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I have been following a book lately called “Becoming a Supple Leopard” by Dr. Kelly Starrett.  What if you could eliminate back, knee or joint pain?  What if you were ready to move at full capacity at all times?  Becoming a Supple Leopard is described like this by Dr. Kelly Starrett in the first chapter:

For whatever reason, the “fast as a leopard” mantra stuck with me.  But it wasn’t until a Navy SEAL buddy of mine said to me, “You know, Kelly, a leopard never stretches”– that this notion of becoming a supple leopard drifted into my consciousness.

Of course a leopard doesn’t stretch.  A leopard has full capacity available at all times.  It can attack and defend with full power at any moment.  Unlike humans, it doesn’t need to prep for movement.  It doesn’t need to activate its glutes: it doesn’t have to foam-roll: it doesn’t have to raise its core temperature – it’s just ready.

Obviously, we do not share the same physical playing field with leopards.  We have to warm-up for strenuous activities and practice and ingrain good movement patterns.  But that doesn’t mean we all can’t be working toward the goal of having full physical capabilities available to us instantaneously, or having the motor-control and range-of-motion to perform any physical feat at any time.  Leopards don’t have to work at being supple: they naturally are.  But people are brutally tight and missing key ranges of motion that prevent them from moving as supplely and powerfully as a leopard.

Every day I travel to Intero offices as a Title Rep for Orange Coast Title.  This means several hours spent in a car as I travel between offices.  I spend 2 hours in the morning a day inside the gym training for my Crossfit season.  By the time I am on my sales calls, my body has tightened up enough to start feeling the ramifications of the work I put in earlier in the morning.

Over the years I have noticed the importance of becoming a “Supple Leopard.”  The pain in the knees, back or any major joint was not worth it.  3 years ago if I had 15 more minutes before I had to go to an appointment, I might spend that last 15 minutes hitting another exercise or running a little longer.  Now I choose to stretch and become mobile.  Your workout routine and your diet are important.  But the key to longevity is stretching.  I can assure you that without proper stretching, all the hours you spend running or biking can be cut to zero without a strong emphasis on stretching.

If you are looking for great stretches to do inside your office while you’re working, click here -à http://www.mobilitywod.com/

Also if you find this information valuable, please listen to this webinar while you’re traveling during the day or at your office -àhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JtJ3Ag4kpjM

*Finally, as I continue to travel to different Intero offices, I would be happy to meet with anyone pertaining to any fitness questions or goals they may have – FREE OF CHARGE!  Please feel free to contact me.

With the amount of business done online today, the security of passwords and other confidential data is of most importance.  With everything out there in cyberspace, sometimes it’s hard to trust that all of your information is safe.

It’s also quite the challenge to keep track of it all.  I’m sure most of you end up emailing yourself login information or storing it all in a word doc on your desktop.  It’s just sitting there waiting for someone to find it.

Well, DataVault Password Manager just might be able to help you out with keeping all of your sensitive information secure and organized.  It is the best-selling password managers for mobile and desktop environments on the market and allows you to store all of your confidential data related to credit cards, financial accounts and logins using the most powerful encryption technology available.

DataVault is super easy to use and customizable just for you.  Choose from 25 pre-defined templates or make your own.  Customize screen colors and backgrounds by selecting from 6 themes.  Define the categories that fit your needs – make them whatever you want, the sky’s the limit.  Display information in tree view for intuitive organization by category or type, or in list view to maximize the number of items per screen.  The app adapts to your needs by providing numerous customization options and personalization settings.

The app can also help you generate strong passwords using options for length, letters/numbers, uppercase, lowercase, and punctuation marks.  Set advanced security settings on the app such as password masking, master password hint and security time out to make it even more difficult for people to get your information.  All of your information will be backed up on iCloud and it synchronizes to Dropbox, Webdav and Wi-Fi options securely so you wont have to worry about losing anything.

The benefits of this little app are endless, best of all, you can rest easy knowing your information is safe.

Get DataVault Password for Android, iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch, BlackBerry, Mac and Windows today!

On Tuesday, May 21 at 10:00 a.m., the House Committee on Education and the Workforce, chaired by Rep. John Kline (R-MN), will hold a hearing entitled, “Reviewing the President’s Fiscal Year 2014 Budget Proposal for the U.S. Department of Education.” The hearing will take place in room 2175 of the Rayburn House Office Building.

