,000 cubic feet (3,700,000 m3) hangar capable of holding four Saturn Vs. The VAB was the largest structure in the world by volume when completed in 1965.
a transporter capable of carrying 5,440 tons along a crawlerway to either of two launch pads;
a 446-foot (136 m) mobile service structure, with three Mobile Launcher Platforms, each containing a fixed launch umbilical tower;
the Launch Control Center; and
a news media facility.
Launch Complex 48 (LC-48) is a multi-user launch site under construction for small launchers and spacecraft. It will be located between Launch Complex 39A and Space Launch Complex 41, with LC-39A to the north and SLC-41 to the south. LC-48 will be constructed as a "clean pad" to support multiple launch systems with differing propellant needs. While initially only planned to have a single pad, the complex is capable of being expanded to two at a later date.
As a part of promoting commercial space industry growth in the area and the overall center as a multi-user spaceport, KSC leases some of its properties. Here are some major examples:
Exploration Park to multiple users (partnership with Space Florida)
Shuttle Landing Facility to Space Florida (who contracts use to private companies)
Orbiter Processing Facility (OPF)-3 to Boeing (for CST-100 Starliner)
Launch Complex 39A, Launch Control Center Firing Room 4 and land for SpaceX's Roberts Road facility (Hanger X) to SpaceX
O&C High Bay to Lockheed Martin (for Orion processing)
Land for FPL's Space Coast Next Generation Solar Energy Center to Florida Power and Light (FPL)
Hypergolic Maintenance Facility (HMF) to United Paradyne Corporation (UPC)
The Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex, operated by Delaware North since 1995, has a variety of exhibits, artifacts, displays and attractions on the history and future of human and robotic spaceflight. Bus tours of KSC originate from here. The complex also includes the separate Apollo/Saturn V Center, north of the VAB and the United States Astronaut Hall of Fame, six miles west near Titusville. There were 1.5 million visitors in 2009. It had some 700 employees.
It was announced on May 29, 2015, that the Astronaut Hall of Fame exhibit would be moved from its current location to another location within the Visitor Complex to make room for an upcoming high-tech attraction entitled "Heroes and Legends". The attraction, designed by Orlando-based design firm Falcon's Treehouse, opened November 11, 2016.
In March 2016, the visitor center unveiled the new location of the iconic countdown clock at the complex's entrance; previously, the clock was located with a flagpole at the press site. The clock was originally built and installed in 1969 and listed with the flagpole in the National Register of Historic Places in January 2000. In 2019, NASA celebrated the 50th anniversary of the Apollo program, and the launch of Apollo 10 on May 18. In summer of 2019, Lunar Module 9 (LM-9) was relocated to the Apollo/Saturn V Center as part of an initiative to rededicate the center and celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Apollo Program.
Historic locations
NASA lists the following Historic Districts at KSC; each district has multiple associated facilities:
Launch Complex 39: Pad A Historic District
Launch Complex 39: Pad B Historic District
Shuttle Landing Facility (SLF) Area Historic District
Orbiter Processing Historic District
Solid Rocket Booster (SRB) Disassembly and Refurbishment Complex Historic District
NASA KSC Railroad System Historic District
NASA-owned Cape Canaveral Space Force Station Industrial Area Historic District
There are 24 historic properties outside of these historic districts, including the Space Shuttle Atlantis, Vehicle Assembly Building, Crawlerway, and Operations and Checkout Building.[71] KSC has one National Historic Landmark, 78 National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) listed or eligible sites, and 100 Archaeological Sites.
Further information: John F. Kennedy Space Center MPS
Other facilities
The Rotation, Processing and Surge Facility (RPSF) is responsible for the preparation of solid rocket booster segments for transportation to the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB). The RPSF was built in 1984 to perform SRB operations that had previously been conducted in high bays 2 and 4 of the VAB at the beginning of the Space Shuttle program. It was used until the Space Shuttle's retirement, and will be used in the future by the Space Launch System[75] (SLS) and OmegA rockets.
GOVERNOR JUSTICE PROCLAIMS NATIONAL SCHOOL BREAKFAST WEEK IN WEST VIRGINIA
CHARLESTON, W.Va. - Gov. Jim Justice today proclaimed the week of March 6-10, 2017 as national school breakfast week in West Virginia. This year’s theme, “Take the School Breakfast Challenge,” encourages parents, students and school officials to start their morning with a healthy breakfast to provide an energizing start to the day.
During the ceremony, Justice, along with West Virginia Superintendent of Schools, Dr. Michael Martirano, West Virginia School Nutrition Association President, Chris Derico, Roberta Hodsdon with USDA and West Virginia student ambassador, Miranda Pate from Hurricane High School signed the school breakfast pledge, vowing to eat a healthy breakfast every day.
“Breakfast is the most important meal of the day for all of us, but especially for our kids,” said Governor Jim Justice. “It fuels their learning experience and ability to achieve. However, we are told that more than half of our school children don’t eat breakfast and that is a significant problem. Hungry children are more likely to have discipline problems, lower grades and are more likely to be tardy or absent. So making sure our kids eat a healthy breakfast is a top priority.”
The West Virginia Feed to Achieve Act, recently signed into law, emphasizes all Mountain State students have adequate time and availability for school breakfast. As a result, more than 2.9 million school breakfasts are served monthly to students at more than 700 schools and feeding sites throughout West Virginia.
The Food Research and Action Center (FRAC) has ranked West Virginia first in the nation in school breakfast participation for three years in a row. West Virginia schools implement innovative breakfast strategies such as breakfast in the classroom and grab and go breakfast that allow every student to have easy access to a healthy meal to start their day.
“Children perform at their best when they receive proper nutrition," Martirano said. “The School Breakfast Program is an important tool for educators to ensure that students receive adequate nutrition to learn and thrive so they are not distracted in the classroom.”
Students who participate in school breakfast exhibit decreased behavioral and psychological problems and have lower rates of absence and tardiness. West Virginia receives up to $5 million per month in federal reimbursement statewide for breakfast participation.
About National School Breakfast Week
National School Breakfast Week was launched in 1989 to raise awareness of the availability of the School Breakfast Program to all children and to promote the links between eating a good breakfast, academic achievement and healthy lifestyles. The “Take the School Breakfast Challenge” is made possible by the nonprofit School Nutrition Association, Kellogg’s and Potatoes USA. To learn more, visit: schoolnutrition.org/Meetings/Events/NSBW/2017/.
VA Headquarters in Washington, DC
"To care for him who shall have borne the battle and for his widow, and his orphan." -A. Lincoln
- - - - -
Used on home page of Federal Register ("Reimbursement Offsets for Medical Care or Services" - A Proposed Rule by Veterans Affairs Department - October 8, 2010) at www.federalregister.gov/
Used by Federal Register ("Fund Availability Under the Supportive Services for Veteran " - A Notice by Veterans Affairs Department - December 17, 2010) at www.federalregister.gov/money
Used on home page of Federal Register ("Dependency and Indemnity Compensation Benefits" - A Rule by Veterans Affairs Department - July 10, 2012) at www.federalregister.gov/
Used on home page of Federal Register ("Servicemembers' Group Life Insurance-Stillborn Child Coverage" - A Rule by Veterans Affairs Department - November 26, 2012) at www.federalregister.gov/
Blogged at www.ukinsuranceonline.co.uk/laptop-insurance/nice-life-in...
Blogged by Blue Coat ("Avoid Cyber Risk: 7 Major Global Security Breaches" - December 3, 2013) at bluecoat.com/company-blog/2013-12-03/avoid-cyber-risk-7-m...
Blogged by VICE News ("Shinseki’s Head Has Rolled, but the 'Scandal' Playbook Is Not Good Enough for Vets" by Natasha Lennard - May 30, 2014) at news.vice.com/article/shinsekis-head-has-rolled-but-the-s...
Used by The American Homefront Project ("A lawsuit alleges a racial disparity in VA benefits and says the VA isn't doing enough about it" - December 14, 2022) at americanhomefront.wunc.org/news/2022-12-14/a-lawsuit-alle...
