HFA Statement on Trump’s Reported Violation of the US Embargo Against Cuba

Following revelations that Donald Trump may have illegally conducted business in Cuba during the embargo, Hillary for America  senior policy adviser Jake Sullivan released the following statement.

“Trump’s business with Cuba appears to have broken the law, flouted U.S. foreign policy, and is in complete contradiction to Trump’s own repeated, public statements that he had been offered opportunities to invest in Cuba but passed them up. This latest report shows once again that Trump will always put his own business interest ahead of the national interest – and has no trouble lying about it.”

The Trump campaign this morning:

Kellyanne Conway Was Asked Whether She Denied That Trump’s Company Spent Money In Cuba And Said “I Think They Paid Money, As I Understand From The Story, They Paid Money In 1998.” HOST: Are you denying that his company spent any money in Cuba? KELLYANNE CONWAY: I think they paid money, as I understand from the story, they paid money in 1998 – I know we’re not supposed to talk about years ago when it comes to the Clintons, but with Trump there is no statute of limitations.

Some of Trump’s comments on Cuba:

Trump Said European Investors “Have Asked Me To Take The ‘Trump Magic’ To Cuba.” “In a June 27 article in El Nuevo Herald (the Spanish-language version of the Miami Herald), New Jersey casino operator Trump revealed European investors ‘have asked me to take the “Trump Magic” to Cuba’ and build casino-hotels in Havana.” [New York Post, 7/11/99]

Trump Said He Would Earn Millions Of Dollars By Doing Business In Cuba But Would Lose His Self-Respect. “If he were to bypass the U.S. embargo this way, Trump said, ‘I could earn millions of dollars in Cuba. But I prefer to lose those millions than to lose my self-respect.’” [New York Post, 7/11/99]

1999: Trump Said He Would “Immediately Reverse The Move To Normalize Relations” With Fidel Castro And That “Normalization Is Pure Lunacy.” “I would also immediately reverse the move to normalize relations with the most abnormal political figure in our hemisphere: Fidel Castro. We have pushed him to the precipice with our embargo, helped of course by the withdrawal of Soviet backing. Now comes a movement, backed by State Department bureaucrats, to rescue Mr. Castro with U.S. dollars. The striped-pants set won’t like hearing this, but normalization is pure lunacy. If a right-wing dictator like Augusto Pinochet can be extradited and tried for his crimes against humanity, the same treatment is due Mr. Castro.” [Donald Trump, Wall Street Journal, 9/30/99]

2000: Trump On The Cuban Embargo: Cuba Will Be Freed By Ideas, Not By “Rapacious Businessmen Lining Castro’s Pockets And Propping Up His Oppressive Regime.” “Cuba will be freed by ideas, not by rapacious businessmen lining Castro’s pockets and propping up his oppressive regime.” [Donald Trump, The America We Deserve, 1/15/00]

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News Source: Newsweek, The Washington Post

FBI Releases Additional Notes on Hillary Clinton’s Email

On Friday, the FBI released a new document containing notes from their investigation into Hillary Clinton’s use of a private email server as Secretary of State. The new report is 189 pages long and features notes from interviews with Clinton staffers including Cheryl Mills and Bryan Pagliano, the person who set up and maintained Clinton’s server. The document reveals that State Department officials were concerned whether the use of private email complied with public record keeping policies. Mills and Pagliano cited other Secretaries of State that had used private email. Hillary for America spokesman Brian Fallon responded to the document release saying, “These materials further demonstrate why the Justice Department believed there was no basis to move forward with this case.” In July, the FBI announced that it did not have case against Clinton for mishandling classified information. Read a copy of the the FBI’s notes below or download a copy HERE.

View this document on Scribd

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News Source: The Washington Post, ABC News, CNN, Politico

Hillary Clinton Campaigns in Ohio and Illinois on Labor Day

On Labor Day, Hillary Clinton campaigned in Cleveland, Ohio with running mate Tim Kaine. Kaine spoke first saying that “this is the home stretch.” Clinton then took the stage and had a brief coughing spell before she spoke about her plans to build an economy that works for everyone by increasing the minimum wage and investing in the country’s infrastructure. She spoke about her jobs plan which would create the most jobs in the country since World War II. Clinton then spoke about her strong support for working families and organized labor. A video from the Cleveland rally is below.

