Monthly Archives: June 2013

Black History

the Senate considers S.954 & S.744 CONGRESS ~~~ the House

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WethePeople

  • The Senate stands in adjournment until 2:00pm on Monday, June 10, 2013.
  • Following any Leader remarks, the Senate will resume consideration of the motion to proceed to S.744, the Comprehensive Immigration Reform bill.
  • The time until 5:00pm will be divided as follows: Senator Sessions or his designee will control 2 hours and Senator Leahy or his designee will control the remaining time.
  • At 5:00pm, the Senate will resume consideration of S.954, the Farm bill, post-cloture.  The time until 5:30pm will be equally divided and controlled between the two Leaders or their designees.
  • At 5:30pm, the Senate will vote (voice vote expected) on the Leahy amendment #998 (internet projects in rural areas) and there will then be a roll call vote on passage of S.954, the Farm bill, as amended.
  • Following disposition of S.954, the Senate will resume consideration of the motion to proceed to S.744, the Comprehensive Immigration Reform bill with Senator Sessions or his designee controlling up to one hour.
  • At approximately 4:30pm, Senator-designate Jeff Chiesa will be sworn in as senator from New Jersey.
  • The Senate has resumed consideration of S.954, the Farm bill, post-cloture. A Republican senator may ask for a roll call vote on the Leahy amendment. As a result, up to 2 roll call votes are expected at 5:30pm today.-          Leahy amendment #998 (internet projects in rural areas)-          Passage of S.954, the Farm bill, as amended.
  • 5:33pm The Senate began a roll call vote on Leahy amendment #998 (internet projects in rural areas)Agreed to: 48-38
  • At 6:03pm the Senate began a 15 minute roll call vote on Passage of S.954, the Farm bill, as amendedPassed: 66-27

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June 2013
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Last Floor Action: 6/6/13
3:15:33 P.M. – The House adjourned
pursuant to a previous special order.

The next meeting in the House is scheduled for 3:00
p.m. on June 10, 2013.

Watch Most Recent House Floor Activity

« Previous Day

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Weekly Address: Time to Pass Commonsens​e Immigratio​n Reform


Weekly Address: Time to Pass Commonsense Immigration Reform

In this week’s address, President Obama says that the United States Senate will soon take action to fix our broken immigration system with a commonsense bill, and urges lawmakers to act quickly to pass this bill so that we can continue to live up to our traditions as a nation of laws, and also a nation of immigrants.

Watch this week’s Weekly Address.

TOP STORIES

Brazil: Last Friday, the Vice President and Dr. Biden made the final stop in their three-country trip in Brazil. While in Rio de Janeiro, Vice President Biden delivered a speech about the strong ties between the United States and Brazil.

“The United States and Brazil represent two of the largest, most innovative, dynamic economies in the world today. It is true both of us can continue to prosper whether or not we deepen our economic relations. But imagine, just imagine what these two dynamic economies could do with greater trade and investment for our people, for the hemisphere, for the world.”

#DontDoubleMyRate: Students gathered in the Rose Garden last Friday to hear President Obama echo his sentiment from last year and call on Congress to prevent federal student loan rates from doubling on July 1. President Obama asked the young people to speak out in favor of action on college affordability, as they did last summer.

“You made something bipartisan happen in this town that is — that’s a powerful thing. You guys were able to get Democrats and Republicans to vote for something that was important. So this year, if it looks like your representatives have changed their minds, you’re going to have to call them up again or email them again or Tweet them again and ask them what happened, what changed?”

Mental Health Conference: Health care experts, psychologists, faith leaders, advocates for veterans, and administration officials joined President Obama at the White House on Monday for the National Conference on Mental Health.

The conference was just one part of the Obama Administration’s effort to combat this problem and focused on ways we can reduce the stigma and help the millions of Americans struggling with mental health problems recognize the importance of reaching out for assistance.

President Obama said:

“Too many Americans who struggle with mental health illnesses are still suffering in silence rather than seeking help, and we need to see it that men and women who would never hesitate to go see a doctor if they had a broken arm or came down with the flu, that they have that same attitude when it comes to their mental health.”

Meeting with the President of Chile: President Piñera of Chile met with President Obama on Tuesday for a bilateral meeting. The two leaders affirmed their commitment to economic growth, job creation, transparency, human rights, and the rule of law.

“Chile has been on a remarkable growth trajectory over several decades, and the progress that it’s made in terms of strengthening its economy, pulling people out of poverty, establishing a strong manufacturing and industrial and service base, its strong exports sector are all proof of the talents of the Chilean people but also Chile’s embrace of democracy and human rights and a market economy. And as a consequence, Chile has become not only a leader in the hemisphere but also a leader in the world.”

