Eyes on Gun Violence, Lawmakers Propose Expanded Mental Health Access

Seeking to put their stamp on the Congressional debate over how to deal with gun violence, a bipartisan group of senators will introduce a bill Thursday that would seek to strengthen the nation’s mental health services and perhaps stave off violent acts by the mentally ill.

The bill, which lawmakers will roll out with a Hollywood director, would require the roughly 2,000 health centers designated as Federally Qualified Community Behavioral Health Centers to cover a broad range of mental health services, including 24-hour crisis care. It would also integrate mental health services with physical services that are currently treated separately and increase support for families of people living with mental health issues, at a cost of $1.4 billion over 10 years.

The legislation would also expand access to the centers â€" many of which receive government financing and operate in poor, medically underserved areas â€" by modernizing current sites and opening new ones, subject to a Congressional approriation.

Mental health centers that provide the new services would be enabled to bill Medicaid, similar to the way Federally Qualified Health Centers do for treatment of physical health care.

David O. Russell, the Oscar-nominated director of “Silver Linings Playbook,” which features a character with bipolar disorder, will attend a news conference to introduce the bill on Capitol Hill on Thursday.

Its sponsors include three Republican senators â€" Roy Blunt of Missouri, Susan Collins of Maine and Marco Rubio of Florida
- and four Democrats: Debbie Stabenow of Michigan, Jack Reed of Rhode Island, Barbara Boxer of California and Patrick J. Leahy of Vermont.

Mr. Leahy is chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, which is pondering other gun violence bills, including a measure that would expand the background checks of gun owners, seeking in part of reduce gun access by the mentally ill. Republicans and Democrats alike have said that mental! health treatment needs to be a component of any large-scale effort to address gun violence.

The lawmakers note that roughly 25 percent of returning veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan suffer mental health problems; Community Mental Health Centers already serve more than eight million people and are expected to soon be serving 200,000 veterans.

In the House, Representative Marlin Stutzman, Republican of Indiana, has introduced legislation that would guarantee gun owners who legally carry a concealed weapon in their home state the right to carry their firearms in any other state that allows concealed carry.

New Polls Show Rise in Support for Obama\'s Handling of Immigration

Following President Obama’s campaign-style blitz last week to unveil his proposals for immigration overhaul, the public’s rating of his handling of the issue appears to be on the rise, with several of his proposals enjoying broad support.

The president’s approval rating for his handling of immigration is up 11 points from six months ago and stands at 49 percent, with 43 percent disapproving, according to a new ABC News/Washington Post poll. It is Mr. Obama’s highest rating on the issue since his first 100 days in office.

The ABC/Post poll found that a majority of Americans supported both the so-called path to citizenship for ndocumented immigrants living in the United States and tightened security at United States borders. A recent Gallup poll asked the same questions with different wording and came back with somewhat different results.

On the issue of undocumented immigrants eventually becoming citizens, Gallup explained the proposal as allowing “undocumented immigrants living in the U.S. the chance to become legal residents or citizens if they meet certain requirements,” while the ABC/Post survey simply used the phrase “path to citizenship.”

Gallup found nearly three-quarters of Americans (including 9 in 10 Democrats and 6 in 10 Republicans) supported extending citizenship to undocumented immigrants currently in the United States, while 55 percent of the public (including about 7 in 10 Democrats and 4 in 10 Republicans) favored the concept in the ABC/Post survey.

Likewise, on the issue of border control, both polls showed majorities supporting increased security ! measures along United States borders. Yet, whereas the ABC/Post poll asked about “stricter border control to try to reduce illegal immigration” and found more than 8 in 10 supporting it, Gallup asked about an “increase in government spending” on security and enforcement at the borders and found two-thirds supporting it. Not surprisingly, the public was less supportive when they realized stricter enforcement would require increased financing.

Regardless of question wording, majorities across party lines support increased border security, and both surveys found Republicans more fervent in their support than Democrats.

Gallup also tested several other proposals including an employer verification system confirming that all workers are in the United States legally, a system tracking the departures of foreigners, and an increase in the number of visas for legal immigrants with advanced skills. All of the measures were supported by wide bipartisan majorities.

The Gallup survey was conduced Jan. 30 and 31 and the ABC/Post survey Jan. 30 to Feb. 3. Both polls have a margin of sampling error of plus or minus four percentage points and are based on nationwide telephone interviews on land lines and cellphones.