Today, the Clinton campaign also unveiled a new campaign plane. The Boeing 737 will be used for the remainder of the campaign cycle and is large enough for Clinton, her staff, and the press pool to travel on from event to event. Clinton welcomed the press to the plane and answered several questions from reporters on a range of topics including her thoughts on the hacking of Democratic Party emails, the FBI report about her emails, and the Clinton Foundation. A video of Clinton’s Q&A with the press is below.

Clinton then spoke at the 49th Annual Salute to Labor in Hampton, Illinois. During her speech, Clinton continued to discuss the economy and her jobs plan. She spoke about her plans to invest in the country’s infrastructure, expand the clean energy sector, and committed to building the manufacturing sector of the country. Clinton also criticized Donald Trump for not being a friend of working people saying, “My opponent thinks that wages are too high. I don’t know who he talks do.” A video of Clinton’s speech is below.

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News Source: Cleveland.com, CNN, The New York Times, The Washington Post

HFA Responds to Trump Foundation’s Involvement in Actual Pay-To-Play Scandal

In response to a new Washington Post report revealing that the Internal Revenue Service has fined Donald Trump for using funds from his charitable foundation to make a campaign donation to Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi, Hillary for America Communications Director Jennifer Palmieri released the following statement:

“Donald Trump has been falsely attacking the charity run by President Clinton when it is Trump’s own Foundation that has been caught in an actual pay-to-play scandal.

While the Clinton Foundation has received the highest ratings from independent charitable watchdogs, Donald Trump’s use of foundation money to donate to the Florida Attorney General actually broke the law. Worst of all, it appears the payment may have been intended to stave off an investigation into the sham Trump University that has ripped off unsuspecting students.

Donald Trump has no standing whatsoever to question the Clinton Foundation, which works to make AIDS and malaria drugs more accessible, when it’s been proven he uses his own foundation to launder illegal campaign donations.”

Below is a key excerpt from the Washington Post bombshell:

Trump pays IRS a penalty for his foundation violating rules with gift to aid Florida attorney general

By David A. Fahrenthold

Donald Trump paid the IRS a $2,500 penalty this year, an official at Trump’s company said, after it was revealed that Trump’s charitable foundation had violated tax laws by giving a political contribution to a campaign group connected to Florida’s attorney general.

The improper donation, a $25,000 gift from the Donald J. Trump Foundation, was made in 2013. At the time, Attorney General Pam Bondi was considering whether to investigate fraud allegations against Trump University. She decided not to pursue the case.

Read the full article here.

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Clinton Criticizes Trump’s Extreme Views in Reno Speech

Hillary Clinton sharply criticized the extreme views of Donald Trump during a speech in Reno, Nevada today. Clinton said that Trump is “taking hate groups mainstream” with his hateful rhetoric. She blamed him for allowing the extreme right take over the Republican Party. “From the start, Donald Trump has built his campaign on prejudice and paranoia. He’s taking hate groups mainstream and helping a radical fringe take over one of America’s two major political parties. His disregard for the values that make our country great is profoundly dangerous,” Clinton said.

Hillary for America also released a report outlining how Trump has given “Alt-Right” groups the control of the Republican Party. The report takes several of Trump’s policy proposals in quotes into consideration. The report concludes, “This kind of hatred is impacting our families, our communities and the public discourse – the so-called “Trump effect” – and we must recognize and stand up against it in order to keep the fringe extremism out of the White House.” A video from Clinton’s speech in Reno is below, and the full report can be read on The Briefing.

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News Source: Reno Gazette-Journal, The Washington Post, Business Insider

Clinton Campaign Reinforces Clinton’s Good Health

Today, Hillary for America released a fact sheet combating conspiracy theories about Hillary Clinton’s health. The release references the official physicians report released by Clinton’s doctor in 2015 and denies all allegations that Clinton’s health is failing. The full release is below.