Used by St. Louis Public Radio ("A lawsuit alleges a racial disparity in VA benefits and says the VA isn't doing enough about it" - December 16, 2022) at news.stlpublicradio.org/health-science-environment/2022-1...
Used by Texas Standard ("A lawsuit alleges a racial disparity in VA benefits and says the VA isn’t doing enough about it" by Desiree D'Iorio" - January 2, 2023) at www.texasstandard.org/stories/a-lawsuit-alleges-a-racial-...
Used by North Country Public Radio ("A lawsuit alleges a racial disparity in VA benefits and says the VA isn't doing enough about it" by Desiree D'Iorio (WSHU) - January 30, 2023) at www.northcountrypublicradio.org/news/story/47201/20230130...
Used by BankInfoSecurity.com ("VA: Contractors Have 1 Hour to Report a Security Incident" by Marianne Kolbasuk McGee - January 24, 2023) at www.bankinfosecurity.com/va-contractors-have-one-hour-to-...
Used by tipp insights ("Servicemembers Come Home Only To Find Themselves In A New Hell — The VA’s Cold Bureaucracy" - March 7, 2025) at tippinsights.com/servicemembers-come-home-only-to-find-th...
Used by tipp insights ("Department of Veterans Affairs To No Longer Provide Gender Transition Procedures" - March 21, 2025) at tippinsights.com/department-of-veterans-affairs-to-no-lon...
Designer unknown (佚名)
1985
The State Council has decided to shorten the reimbursement period to five years from 1985
Guowuyuan jueding cong 1985 nian kaishi suoduan changhuan nianxian wei wu nian (国务院决定从1985年开始缩短偿还年限为五年)
Call nr.: PC-1985-016 (Private collection)
Published in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region.
More? See: chineseposters.net
Governor Abercrombie signed the following bills:
House Bill 2052 (Relating to Provider Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment) increases access to Provider Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment (POLST) by updating references from “physicians orders for life-sustaining treatment” to “provider orders for life-sustaining treatment.” The measure also expands health care provider signatory authority to include advance practice registered nurses and corrects inconsistencies of terms describing who may sign a POLST form on behalf of a patient.
House Bill 1616 (Relating to Health Planning) adds to the Hawaii State Planning Act’s objectives and policies for health, the identification of social determinants of health and prioritization of programs, services, interventions, and activities that address identified social determinants of health to improve Native Hawaiian health in accordance with federal law and reduce health disparities of disproportionately affected demographics.
House Bill 1723 (Relating to Psychiatric Facilities) amends the notice requirements for the discharge of an involuntary patient committed pursuant to legal proceeding involving fitness to proceed and requires the family court to conduct a timely hearing prior to the termination of a standing commitment order.
House Bill 2320 (Relating to Health) establishes health equity as a goal for the DOH and requires the DOH to consider social determinants of health in assessing health needs in the state. The measure is known as “Loretta’s Law” for the late DOH Director Loretta Fuddy, who was passionate proponent.
House Bill 2581 (Relating to Insurance) establishes the State Innovation Waiver Task Force and requires the task force to submit two interim reports and a final report to the legislature.
Senate Bill 2469 (Relating to Telehealth) requires equivalent reimbursement for services, including behavioral health services, provided through telehealth as for the same services provided via face-to-face contact between a health care provider and a patient. The measure also clarifies that health care providers for purposes of telehealth include primary care providers, mental health providers, oral health providers, physicians and osteopathic physicians, advanced practice registered nurses, psychologists, and dentists. For consistency purposes, the bill changes statutory references of “telemedicine” to “telehealth.”
House Bill 2400 (Relating to Temporary Disability Benefits) provides temporary disability benefits to employees who suffer disabilities as a result of donating organs.
Senate Bill 1233 (Relating to Leaves of Absence) requires certain private employers to allow employees to take leaves of absence for organ, bone marrow, or peripheral blood stem cell donation. Unused sick leave, vacation, or paid time off, or unpaid time off, may be used for these leaves of absence. The measure also requires employers to restore an employee returning from leave to the same or equivalent position and establishes a private right of action for employees seeking enforcement of provisions.
GOVERNOR JUSTICE PROCLAIMS NATIONAL SCHOOL BREAKFAST WEEK IN WEST VIRGINIA
CHARLESTON, W.Va. - Gov. Jim Justice today proclaimed the week of March 6-10, 2017 as national school breakfast week in West Virginia. This year’s theme, “Take the School Breakfast Challenge,” encourages parents, students and school officials to start their morning with a healthy breakfast to provide an energizing start to the day.
During the ceremony, Justice, along with West Virginia Superintendent of Schools, Dr. Michael Martirano, West Virginia School Nutrition Association President, Chris Derico, Roberta Hodsdon with USDA and West Virginia student ambassador, Miranda Pate from Hurricane High School signed the school breakfast pledge, vowing to eat a healthy breakfast every day.
“Breakfast is the most important meal of the day for all of us, but especially for our kids,” said Governor Jim Justice. “It fuels their learning experience and ability to achieve. However, we are told that more than half of our school children don’t eat breakfast and that is a significant problem. Hungry children are more likely to have discipline problems, lower grades and are more likely to be tardy or absent. So making sure our kids eat a healthy breakfast is a top priority.”
The West Virginia Feed to Achieve Act, recently signed into law, emphasizes all Mountain State students have adequate time and availability for school breakfast. As a result, more than 2.9 million school breakfasts are served monthly to students at more than 700 schools and feeding sites throughout West Virginia.
The Food Research and Action Center (FRAC) has ranked West Virginia first in the nation in school breakfast participation for three years in a row. West Virginia schools implement innovative breakfast strategies such as breakfast in the classroom and grab and go breakfast that allow every student to have easy access to a healthy meal to start their day.
“Children perform at their best when they receive proper nutrition," Martirano said. “The School Breakfast Program is an important tool for educators to ensure that students receive adequate nutrition to learn and thrive so they are not distracted in the classroom.”
Students who participate in school breakfast exhibit decreased behavioral and psychological problems and have lower rates of absence and tardiness. West Virginia receives up to $5 million per month in federal reimbursement statewide for breakfast participation.
About National School Breakfast Week
National School Breakfast Week was launched in 1989 to raise awareness of the availability of the School Breakfast Program to all children and to promote the links between eating a good breakfast, academic achievement and healthy lifestyles. The “Take the School Breakfast Challenge” is made possible by the nonprofit School Nutrition Association, Kellogg’s and Potatoes USA. To learn more, visit: schoolnutrition.org/Meetings/Events/NSBW/2017/.
In just six months, the largest tax hikes in the history of America will take effect. They will hit families and small businesses in three great waves on January 1, 2011:
First Wave: Expiration of 2001 and 2003 Tax Relief
In 2001 and 2003, the GOP Congress enacted several tax cuts for investors, small business owners, and families. These will all expire on January 1, 2011:
Personal income tax rates will rise. The top income tax rate will rise from 35 to 39.6 percent (this is also the rate at which two-thirds of small business profits are taxed). The lowest rate will rise from 10 to 15 percent. All the rates in between will also rise. Itemized deductions and personal exemptions will again phase out, which has the same mathematical effect as higher marginal tax rates. The full list of marginal rate hikes is below:
- The 10% bracket rises to an expanded 15%
- The 25% bracket rises to 28%
- The 28% bracket rises to 31%
- The 33% bracket rises to 36%
- The 35% bracket rises to 39.6%
Higher taxes on marriage and family. The “marriage penalty” (narrower tax brackets for married couples) will return from the first dollar of income. The child tax credit will be cut in half from $1000 to $500 per child. The standard deduction will no longer be doubled for married couples relative to the single level. The dependent care and adoption tax credits will be cut.
The return of the Death Tax. This year, there is no death tax. For those dying on or after January 1 2011, there is a 55 percent top death tax rate on estates over $1 million. A person leaving behind two homes and a retirement account could easily pass along a death tax bill to their loved ones.
