Chicago Hull House closing for lack of funds

CHICAGO (Reuters) - Chicago's historic social services agency Hull House, founded well over a century ago by pioneering social reformer Jane Addams, will close by the end of March due to a lack of funds, the board chairman said on Thursday.

"We are no different than anybody else in the world right now," Hull House board chairman Stephen Saunders said. "We're suffering with this economy."

Saunders said the social service agency has millions of dollars of debt and has not been able to raise enough money to cover operating costs, having fallen short of fundraising goals by $1 million or more annually for the past three or four years.

"It's insurmountable," Saunders said of the situation.

Jane Addams, also a leader in women's suffrage, was the first American woman to win the Nobel Peace Prize. She and her associates influenced policy on public health and education, fair labor practices and immigrants' rights.

She founded Hull House in 1889 to provide services mostly to the city's immigrant community. The current Hull House Association serves 14,000 people, with programs in early childhood development, child welfare and family services such as domestic violence counseling.

Saunders said Hull House was arranging for other social services providers, such as Metropolitan Family Services, to take on Hull House's clients and employees.

"The 14,000 people we serve aren't going to be thrown out on the streets," Saunders said.

Metropolitan Family Services Chief Executive Ric Estrada said the agency was willing to help but was waiting to find out from sources like the city of Chicago and the state of Illinois how funding will be distributed.

"There's a lack of funds all around," Estrada said. "Every place is stretched."

Saunders, describing Addams as "essentially the mother of social services in the city," said another agency would probably apply the Jane Addams Hull House name to one of its programs.

Hull House is not affiliated with the Jane Addams Hull-House Museum, which is located in the original settlement house on the city's near south side.

(Reporting By Mary Wisniewski; Editing by Cynthia Johnston)

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Egypt says will not need IMF, World Bank funds (Reuters)

CAIRO (Reuters) – Egypt will not borrow from the World Bank and International Monetary Fund after revising its budget and cutting the forecast deficit, even though a loan had been agreed, Finance Minister Samir Radwan said Saturday.

The 2011/12 deficit in the first draft budget was forecast at 11 percent of gross domestic product, but was revised to 8.6 percent because of a national dialogue and the ruling army council's concerns about debt levels, the minister told Reuters.

"So we do not need to go at this stage to the Bank and the Fund," Radwan said, adding Egypt, which had borrowed from the IMF under ousted president Hosni Mubarak, still had the "best relations" with the two U.S.-based institutions.

Despite the budget revisions, the government said it still expected growth of 3.0-3.5 percent, in line with previous forecasts, which some economists said could prove optimistic.

Egypt this month agreed on a $3-billion, 12-month standby loan facility from the IMF, which Cairo had said came with more lenient terms than usually associated with such lending.

The IMF and World Bank had been among a range of foreign countries and bodies to offer funds to Egypt to help cover a big budget shortfall after the economy was plunged into turmoil by the mass protests that drove Mubarak from office on February 11.

Egypt's cabinet had approved on June 1 a budget for 2011/12 that increased spending by a quarter to create jobs and help the poor. That was revised in a new draft announced Wednesday that included raising income tax and reducing fuel subsidies.

Gulf Arab states are among those who offered support.

Radwan said Qatar had provided $500 million for budgetary support in the past week. "That is a gift," he said, when asked if there were any conditions attached to the Qatari cash.

He said Saudi Arabia had earlier offered a similar amount.

The minister said the first draft of the budget, which forecast a deficit of about 170 billion Egyptian pounds, was discussed with activists, writers, the business community, trade unions and non-government organizations.

ARMY CONCERN

"As a result of this dialogue and given the concern of the military council not to have huge debts for the government that comes after the election, the deficit was reduced to 134 billion pounds, equivalent to 8.6 percent of GDP," Radwan said.

"The result is we didn't need outside finance. We are covering the largest part from local sources and we are waiting for outside support to come in," he said.

"If we had gone with the other package, we would have needed to go (to the IMF)," the minister said, adding the new budget would not go back on a commitment to social justice.