In his Fiscal Year 2014 budget proposal, President Obama requested $71.2 billion in discretionary spending for the Department of Education, an 8.4 percent increase over current fiscal year funding levels. This is on top of $7.1 billion in mandatory spending for Pell Grants, $1.3 billion in mandatory funding for the new universal preschool program, and $17.5 billion in mandatory funding to support the teaching profession, bringing the total budget request to $97.1 billion.                                                                                 

Tuesday’s hearing will provide members an opportunity to review the administration’s budget request and examine whether an increase in department spending is the best approach to both fiscal and education policies. The Honorable Arne Duncan, U.S. Secretary of Education, will offer testimony and answer members' questions during the hearing. To learn more about this hearing, visit www.edworkforce.house.gov/hearings.

# # #

House Education and the Workforce Committee Chairman John Kline (R-MN) and Subcommittee on Health, Employment, Labor, and Pensions Subcommittee Chairman Phil Roe (R-TN) issued the following statements today after the U.S. House of Representatives approved H.R. 45, legislation that would repeal President Obama’s government takeover of health care:

“Our nation is mired in a jobs crisis and the president’s health care law is making it worse,” said Chairman Kline. “Time and again employers have described the difficult choices ObamaCare is forcing them to make, including raising costs on customers and reducing the number of hours employees can work. This flawed law is bad for workers and job creators. As long as ObamaCare remains on the books, robust job growth will be stymied and the hope for commonsense health reforms will be diminished. It’s time to repeal this law so we can put more Americans back to work and advance real reforms to lower health care costs.”

“The greatest problems with the American health care system are cost and access,” said Rep. Roe. “We need health care reform in this country, but we need patient-centered health care reform, where patients, their families and their physicians make health care decisions- not government bureaucrats or insurance companies. Health care should not be a partisan issue. I stand ready to repeal this flawed bill and work with my Democrat colleagues on health care reform that will truly work for the American people.”

During floor debate, Chairman Kline highlighted the concerns of job-creators who have testified before the committee as part of its continued oversight of the health care law. To read Chairman Kline’s floor remarks, click here.

# # #

Continuing on our review of The Charisma Myth by Olivia Fox Cabane, chapter three identifies the obstacles that can hold a person back from being their charismatic self. These obstacles include physical discomfort and mental discomfort.

Physical Discomfort

Any physical discomfort can affect your visible and external state.  This can be anything from an itchy suit to the sun in your eyes.  Although you may try to hide this discomfort during a conversation, the other person does feel the effect of your status; even if only on a subconscious level.

Luckily, this obstacle is easy to manage with some simple steps:

1. Prevent – Plan ahead to prevent any discomfort you have control over. Wear comfortable clothing and recommending a location where the surroundings reflect your needs.
2. Recognize – Be aware of your physical discomfort.  Check in with your face from time to time to confirm it’s not tense.  Staying present in the conversation will help with this as well.
3. Remedy or explain – Once you become aware of your discomfort, do something about it.  If the sun is in your eyes, suggest the meeting move inside.  This way, the discomfort will not be misinterpreted by those around you.

Mental Discomfort

More challenging to conquer than physical discomfort, mental discomfort can result from anxiety, dissatisfaction, self-criticism, or self-doubt.  These are all forms of internal negativity.  Knowing how to handle this negativity is a person’s greatest challenge in becoming more charismatic, but also their greatest success as it lays a foundation of understanding themselves.  Some of these can be managed through a Responsibility Transfer.  This involves entrusting a benevolent source (the Universe, God, Fate) to take on the uncertainty.  It allows you to be less affected by the anxiety, dissatisfaction, self-doubt or whatever might be keeping you from being at your best, and draws you out of your negative mental and physical state.

You can be guided by Cabane through the Responsibility Transfer exercise by going to Charisamyth.com/transfer.  Hopefully, at the end of the exercise you’ll feel an instant sense of relief and warmth, calm and serenity rising.

Key Takeaways from Chapter 3

• Any internal discomfort – either physical or mental – can impair how you feel, how you perform, and how others perceive you.
• Physical tension caused by something as simple as the sun in your eyes produces the same changes in body language as a more serious discomfort, like anxiety or irritation.
• Prevention is optimal: plan ahead to ensure comfort in clothing, location, and timing.
• Aim to stay aware of any physical sensation of discomfort.  If physical discomfort arises during an interaction, act promptly to alleviate it or explain it.
• Use techniques such as the responsibility transfer to reduce the feelings of anxiety, uncertainty, and dissatisfaction that play out in your body language and inhibit your charisma.
• Understand that mental negativity such as anxiety, dissatisfaction, self-criticism, or self-doubt is normal and something that everyone experiences.

