Monthly Archives: April 2013

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Priorities


 

 
National Women's Law Center
 
 
BILLIONS of dollars.That’s what our country spends every single year on countless tax breaks for wealthy individuals and large corporations. And yet programs that are absolutely vital to women and their families are being cut. Our lawmakers need to get their priorities straight.Will you spread the word about these misplaced priorities by sharing this important image? It explains how ending just one tax break for corporations could go a long way in supporting vulnerable children and their families.

Infographic - Tax breaks for corporations that shift jobs & profits offshore cost more than all of these programs that serve low-income children and families.

The tax break highlighted here — known as “deferral” — allows corporations to delay paying taxes on offshore profits. This encourages multinational corporations to move jobs and profits offshore — and costs the U.S. $60.6 billion a year. That’s more than all these programs combined:

  • Head Start and Early Head Start, which help young low-income children develop and learn.
  • The Child Care and Development Fund, which helps low-income working families afford child care.
  • Child nutrition programs, which provide meals to school-age children and young children and adults in day care facilities.
  • Funding for Title I schools serving disadvantaged children, which helps improve educational opportunities.

U.S. lawmakers should get their priorities in order — instead of balancing the budget on the backs of women and families, they should ask wealthy individuals and corporations to pay their fair share of taxes. For more information on fair budgets and taxes check out these videos we created in partnership with the National Priorities Project.

Thank you for all you do for women and families.

Sincerely,
 
Joan Entmacher   Joan Entmacher
Vice President, Family Economic Security
National Women’s Law Center 		 
~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

My 4yo daughter shakes when she sees police


 

Change.org
My 4-year-old daughter was traumatized when police simulated a hostage crisis in our housing complex without warning residents. Tell HUD to stop allowing military-style trainings in public housing.
Sign My Petition

On March 21, my four year old daughter and her babysitter were trapped in our apartment in Albany, New York in the middle of a police drill to simulate a hostage situation. She woke up to flash grenades, assault rifles and real tear gas being used in our home. The police threatened my neighbors with arrest if they tried to leave.

I don’t disagree with the police providing training to their officers, but nobody in the complex, not even the tenants’ association, was warned about this drill. People thought it was real.

Last week, the Albany police department apologized for holding the training so close to occupied residences. But my daughter still shakes with fear when she sees the police and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), which actually allowed the police to conduct the training in our community, hasn’t said anything.

I started a petition calling on HUD to pass a national policy to prevent public housing communities from being used as military-style training grounds. Click here to sign my petition now.

The Albany police department says that they chose our neighborhood, which is lower-income and mostly African American, for their training because they wanted it to be “more realistic.” I don’t think this ever would have happened in one of Albany’s wealthier neighborhoods.

This isn’t the first time this has happened, either. Similar exercises have happened in public housing in Illinois, Connecticut, Kentucky and Pennsylvania in the past two years and have even included fake bombs and helicopters.

Public housing is meant to help hardworking people like me build better lives for ourselves and our families through safe and stable communities. Allowing our homes to be used for war games is completely counter to HUD’s mission. That’s why I’m confident that HUD will tell local housing authorities not to allow trainings like these on HUD property — if the department hears from you and many others.

Click here to sign my petition now, calling on HUD to prevent public housing from being used for police or military trainings ever again.

Thank you.

Lauren Manning
Black History

:::::: CONGRESS ::::::


April 2013
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If the Senate does NOT receive a message that the House adopted S.Con.Res.11, the adjournment resolution, the Senate will conduct pro forma sessions with no business conducted on the following dates at the following times:

–          Tuesday, March 26th at 4:30pm

–          Friday, March 29th at 10:30am

–          Tuesday, April 2nd at 10:45am and

–          Friday, April 5th at 3:00pm

SCHEDULE FOR MONDAY, APRIL 8, 2013

The Senate will convene at 2:00pm on Monday, April 8, 2013.  Following any Leader remarks, the Senate will be in a period of morning business until 5:00pm with Senators permitted to speak therein for up to 10 minutes each.

 At 5:00pm, the Senate will proceed to Executive Session to consider the Executive Calendar #14 Patty Shwartz– to be United States Circuit Judge for the Third Circuit with up to 30 minutes of debate equally divided and controlled in the usual form on the nominations.

 Upon the use or yielding back of time (at approximately 5:30pm), there will be a roll call vote on confirmation of the Shwartz nomination.

Welcome back to session!

 The Senate has reached an agreement to postpone until 11:30am tomorrow, Tuesday, April 9, the execution of the previous order with respect to consideration of the nomination of Patty Shwartz, of New Jersey, to be United States Circuit Judge for the Third Circuit. At 11:30am tomorrow, there will be up to 30 minutes for debate prior to a vote on confirmation of the Shwartz nomination. There will be no roll call votes today. The next vote will occur at approximately 12:00 noon tomorrow.

 Also in Executive Session, the Senate confirmed the nomination of Executive Calendar #50, Mary Jo White, of New York, to be a Member of the Securities and Exchange Commission.

 Senator Reid then moved to proceed to S.649, the Safe Communities, Safe Schools Act of 2013 (Gun Safety).

 This work period the Senate will deal with a number of important matters including judicial nominations and cabinet nominations, Water Resources Development Act, Gun Safety legislation; and any other items cleared for action on the Legislative or Executive Calendars of business.

WRAP UP

No ROLL CALL VOTES

LEGISLATIVE ITEMS

Adopted S.Res.93, designating April 4, 2013, as “National Association of Junior Auxiliaries Day”.

Discharged the Rules committee and adopted S.Con.Res.10: Authorizing the use of Emancipation Hall in the Capitol Visitors Center for an event to celebrate the birthday of King Kamehameha (June 9, 2013).

EXECUTIVE ITEMS

Confirmed Executive Calendar #50, the nomination of Mary Jo White, of New York, to be a Member of the Securities and Exchange Commission for the remainder of the term expiring June 5, 2014.

**********************************************************************************

Watch Most Recent House Floor Activity

This week in the House … Hydropower and limiting NLRB :The National Labor Relations Board

Last Floor Action: 3/25
11:02:34 A.M. – The Speaker announced that the House do now adjourn pursuant to S. Con. Res. 11.

The next meeting is scheduled for 2:00 p.m. on April 9, 2013.

~ FDA/USDA ~~ Alerts & Safety, ~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA)


 – BOSTON – Centerville Pie Company of Hyannis, MA is voluntarily recalling all clam pies because they contain undeclared fish (anchovies), which is an ingredient in the Worcestershire sauce used in the clam pie recipe. People who have an allergy or severe sensitivity to anchovies may run the risk of an allergic reaction if they consume these clam pies.