Protesters who rallied against Mubarak demanded political freedoms and an end to what they saw as a system of rule from which a rich elite benefited at the expense of the poor.

On the budget plans, Radwan said: "The program is our program, so there is no conditionality (from others). It is just a changed program."

Asked whether Egypt might return to the international markets with a new Eurobond, he said: "I don't rule out anything. Once the budget is approved, finalized, then I start looking at the details about the financing.

In the latest budget, the government sees spending up 14.7 percent at 490.6 billion pounds in the 12 months starting in July, down from an estimate of 514.5 billion pounds given when a draft budget was shown to the media on June 1.

Radwan said the budget had partly been reduced by raising income tax from a 20 percent flat rate to 25 percent on firms and individuals earning more than 10 million pounds. Profits above that figure would be taxed in the new band.

"I consulted with the business community, and they said they are willing to pay that. That is why I didn't raise it to more than 25 percent, because beyond that we would be back to where we were before (several years ago) when income tax was 40 percent and there was very little tax collection," he said.

Cigarette tax would rise to 50 percent from 40 percent.

"Then we started opening the subsidies file. We are not, repeat not, touching subsides on food or butagaz for the poor," he said, adding fuel subsidies for industries and others would be reduced.

Egypt's subsidy bill had been running at about 137 billion pounds with about 99 billion pounds of that spent on fuel subsidies, he said without giving the period. He said the fuel subsidy bill would now be reduced by 7.5 billion pounds.

In a bid to help industry cope with the change, he said the government would help brick-making factories switch from diesel to natural gas and would then remove the fuel subsidy.

Extra revenue would also come from revising gas export prices, he said adding such revisions had already been agreed with Jordan and Spain. Egypt also exports to Israel.

He said the military council had to approve the new draft budget, but did not foresee any hitch.

(Editing by Janet Lawrence)

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House weighs cutting off funds for Libya mission (AP)

WASHINGTON – Clearly frustrated with President Barack Obama, Republican leaders are propelling the House toward crucial votes on the U.S. military role in Libya that could embarrass the commander in chief and reverberate in Tripoli and NATO capitals.

"I just believe that because of the president's failure to consult with the Congress, failure to outline for the American people why we were doing this before we engaged in this puts us in the position where we have to defend our responsibility under the Constitution," House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, said in advancing two measures.

The House was scheduled to vote Friday on the competing measures: a resolution giving Obama limited authority to continue the American involvement in the NATO-led operation against Moammar Gadhafi's forces and a bill to cut off funds for U.S. military attacks there. The bill would make an exception for search and rescue efforts, intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance, aerial refueling and operational planning to continue the NATO effort.

"The president has ignored the Constitution and the War Powers Resolution, but he cannot ignore a lack of funding," said Rep. Tom Rooney, R-Fla., sponsor of the bill. "Only Congress has the power to declare war and the power of the purse, and my bill exercises both of those powers by blocking funds for the war in Libya unless the president receives congressional authorization."

House Republicans and Democrats are furious with Obama for failing to seek congressional authorization for the 3-month-old war against Libya, as required under the War Powers Resolution. The 1973 law, often ignored by Republican and Democratic presidents, says the commander in chief must seek congressional consent within 60 days. That deadline has long passed.

Obama stirred congressional unrest last week when he told lawmakers he didn't need authorization because the operation was not full-blown hostilities. NATO commands the operation, but the United States still plays a significant support role that includes aerial refueling of warplanes and intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance work as well as drone attacks and bombings.

A New York Times report that said Obama overruled some of his legal advisers further incensed members of Congress.

A coalition of anti-war Democrats and tea party-backed Republicans are expected to defeat the resolution in a repudiation of the president.

"The war in Libya is illegal, unconstitutional and unwarranted. It must end," Rep. Dennis Kucinich, D-Ohio, said.

The fate of the legislation to cut off funds was uncertain.

In a last-ditch effort Thursday, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton met with rank-and-file Democrats to explain the mission and discuss the implications if the House votes to cut off funds. The administration requested the closed-door meeting.