Trump Pushes Deranged Conspiracy About Clinton’s Health To Distract From Tax Return Questions

Facing withering criticism from national media outlets, state editorial boards and even some Republican allies over his refusal to release his tax returns, Donald Trump is once again peddling deranged conspiracy theories in a desperate attempt to change the subject – this time with absurd and debunked claims about Hillary Clinton’s health.

This is hardly the first time Trump and his allies have donned tin foil hats when things weren’t going his way.  When his back was previously up against the wall, he’s suggested President Obama was a Muslim with ISIS sympathies, that Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia was murdered and that Ted Cruz’s father was involved in the assassination of President John F. Kennedy.

Now, with the help of his well-oiled network of conspiracy peddlers – from Roger Stone to Sean Hannity – Trump is desperately trying to give life to already busted myths about the health of a woman whose stamina and focus was publicly lauded following an 11 hours long hearing about the tragedy in Benghazi.

Per his long pattern, Trump will clearly say or do anything to avoid the barrage of questions only his tax returns can answer: Whether he’s worth as much as he dubiously claims?  Whether his pro-Kremlin policies stem from financial conflicts of interest with Russian oligarchs?  Or whether he actually gives as much as he says to charity?

“While it is dismaying to see the Republican nominee for president push deranged conspiracy theories in a foreign policy speech, it’s no longer surprising,” said Jennifer Palmieri. “Donald Trump is simply parroting lies based on fabricated documents promoted by Roger Stone and his right wing allies. Hillary Clinton has released a detailed medical record showing her to be in excellent health plus her personal tax returns since 1977, while Trump has failed to provide the public with the most basic financial information disclosed by every major candidate in the last 40 years. It’s time for him to stop using shameful distractions to hide his own record.”

Two Deranged, Debunked Conspiracies About Clinton’s Health

The Doctors’ Letters

Trump confidant and discredited conspiracy peddler Roger Stone and his right-wing allies have been pushing fake medical documents supposedly leaked from Hillary Clinton’s physician that purport to show grave health problems.

However, here’s a statement from the actual Dr. Lisa Bardack, Hillary Clinton’s real internist and Chairman of the Department of Medicine at CareMount Medical, debunking the veracity of these false documents:

“As Secretary Clinton’s long time physician, I released a medical statement during the campaign indicating that she is in excellent health.  I have recently been made aware of allegedly ‘leaked’ medical documents regarding Secretary Clinton with my name on them. These documents are false, were not written by me and are not based on any medical facts. To reiterate what I said in my previous statement, Secretary Clinton is in excellent health and fit to serve as President of the United States.”

Here’s a link to the actual medical records about Hillary Clinton released by Dr. Bardack (written on actual letterhead) with the concluding summary directly below:

 Now compare that to the medical records released from Donald Trump’s gastroenterologist – not internist — that makes several peculiar claims that Kurt Eichenwald, senior writer at Newsweek, dissected in a must watch segment on CNN this morning:

1. Eichenwald: “This is not a real letter because what you have, number one, it’s not from an internist. It’s from a doctor who treats digestive problems.”

2. Eichenwald: “He says that all of Mr. Trump’s medical tests are positive. That means that everything he was tested for, he has. No competent or real doctor would write this.”

3. Eichenwald: “It also says such things as ‘Donald Trump will be the healthiest president in the history of the United States.’ That sounds a lot like Donald Trump.”

4. Eichenwald: “It doesn’t have a real letter letterhead. The letterhead was written on Microsoft Word.”

Hannity Drafts Urologist To Diagnose Potential Head Trauma Via Video Tape

To push the baseless narrative about lingering head trauma, Trump surrogate Sean Hannity drafted a urologist – not a neurologist – wearing a white physician’s coat to help diagnose whether a video tape was evidence of repercussions from previous head trauma.