Rubio to Deliver State of the Union Rebuttal

Senator Marco Rubio will give the Republicans’ response to the State of the Union address, party leaders announced on Wednesday.

Mr. Rubio, a first-term senator from Florida, will deliver his speech in both English and Spanish, according to a news release from Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the Republican leader, and Speaker John A. Boehner of Ohio, after President Obama appears before Congress on Tuesday.

The choice of Mr. Rubio, one of the most prominent Hispanic figures in the Republican Party, comes as the party has vowed to appeal more to Latino voters. Mr. Rubio, a Cuban-American, will address immigration as a way to help the economy, according to a Rubio aide, though the speech will focus more on the Republicans’ “commitment to limited government as the best way to help the middle class,” the news release said.

Though the State of the Union rebuttal has been seen as an opportunity for rising stars to gain broader exposure, it has not had clear immediate benefits for he past few choices: Gov. Mitch Daniels of Indiana in 2012, Representative Paul D. Ryan in 2011, Gov. Robert McDonnell of Virginia in 2010 and Gov. Bobby Jindal of Louisiana in 2009.

Your Lost Bags Sent a Text, Come Get Them

While services for tracking luggage with RFID tags, bar codes or GPS have been around for a while, a company called Trakdot is taking a slightly different approach. It is putting a radio transceiver on your bags that tells you where your luggage is when it isn’t where it should be.

It costs less than GPS trackers and the company says it is more secure than the RFID tags and bar codes.

The Trakdot doesn’t use GPS, which uses a lot of battery power. You don’t want the batteries to die before you get your bags back. Instead, it sends out a mobile phone signal that lets you find its general vicinity -within 30 feet, the company says - by seeing which cell towers it is near. This uses a lot less power than GPS. Trakdot estimates it can work for up to a month of continuous use on standard AA batteries.

Another battery saver, the Trakdot shuts down when on a plane. It senses when it is moving at more than 100 knots, then shuts down. Both the Federal Communications Commission and the Federal Aviation Administration have approved the device, according to the company.

Every 20 minutes the device pops on briefly to check speed, then shuts down again until the plane lands. Then it sends a text to show where the bag has arrived.

The Trakdot is $50, with an activation fee of $9 and a $13 annual fee. The device will be available in April.

The company concedes that a big warehouse might effectively block the signal, and that the Trakdot is as prone to dead areas as your mobile phone. If your bag disappears you should check Buffalo. That’s where my lost luggage goes. Always Buffalo.

Comparing Ballot Lengths Around the Country

Long lines at the polls are part of a raft of barriers to voting, as documented by a recent Pew study (and broken down by The Times’s Adam Liptak on Wednesday). And one of the chief culprits, according to an article by Jeremy W. Peters on Tuesday: long ballots.

How long are they In Cook County, Ill., which includes Chicago, voters had to weigh in on about 93 candidate races and four ballot questions in 2010. The Cook County ballot was the longest one in the nation that year, according to Paul S. Herrnson, director of the Center for American Politics and Citizenship at the University of Maryland, College Park, who has conducted research on state and local election ballots.

“There’s two sides to democracy,” Mr. Herrnson said. He said that long ballots (and the long lines thy frequently cause) are the result of increased opportunity for participatory democracy: more elected offices and more ballot initiatives give the people greater say in government.

An analysis of ballot data by Mr. Herrnson suggests that states with more traditional political structures, especially in the South and Northeast, tend to have more political appointees and fewer ballot questions â€" thus shorter ballots.

“West Coast and mountain states, they tend to have more opportunities for participation,” Mr. Herrnson said. “They also tend to be more likely to have early voting.”

What a relief for residents of Marion County, Ore., then, that the state votes exclusively by mail. Marion County voters had about 41 ballot questions in 2010. California has managed to control its wait times by opening more precincts.

Here is a sampling from Mr. Herrnson’s database of 2010 ballot figures. (Some are approximate since different cities within a county might have more candidates and questions.)

Average state ballot: 17 elective offices, 5 ballot questions

Cuyahoga County, Ohio: 35 offices, 7 ballot questions
Harris County, Tex: 57 offices, no ballot questions
Hillsborough County, Fla.: 16 offices, 9 ballot questions
Lynchburg, Va. (an independent city): 3 offices, no ballot questions*
Marin County, Calif.: 7 offices, 13 ballot questions

*Virginia has off-year elections for state offices.