Higher tax rates on savers and investors. The capital gains tax will rise from 15 percent this year to 20 percent in 2011. The dividends tax will rise from 15 percent this year to 39.6 percent in 2011. These rates will rise another 3.8 percent in 2013.
Second Wave: Obamacare
There are over twenty new or higher taxes in Obamacare. Several will first go into effect on January 1, 2011. They include:
The “Medicine Cabinet Tax” Thanks to Obamacare, Americans will no longer be able to use health savings account (HSA), flexible spending account (FSA), or health reimbursement (HRA) pre-tax dollars to purchase non-prescription, over-the-counter medicines (except insulin).
The “Special Needs Kids Tax” This provision of Obamacare imposes a cap on flexible spending accounts (FSAs) of $2500 (Currently, there is no federal government limit). There is one group of FSA owners for whom this new cap will be particularly cruel and onerous: parents of special needs children. There are thousands of families with special needs children in the United States, and many of them use FSAs to pay for special needs education. Tuition rates at one leading school that teaches special needs children in Washington, D.C. (National Child Research Center) can easily exceed $14,000 per year. Under tax rules, FSA dollars can be used to pay for this type of special needs education.
The HSA Withdrawal Tax Hike. This provision of Obamacare increases the additional tax on non-medical early withdrawals from an HSA from 10 to 20 percent, disadvantaging them relative to IRAs and other tax-advantaged accounts, which remain at 10 percent.
Third Wave: The Alternative Minimum Tax and Employer Tax Hikes
When Americans prepare to file their tax returns in January of 2011, they’ll be in for a nasty surprise—the AMT won’t be held harmless, and many tax relief provisions will have expired. The major items include:
The AMT will ensnare over 28 million families, up from 4 million last year. According to the left-leaning Tax Policy Center, Congress’ failure to index the AMT will lead to an explosion of AMT taxpaying families—rising from 4 million last year to 28.5 million. These families will have to calculate their tax burdens twice, and pay taxes at the higher level. The AMT was created in 1969 to ensnare a handful of taxpayers.
Small business expensing will be slashed and 50% expensing will disappear. Small businesses can normally expense (rather than slowly-deduct, or “depreciate”) equipment purchases up to $250,000. This will be cut all the way down to $25,000. Larger businesses can expense half of their purchases of equipment. In January of 2011, all of it will have to be “depreciated.”
Taxes will be raised on all types of businesses. There are literally scores of tax hikes on business that will take place. The biggest is the loss of the “research and experimentation tax credit,” but there are many, many others. Combining high marginal tax rates with the loss of this tax relief will cost jobs.
Tax Benefits for Education and Teaching Reduced. The deduction for tuition and fees will not be available. Tax credits for education will be limited. Teachers will no longer be able to deduct classroom expenses. Coverdell Education Savings Accounts will be cut. Employer-provided educational assistance is curtailed. The student loan interest deduction will be disallowed for hundreds of thousands of families.
Charitable Contributions from IRAs no longer allowed. Under current law, a retired person with an IRA can contribute up to $100,000 per year directly to a charity from their IRA. This contribution also counts toward an annual “required minimum distribution.” This ability will no longer be there.
Read more: www.atr.org/sixmonths.html?content=5171#ixzz0sckPQrzN
Governor Abercrombie signed the following bills:
House Bill 2052 (Relating to Provider Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment) increases access to Provider Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment (POLST) by updating references from “physicians orders for life-sustaining treatment” to “provider orders for life-sustaining treatment.” The measure also expands health care provider signatory authority to include advance practice registered nurses and corrects inconsistencies of terms describing who may sign a POLST form on behalf of a patient.
House Bill 1616 (Relating to Health Planning) adds to the Hawaii State Planning Act’s objectives and policies for health, the identification of social determinants of health and prioritization of programs, services, interventions, and activities that address identified social determinants of health to improve Native Hawaiian health in accordance with federal law and reduce health disparities of disproportionately affected demographics.
House Bill 1723 (Relating to Psychiatric Facilities) amends the notice requirements for the discharge of an involuntary patient committed pursuant to legal proceeding involving fitness to proceed and requires the family court to conduct a timely hearing prior to the termination of a standing commitment order.
House Bill 2320 (Relating to Health) establishes health equity as a goal for the DOH and requires the DOH to consider social determinants of health in assessing health needs in the state. The measure is known as “Loretta’s Law” for the late DOH Director Loretta Fuddy, who was passionate proponent.
House Bill 2581 (Relating to Insurance) establishes the State Innovation Waiver Task Force and requires the task force to submit two interim reports and a final report to the legislature.
Senate Bill 2469 (Relating to Telehealth) requires equivalent reimbursement for services, including behavioral health services, provided through telehealth as for the same services provided via face-to-face contact between a health care provider and a patient. The measure also clarifies that health care providers for purposes of telehealth include primary care providers, mental health providers, oral health providers, physicians and osteopathic physicians, advanced practice registered nurses, psychologists, and dentists. For consistency purposes, the bill changes statutory references of “telemedicine” to “telehealth.”
House Bill 2400 (Relating to Temporary Disability Benefits) provides temporary disability benefits to employees who suffer disabilities as a result of donating organs.
Senate Bill 1233 (Relating to Leaves of Absence) requires certain private employers to allow employees to take leaves of absence for organ, bone marrow, or peripheral blood stem cell donation. Unused sick leave, vacation, or paid time off, or unpaid time off, may be used for these leaves of absence. The measure also requires employers to restore an employee returning from leave to the same or equivalent position and establishes a private right of action for employees seeking enforcement of provisions.
Wall memorial by E Gaffin, with a shield between mourning cherubs on the south chancel wall :
"To the memory of Mary the wife of John Thomas Atkyns esqr, and daughter of Edward Atkyns esqr of Ketteringham Hall. This melancholy tribute of affection and esteem was erected in grateful remembrance by her son in law Nathaniel William Peach esq MP.
She died the 23rd of November 1829 aged 68 and was buried at Burnham in the county of Bucks"
Mary was the daughter of Jacob Rigail, a Russian merchant,
She m John Thomas Atkyns (later Wright) +++ (1758-1822) 2nd son of Edward Atkyns 1753 & Dorothy, daughter of John Wright of Oxford - John Thomas inherited the Oxford estate of his uncle John Wright and took additional name of Wright in March 1797
having 1 daughter
1. Harriot 1825 m 1824 (2nd wife) Nathaniel William Peach flic.kr/p/wbqdjj son of Nathaniel Peach (1749-1788) & Julia Maria Keasberry (1763 /1769 -1849) William was the widower of Elizabeth Goodman 1782 - 1709 and the father of several children
Whilst looking after his eldest son Edward, ===, John Thomas's his father Edward left his Gloucestershire property to trustees for the benefit of his younger children, of whom the survivors were John & Mary . They did better than expected from this provision, because in 1770 the trustees unexpectedly came into the family's Lower Swell estate, and the way Edward's will was drawn meant it passed to the younger children and not to his elder son (who went to law over it and lost). His other property, Pinbury was sold to Lord Bathurst's growing Cirencester estate in 1786 or 1788, and Lower Swell passed to John Atkyns Wright +++ , who pulled down the family home and replaced it with a farmhouse.