Our nation is mired in a jobs crisis and the president’s health care law is making it worse. Since ObamaCare was first enacted in 2010, federal bureaucrats have written nearly 20,000 pages of new regulations. Meanwhile, America’s job creators are struggling to manage the full effects of the law in their workplaces.

Ed Tubel has owned and operated Sonny’s Real Pit Barbeque for more than 30 years. At a recent hearing in North Carolina, Mr. Tubel outlined the difficult choices he now faces, including higher prices for customers and fewer hours for workers.

Brett Parker, vice chairman of Bowlmor Lanes of New York testified in 2011 that his business may also have to shift workers to part-time hours in order to “protect existing jobs.”

As chief human resources officer with Rowan-Cabarrus Community College, Tina Haynes stated the college must consider cutting the number of courses offered to students. She also described the health care law as a “massive administrative burden that comes with unanticipated costs.”

And Gail Johnson, president and CEO of an early childhood learning center, warned in 2011 that ObamaCare would “force entrepreneurs to invest less into growing their business” and slow the growth of small businesses.

These men and women live each day with the consequences of the health care law. No doubt others from across the country have similar stories to tell. There are a number of good reasons why Congress should repeal the government takeover of health care. It is driving up the cost of care and millions will lose the health coverage they have and like.

But for many Americans one reason stands above the rest: Jobs. Our nation’s workers and employers cannot afford the Democrats’ job-destroying health care law. I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 45.

# # #

The House Committee on Education and the Workforce, chaired by Rep. John Kline (R-MN), today approved two pieces of legislation designed to address a pair of problems facing the nation’s higher education system.  

The Smarter Solutions for Students Act (H.R. 1911), introduced by Chairman Kline and Subcommittee on Higher Education and Workforce Training Chairwoman Virginia Foxx (R-NC) will address the upcoming student loan interest rate cliff scheduled for July 1, 2013 by returning all federal student loans (except Perkins loans) to market-based interest rates. H.R. 1911 was approved with bipartisan support.  

Rep. Luke Messer’s (R-IN) Improving Postsecondary Education Data for Students Act (H.R. 1949), which passed the committee by voice vote, will direct the Department of Education to explore opportunities to enhance higher education transparency.  

“The committee has taken an important step forward in the fight to strengthen the nation’s higher education system. Not only have we approved a proposal that will help students access the information they need to choose the right college, we also advanced legislation based on the president’s own proposal to tie student loan interest rates back to the free market,” said Chairman Kline. “My colleagues and I have been working to get politicians out of the business of setting student loan interest rates for years, and I am pleased the Smarter Solutions for Students Act received bipartisan support today. I want to thank Representatives Foxx and Messer for their leadership on these initiatives, and I look forward to bringing the legislation to the House floor for a vote in the coming days.” 

"Student borrowers shouldn’t have to ride the roller coaster of political largesse wondering every year whether Congress will intervene in time to adjust their rates,” Rep. Foxx said. “The Smarter Solutions for Students Act puts an end to the temporary fixes and campaign promises that have failed to strengthen our nation’s student loan system – and allows students to take advantage of low interest rates when available while protecting them in high interest rate environments with a reasonable cap. This legislation offers predictability, simplicity, and will ensure interest rates are immediately in line with the free market– a need particularly acute in today’s jobless economy.” 

“For most folks, choosing a college is one of the biggest decisions of their life,” said Rep. Messer. “Students and families need information to help them make good choices, but current transparency initiatives are often too hard to understand. We need to get rid of unnecessary data that just creates confusion and more burdensome reporting requirements for institutions. The Improving Postsecondary Education Data for Students Act will inform the committee’s efforts to reauthorize the nation’s higher education law, and help Congress better understand the information students and families need when selecting a college. I am pleased the bill received strong bipartisan support in committee and hope to see the same in a vote before the full House.”  

To learn more about the Smarter Solutions for Students Act, click here.  

To learn more about the Improving Postsecondary Education Data for Students Act, click here.  

To read opening statements, review amendments, or watch an archived webcast of today’s markup, visit www.edworkforce.house.gov/markups.  