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HFA Statements on Trump Campaign Chair Pro-Kremlin Ties

Hillary for America released two statements following reports that the campaign chair for Donald Trump, Paul Manafort, has ties to pro-Putin elements in Ukraine. Manafort was named in an investigation by Ukrainian authorities. The report sites off the books records of payments to Manafort. The investigation is on-going. HFA Senior Policy Advisor Robby Mook released a statement calling Manafort’s actions into question. A copy of the statement is below.

“On the eve of what the Trump campaign has billed as a major foreign policy speech, we have learned of more troubling connections between Donald Trump’s team and pro-Kremlin elements in Ukraine.  Given the pro-Putin policy stances adopted by Donald Trump and the recent Russian government hacking and disclosure of Democratic Party records, Donald Trump has a responsibility to disclose campaign chair Paul Manafort’s and all other campaign employees’ and advisers’ ties to Russian or pro-Kremlin entities, including whether any of Trump’s employees or advisers are currently representing and or being paid by them.”

As more details were released, the campaign released a second, extended statement from Mook. The statement includes a number of questions for Trump’s campaign as well as a list of members of Trump’s team with Russian Connections. The full statement is below.

“Facing another news story detailing Trump’s team’s ties to Russia and on the day of his foreign policy address, Trump’s campaign manager’s statement raised more questions than it addressed. This is a serious matter and there are real concerns about the pro-Kremlin interests engaged with the Trump team. As someone running to lead American policy and national security, Donald Trump owes the American public answers.”

1. Between Trump’s campaign chair Paul Manafort and many other allies and surrogates, Trump should disclose the details of any ties to Russian or pro-Kremlin entities. Which of Trump’s employees or advisers are currently representing and/or being paid by these pro-Russia entities?  How did these employees or advisers influence the numerous pro-Putin policy stances already adopted by the campaign?

2. Multiple sources have disputed Manafort’s claims on the RNC platform, confirming that the pro-Russia changes were made at the behest of the Trump campaign. Will Trump investigate how the change was made and which of his advisers advocated for it?

3. Given Paul Manafort’s history of potentially skirting the Foreign Agent Registration Act and the allegations in the story, will Trump investigate whether his own campaign chair violated FARA and/or whether the reported payments violated the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act?

4. According to the Washington Post, Trump’s Foreign Policy Adviser Carter Page’s “background in Russia has raised questions about potential conflicts of interest.” Page, who has investments in Russian energy giant Gazprom, has been highly critical of U.S. and European economic sanctions placed on Russia and recently broke precedent by giving a speech critical of U.S. policy while in Moscow. What pro-Kremlin policies has Page advocated with Trump?

5. After recent Russian government hacking and disclosure of Democratic Party records, it was revealed that long-time Trump confidante Roger Stone was in communication with Julian Assange, leader of Wikileaks and source of key leaked information. In light of WikiLeaks reported ties to Russia, will Donald Trump disclose details of information shared between him and Roger Stone on Assange and the hack of US citizens?

Trump Campaign Aides’ Ties To Russia

• Campaign chairman Paul Manafort – Worked for pro-Putin lackey, propelling him to win the Ukrainian presidency. Did extensive business with Russian and Ukrainian oligarchs, including one who made billions from sweetheart deals Putin gave him on Russian oil. Pro-Kremlin Ukrainian leaders and the Trump campaign have refused to answer whether Manafort is still on a Ukrainian party’s payroll.
• Foreign policy adviser Carter Page – Built a career on deals with Russia and its state-run gas company, and remains invested in it. Expressed excitement at the possibility of lifting sanctions. Gave a speech in Moscow this July criticizing the U.S. and calling for closer business coordination with Russia, and was rumored to have met with top Kremlin officials.
• Military adviser Gen. Michael Flynn – Has come under scrutiny for attending Kremlin propaganda outlet RT’s 10th anniversary gala where he sat two seats from Putin. Told Michael Isikoff he was paid for his speech in Russia, but he was paid by his “speakers’ bureau,” which is merely an intermediary.
• Recently departed adviser Michael Caputo – Was sent to Moscow while working for the State Department, but became “friendly with senior Kremlin officials” and State broke ties with him. He went on to earn a contract with the “Russian conglomerate Gazprom Media to improve Putin’s image in the United States.”
• Foreign policy adviser Richard Burt – Sits on the Senior Advisory Board of Alfa Bank, Russia’s largest privately owned bank, and on the Board of Directors of the U.S.-Russia Business Council, which lobbies against U.S. sanctions on Russia. Burt has “expressed skepticism of the relevance of NATO.”
• Economic adviser & fundraiser Howard Lorber – Traveled with Donald Trump to Moscow in the late 90s seeking a real estate deal. Trump once bragged to a Russian politician, “Howard has major investments in Russia.”
• Trump adviser & surrogate Boris Epshteyn – Moscow-born investment banker who served as the moderator for a 2013 at the “Invest In Moscow!” Conference in New York. Has echoed Kremlin talking points as a Trump surrogate on TV, claiming that Russia did not seize Crimea.
• Trump Adviser Rick Gates – Longtime partner of Manafort’s who has been involved with the same Pro-Putin Russian and Ukrainian oligarchs as Manafort.