Eldest son Edward Atkyns (1757-94) === m 1779 actress, Charlotte Walpole (1758-1836), but finding she was not accepted by Norfolk society, and being pressed by creditors, he moved to France, where they seem to have gained an entrée to court circles. When the French Revolution began they left Paris and moved to Lille, and then in 1791 returned to England. Charlotte in particular was much exercised by the plight of the French royal family and aristocracy, and after her husband's death she raised mortgages on the Ketteringham estate to enable her to maintain efforts to assist aristocratic French émigrés. When the French monarchy was re-established in 1814, she petitioned King Louis XVIII for reimbursement of more than £30,000 she claimed to have spent on this cause, but he was unable to afford to repay at a time of financial austerity. Charlotte turned instead to her sister-in-law, Mary Atkyns +++ who paid off the mortgages, and settled an annuity on her in return for title to the Ketteringham estate. (Edward & Charlotte's only child Wright Atkins had died without heirs aged 24 www.flickr.com/gp/52219527@N00/1dL0E7 )
Mary then settled Ketteringham on her own daughter, Harriot Atkyns, when she married Nathaniel William Peach MP (1785-1835) in 1824. www.flickr.com/gp/52219527@N00/671C8B Sadly, Harriot died the following year, but Nathaniel retained the Ketteringham estate until his death, after which it passed to his son William by his 1st marriage, who sold it in 1836 for £80,000. - Church of St Peter, Ketteringham, Norfolk
U.S. Senator Claire McCaskill, the top-ranking Democrat on the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, today released the first product of her wide-ranging investigation into opioid manufacturers and distributors. “Fueling an Epidemic: Insys Therapeutics and the Systemic Manipulation of Prior Authorization” describes the emphasis Insys Therapeutics put on boosting approvals for its highly addictive fentanyl drug Subsys, even for inappropriate, off-label uses, and details an audio recording in which an Insys sales representative misidentifies herself and uses language designed to circumvent the prior authorization process.
Insurers often employ this process to prevent the overprescription and abuse of powerful and expensive drugs like Subsys. While the Food and Drug Administration has only approved Subsys for the treatment of breakthrough cancer pain—cancer pain that persists despite attempted treatment with other opioid medications—an internal document obtained by McCaskill shows that Insys lacked measures to prevent its representatives from manipulating the prior authorization process and gaining approval for Subsys treatment of non-cancer conditions like back pain, fibromyalgia and migraine headaches.
“There is extensive evidence that Insys aggressively pressured its employees and the entire medical system to increase the use of a fentanyl product during a national epidemic that was taking the lives of tens of thousands of Americans a year in order to make more money—it’s hard to imagine anything more despicable,” McCaskill said. “Their attempts to manipulate the prescription approval process for this drug appear to have been systemic, and anyone responsible for this manipulation deserves to be prosecuted.”
As part of its investigation, the minority staff received an audio recording of conversations between an Insys employee and pharmacy benefit manager representatives related to a Subsys prescription for Sarah Fuller, who later died from an alleged fentanyl overdose. This recording suggests the Insys employee in question repeatedly misled Envision Pharmaceutical Services to obtain approval for Ms. Fuller’s Subsys treatment—heavily implying she was employed by the prescribing physician and misrepresenting the type of pain the patient was experiencing.
The call occurred during a period in which Insys was aggressively pressuring its employees to increase their ratio of approvals. Employees reportedly received significant financial incentives and management pressure—including quotas and group and individual bonuses—to boost the rate of Subsys authorizations. “In an internal presentation dated 2012 and entitled, “2013 SUBSYS Brand Plan,” Insys identified one of six “key strategic imperatives” as “Mitigate Prior Authorization barriers,” the report notes. “On a later slide, the company identified several tasks associated with this effort, including “Build internal [prior authorization] assistance infrastructure,” “Establish an internal 1-800 reimbursement assistance hotline,” and “Educate field force on [prior authorization] process and facilitation.”
Subsys—a fentanyl sublingual spray product approved by the Food and Drug Administration in 2012 to treat breakthrough cancer pain—can cost over $20,000 per month, and proved incredibly successful financially after its introduction to the market. Insys had “the best-performing initial public offering in 2013,” and, over the next two years, revenues tripled and profits rose 45%. The value of company stock increased 296% between 2013 and 2016.
McCaskill has previously requested information related to sales and marketing materials, internal addiction studies, details on compliance with government settlements and donations to third party advocacy groups from major opioid manufacturers. She recently expanded her investigation, requesting documents and information from opioid manufacturers Mallinckrodt, Endo, Teva, and Allergan, while a request to McKesson Corporation, AmerisourceBergen Corporation, and Cardinal Health, Inc., focused on their distribution of opioid products.
When McCaskill was ranking member of the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, she joined Subcommittee Chairman Rob Portman to launch an investigation into the role Medicare Part D entities, private insurers, and pharmacy benefit managers play in detecting, reporting, and addressing opioid abuse, resulting in the in-depth report, “Combatting the Opioid Epidemic: A Review of Anti-Abuse Efforts in Medicare and Private Health Insurance Systems.”
Visit www.mccaskill.senate.gov/opioid-investigation to learn more about McCaskill’s investigation.
The United States Astronaut Hall of Fame, located inside the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex Heroes & Legends building on Merritt Island, Florida, honors American astronauts and features the world's largest collection of their personal memorabilia, focusing on those astronauts who have been inducted into the Hall. Exhibits include Wally Schirra's Sigma 7 space capsule from the fifth crewed Mercury mission and the Gemini IX spacecraft flown by Gene Cernan and Thomas P. Stafford in 1966.
In the 1980s, the six then-surviving Mercury Seven astronauts conceived of establishing a place where US space travelers could be remembered and honored, along the lines of halls of fame for other fields. The Mercury Seven Foundation and Astronaut Scholarship Foundation were formed, and have a role in the ongoing operations of the Hall of Fame. The foundation's first executive director was former Associated Press space reporter Howard Benedict.
The Astronaut Hall of Fame was opened on October 29, 1990, by the U.S. Space Camp Foundation, which was the first owner of the facility. It was located next to the Florida branch of Space Camp.
The Hall of Fame closed for several months in 2002 when U.S. Space Camp Foundation's creditors foreclosed on the property due to low attendance and mounting debt. That September, an auction was held and the property was purchased by Delaware North Park Services on behalf of NASA and the property was added to the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex. The Hall of Fame re-opened December 14, 2002.
The Hall of Fame, which was originally located just west of the NASA Causeway, closed to the public on November 2, 2015, in preparation for its relocation to the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex 6 miles (9.7 km) to the east on Merritt Island. Outside of the original building was a full-scale replica of a Space Shuttle orbiter named Inspiration (originally named "Shuttle To Tomorrow" where visitors could enter and view a program). Inspiration served only as an outdoor, full scale, static display which visitors could not enter. After the Hall of Fame was transferred to the KSC Visitor Complex, Inspiration was acquired by LVX System and was placed in storage at the Shuttle Landing Facility at the Kennedy Space Center; in 2016, the shuttle was loaded on to a barge to be taken for refurbishment before going on an educational tour.
The building was purchased at auction by visitor complex operator Delaware North and renamed the ATX Center, and for a time housed educational programs including Camp Kennedy Space Center and the Astronaut Training Experience. Those programs have since been moved to the KSC Visitor Complex, and as of December 2019, the structure was being offered for lease. In July 2020, Lockheed Martin announced it would lease the building to support work on the NASA Orion crew capsule.
Inductees into the Hall of Fame are selected by a blue ribbon committee of former NASA officials and flight controllers, historians, journalists, and other space authorities (including former astronauts) based on their accomplishments in space or their contributions to the advancement of space exploration. Except for 2002, inductions have been held every year since 2001.
As its inaugural class in 1990, the Hall of Fame inducted the United States' original group of astronauts: the Mercury Seven. In addition to being the first American astronauts, they set several firsts in American spaceflight, both auspicious and tragic. Alan Shepard was the first American in space and later became one of the twelve people to walk on the Moon. John Glenn was the first American to orbit the Earth and after his induction went on, in 1998, to become the oldest man to fly in space, aged 77. Gus Grissom was the first American to fly in space twice and was the commander of the ill-fated Apollo 1, which resulted in the first astronaut deaths directly related to preparation for spaceflight.
Thirteen astronauts from the Gemini and Apollo programs were inducted in the second class of 1993. This class included the first and last humans to walk on the Moon, Neil Armstrong and Eugene Cernan; Ed White, the first American to walk in space (also killed in the Apollo 1 accident); Jim Lovell, commander of the famously near-tragic Apollo 13; and John Young, whose six flights included a moonwalk and command of the first Space Shuttle mission.
