Earlier this month, President Obama announced Gina McCarthy as the new administrator for the Environmental Protection Agency and Ernez Moniz as the Secretary of the Department of Energy. These nominations are only a catalyst for a stronger focus on environmental-related policy this term.

As the nation sees improvements in the housing industry, some have noticed communities of color left out. The monitor for the 2009 fair housing settlement in Westchester is currently studying data to determine if the county’s zones excludes Blacks and Hispanics.

In its deliberations to develop a plan to reduce the federal deficit by more than a trillion dollars over the next decade, the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction considered a proposal to calculate cost-of-living adjustments (COLAs) in all government programs using the Chained Consumer Price Index-Urban (C-CPI-U), rather than the Consumer Price Index (CPI-U).

Congress is currently debating to make serious cuts in Social Security. Some analysts in Washington believe that the cuts are necessary to help the country out of its economic downturn.  However, any changes in the program will severely affect all recipients, particularly African-Americans.