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News Source: CNN

House Benghazi Committee Releases Final Report

The House Select Committee on Benghazi concluded its multi-year investigation into the terrorist attack on the United States Diplomatic compound in Benghazi, Libya. The attack resulted in the death of U.S. Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens and U.S. Foreign Service Information Management Officer Sean Smith. After reviewing evidence and conducting countless interviews, the committee released its findings at the end of June.

There has been controversy surrounding the committee since its creation in 2014. Democrats have accused Republicans as using the attacks in Benghazi as a way to harm Hillary Clinton’s presidential aspirations. Its critics point to the endless investigations, many of which concluded before the committee was created in 2014. Because of this, the Republican majority and the Democratic minority of the committee have agreed on little. In fact, they even have separate websites covering the investigation. These divisions were made more apparent when Clinton testified for over 10 hours before the committee in October 2015.

On June 27, the minority members of the committee released their findings in a report led by Representative Elijah Cummings. In the report, the minority members focus on the way the committee has acted and the cost to tax payers for an investigation that ultimately yielded no new findings. They also complained that they were largely left out the process of writing the primary report that was released the next day. The report, which consists of 340 pages, is primarily a criticism of the handling of the investigation by the Republicans on the committee and their limited focus on Clinton.

The Republicans released their final report on June 28, a day after the Democrats. In 869 pages, the committee’s Republicans, led by Representative Trey Gowdy, harshly criticized the State Department, Defense Department, and CIA for failing to fully understand the situation that led to the attack in Benghazi. The report criticizes the delayed action by the Obama administration following the attacks. Overall, the committee failed to find any new evidence that changed the narrative of the attack nor could they prove that Clinton was in any way negligent. Instead, the report largely blames systemic issues for the poor response to the attack.

While the committee is responsible for discovering that Clinton used a private email server as Secretary of State, the findings of the committee largely echo that of an investigations conducted by the State Department in 2012 and the Senate Foreign Relations Committee in 2013. During the Senate hearings in January 2013, Clinton accepted full responsibility for the State Department’s failures leading up to and following the attack. She also spoke about security funding that was cut by Congress arguing that those cuts have made United States diplomatic posts less secure around the world and she urged Congress to increase funding to ensure the safety of diplomats.

Since the release of the report early this week, Clinton has been asked for her thoughts. While she has not had much to say, she did offer a comment late this week saying, “I’ll leave it to others to characterize this report, but I think it’s pretty clear it’s time to move on.”

While many agree that it is time to move on, we want to ensure that the report, and every other report released on the Benghazi investigation are fully available to readers in the interest of full transparency. Therefore, we have gathered all the internal investigations and reports into the Benghazi attack into one place. Below, you will find a collection of websites for each the investigative committees as well as a collection of hearings and reports released by Congress and the State Department.