The third class was inducted in 1997 and consisted of the 24 additional Apollo, Skylab, and ASTP astronauts. Notable members of the class were Roger Chaffee, the third astronaut killed in the Apollo 1 fire and the only unflown astronaut in the Hall; Harrison Schmitt, the first scientist and next-to-last person to walk on the Moon; and Jack Swigert and Fred Haise, the Apollo 13 crewmembers not previously inducted.
The philosophy regarding the first three groups of inductees was that all astronauts who flew in NASA's "pioneering" programs (which would include Mercury, Gemini, Apollo, Apollo Applications Program (Skylab), and Apollo-Soyuz Test Project) would be included simply by virtue of their participation in a spaceflight in these early programs. The first group (the inaugural class of 1990) would only include the original Mercury astronauts (most of whom would go on to fly in later programs). The second group of inductees would include those astronauts who began their spaceflight careers during Gemini (all of whom would go on to fly in later programs). The third group of inductees would include those astronauts who began their spaceflight careers during Apollo, Skylab, and ASTP (some of whom would go on to fly in the Space Shuttle program). Since it would not be practical (or meaningful) to induct all astronauts who ever flew in space, all subsequent inductees (Space Shuttle program and beyond) are considered based on their accomplishments and contributions to the human spaceflight endeavor which would set them apart from their peers.
Over four dozen astronauts from the Space Shuttle program have been inducted since 2001. Among these are Sally Ride, the first American woman in space; Story Musgrave, who flew six missions in the 1980s and 90s; and Francis Scobee, commander of the ill-fated final Challenger mission.
The 2010 class consisted of Guion Bluford Jr., Kenneth Bowersox, Frank Culbertson and Kathryn Thornton. The 2011 inductees were Karol Bobko and Susan Helms. The 2012 inductees were Franklin Chang-Diaz, Kevin Chilton and Charles Precourt. Bonnie Dunbar, Curt Brown and Eileen Collins were inducted in 2013, and Shannon Lucid and Jerry Ross comprised the 2014 class.
Those inducted in 2015 were John Grunsfeld, Steven Lindsey, Kent Rominger, and Rhea Seddon. In 2016, inductees included Brian Duffy and Scott E. Parazynski. Ellen Ochoa and Michael Foale were announced as the 2017 class of the United States Astronaut Hall of Fame. Scott Altman and Thomas Jones followed in 2018. The 2019 inductees were James Buchli and Janet L. Kavandi.
Michael López-Alegría, Scott Kelly and Pamela Melroy were the 2020 inductees, inducted in a November 2021 ceremony. The 2022 inductees were Christopher Ferguson, David Leestma, and Sandra Magnus. Roy Bridges Jr. and Mark Kelly were the 2023 inductees.
The Hall of Heroes is composed of tributes to the inductees. Among the Hall of Fame's displays is Sigma 7, the Mercury spacecraft piloted by Wally Schirra which orbited the Earth six times in 1962, and the Gemini 9A capsule flown by Gene Cernan and Thomas P. Stafford in 1966. An Astronaut Adventure room includes simulators for use by children.
The spacesuit worn by Gus Grissom during his 1961 Liberty Bell 7 Mercury flight is on display and has been the subject of a dispute between NASA and Grissom's heirs and supporters since 2002. The spacesuit, along with other Grissom artifacts, were loaned to the original owners of the Hall of Fame by the Grissom family when it opened. After the Hall of Fame went into bankruptcy and was taken over by a NASA contractor in 2002, the family requested that all their items be returned. All of the items were returned to Grissom's family except the spacesuit, because both NASA and the Grissoms claim ownership of it. NASA claims Grissom checked out the spacesuit for a show and tell at his son's school, and then never returned it, while the Grissoms claim Gus rescued the spacesuit from a scrap heap.
The John F. Kennedy Space Center (KSC, originally known as the NASA Launch Operations Center), located on Merritt Island, Florida, is one of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) ten field centers. Since December 1968, KSC has been NASA's primary launch center of human spaceflight. Launch operations for the Apollo, Skylab and Space Shuttle programs were carried out from Kennedy Space Center Launch Complex 39 and managed by KSC.[4] Located on the east coast of Florida, KSC is adjacent to Cape Canaveral Space Force Station (CCSFS). The management of the two entities work very closely together, share resources and operate facilities on each other's property.
Though the first Apollo flights and all Project Mercury and Project Gemini flights took off from the then-Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, the launches were managed by KSC and its previous organization, the Launch Operations Directorate. Starting with the fourth Gemini mission, the NASA launch control center in Florida (Mercury Control Center, later the Launch Control Center) began handing off control of the vehicle to the Mission Control Center in Houston, shortly after liftoff; in prior missions it held control throughout the entire mission.
Additionally, the center manages launch of robotic and commercial crew missions and researches food production and In-Situ Resource Utilization for off-Earth exploration. Since 2010, the center has worked to become a multi-user spaceport through industry partnerships, even adding a new launch pad (LC-39C) in 2015.
There are about 700 facilities and buildings grouped across the center's 144,000 acres (580 km2). Among the unique facilities at KSC are the 525-foot (160 m) tall Vehicle Assembly Building for stacking NASA's largest rockets, the Launch Control Center, which conducts space launches at KSC, the Operations and Checkout Building, which houses the astronauts dormitories and suit-up area, a Space Station factory, and a 3-mile (4.8 km) long Shuttle Landing Facility. There is also a Visitor Complex open to the public on site.
Since 1949, the military had been performing launch operations at what would become Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. In December 1959, the Department of Defense transferred 5,000 personnel and the Missile Firing Laboratory to NASA to become the Launch Operations Directorate under NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center.
President John F. Kennedy's 1961 goal of a crewed lunar landing by 1970 required an expansion of launch operations. On July 1, 1962, the Launch Operations Directorate was separated from MSFC to become the Launch Operations Center (LOC). Also, Cape Canaveral was inadequate to host the new launch facility design required for the mammoth 363-foot (111 m) tall, 7,500,000-pound-force (33,000 kN) thrust Saturn V rocket, which would be assembled vertically in a large hangar and transported on a mobile platform to one of several launch pads. Therefore, the decision was made to build a new LOC site located adjacent to Cape Canaveral on Merritt Island.
NASA began land acquisition in 1962, buying title to 131 square miles (340 km2) and negotiating with the state of Florida for an additional 87 square miles (230 km2). The major buildings in KSC's Industrial Area were designed by architect Charles Luckman. Construction began in November 1962, and Kennedy visited the site twice in 1962, and again just a week before his assassination on November 22, 1963.
On November 29, 1963, the facility was given its current name by President Lyndon B. Johnson under Executive Order 11129. Johnson's order joined both the civilian LOC and the military Cape Canaveral station ("the facilities of Station No. 1 of the Atlantic Missile Range") under the designation "John F. Kennedy Space Center", spawning some confusion joining the two in the public mind. NASA Administrator James E. Webb clarified this by issuing a directive stating the Kennedy Space Center name applied only to the LOC, while the Air Force issued a general order renaming the military launch site Cape Kennedy Air Force Station.
Located on Merritt Island, Florida, the center is north-northwest of Cape Canaveral on the Atlantic Ocean, midway between Miami and Jacksonville on Florida's Space Coast, due east of Orlando. It is 34 miles (55 km) long and roughly six miles (9.7 km) wide, covering 219 square miles (570 km2). KSC is a major central Florida tourist destination and is approximately one hour's drive from the Orlando area. The Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex offers public tours of the center and Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.
The KSC Industrial Area, where many of the center's support facilities are located, is 5 miles (8 km) south of LC-39. It includes the Headquarters Building, the Operations and Checkout Building and the Central Instrumentation Facility. The astronaut crew quarters are in the O&C; before it was completed, the astronaut crew quarters were located in Hangar S[39] at the Cape Canaveral Missile Test Annex (now Cape Canaveral Space Force Station). Located at KSC was the Merritt Island Spaceflight Tracking and Data Network station (MILA), a key radio communications and spacecraft tracking complex.
