CO Lt. Gov. Garcia calls on Coloradans to volunteer on Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service

DENVER – Tuesday, Jan. 10, 2012 - Lt. Gov. Joe Garcia calls on Coloradans to volunteer this Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service on Monday, Jan. 16 to strengthen their local communities through service and volunteer activities. Garcia oversees Serve Colorado-Governor’s Commission on Community Service, the state commission responsible for leading Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service activities in Colorado.

“In Colorado we honor the Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service as a part of the President’s national call to service – when all Coloradans, from all walks of life, can work together to provide solutions to our most pressing national and local problems,” said Garcia.

In partnership with nonprofit groups, government entities, faith-based organizations, schools and businesses, Serve Colorado is promoting more than 60 service projects in Colorado.  Projects include delivering meals, refurbishing schools and community centers, collecting food and clothing, signing up mentors, reading to children, promoting nonviolence, and more.   More than 1,000 people are expected to volunteer over 5,000 hours in service projects in 17 counties across Colorado.

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“Government at Loan Ceiling”

The White House has notified Congress that the government is near its 15.194 billion dollars borrowing limit. This notification gives Congress 15 days to disapprove of an increase, or the debt ceiling would automatically adjust up an additional 1.2-trillion dollars. Thanks to last August’s budget agreement a government default will not become reality.  That agreement permits President Obama to issue a veto, and the ceiling would rise even if Congress moves to block it.

Congress keeps increasing the debt ceiling because the U.S. government spends more money than it brings in through tax receipts. To cut costs, President Obama is asking legislators to grant him the authority to merge agencies that perform similar functions. An up-or-down vote by Congress on the plan must be held within 90 days of its submission.

The Agriculture Department is already making cuts.  Last week, Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack announced it is closing 259 offices across the country. The closures are part of plans to save about 150-million dollars annually in the department’s 145-billion dollar budget.

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“New Food Labels Weeks Away”

Federal rules require that specific meat and poultry products carry new nutrition information. So, the beef and pork industries are working to provide those new Nutrition Facts labels. They have until March 1^st to complete their tasks. The information contained on those labels is based on two nutrient data sets provided by USDA scientists.