Rep. Tim Walz, D-Minn., said Clinton apologized for not coming to Congress earlier. But he said she warned about the implications of a House vote to cut off money.

"The secretary expressed her deep concern that you're probably not on the right track when Gadhafi supports your efforts," Walz said.

Rep. Howard Berman of California, the top Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said such a vote "ensures the failure of the whole mission."

Earlier this week Clinton said lawmakers were free to raise questions, but she asked, "Are you on Gadhafi's side, or are you on the side on the aspirations of the Libyan people and the international coalition that has been bringing them support?"

In the Senate, backers of a resolution to authorize the operation wondered whether the administration had waited too long to address the concerns of House members.

"It's way late," said Sen. John McCain of Arizona, the top Republican on the Armed Services Committee. "This is one of the reasons why they're having this veritable uprising in the House, because of a lack of communication. And then the icing on the cake was probably for them when he (Obama) said that we're not engaged in hostilities. That obviously is foolishness."

He added, however, "That is not a reason to pass a resolution that would encourage Moammar Gadhafi to stay in power."

Earlier this month, the House voted 268-145 to rebuke Obama for failing to provide a "compelling rationale" for the Libyan mission and for launching U.S. military forces without congressional approval.

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UN to decide soon on funds for NKorea food aid (AP)

By EDITH M. LEDERER and CHRISTOPHER BODEEN, Associated Press Edith M. Lederer And Christopher Bodeen, Associated Press – 38 mins ago

UNITED NATIONS – The United Nations said Tuesday it would soon decide whether to release emergency humanitarian funds for North Korea as a U.S. government team arrived in the secretive Asian nation to assess its request for food aid.

The U.N. World Food Program launched a $200 million dollar international appeal late last month after it concluded that more than 6 million of North Korea's 23 million people were in urgent need of aid. It said the North's public distribution system would run out of food between May and July.

But donor response appears to have been weak because of distrust of North Korea's communist regime and concern that assistance might be diverted to its powerful military. South Korea is skeptical that the situation is so dire — an opinion shared by critics of the North in Washington.

Four U.S. senators have urged the Obama administration to show extreme caution in assessing the North's request for food, saying giving aid would bolster Kim Jong Il's regime.

Kim is on a rare trip abroad, reportedly studying economic reforms in China, North Korea's sole major international ally.

U.N. humanitarian chief Valerie Amos stressed at a news conference at U.N. headquarters that humanitarian aid "is all about need — it is not about the political agenda in any one country."

Based on the World Food Program's assessment, Amos said she will make a decision "very soon" on releasing money from the U.N.'s Central Emergency Response Fund for North Korea. The fund, which was established to provide immediate aid for humanitarian emergencies, has probably been the biggest supplier of humanitarian aid to North Korea in the last few years, she said.

Amos said she hasn't determined how much aid the U.N. might provide to the North, but she said "it will only be a fraction of what is required."

"We've had a lot of difficulty raising money for North Korea because so many member states are concerned about the political situation there," Amos said. "We will continue to bring to the attention of member states the humanitarian situation as we see it, the needs in the country as we see it, and try to raise money to ensure that the essential food, but also other basic supplies that are required, are able to go in."

The American delegation — led by Robert King, U.S. special envoy for North Korean human rights issues — arrived in Pyongyang on Tuesday. It will use its five-day visit to verify food supply surveys conducted by the United Nations and U.S.-based charities and see if there are ways to monitor aid distribution.

The State Department said King would also raise human rights concerns and the detention of U.S. citizen Eddie Jun, who was arrested in November.

This is the first visit by an American human rights envoy to the North, though King himself traveled to the country as a congressional aide. Pyongyang detested King's predecessor, the first to hold the post. Jay Lefkowitz was a harsh critic of the country's rights record and even took aim at his bosses in the George W. Bush administration for pursuing nuclear disarmament talks.

King is more measured in his comments.

What some believe is a dire need for food in the North may also have played a part in the decision to allow King in.