Facilities at the Kennedy Space Center are directly related to its mission to launch and recover missions. Facilities are available to prepare and maintain spacecraft and payloads for flight. The Headquarters (HQ) Building houses offices for the Center Director, library, film and photo archives, a print shop and security. When the KSC Library first opened, it was part of the Army Ballistic Missile Agency. However, in 1965, the library moved into three separate sections in the newly opened NASA headquarters before eventually becoming a single unit in 1970. The library contains over four million items related to the history and the work at Kennedy. As one of ten NASA center libraries in the country, their collection focuses on engineering, science, and technology. The archives contain planning documents, film reels, and original photographs covering the history of KSC. The library is not open to the public but is available for KSC, Space Force, and Navy employees who work on site. Many of the media items from the collection are digitized and available through NASA's KSC Media Gallery or through their more up-to-date Flickr gallery.
A new Headquarters Building was completed in 2019 as part of the Central Campus consolidation. Groundbreaking began in 2014.
The center operated its own 17-mile (27 km) short-line railroad. This operation was discontinued in 2015, with the sale of its final two locomotives. A third had already been donated to a museum. The line was costing $1.3 million annually to maintain.
The Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex, operated by Delaware North since 1995, has a variety of exhibits, artifacts, displays and attractions on the history and future of human and robotic spaceflight. Bus tours of KSC originate from here. The complex also includes the separate Apollo/Saturn V Center, north of the VAB and the United States Astronaut Hall of Fame, six miles west near Titusville. There were 1.5 million visitors in 2009. It had some 700 employees.
It was announced on May 29, 2015, that the Astronaut Hall of Fame exhibit would be moved from its current location to another location within the Visitor Complex to make room for an upcoming high-tech attraction entitled "Heroes and Legends". The attraction, designed by Orlando-based design firm Falcon's Treehouse, opened November 11, 2016.
In March 2016, the visitor center unveiled the new location of the iconic countdown clock at the complex's entrance; previously, the clock was located with a flagpole at the press site. The clock was originally built and installed in 1969 and listed with the flagpole in the National Register of Historic Places in January 2000. In 2019, NASA celebrated the 50th anniversary of the Apollo program, and the launch of Apollo 10 on May 18. In summer of 2019, Lunar Module 9 (LM-9) was relocated to the Apollo/Saturn V Center as part of an initiative to rededicate the center and celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Apollo Program.
The John F. Kennedy Space Center (KSC, originally known as the NASA Launch Operations Center), located on Merritt Island, Florida, is one of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) ten field centers. Since December 1968, KSC has been NASA's primary launch center of American spaceflight, research, and technology. Launch operations for the Apollo, Skylab and Space Shuttle programs were carried out from Kennedy Space Center Launch Complex 39 and managed by KSC. Located on the east coast of Florida, KSC is adjacent to Cape Canaveral Space Force Station (CCSFS). The management of the two entities work very closely together, share resources and operate facilities on each other's property.
Though the first Apollo flights and all Project Mercury and Project Gemini flights took off from the then-Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, the launches were managed by KSC and its previous organization, the Launch Operations Directorate. Starting with the fourth Gemini mission, the NASA launch control center in Florida (Mercury Control Center, later the Launch Control Center) began handing off control of the vehicle to the Mission Control Center in Houston, shortly after liftoff; in prior missions it held control throughout the entire mission.
Additionally, the center manages launch of robotic and commercial crew missions and researches food production and in-situ resource utilization for off-Earth exploration. Since 2010, the center has worked to become a multi-user spaceport through industry partnerships, even adding a new launch pad (LC-39C) in 2015.
There are about 700 facilities and buildings grouped throughout the center's 144,000 acres (580 km2). Among the unique facilities at KSC are the 525-foot (160 m) tall Vehicle Assembly Building for stacking NASA's largest rockets, the Launch Control Center, which conducts space launches at KSC, the Operations and Checkout Building, which houses the astronauts dormitories and suit-up area, a Space Station factory, and a 3-mile (4.8 km) long Shuttle Landing Facility. There is also a Visitor Complex on site that is open to the public.
Since 1949, the military had been performing launch operations at what would become Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. In December 1959, the Department of Defense transferred 5,000 personnel and the Missile Firing Laboratory to NASA to become the Launch Operations Directorate under NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center.
President John F. Kennedy's 1961 goal of a crewed lunar landing by 1970 required an expansion of launch operations. On July 1, 1962, the Launch Operations Directorate was separated from MSFC to become the Launch Operations Center (LOC). Also, Cape Canaveral was inadequate to host the new launch facility design required for the mammoth 363-foot (111 m) tall, 7,500,000-pound-force (33,000 kN) thrust Saturn V rocket, which would be assembled vertically in a large hangar and transported on a mobile platform to one of several launch pads. Therefore, the decision was made to build a new LOC site located adjacent to Cape Canaveral on Merritt Island.
NASA began land acquisition in 1962, buying title to 131 square miles (340 km2) and negotiating with the state of Florida for an additional 87 square miles (230 km2). The major buildings in KSC's Industrial Area were designed by architect Charles Luckman. Construction began in November 1962, and Kennedy visited the site twice in 1962, and again just a week before his assassination on November 22, 1963.
On November 29, 1963, the facility was named by President Lyndon B. Johnson under Executive Order 11129. Johnson's order joined both the civilian LOC and the military Cape Canaveral station ("the facilities of Station No. 1 of the Atlantic Missile Range") under the designation "John F. Kennedy Space Center", spawning some confusion joining the two in the public mind. NASA Administrator James E. Webb clarified this by issuing a directive stating the Kennedy Space Center name applied only to the LOC, while the Air Force issued a general order renaming the military launch site Cape Kennedy Air Force Station.
Located on Merritt Island, Florida, the center is north-northwest of Cape Canaveral on the Atlantic Ocean, midway between Miami and Jacksonville on Florida's Space Coast, due east of Orlando. It is 34 miles (55 km) long and roughly six miles (9.7 km) wide, covering 219 square miles (570 km2). KSC is a major central Florida tourist destination and is approximately one hour's drive from the Orlando area. The Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex offers public tours of the center and Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.
From 1967 through 1973, there were 13 Saturn V launches, including the ten remaining Apollo missions after Apollo 7. The first of two uncrewed flights, Apollo 4 (Apollo-Saturn 501) on November 9, 1967, was also the first rocket launch from KSC. The Saturn V's first crewed launch on December 21, 1968, was Apollo 8's lunar orbiting mission. The next two missions tested the Lunar Module: Apollo 9 (Earth orbit) and Apollo 10 (lunar orbit). Apollo 11, launched from Pad A on July 16, 1969, made the first Moon landing on July 20. The Apollo 11 launch included crewmembers Neil Armstrong, Michael Collins, and Buzz Aldrin, and attracted a record-breaking 650 million television viewers. Apollo 12 followed four months later. From 1970 to 1972, the Apollo program concluded at KSC with the launches of missions 13 through 17.
On May 14, 1973, the last Saturn V launch put the Skylab space station in orbit from Pad 39A. By this time, the Cape Kennedy pads 34 and 37 used for the Saturn IB were decommissioned, so Pad 39B was modified to accommodate the Saturn IB, and used to launch three crewed missions to Skylab that year, as well as the final Apollo spacecraft for the Apollo–Soyuz Test Project in 1975.
As the Space Shuttle was being designed, NASA received proposals for building alternative launch-and-landing sites at locations other than KSC, which demanded study. KSC had important advantages, including its existing facilities; location on the Intracoastal Waterway; and its southern latitude, which gives a velocity advantage to missions launched in easterly near-equatorial orbits. Disadvantages included: its inability to safely launch military missions into polar orbit, since spent boosters would be likely to fall on the Carolinas or Cuba; corrosion from the salt air; and frequent cloudy or stormy weather. Although building a new site at White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico was seriously considered, NASA announced its decision in April 1972 to use KSC for the shuttle. Since the Shuttle could not be landed automatically or by remote control, the launch of Columbia on April 12, 1981 for its first orbital mission STS-1, was NASA's first crewed launch of a vehicle that had not been tested in prior uncrewed launches.
