the Senate Convenes at 2:00pmET September 19, 2011

Following any Leader remarks, the Senate will be in morning business until
4:30pm with Senators permitted to speak therein for up to 10 minutes each.
Following morning business, the Senate will resume consideration of the
motion to proceed to H.R.2832, the Generalized System of Preferences Act, which
will be the vehicle for Trade Adjustment Assistance with the time until 5:30pm
equally divided and controlled between Senators Baucus and Hatch, or their
designees.
At approximately 5:30pm, there will be a roll call vote on the motion to
invoke cloture on the motion to proceed to H.R.2832. We hope to get consent to
proceed to the bill on Mon5:31pm The Senate began a roll call vote on the motion to invoke cloture on
the motion to proceed to H.R.2832, GSP and the vehicle for TAA; Invoked:84-8

Adopted S.Res.271, a resolution honoring the life and legacy of the Honorable
Charles H. Percy, former Senator for the State of Illinois.

~~~~~~~~

CURRENT HOUSE FLOOR PROCEEDINGS
LEGISLATIVE DAY OF SEPTEMBER 19, 2011
112TH CONGRESS – FIRST SESSION

12:13 P.M. – The Speaker announced that the House do now adjourn. The next meeting is scheduled for 12:00 p.m. on September 20, 2011.

12:05 P.M. – The Speaker laid before the House a message from the President transmitting a plan for economic growth and deficit reduction entitled “Living Within Our Means and Investing in the Future” – referred to the Committees on Agriculture, Armed Services, Education and the Workforce, Energy and Commerce, Financial Services, House Administration, the Judiciary, Natural Resources, Oversight and Government Reform, Rules, Science, Space, and Technology, Small Business, Transportation and Infrastructure, and Ways and Means and ordered to be printed (H. Doc. 112-55).

12:04 P.M. – The House received a message from the Clerk. Pursuant to the permission granted in Clause 2(h) of Rule II of the Rules of the U.S. House of Representatives, the Clerk notified the House that she had received a sealed envelope from the White House on September 19, 2011, at 11:35 a.m. containing a message from the President whereby he submits the fiscal plan entitled “Living Within Our Means and Investing in the Future”, the President’s Plan for Economic Growth and Deficit Reduction.

12:03 P.M. – The House received a message from the Clerk. Pursuant to the permission granted in Clause 2(h) of Rule II of the Rules of the U.S. House of Representatives, the Clerk notified the House that she had received a message from the Secretary of the Senate on September 16, 2011 at 9:07 a.m. stating that that body had passedH.R. 2887. The message also stated that the Senate had agreed to S.Res. 268.The House received a message from the Clerk. Pursuant to the permission granted in Clause 2(h) of Rule II of the Rules of the U.S. House of Representatives, the Clerk notified the House that she had received a message from the Secretary of the Senate on September 15, 2011 at 5:50 p.m. stating that that body had passed H.J.Res. 66.

12:02 P.M. – PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE – The Chair led the House in reciting the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag.The Speaker announced approval of the Journal. Pursuant to clause 1, rule I, the Journal stands approved.

12:01 P.M. – Today’s prayer was offered by the House Chaplain, Rev. Patrick J. Conroy.The Speaker designated the Honorable Michael K. Simpson to act as Speaker pro tempore for today.

12:00 P.M. – The House convened, starting a new legislative day.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Pass the Jobs Bill NOW …Diallo Brooks, People For the American Way

09/16/2011 Nativegrl77

“I urge you to do everything you can to PASS THE AMERICAN JOBS ACT NOW!”

The jobs crisis is hurting Americans and holding back our country.

Now is no time to play politics, it’s time to create jobs and put Americans back to work!

Tell Congress to PASS THE AMERICAN JOBS ACT NOW!

President Obama’s American Jobs Act is a vital piece of legislation to put Americans back to work and get our economy moving. Republicans and Democrats alike have no business putting the politics of next year’s election ahead of the dire needs of jobless Americans and their families, or for that matter, the need of ALL Americans to get our economy growing again.

The American Jobs Act should be passed in its entirety. It’s fair, it’s effective and most importantly, it is urgently needed.

Make sure you weigh in and tell YOUR members of Congress: Don’t play politics with the economy; act swiftly to pass the American Jobs Act. www.pfaw.org

THANK YOU for stepping up and speaking out when America needs your activism the most.

–Diallo Brooks, Director of Field Mobilization

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Chevron doesn’t want you to know Servio’s story …Ginger Cassady, Rainforest Action Network

09/16/2011 Nativegrl77

Share this video, don’t let Chevron erase Servio and his family from the public record

Servio Curipoma is a farmer who lives in the Ecuadorean Amazon. He lost both of his parents and his sister to cancer after Texaco, which Chevron bought in 2001, deliberately dumped a massive amount of oil pollution near their home.