Ravens Visit the White House: On Wednesday, President Obama congratulated the 2013 Super Bowl Champion Baltimore Ravens at the White House. The President spoke of the struggles the team faced throughout the season and how they recovered and brought the Lombardi Trophy back to Baltimore. He also praised the team’s commitment to giving back to their city.

“This year, Baltimore won’t just be seeing the Ravens on Sundays or Monday night or Thursday night…You’ll see players spending their Tuesdays – normally their only day off during the season – visiting hospitals and senior centers, and day after day, you’ll see a team that loves Baltimore as much as Baltimore loves the Ravens.”

During their visit, the Ravens also shared some of their favorite ways to stay healthy with Let’s Move!

National Security Team: On Wednesday, President Obama announced the departure of Tom Donilon, former National Security Advisor, and appointed Ambassador to the United Nations, Susan Rice as his replacement. To replace Ambassador Rice in New York, the President nominated Samantha Power.

ConnectEd: The President boarded Air Force One on Thursday and flew to North Carolina where he visited Mooresville Middle School. After touring the school, the President announced ConnectEd, a new initiative that will connect 99% of America’s students to high-speed internet within 5 years.

Following his announcement, the White House invited students from schools in Wisconsin, South Carolina, and Pennsylvania to join the National “Show and Tell” Google+ Hangout. Students and administrators from these schools demonstrated how they are using the internet and technology in their classrooms.

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Today Media NetWork.com

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In his June 2 Equal Time column in the New  York Post , Phil Mushnick took his look at the debate over the use of the term  redskins by the Washington, D.C. NFL franchise…
Read more at http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/story/redskins
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Is it home  to a mine for spaceship fuel? Could it be a…
Read more at http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/
 
 
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As I  walked toward the University of New Mexico Arena,…
Read more at http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/
 
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The lives  of at least 50 Native families have been turned
Read more at http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/
 
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MyWageGap.org

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National Women's Law Center - Stop Discounting Women
Over a lifetime of work, American women will typically be paid $443,000 less than American men. That’s more than $11,000 a year in lost pay because of the wage gap.
What would you do with an extra $11,000 a year?
Tell us at MyWageGap.org.
An additional $11,000 or more each year would be a game changer for many women. Just think about it — student loans could be paid off, car repairs could be made, child care costs could be covered.
Closing the wage gap wouldn’t just help individual women. It would improve the lives of countless American families.
What does the wage gap mean for you and your family?
Go to MyWageGap.org to tell us what you would you do with an extra $11,000 a year.
Sincerely,
Fatima Goss Graves Fatima Goss Graves Vice President for Education and Employment National Women’s Law Center    

P.S. Do you know another woman who could use an extra $11k? (Who couldn’t?!) Forward this email to your friends, family and co-workers so they can share their answers, too.
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Austerity is Dead

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ThinkProgress War Room

It’s Time to Focus on Jobs & Growth

For the better part of three years Washington has been gripped by an obsession with the deficit, but a new paper out from the Center for American Progress today argues that it’s time to abandon austerity, ditch deficit hysteria, and instead focus on jobs and economic growth.

What’s changed since Washington caught deficit fever in 2010? A lot, as it turns out.

  • The deficit has been significantly reduced and stabilized.

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  • We have already enacted significant deficit reduction: $2.5 TRILLION worth, three-quarters of which has come from spending cuts.
  • Health care spending has grown much more slowly than expected, due in part to Obamacare.

  • The intellectual argument in favor of austerity collapsed in a somewhat spectacular fashion.
  • The implementation of austerity in Europe has been nothing short of disastrous. Unemployment in the Eurozone is at a record high and the UK’s austerity almost resulted in triple-dip recession and has actually resulted in more, not less debt.

    What hasn’t changed? We continue to have tepid growth and the economy is not creating nearly as many jobs as it could or should be.
In fact, we don’t even need the painful and ill-conceived sequester cuts to achieve the level of deficit reduction that we originally set out to, hence the report calls for replacing it for the next three years.
So instead of painful austerity and needless hysteria about the deficit and debt, we ought to be making investments in order to grow the middle class and the economy along with it. The report identifies $82 BILLION worth of pro-growth investments:
  • $50 BILLION to fix our crumbling infrastructure.
  • $20 BILLION for early childhood education.
  • $12 BILLION  for the “Pathways Back to Work Fund,” which would help provide opportunities for the long-term unemployed, young people, and low-income people.
Now is the perfect time to make these kinds of investments as interest rates on government bonds are unusually low right now.In addition to all of these key facts, it’s also time to recognize some political realities. Since Republicans refuse to negotiate in good faith toward a so-called “grand bargain” there is no point in continuing to pursue one. Instead, we ought reset the debate, replace the sequester for three years with an achievable package of cuts and revenue increases, and turn our attention toward making the investments we need to fuel jobs and growth.You can read the entire report in all of its wonky goodness HERE.

BOTTOM LINE: Austerity is dead — or at least it should be.