In 1976, the VAB's south parking area was the site of Third Century America, a science and technology display commemorating the U.S. Bicentennial. Concurrent with this event, the U.S. flag was painted on the south side of the VAB. During the late 1970s, LC-39 was reconfigured to support the Space Shuttle. Two Orbiter Processing Facilities were built near the VAB as hangars with a third added in the 1980s.
KSC's 2.9-mile (4.7 km) Shuttle Landing Facility (SLF) was the orbiters' primary end-of-mission landing site, although the first KSC landing did not take place until the tenth flight, when Challenger completed STS-41-B on February 11, 1984; the primary landing site until then was Edwards Air Force Base in California, subsequently used as a backup landing site. The SLF also provided a return-to-launch-site (RTLS) abort option, which was not utilized. The SLF is among the longest runways in the world.
On October 28, 2009, the Ares I-X launch from Pad 39B was the first uncrewed launch from KSC since the Skylab workshop in 1973.
Beginning in 1958, NASA and military worked side by side on robotic mission launches (previously referred to as unmanned), cooperating as they broke ground in the field. In the early 1960s, NASA had as many as two robotic mission launches a month. The frequent number of flights allowed for quick evolution of the vehicles, as engineers gathered data, learned from anomalies and implemented upgrades. In 1963, with the intent of KSC ELV work focusing on the ground support equipment and facilities, a separate Atlas/Centaur organization was formed under NASA's Lewis Center (now Glenn Research Center (GRC)), taking that responsibility from the Launch Operations Center (aka KSC).
Though almost all robotics missions launched from the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station (CCSFS), KSC "oversaw the final assembly and testing of rockets as they arrived at the Cape." In 1965, KSC's Unmanned Launch Operations directorate became responsible for all NASA uncrewed launch operations, including those at Vandenberg Space Force Base. From the 1950s to 1978, KSC chose the rocket and payload processing facilities for all robotic missions launching in the U.S., overseeing their near launch processing and checkout. In addition to government missions, KSC performed this service for commercial and foreign missions also, though non-U.S. government entities provided reimbursement. NASA also funded Cape Canaveral Space Force Station launch pad maintenance and launch vehicle improvements.
All this changed with the Commercial Space Launch Act of 1984, after which NASA only coordinated its own and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) ELV launches. Companies were able to "operate their own launch vehicles" and utilize NASA's launch facilities. Payload processing handled by private firms also started to occur outside of KSC. Reagan's 1988 space policy furthered the movement of this work from KSC to commercial companies. That same year, launch complexes on Cape Canaveral Air Force Force Station started transferring from NASA to Air Force Space Command management.
In the 1990s, though KSC was not performing the hands-on ELV work, engineers still maintained an understanding of ELVs and had contracts allowing them insight into the vehicles so they could provide knowledgeable oversight. KSC also worked on ELV research and analysis and the contractors were able to utilize KSC personnel as a resource for technical issues. KSC, with the payload and launch vehicle industries, developed advances in automation of the ELV launch and ground operations to enable competitiveness of U.S. rockets against the global market.
In 1998, the Launch Services Program (LSP) formed at KSC, pulling together programs (and personnel) that already existed at KSC, GRC, Goddard Space Flight Center, and more to manage the launch of NASA and NOAA robotic missions. Cape Canaveral Space Force Station and VAFB are the primary launch sites for LSP missions, though other sites are occasionally used. LSP payloads such as the Mars Science Laboratory have been processed at KSC before being transferred to a launch pad on Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.
On 16 November 2022, at 06:47:44 UTC the Space Launch System (SLS) was launched from Complex 39B as part of the Artemis 1 mission.
As the International Space Station modules design began in the early 1990s, KSC began to work with other NASA centers and international partners to prepare for processing before launch onboard the Space Shuttles. KSC utilized its hands-on experience processing the 22 Spacelab missions in the Operations and Checkout Building to gather expectations of ISS processing. These experiences were incorporated into the design of the Space Station Processing Facility (SSPF), which began construction in 1991. The Space Station Directorate formed in 1996. KSC personnel were embedded at station module factories for insight into their processes.
From 1997 to 2007, KSC planned and performed on the ground integration tests and checkouts of station modules: three Multi-Element Integration Testing (MEIT) sessions and the Integration Systems Test (IST). Numerous issues were found and corrected that would have been difficult to nearly impossible to do on-orbit.
Today KSC continues to process ISS payloads from across the world before launch along with developing its experiments for on orbit. The proposed Lunar Gateway would be manufactured and processed at the Space Station Processing Facility.
The following are current programs and initiatives at Kennedy Space Center:
Commercial Crew Program
Exploration Ground Systems Program
NASA is currently designing the next heavy launch vehicle known as the Space Launch System (SLS) for continuation of human spaceflight.
On December 5, 2014, NASA launched the first uncrewed flight test of the Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle (MPCV), currently under development to facilitate human exploration of the Moon and Mars.
Launch Services Program
Educational Launch of Nanosatellites (ELaNa)
Research and Technology
Artemis program
Lunar Gateway
International Space Station Payloads
Camp KSC: educational camps for schoolchildren in spring and summer, with a focus on space, aviation and robotics.
The KSC Industrial Area, where many of the center's support facilities are located, is 5 miles (8 km) south of LC-39. It includes the Headquarters Building, the Operations and Checkout Building and the Central Instrumentation Facility. The astronaut crew quarters are in the O&C; before it was completed, the astronaut crew quarters were located in Hangar S at the Cape Canaveral Missile Test Annex (now Cape Canaveral Space Force Station). Located at KSC was the Merritt Island Spaceflight Tracking and Data Network station (MILA), a key radio communications and spacecraft tracking complex.
Facilities at the Kennedy Space Center are directly related to its mission to launch and recover missions. Facilities are available to prepare and maintain spacecraft and payloads for flight. The Headquarters (HQ) Building houses offices for the Center Director, library, film and photo archives, a print shop and security. When the KSC Library first opened, it was part of the Army Ballistic Missile Agency. However, in 1965, the library moved into three separate sections in the newly opened NASA headquarters before eventually becoming a single unit in 1970. The library contains over four million items related to the history and the work at Kennedy. As one of ten NASA center libraries in the country, their collection focuses on engineering, science, and technology. The archives contain planning documents, film reels, and original photographs covering the history of KSC. The library is not open to the public but is available for KSC, Space Force, and Navy employees who work on site. Many of the media items from the collection are digitized and available through NASA's KSC Media Gallery Archived December 6, 2020, at the Wayback Machine or through their more up-to-date Flickr gallery.
A new Headquarters Building was completed in 2019 as part of the Central Campus consolidation. Groundbreaking began in 2014.
The center operated its own 17-mile (27 km) short-line railroad. This operation was discontinued in 2015, with the sale of its final two locomotives. A third had already been donated to a museum. The line was costing $1.3 million annually to maintain.
The Neil Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building (O&C) (previously known as the Manned Spacecraft Operations Building) is a historic site on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places dating back to the 1960s and was used to receive, process, and integrate payloads for the Gemini and Apollo programs, the Skylab program in the 1970s, and for initial segments of the International Space Station through the 1990s. The Apollo and Space Shuttle astronauts would board the astronaut transfer van to launch complex 39 from the O&C building.
The three-story, 457,000-square-foot (42,500 m2) Space Station Processing Facility (SSPF) consists of two enormous processing bays, an airlock, operational control rooms, laboratories, logistics areas and office space for support of non-hazardous Space Station and Shuttle payloads to ISO 14644-1 class 5 standards. Opened in 1994, it is the largest factory building in the KSC industrial area.
The Vertical Processing Facility (VPF) features a 71-by-38-foot (22 by 12 m) door where payloads that are processed in the vertical position are brought in and manipulated with two overhead cranes and a hoist capable of lifting up to 35 short tons (32 t).
The Hypergolic Maintenance and Checkout Area (HMCA) comprises three buildings that are isolated from the rest of the industrial area because of the hazardous materials handled there. Hypergolic-fueled modules that made up the Space Shuttle Orbiter's reaction control system, orbital maneuvering system and auxiliary power units were stored and serviced in the HMCF.