Chevron doesn’t want you to know Servio’s story – or the stories of any of the thousands of other Ecuadoreans who are suffering from the oil contamination in their Amazon home that Chevron refuses to clean up.

Can you help make sure Chevron can’t silence Servio? Here’s the YouTube link to a video of an impassioned speech he gave outside of Chevron’s annual shareholder meeting, in which he vows to honor the memories of his family members by refusing to give up the fight to bring Chevron to justice.

You can copy and paste the link into Facebook, Twitter, or any other website where you can share the video above !!!

Suggested text: Chevron doesn’t want us to know about the people whose lives and livelihoods have been destroyed by its oil pollution in the Ecuadorean Amazon. Servio Curipoma’s mother, father, and sister died from Chevron’s oil pollution. Don’t let the oil giant erase Servio and his family from history!

Chevron has found a willing accomplice in US Federal Judge Lewis Kaplan, who issued a “worldwide injunction” to stop enforcement of the historic $18 billion judgment against Chevron handed down by an Ecuadorean court in February. The Ecuadoreans are appealing the injunction, and the trial starts tomorrow.

Judge Kaplan has continually referred to Servio and the other Ecuadoreans suing Chevron as the “so-called Ecuadorean plaintiffs” – implying that the very real and very horrifying conditions that Servio and his community are facing are somehow in question or up for debate. That’s why it’s so important that we all post this video and let everyone – including Judge Kaplan – know that the Ecuadoreans suffering from Chevron’s oil pollution are real, and they’re crying out for justice.

After poisoning his community and taking his family from him, Chevron is heaping disrespect on Servio Curipoma by trying to pretend he doesn’t exist, and that his mother, father, and sister never existed. We can’t let Chevron and Kaplan get away with it. Please share Servio’s story today.

For a cleaner future,

Ginger Cassady
Change Chevron Campaign Director

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

You beat Bank of America in Washington …Michael Whitney, Change.org

09/16/2011 Nativegrl77

Can an online petition save a house from foreclosure? It did in Seattle.

Vera Johnson is a single mom from Seattle who was on the brink of foreclosure — despite the fact that she qualified for a loan modification under federal law. But Bank of America reps gave Vera the run-around, making her resubmit endless forms, claiming time and again to have lost paperwork Vera had sent in multiple times.

After 18 months, Vera was fed up. So she started a petition on Change.org asking Bank of America to grant her loan modification.

More than 16,000 people — mostly Washingtonians — signed Vera’s petition. And Bank of America representatives just told Vera they would grant her a permanent loan modification.

http://www.change.org/start-a-petition?utm_source=action_alert&utm_medium=email&alert_id=PtmFtDmZny_BImiguPOnn

“I’m overjoyed, and thankful to the thousands who took action on Change.org to help me keep my home and business,” Vera said. “The success of my campaign shows that homeowners can take power back from banks if we work together.”

Making change happen in your community is easy. Start a petition on WWW.Change.org — step-by-step instructions are right here.

Thanks for being a change-maker,

– Michael and the Change.org team

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Help UCS tell Rush Limbaugh that thermometers don’t lie

09/16/2011 Nativegrl77 2 Comments

It’s a critical time in the fight against global warming. The attacks on science are intensifying, more shrill and blatant than ever.

The heat index in Washington, D.C. hit 116 degrees this summer. But, instead of addressing why it’s been so hot, Rush Limbaugh charged that this scientific scale was “manufactured by the government.”

Let’s end the disinformation on climate change.

Help UCS expose and challenge attacks on science.

That’s why I’m asking you to become a member of the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS), and help us stand up for science—and fight back against disinformation about global warming. www.ucsusa.org

Cynical media pundits like Rush Limbaugh can try to distract the public with empty charges against an accepted scientific measurement scale developed more than three decades ago to help protect public health. But global warming is happening and the time to act is now.

It isn’t just a question of one hot summer. Consider that:
Fifteen of the past sixteen years have ranked as the warmest ever.
The world’s major scientific research teams have all independently determined that 2001-2010 was the hottest decade on record.

So, while climate deniers try to mislead the public, UCS is stepping up our efforts to get out the facts and propose real-world practical solutions to the problems that climate change is causing.

And you are a key partner in all our work.

So, don’t let cynical pundits, corporations, or politicians get away with lies or try to change the subject about global warming. You know that in this age of massive corporate donations to political campaigns, clear, independent analysis is harder and harder to come by.

That’s why I’m counting on you to become a member today. www.ucsusa.org

I look forward to hearing from you. Thank you for all your help and support.

Sincerely,

Kevin Knobloch
President