I, and many others, have pre-existing conditions that will cause insurance companies to find us not eligible for insurance or charge a really high premium for healthcare. It's time for the people to speak instead of insurance lobbyists.

Like me, over 40 million Americans live within 30 miles of a nucear waste storage site, and 116 million Americans live within 50 miles of a waste storage site. Sign this petition that tells the NRC to require that radioactive waste be stored in much safer, more secure concrete and steel dry casks. Also you can attend an NRC meeting by finding locations here: http://1.usa.gov/16kxqx1 Like the nuclear reactors themselves, spent nuclear fuel storage pools contain large amounts of radioactive material. An accident or terrorist attack resulting in a rapid loss of cooling water from a pool could lead to a fire and the release of a massive quantity of radiation—with potentially grave human, environmental, and economic consequences. These pools have become de facto nuclear waste storage sites. Rather than invest in dry casks, plant owners continue to fill them to well beyond what they were designed for, creating unnecessary risks for Americans. Simply put, spent fuel pools are overcrowded and incredibly dangerous if electricity "goes out." Concrete and steel dry cask storage, on the other hand, are so much safer and do not require electricity because they are passively cooled by natural air flow. The dry casks at the Fukushima plant in Japan, for example, went relatively unscathed after the March 2011 disaster there. Independent experts at the Union of Concerned Scientists and elsewhere agree that radioactive waste that has cooled sufficiently should be transferred to dry casks. Even the Sierra Club said that "Overcrowding in irradiated/spent fuel pools is an unacceptable risk to the public. Hardened on-site casks should become the choice for storage." As the waste must eventually be transferred to dry casks in order to be shipped offsite, why not demand that this happen sooner rather than later and improve safety right now?

We need a comprehensive approach to Syria that can serve as a peacemaking, prosperity-building model for the region. We need to break the endless cycle and horror of sectarian violence and dictators holding power through terror and genocide. The German Marshall plan offers a model that can be followed in Syria. Join me in proposing that our national and global leaders adopt and enact a visionary solution.

After pressure from Big Oil & Gas, the Environmental Protection Agency shut down three different investigations into fracking-related water contamination in Dimock, PA, Pavillion, WY, and Parker County, TX. I’m from Scranton, PA, a town just down the road from Dimock, where whistleblowers revealed that the EPA shut down its investigation despite its own preliminary findings (based on 4.5 years of data) that fracking had caused “significant damage” to drinking water. It's outrageous, and we have to make sure the EPA re-opens these investigations and provides residents with safe drinking water. Next Wednesday we will deliver these petition DIRECTLY to the EPA with residents who have been directly impacted. Please help us build our voice louder than Big Oil & Gas.

Instead of working to expand the middle class, House Republicans passed a temporary budget that would defund Obamacare and maintain deep cuts to education, job training, and other vital services. Soon, the Senate will vote whether to pass the House budget as it is or modify it so that Obamacare is funded. That's why we need Senator Mark Kirk to stand with the people of Illinois, not extremists like Sen. Ted Cruz who would risk our nation's fiscal security to defund Obamacare and gain political leverage.

On the heels of a dismal 50 of 50 state ranking in the latest "Kids Count" report, RISE an innovative school idea is not approved by the Public Ed., Department. The “Kids Count” report ranks children on 16 different indicators of well-being; from education to health, to poverty and family life. However, RISE a proposed school to deliberately teach students skills on how to succeed like confidence, persistence, and resiliency (CPR) along with the essential cognitive abilities, the powers that be do not recommend such a school to be approved. Please sign the petition to show the support and need for a deliberate dual purpose education model and that our outdated education model just isn’t working for a great majority of our students Thank you, Eppie Lopez www.risenm.org

Health care costs are spiraling out of control. The legislative branch is in charge of finding a solution and is insulated from the effects by having the best health care insurance paid for by US taxpayers. It is time to level the playing field.

My husband Fred Martinez and his co- worker Higinio Gonzales were killed by a drunk driver in Wichita Kansas, I feel that the owners and servers of alcoholic beverages, in a establishment should also be held accountable. To this date they cannot be held accountable for over serving there patrons Kansas has on average 18,500 auto accidents a year involving alcohol, which resulted in 154 people being killed, and approximately 6,100 more being injured. I feel this is a very important law, and I think it would help cut down on drink driving.

"Many of the curbs in New York do not have cutouts or are in disrepair. I use a wheelchair and am often unable to go where I want to go. I think of the disabled vets who deserve access and our deepest respect."

US Naval Shipyard, Newtown, Aurora, and numerous other mass murders could have been prevented. There needs to be a call for action by the powers that be identify and treat those with serious mental illness.

I am starting this petition because we have been loyal Disney patrons for many years. The reason for our devout loyalty to Disney Theme Parks and Resorts/Timeshares lies in the fact that it is one of very few places that our son, who has an Autism Spectrum Disorder, feels welcome and whole. He is not treated like he is an outcast and is invisible amongst the crowd, not standing out as DIFFERENT. He experiences the kid like magic of imagination and as a family, we get to experience that with him. We want to preserve this one magical family vacation experience and ask Disney to reconsider their new assistance program. We wholly support Disney's efforts to create a program that deters fraud, but does not do so at the expense of those who truly benefit from the assistance program. With the new Disabled Assistance System, it will preclude many families from enjoying Disney Theme Parks as they did before.

I am currently fighting for the right to be in my daughter's life. Even thought I am not the biological Mother, I have completed a second-parent adoption, but I am still encountering a great deal of resistance and confusion in the interpretation of the laws. I have been 'Mom' to my 9 year old since the day she was born and find it insane that I have very limited parental rights. Please join me in sending a message to lawmakers that ALL parents deserve rights. Thank you!