North Korea asked for assistance in January following summer floods that hit staple crops and in the midst of a bitter winter. While humanitarian organizations say aid is urgently needed, there is widespread international distrust of the North Korean government, which has pursued illicit nuclear weapons and missile programs despite its chronic food shortages.

North Korea suffered a famine in the 1990s due to mismanagement of its centrally-controlled economy and natural disasters.

In a letter to U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, obtained by The Associated Press, the four senators, led by independent Joe Lieberman, said: "We believe we must be extremely cautious not to allow the North Korean government to manipulate the issue of food aid, as it has done in the past, as a political weapon."

The North Korean leader's trip to China began Friday night. It is Kim's third trip to China in just over a year.

China has provided diplomatic cover for the isolated hardline regime and is keen to see North Korea reform its moribund planned economy to head-off instability.

South Korea's Yonhap News agency said Kim arrived in the ancient Chinese capital of Nanjing from nearby Yangzhou, where he reportedly visited an industrial park and a shopping center on Monday.

Kim is believed to have met with Vice President Xi Jinping, who is expected to be China's next leader, and former President Jiang Zemin.

Unusually for China, Premier Wen Jiabao has confirmed that Kim is in the country, saying China invited him to study and hopefully adopt Beijing's market-oriented reforms. Previous reform attempts have been abandoned by North Korea and it's far from clear how far the ailing 69-year-old Kim — or his anointed successor, son Kim Jong Un — would be willing to go.

The question of whether Kim Jong Un was traveling with his father remained unresolved Tuesday, with China's official Global Times newspaper saying that the younger Kim was not in the delegation.

North Korea's exchanges with China have grown even more important since South Korea's conservative government halted unconditional food and fertilizer shipments in early 2008 and suspended almost all trade with the North. The U.N. and others have also enacted sanctions to punish the country for violating nuclear agreements.

The last U.S. food shipments were stopped in 2009 after nuclear monitors were expelled.

___

Bodeen reported from Bejing. Associated Press writers Foster Klug in Seoul, South Korea, and Matthew Pennington in Washington contributed to this report.

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Boehner seeks to divert funds for gay marriage fight

Updated at 2:20 p.m. ET

House Speaker John Boehner said he intends to divert funding from the Justice Department to the U.S. House so Congress can defend the federal law that bars recognition of same-sex marriage.

The Ohio Republican disclosed this in a letter to House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., who is strongly opposed to Congress going to court to defend the 1996 law. An estimate on court costs was not given.

Earlier this year, Attorney General Eric Holder announced that Obama administration would no longer defend the constitutionality of the federal Defense of Marriage Act, a Clinton-era law that defines marriage as between a man and a woman. The law also says that states cannot be forced to recognize same-sex marriages from other states.

While President Obama does not support same-sex marriage, he views the Defense of Marriage Act as "unfair," according to spokesman Jay Carney.

Boehner asked the Bipartisan Legal Advisory Group -- consisting of the top leaders of Congress -- to defend the law in court. The GOP members of the group sided with Boehner.

"By the president's action through the attorney general we have no choice," Boehner's letter says. "The House now faces that additional burden and cost."

Boehner said he has directed the House's counsel and the House Administration Committee to ensure that there are "sufficient resources" and expertise to defend the law. Paul Clement, a former solicitor general for President George W. Bush, has been retained by Boehner and the Republicans to defend the Defense of Marriage Act.

Clement's hiring has been slammed by the Human Rights Campaign, the largest gay and lesbian civil rights group.

"Not only are House Republican leaders defending the indefensible, they've brought in a high-priced attorney to deny federal recognition to loving, married couples, " said Joe Solmonese, president of the Human Rights Campaign.

Solmonese said Boehner is "grasping at straws" in his call to divert funds from the Justice Department for the law's defense.

Matt Miller, a spokesman for the Justice Department, declined to comment.

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Senate Defeats Effort to Cut Off Funds for Health Care Law

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The Senate has rejected an effort to cut off funds for President Obama's health care law.