The Multi-Payload Processing Facility is a 19,647 square feet (1,825.3 m2) building used for Orion spacecraft and payload processing.
The Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility (PHSF) contains a 70-by-110-foot (21 by 34 m) service bay, with a 100,000-pound (45,000 kg), 85-foot (26 m) hook height. It also contains a 58-by-80-foot (18 by 24 m) payload airlock. Its temperature is maintained at 70 °F (21 °C).[55]
The Blue Origin rocket manufacturing facility is located immediately south of the KSC visitor complex. Completed in 2019, it serves as the company's factory for the manufacture of New Glenn orbital rockets.
Launch Complex 39 (LC-39) was originally built for the Saturn V, the largest and most powerful operational launch vehicle until the Space Launch System, for the Apollo crewed Moon landing program. Since the end of the Apollo program in 1972, LC-39 has been used to launch every NASA human space flight, including Skylab (1973), the Apollo–Soyuz Test Project (1975), and the Space Shuttle program (1981–2011).
Since December 1968, all launch operations have been conducted from launch pads A and B at LC-39. Both pads are on the ocean, 3 miles (4.8 km) east of the VAB. From 1969 to 1972, LC-39 was the "Moonport" for all six Apollo crewed Moon landing missions using the Saturn V, and was used from 1981 to 2011 for all Space Shuttle launches.
Human missions to the Moon required the large three-stage Saturn V rocket, which was 363 feet (111 meters) tall and 33 feet (10 meters) in diameter. At KSC, Launch Complex 39 was built on Merritt Island to accommodate the new rocket. Construction of the $800 million project began in November 1962. LC-39 pads A and B were completed by October 1965 (planned Pads C, D and E were canceled), the VAB was completed in June 1965, and the infrastructure by late 1966.
The complex includes: the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB), a 130,000,000 cubic feet (3,700,000 m3) hangar capable of holding four Saturn Vs. The VAB was the largest structure in the world by volume when completed in 1965.
a transporter capable of carrying 5,440 tons along a crawlerway to either of two launch pads;
a 446-foot (136 m) mobile service structure, with three Mobile Launcher Platforms, each containing a fixed launch umbilical tower;
the Launch Control Center; and
a news media facility.
Launch Complex 48 (LC-48) is a multi-user launch site under construction for small launchers and spacecraft. It will be located between Launch Complex 39A and Space Launch Complex 41, with LC-39A to the north and SLC-41 to the south. LC-48 will be constructed as a "clean pad" to support multiple launch systems with differing propellant needs. While initially only planned to have a single pad, the complex is capable of being expanded to two at a later date.
As a part of promoting commercial space industry growth in the area and the overall center as a multi-user spaceport, KSC leases some of its properties. Here are some major examples:
Exploration Park to multiple users (partnership with Space Florida)
Shuttle Landing Facility to Space Florida (who contracts use to private companies)
Orbiter Processing Facility (OPF)-3 to Boeing (for CST-100 Starliner)
Launch Complex 39A, Launch Control Center Firing Room 4 and land for SpaceX's Roberts Road facility (Hanger X) to SpaceX
O&C High Bay to Lockheed Martin (for Orion processing)
Land for FPL's Space Coast Next Generation Solar Energy Center to Florida Power and Light (FPL)
Hypergolic Maintenance Facility (HMF) to United Paradyne Corporation (UPC)
The Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex, operated by Delaware North since 1995, has a variety of exhibits, artifacts, displays and attractions on the history and future of human and robotic spaceflight. Bus tours of KSC originate from here. The complex also includes the separate Apollo/Saturn V Center, north of the VAB and the United States Astronaut Hall of Fame, six miles west near Titusville. There were 1.5 million visitors in 2009. It had some 700 employees.
It was announced on May 29, 2015, that the Astronaut Hall of Fame exhibit would be moved from its current location to another location within the Visitor Complex to make room for an upcoming high-tech attraction entitled "Heroes and Legends". The attraction, designed by Orlando-based design firm Falcon's Treehouse, opened November 11, 2016.
In March 2016, the visitor center unveiled the new location of the iconic countdown clock at the complex's entrance; previously, the clock was located with a flagpole at the press site. The clock was originally built and installed in 1969 and listed with the flagpole in the National Register of Historic Places in January 2000. In 2019, NASA celebrated the 50th anniversary of the Apollo program, and the launch of Apollo 10 on May 18. In summer of 2019, Lunar Module 9 (LM-9) was relocated to the Apollo/Saturn V Center as part of an initiative to rededicate the center and celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Apollo Program.
Historic locations
NASA lists the following Historic Districts at KSC; each district has multiple associated facilities:
Launch Complex 39: Pad A Historic District
Launch Complex 39: Pad B Historic District
Shuttle Landing Facility (SLF) Area Historic District
Orbiter Processing Historic District
Solid Rocket Booster (SRB) Disassembly and Refurbishment Complex Historic District
NASA KSC Railroad System Historic District
NASA-owned Cape Canaveral Space Force Station Industrial Area Historic District
There are 24 historic properties outside of these historic districts, including the Space Shuttle Atlantis, Vehicle Assembly Building, Crawlerway, and Operations and Checkout Building.[71] KSC has one National Historic Landmark, 78 National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) listed or eligible sites, and 100 Archaeological Sites.
Further information: John F. Kennedy Space Center MPS
Other facilities
The Rotation, Processing and Surge Facility (RPSF) is responsible for the preparation of solid rocket booster segments for transportation to the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB). The RPSF was built in 1984 to perform SRB operations that had previously been conducted in high bays 2 and 4 of the VAB at the beginning of the Space Shuttle program. It was used until the Space Shuttle's retirement, and will be used in the future by the Space Launch System[75] (SLS) and OmegA rockets.
Governor Abercrombie signed the following bills:
House Bill 2052 (Relating to Provider Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment) increases access to Provider Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment (POLST) by updating references from “physicians orders for life-sustaining treatment” to “provider orders for life-sustaining treatment.” The measure also expands health care provider signatory authority to include advance practice registered nurses and corrects inconsistencies of terms describing who may sign a POLST form on behalf of a patient.
House Bill 1616 (Relating to Health Planning) adds to the Hawaii State Planning Act’s objectives and policies for health, the identification of social determinants of health and prioritization of programs, services, interventions, and activities that address identified social determinants of health to improve Native Hawaiian health in accordance with federal law and reduce health disparities of disproportionately affected demographics.
House Bill 1723 (Relating to Psychiatric Facilities) amends the notice requirements for the discharge of an involuntary patient committed pursuant to legal proceeding involving fitness to proceed and requires the family court to conduct a timely hearing prior to the termination of a standing commitment order.
House Bill 2320 (Relating to Health) establishes health equity as a goal for the DOH and requires the DOH to consider social determinants of health in assessing health needs in the state. The measure is known as “Loretta’s Law” for the late DOH Director Loretta Fuddy, who was passionate proponent.
House Bill 2581 (Relating to Insurance) establishes the State Innovation Waiver Task Force and requires the task force to submit two interim reports and a final report to the legislature.
Senate Bill 2469 (Relating to Telehealth) requires equivalent reimbursement for services, including behavioral health services, provided through telehealth as for the same services provided via face-to-face contact between a health care provider and a patient. The measure also clarifies that health care providers for purposes of telehealth include primary care providers, mental health providers, oral health providers, physicians and osteopathic physicians, advanced practice registered nurses, psychologists, and dentists. For consistency purposes, the bill changes statutory references of “telemedicine” to “telehealth.”
House Bill 2400 (Relating to Temporary Disability Benefits) provides temporary disability benefits to employees who suffer disabilities as a result of donating organs.
Senate Bill 1233 (Relating to Leaves of Absence) requires certain private employers to allow employees to take leaves of absence for organ, bone marrow, or peripheral blood stem cell donation. Unused sick leave, vacation, or paid time off, or unpaid time off, may be used for these leaves of absence. The measure also requires employers to restore an employee returning from leave to the same or equivalent position and establishes a private right of action for employees seeking enforcement of provisions.