# # #

Thank you, Mr. Chairman.  I am pleased to offer this Amendment in the Nature of a Substitute to H.R. 1949, the Improving Postsecondary Education Data for Students Act.

Few decisions in life are bigger than whether to attend college and which college to attend. Yet many families struggle to wade through the complicated maze of statistics to find the information they need to make fully informed, cost-conscious decisions. Consequently, they may choose schools or programs that don’t meet their needs and leave them with high debt and limited career potential.

Through the Improving Postsecondary Education Data for Students Act, we hope to simplify the process and help ensure students can access the information they need to make good decisions while lessening the burden on colleges and universities that have far too many reporting requirements today.

As Chairman Kline detailed, the bill would require the Department of Education to evaluate the information colleges and universities are required to provide to determine what helps make students better consumers, and what simply buries them and the schools they attend under piles of paper. 

In addition to technical changes, the substitute amendment makes a few key modifications to the underlying legislation.

The substitute:

• Ensures the advisory committee represents diverse economic, racial, and geographically diverse populations;

• Requires the advisory committee to examine information related to the sources of financial assistance including federal student loans to the required aspects of the study;

• Directs the advisory committee to examine how information regarding student outcomes should be disaggregated for first-generation students, and requires college and career counselors be consulted as the committee conducts its study.

Choosing the right college is an important step on the path to educational and professional success. The Improving Postsecondary Education Data for Students Act will help ensure students have access to the information they really need to make the best possible decision, while also reducing the burden of unnecessary reporting requirements for colleges and universities.

I want to thank Chairman Kline and Higher Education Subcommittee Chairwoman Foxx for their work on and support of this legislation.  I also want to commend our Democratic colleagues for their contributions to this bill. I urge all of our colleagues to support the Amendment in the Nature of a Substitute and the underlying legislation, and yield back the balance of my time.

# # #

Thank you, Chairman Kline, and thank you for your leadership on behalf of students and taxpayers to identify a sustainable solution to the student loan interest rate cliff.  

As many of us know, on July 1, today’s 3.4 percent subsidized Stafford Loan interest rate is set to double to 6.8 percent for millions of current students – all because  elected officials made a promise they couldn’t afford to keep for the long-haul.

Student borrowers shouldn’t have to ride the roller coaster of political largesse wondering every year whether Congress will intervene in time to adjust their student loans. And taxpayers shouldn’t be expected to foot the bill whenever members of Congress promise more than they can deliver.

For the sake of students, families, and taxpayers, before July 1 we need to move our federal student loan programs away from politics. Student loan rates should not be subject to the whims of Washington or seized as bargaining chips.

The Smarter Solutions for Students Act will remove politics, uncertainty, and confusion from the rate-setting equation and instead anchor student loan interest rates on the 10 year Treasury Note – not just for four years – but for good.  

By tying rates to the market, the Smarter Solutions for Students Act establishes a predictable rate for loan calculation, insulated from the politics and posturing of Washington.

Committee Republicans aren’t alone in finding the answer for predictability in the market. President Obama offered a similar market-based interest rate plan in his 2014 budget proposal and my colleagues on the other side of the aisle have also voiced openness to utilizing the market to set interest rates.  

We hope to build on this common ground and continue working in good faith with all interested parties to improve the Smarter Solutions for Students Act and get it to the President’s desk.

Students, families, and taxpayers deserve a long-term solution – not more can-kicking from Washington.

The Smarter Solutions for Students Act puts an end to the temporary fixes and campaign promises that have failed to strengthen our nation’s student loan system. This legislation offers predictability, simplicity, and will ensure interest rates are immediately in line with the free market – a need particularly acute in today’s jobless economy.  

The American people deserve the clarity, certainty, and protection the Smarter Solutions for Students Act offers. I am pleased to offer this Amendment in the Nature of a Substitute, which makes minor technical corrections to the bill, and urge my colleagues to support the underlying legislation.

# # #

Press Release

Press Release

Today the committee will consider a pair of higher education bills designed to tackle two significant problems facing students.

The first piece of legislation before us today is H.R. 1949, the Improving Postsecondary Education Data for Students Act. Introduced by Rep. Luke Messer of Indiana’s 6th District, this legislation will inform the committee’s efforts to reauthorize the Higher Education Actand enhance transparency for students and families.

Information is crucial to help families understand their higher education options as well as the financial investment that comes with earning a postsecondary degree. In recent years Republicans have championed efforts to make clear, consistent information available to students about price, financial aid, demographics, and graduation rates.