Geithner to Join Council on Foreign Relations

Timothy F. Geithner, who stepped down as Treasury secretary last month, is joining the Council on Foreign Relations as a distinguished fellow, the research organization, based in New York, said on Wednesday.

The position continues Mr. Geithner’s long career in international economic policy. He served as a senior fellow at the council in 2001, and the group said he would be based at its headquarters in New York.

“We are thrilled to welcome Tim back,” Richard N. Haass, the council’s president, said in a statement. “Both at Treasury and at the New York Federal Reserve, Tim was a tireless, creative, and responsible custodian of the public trust. His coming to C.F.R. only strengthens our capacity to produce thoughtful analysis of issues at the intersection of economic, political, and strategic developments.â

President Obama has named Jacob J. Lew, his former budget director and chief of staff, to head the Treasury Department. Mr. Lew awaits Senate confirmation.

Mr. Geithner served as Treasury secretary for four tumultuous years, which included the financial crisis and recession. He shepherded the bank bailouts, auto bailouts and stimulus package that helped to return the country to growth, if sluggish growth. Prior to becoming treasury secretary, Mr. Geithner headed the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and served as a Treasury and International Monetary Fund official.

Q.& A.: Making Smartphones Easier to Read

Q.

Is there a way to make the text bigger in the iPhone mail app, and is there a screen magnification feature for apps that don’t zoom in

A.

The iPhone software does include controls for both making the screen text larger and magnifying the entire screen. To get to these controls in iOS 6, tap the Settings icon on the Home screen. On the Settings screen, tap General and on the next screen, tap Accessibility.

On the screen of Accessibility options, in the Vision area, tap Large Text and select a bigger point size from the samples shown. In this same settings area, you can also turn on the Zoom feature that allows you to magnify the entire screen by double-tapping three fingers on the glass. Apple’s site has more information on its other Accessibility settings.

Many Android smartphones also have accessibility settings for making the screeneasier to see, but the steps for adjusting them depends on the phone model, carrier and version of Android. On a Samsung Galaxy SIII running Android 4.0 and later, you can fiddle with the font size by tapping the Menu button and then Settings. Scroll down and tap Display and then tap Font Size, where you can select a larger option.

Some versions of Android also include a screen-magnification feature and other options in the Accessibility area of the Settings menu. For older versions of Android, third-party software like the Big Font app can help make the screen text easier to see.

Accessibility options are built into most major smartphone platforms. Microsoft has information for Windows Phone 8 users here and BlackBerry owners can find out more here.

The Early Word: Upper Hand

Today’s Times

• Trying to gain the upper hand in the latest fiscal clash, President Obama called on Congress to delay the scheduled March 1 reductions in domestic and military spending by passing a new package of limited spending cuts and tax increases, Michael D. Shear and Jackie Calmes report. Republicans quickly dismissed the appeal.

• President Obama will travel to Israel for the first time since taking office as he tries to restart a relationship with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that has been rocky since the start, Peter Baker writes.

• Members of both parties in the House came to a rare agreement on Tuesday on a plan to stiffen penalties on the illegal purchase and transportation of guns, Jeremy W. Peters reports. As the law is written now, “the penalties are so weak it’s like a slap on the hand,” said one the bill’s sponsors.

• House Republicans on Tuesday pushed an approach that could include legal residency but not a path to citizenship for the 11 million illegal immigrants already in the country, Ashley Parker writes. Though Democrats and immigration advocates want to tackle the larger issue of citizenship, Republicans say they are open to working on smaller bills that address specific parts of the problem.

• Problems in the American election system extend beyond isolated voting issues in a few locations, with flare-ups occurring in states both rich and poor, Adam Liptak reports.

Around the Web

• President Obama will present posthumous Presidential Citizens Medals to the teachers and administrators killed at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn, Politico reports.

•  Representative Joe Courtney, Democrat of Connecticut, is saying that the director Steven Spielberg took too much creative license in “Lincoln,” Politico reports.

Happenings in Washington

• President Obama will attend the Senate Democratic Issues Conference in Annapolis, Md.

• Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. will administer he oath of office at a ceremonial swearing-in for Secretary of State John Kerry at the State Department. Later, Mr. Biden will deliver remarks at the House Democratic Issues Conference in Leesburg, Va.