• House Select Committee on Benghazi Majority Website
• House Select Committee on Benghazi Minority Website
• House Republican Investigation of Benghazi Website
• U.S. State Department Accountability Review Board

Date	Investigator	Type
October 10, 2012	House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform	Hearing
November 15, 2012	House Committee on Foreign Affairs (Part 1)	Hearing
November 15, 2012	House Committee on Foreign Affairs (Part 2)	Hearing
December 2012	State Department Accountability Review Board	Report
December 20, 2012	Senate Committee on Foreign Relations	Hearing
January 23, 2013	House Committee on Foreign Affairs	Hearing
February 7, 2013	Senate Committee on Armed Services	Hearing
April 23, 2013	Progress Report by the House Republican Conference	Report
May 8, 2013	House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform	Hearing
September 16, 2013	House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform	Report
September 18, 2013	House Committee on Foreign Affairs	Hearing
September 19, 2013	House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform	Hearing
January 15, 2014	Senate Select Committee on Intelligence	Report
February 7, 2014	House Foreign Affairs Committee	Majority Report
September 17, 2014	House Select Committee on the Events Surrounding the 2012 Terrorist Attacks in Benghazi, Libya	Hearing
January 27, 2015	House Select Committee on the Events Surrounding the 2012 Terrorist Attacks in Benghazi, Libya	Hearing
October 22, 2015	House Select Committee on the Events Surrounding the 2012 Terrorist Attacks in Benghazi, Libya	Hearing
June 27, 2016	House Select Committee on Benghazi	Minority Report
June 28, 2016	House Select Committee on Benghazi	Majority Report

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News Source: The Washington Post, The New York Times, NPR, The New York Times, The Washington Post

Clinton Responds to State Department Report Criticizing Private Email Use

Earlier this week, the State Department Inspector General released the findings of their investigation into the state of department email security, including Hillary Clinton’s use of a private email server during her tenure as Secretary of State. The report is critical of Clinton’s decision to exclusively use a private email address and not one that was government issues. The report said that Clinton did not seek approval before using an alternate email address, and the Inspector General said that she did not follow proper procedures in turning over all work related email before leaving the State Department. All emails have since been turned over.

The report is also critical of the State Department admitting that the current policies for record preservation are outdated and the technology is outdated as well. The report mentions former Secretaries of State that used private email addresses and failed to turn over any work related content. Former Secretary of State Colin Powell also used a personal email address to conduct government business, but he has stated that he is unable to turn over records because they no longer exist. While Clinton is not the first Secretary of State to use a private email address to conduct business, she is the first to exclusively use a private server.

Clinton and team immediately responded, and she spoke to several news outlets by phone to address the report. Clinton spoke with reporters from Univision, ABC, MSNBC, and CNN, all of which asked a number of questions surrounding the report and its findings. Clinton, once again, admitted that using a private email server was a mistake, but she quickly turned the conversation to the election and Republican nominee Donald Trump. Speaking with Chuck Todd on MSNBC’s Meet the Press Daily, she said, “I said this many times, it was still a mistake. If I could go back, I would do it differently. And I understand people have concerns about this, but I hope and expect voters to look at the full picture of everything I’ve done and stand for. And the full threat posed by Donald Trump. If they do, I have faith in the American people that they will make the right choice.”

The State Department’s review is the first report regarding her emails to be released. A report from the FBI is expected to be released sometime this summer. A full copy of the State Department’s report can be read HERE. Clinton has said on several occasions that she wants the emails from her private server available to the public in the interest of transparency. The State Department released the final batch of emails at the end of February. Since the release of the emails was part of the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), all the emails were posted to the State Department’s FOIA website. To access the emails, follow the steps below:

1. Go to http://foia.state.gov/Search
2. Type “F-2014-20439” in the Case Number field
3. Click on the arrow next to the “Posted Date” column header and select “Sort Descending” so that the recently released documents show first
4. Click the title of the document in the “Subject” field to open a PDF copy

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News Source: The New York Times, The Washington Post, Business Insider, CNN, Politico

Clinton Foundation: Not There Yet: A Data Driven Analysis of Gender Equality

Monday, March 9, 2015

Hillary Rodham Clinton took part in a major release from the Clinton Foundation entitled Not There Yet: A Data Driven Analysis of Gender Equality. Part of the No Ceilings Project, the report outlines the progress of women around the world. To read the findings of the report, visit the website by clicking above. The full press release about the report is below and you may watch a video from the event by CLICKING HERE.