However, during an April Subcommittee on Higher Education and Workforce Training hearing chaired by Rep. Virginia Foxx, we learned federal efforts to improve data collection and transparency aren’t working as well as we’d hoped. Many students still have difficulty accessing and understanding the resources they need to choose the right college.

As Michigan State University Dean of the College of Education Dr. Donald Heller explained in his testimony, “The internet has greatly helped to democratize access to information. What it has not done as successfully…[is] help people get access to the right information to meet their needs. And it is critical that we help prospective students to get the right information in their hands at the necessary times.”

By directing the Secretary of Education to examine opportunities to enhance higher education transparency, the Improving Postsecondary Education Data for Students Act will help us better understand the kind of information students have, want, and need when researching their higher education options.

This legislation takes an important step toward strengthening higher education transparency, eliminating unnecessary reporting requirements, and ensuring students have the resources necessary to choose the right college. I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 1949.  

The second bill before the committee today is H.R. 1911, the Smarter Solutions for Students Act. Rep. Foxx and I recently introduced this responsible proposal to address the looming student loan interest rate cliff.

As we are all well aware, subsidized Stafford loan interest rates are scheduled to double from 3.4 percent to 6.8 percent in a few short weeks. Last year Congress took action to extend the lower rate for one year. I agreed to support the bill with the promise we would use this time to advance a long-term solution that gets politicians out of the business of setting student loan interest rates.

The Smarter Solutions for Students Act accomplishes this goal by simply moving all federal student loans – except Perkins loans – to a market-based interest rate system. This is similar to a proposal put forth in President Obama’s Fiscal Year 2014 budget request.

Under H.R. 1911, subsidized and unsubsidized Stafford loan interest rates will be calculated based on the 10-year Treasury note plus 2.5 percent. We expect the legislation will drop Stafford loan interest rates to about 4.4 percent. Parent and graduate PLUS loan interest rates will be calculated using the 10-year Treasury note plus 4.5 percent, bringing these rates down to approximately 6.4 percent.

By tying interest rates back to the free market, the Smarter Solutions for Students Act ensures all borrowers can take advantage of lower interest rates when available. H.R. 1911 also protects borrowers against higher interest rates by imposing a reasonable cap of 8.5 percent on Stafford loan interest rates and 10.5 percent on PLUS loan interest rates.

Additionally, the legislation maintains students’ ability to consolidate their loans upon graduation and lock in a fixed interest rate for the life of the loan. And students can still take advantage of existing federal repayment and debt management initiatives, such as the income-based repayment programs, numerous loan forgiveness programs, and opportunities for deferment or forbearance.

We all recognize the urgent need to take action. No one wants to see student loan interest rates double on July 1st. The president put forth a plan in his budget to address the problem with a market-based solution, and my Republican colleagues and I worked in good faith to offer a proposal that largely mirrors the president’s. Despite claims to the contrary, we tried our best to make this proposal budget neutral to protect both taxpayers and borrowers. And we will continue to consider ideas to improve the proposal through the open legislative process.

We have an opportunity for bipartisan compromise on this matter – something that is exceedingly rare in Washington. The Smarter Solutions for Students Act is a responsible, long-term proposal that will strengthen federal student loan programs and provide more stability for taxpayers and students in the long run. I strongly encourage my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to lend their support.

# # #

Washington Legal Foundation hosted a Web Seminar program yesterday, Physician Payments in the “Sunshine”: Implications of CMS Regulations for Businesses and the Future of American Health Care. Speakers James Stansel and Meenakshi Datta of Sidley Austin LLP delved into the complicated and often vague data collection and reporting mandates required under the Physician Payment Sunshine […]

Action:  Request for information. Federal Register / Vol. 78, No. 92 / Monday, May 13, 2013

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Guest Commentary by Emi Ito Ortiz, Adduci, Mastriani & Schaumberg, L.L.P. On May 13, 2013, in Motiva, LLC v. U.S. Int’l Trade Comm’n, No. 12-1252 (Fed. Cir. May 13, 2013), the Federal Circuit affirmed the International Trade Commission’s determination that a complainant failed to satisfy the domestic industry requirement of Section 337 based on litigation […]

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Action:  Advanced Notice of Proposed Rule-making, May 13, 2013, 78 FR 27882, VA-2013-VACO-0004
Docket NameAO63 - Advanced Notice

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