The vote Thursday was 53-47, strictly along party lines. Republicans had pressed for a vote on the resolution as part of the negotiated deal to cut spending struck by Obama and congressional leaders last week.

Moderate Democrats facing tough re-election campaigns next year voted with their party to keep the cash flowing to the law.

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Budget deal funds health care law, NPR

The Pentagon will receive $513 billion in federal funding, up about $5 billion from 2010. The budget also fully funds 21,370 Border Patrol agents.

An alternative engine for the F-35 fighter jet -- built near Boehner's district -- will not be funded. Eliminating funding for the engine had long been sought by Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Obama and was backed by a strong bipartisan vote in February sought by Rep. Tom Rooney, R-Fla.

Funding for high-speed rail, a top priority of Obama and Vice President Biden, has been eliminated.

Boehner won funding for vouchers for low-income students in the District of Columbia, one of his pet initiatives. The vouchers will allow students to pay for tuition at the school of their choice.

Mayor Vincent Gray of Washington and other Democrats opposed the measure, saying it would take away resources from the city's troubled public schools. Gray was arrested Monday as he and other D.C. council members protested the budget deal, which they contend does not give them the freedom to spend D.C. tax dollars as they see fit.

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Civil War anniversary events go forward despite lack of funds

National Archives

The firing on Fort Sumter in Charleston, S.C., is considered by historians to be the first cannon fire of the Civil War. The city is planning commemoration events that span several days.

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The firing on Fort Sumter in Charleston, S.C., is considered by historians to be the first cannon fire of the Civil War. The city is planning commemoration events that span several days.

Efforts to provide federal funding for Civil War commemorations have thus far been unsuccessful. The Civil War Sesquicentennial Commission Act, a bill introduced by Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr., D-Ill., died in committee last year. Andrew Wilson, Jackson's spokesman, says the congressman is working on updating the legislation and reintroducing the bill, which could provide grants for programs and activities.

LIST OF EVENTS: States remember Civil WarCIVIL WAR: More stories, videos, profilesDESCENDANTS: Ancestors of Civil War leaders deal with legacy of famous forebearsIn light of this economic challenge, the Civil War Trust, a non-profit dedicated to preserving battlefields, views connecting local, regional and state organizations not just as an opportunity, but as an obligation, says spokeswoman Mary Koik. The trust's website, www.civilwar.org, links sesquicentennial events going on across the country.

"You can read all you want in a book, but for a lot of people, it never quite clicks until you see it," she says.

Programs and events are ratcheting up — and in some cases have already begun — ahead of the 150th anniversary of the firing on Fort Sumter in Charleston, S.C., on April 12, considered the first cannon fire of the war by historians.

Charleston is planning a program that spans several days and includes lectures, re-enactments, movies, music and a solemn display of lights at the fort, says Robert Rosen, president of the Fort Sumter and Fort Moultrie Historic Trust. That's despite receiving no funds from the state, Rosen says.

One of the few to receive state money is the Virginia Sesquicentennial of the American Civil War Commission, which has secured a $2 million annual appropriation since 2008, says Cheryl Jackson, the commission's executive director. Such funds have let the state provide a mobile history tour that will crisscross Virginia, as well as free educational programs for teachers, she says.

Despite being the site of one of the war's iconic battles and a well-known tourist attraction, Gettysburg wasn't as lucky. It received no state funds. But that's not stopping the Gettysburg Convention and Visitors Bureau from pulling together five years' worth of plans, which will center around the 2013 anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg and the Gettysburg Address, says Carl Whitehill, the bureau's spokesman.

"There's a real interest in the human toll and the fact that when both troops left, 25,000 wounded and dead soldiers were still here. … It took months and months to clean up this town," Whitehill said.

The planning committee for Pennsylvania Civil War 150, which was able to secure some national grants, is organizing a Civil War road show with a mobile museum traveling to all 67 counties in the state over the course of four years, says Barbara Franco, executive director of the Pennsylvania Historical & Museum Commission.

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