PRESS RELEASE:

The No Ceilings Initiative Releases its Full Participation Report and Data on the Status of Women and Girls through NoCeilings.org
New York, NY

20 years of global data compiled by No Ceilings show that while progress is possible, more must be done to achieve ‘full and equal participation’ for women and girls worldwide

New York, NY — Former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, Gates Foundation Co-Chair Melinda Gates and Clinton Foundation Vice Chair Chelsea Clinton will join global and community leaders for the official release of the No Ceilings Full Participation Report and data visualization site NoCeilings.org on Monday, March 9, at 11:00am in New York City. The release coincides with the commencement of the 59th session of the United Nations’ Commission on the Status of Women.

The No Ceilings Full Participation Report is the culmination of a year-long effort to aggregate and analyze new and existing global data by the Bill, Hillary & Chelsea Clinton Foundation and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, in collaboration with The Economist Intelligence Unit, UCLA WORLD Policy Analysis Center, and Fathom Information Design. This comprehensive data is available in written form, as well as through a collection of interactive and sharable visualizations, graphics, stories, and compelling videos produced by Scratch, a division of Viacom. The data is open and easily downloadable.

The No Ceilings Full Participation Report and NoCeilings.org builds on the momentum of “NOT THERE,” an awareness effort launched on International Women’s Day, which brought together leading publications, fashion and consumer brands, celebrities, artists, and members of the social media community to make the point that we’re “not there” yet on issues of gender equality, both at home and abroad.

The No Ceilings data advances the evidence-based case for gender equality. The analysis finds that progress is possible – particularly when countries commit resources and political will. However, more must be done to accelerate the pace of change and achieve the full participation of women and girls in the 21st century.

The report and NoCeilings.org identifies and brings to life the significant gains women and girls have made – and the gaps that still remain – since the U.N. Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing in 1995, when Secretary Clinton called on the international community to ensure “women’s rights are human rights.” Key highlights from the report and data include:

Significant progress has been made in the areas of health and education; for example, the rate of maternal mortality has almost been cut in half since 1995, and the gap between the number of boys and girls completing primary schools globally has nearly closed.

In other areas, the pace of change has been far too slow, including women’s economic participation, leadership, and security.  Even where there has been progress, the gains have not been shared by all: geography, income, age, race, ethnicity disability, sexual orientation, and cultural norms remain powerful determinants of a woman’s chance at equal rights and opportunities.

The world has reached a critical moment and can no longer afford to overlook the potential of half the population. Not only is the evidence about the benefits of full participation of women and girls to prosperity and stability stronger than ever before, but we have stronger tools to help accelerate progress, including 21st century technologies and dedicated private sector allies.

Findings from the report and NoCeilings.org will be on display and brought to life at today’s No Ceilings event: “Not There Yet: A Data Driven Analysis of Gender Equality.” The event, which begins at 11:00a.m., ET, at the Best Buy Theatre in New York City, will bring together and showcase the compelling stories of global and community leaders who are actively taking steps to advance the full participation of women and girls in their nations and communities. Storytellers, speakers and participants include:

Former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton
Melinda Gates, Co-Chair, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
Chelsea Clinton, Vice Chair, Clinton Foundation
Her Excellency Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović, President of the Republic of Croatia
Her Excellency Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, President of the Republic of LIberia
Darril Astrida Saunders, Founder, Exotic Caribbean Mountain Pride
Shabana Basij-Rasikh, Co-founder and President, School of Leadership, Afghanistan
Ikram Ben Said, Founder and President, Aswat Nisaa
Usha Choudhary, Secretary and Program Director, Vikalp Sansthan
America Ferrera, Actor, Producer, Activist
Nely Galan, Founder of The Adelante Movement
Helene D. Gayle, MD, MPH, President and CEO, CARE
Wanjira Mathai, Director, wPOWER: Women’s Partnerships in Renewables
Mrs. Mary Robinson, President, Mary Robinson Foundation – Climate Justice
Debra Sterling, CEO, GoldieBlox
Dr. Lisa Su, President and CEO, AMD
Genette Thelusmond, Auxiliare Midwife, Midwives for Haiti
Dr. Marcela Tovar-Restrepo, Chair of the Board of Directors of the Women’s Environment and Development Organization (WEDO)
Uzma, School of Leadership, Afghanistan Scholar
Yogesh Vaishnav, Treasurer and Program Manager, Vikalp Sansthan
Melanne Verveer, Executive Director, Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace and Security
Bruce Wilkinson, President & Chief Executive Officer, Catholic Medical Mission Board
Sheryl WuDunn, Co-author, A Path Appears
Malala Yousafzai, 2014 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate and Co-Founder of the Malala Fund (via video)

About The Bill, Hillary & Chelsea Clinton Foundation
The Bill, Hillary & Chelsea Clinton Foundation convenes businesses, governments, NGOs, and individuals to improve global health and wellness, increase opportunity for women and girls, reduce childhood obesity, create economic opportunity and growth, and help communities address the effects of climate change. Because of our work, 26,000 American schools are providing kids with healthy food choices in an effort to eradicate childhood obesity; more than 40,000 farmers in Malawi, Tanzania, and Rwanda have improved their incomes by more than 500 percent; 33,500 tons of greenhouse gas emissions being reduced annually across the U.S.; more than 5,000 people have been trained in marketable job skills in Colombia; 8.2 million people have access to lifesaving HIV/AIDS medications; $200 million in strategic investments have been made, impacting the health of 75 million people in the U.S.; and members of the Clinton Global Initiative have made nearly 3,100 Commitments to Action to improve more than 430 million lives around the world.

Learn more at http://www.clintonfoundation.org, on Facebook at Facebook.com/ClintonFoundation and on Twitter @ClintonFdn.

About The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
Guided by the belief that every life has equal value, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation works to help all people lead healthy, productive lives. In developing countries, it focuses on improving people’s health and giving them the chance to lift themselves out of hunger and extreme poverty. In the United States, it seeks to ensure that all people—especially those with the fewest resources—have access to the opportunities they need to succeed in school and life. Based in Seattle, Washington, the foundation is led by CEO Sue Desmond-Hellmann and Co-chair William H. Gates Sr., under the direction of Bill and Melinda Gates and Warren Buffett.

About The Economist Intelligence Unit
The Economist Intelligence Unit is the research arm of The Economist Group, publisher of The Economist. As the world’s leading provider of country intelligence, we help governments, institutions and businesses by providing timely, reliable and impartial analysis of economic and development strategies. Through our public policy practice, we provide evidence-based research for policymakers and stakeholders seeking measureable outcomes, in fields ranging from gender and finance to energy and technology. We conduct our research through interviews, regulatory analysis, quantitative modelling and forecasting, and we display the results via interactive data visualisation tools. Through a global network of more than 350 analysts and contributors, we continuously assess and forecast political, economic and business conditions in more than 200 countries. For more information, visit http://www.eiu.com

About UCLA WORLD Policy Analysis Center
The WORLD Policy Analysis Center at the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health is the first and largest data center providing quantitatively analyzable data on policies and laws in 197 countries and Beijing Platform signatories in a range of critical areas, including education, health, environment, poverty, families, adult labor, marriage, childhood, child labor, equal rights and discrimination, aging, disability and gender.

About Fathom Information Design
Fathom Information Design partners with clients to understand, express, and navigate complex data through visualizations, interactive tools, and software.  Fathom founder Ben Fry received his doctoral degree from the Aesthetics + Computation Group at the MIT Media Laboratory, where his research focused on combining fields such as computer science, statistics, graphic design, and data visualization as a means for understanding information. Fry founded Fathom in 2010 and in 2011 he won the National Design Award for Interaction Design.  Based in Boston, Fathom’s recent projects include OpenIndia with the World Bank Group, Connected China with Reuters, and What the World Eats with National Geographic.  http://www.fathom.info

Video Source: Livestream

News Source: Clinton Foundation