Big Victory, With Help All Around


www.MoveOn.org

That’s how good things can happen in Washington. After a two-year campaign of obstruction, a group of Senators finally relented, voting to end debate and bring the nomination of Richard Cordray to a vote. The Senate confirmed Cordray later yesterday, and he was sworn in this morning.

We wanted you to know, as one of the more than 160,000 signers of petitions telling the Senate to Confirm Director Cordray and Let the CFPB Do Its Job. In recent weeks, AFR and allied groups have delivered these petitions physically to the offices of 13 Senators, and electronically to the entire Senate. Meanwhile, around the country, editorials, op eds, and blog posts have demanded Cordray’s confirmation, while refuting false claims made about the CFPB’s supposed lack of accountability and “unprecedented” funding and structure.

It made a difference. The public interest prevailed. “The political stalemate is over,” Senator Elizabeth Warren (who first conceived the idea for the CFPB) declared. “There is no doubt the consumer agency will survive beyond the crib.”

The creation of this agency stands as one of the biggest and clearest victories yet won in the struggle for fundamental reform of the financial system. In its short life, the CFPB has already:

  • Moved to rid the mortgage market of loans designed to self-destruct
  • Shielded military families against various financial scams
  • Warned auto lenders against practices that jack up the price of credit for African-Americans, Latinos, women or seniors
  • Returned nearly half a billion dollars to consumers cheated by credit card companies; and
  • Begun to tackle a host of other problems, including predatory payday loans, excessive bank overdraft fees, abusive debt collection practices and the plight of students and families trapped in high-cost private education loans.

Now its invaluable work can go on.

Congratulations, all of us. And back to work.

Great news! Ecuador forced to extend oil auction deadline yet again!


Amazon Watch
Português | Español | Deutsch | MoreGreat news! Ecuador forced to extend oil auction deadline yet again!

CONFENIAE leaders rally in Puyo

Dear Carmen,

Well, it looks like the on-the-ground protests and international pressure worked! The “final” deadline for bids to drill for oil in eight million acres of pristine Amazon rainforest was extended yet again because not enough companies made bids. Let’s take a moment to celebrate this huge victory, and then renew thGreat news! Ecuador forced to extend oil auction deadline yet again!e fight until the auction is cancelled, not just delayed and extended.

With your support, Amazon Watch has been supporting the mobilization of indigenous communities who live in the rainforest, confronting the Ecuadorian government at its roadshows around the world, and exposing China’s role in the Amazon oil auction. Thanks to you, the indigenous communities of the Ecuadorian Amazon know that they are not alone, and so do the government and the oil companies.

For the last 25 years these indigenous communities have kept ARCO, CGI, Chevron, Burlington Resources, ConocoPhillips, and other oil companies from drilling in their lands. Amazon Watch has stood with them, and you have been with us. We have until November 28th to redouble our efforts and definitively cancel this auction. Please help us continue this fight.

We have asked for your help several times over the months that we have
been engaged in this campaign, and you have consistently come through. Just bringing indigenous leaders together from across their territories is costly, and then they need accommodation and support. We really couldn’t do it without you, and we’re honored to have you as partners.

For the Amazon,

Branden Barber
Branden Barber
Director of Engagement

Good news from the Trayvon Martin tragedy


Create Daily Kos content of your own by clicking here and signing up (link won’t work if you are signed into Daily Kos).
Keep fighting, Sarah Burris, Daily Kos

the Senate considers Executive calendar ~~ Congress ~~ the House considers HR2642


capitol30

The Senate stands in adjournment until 9:30am on Thursday, July 18, 2013.  Following the prayer and pledge, the Majority Leader will be recognized.

  • Following the remarks of the two Leaders, there will be a period of morning business for one hour with the Majority controlling the first half and the Republicans controlling the final half.
  • Following morning business, the Senate will resume consideration of Executive Session to consider the nomination of Thomas Edward Perez, of MD, to be Secretary of Labor, post-cloture.
  • All time during adjournment, morning business, legislative session and recess will count post-cloture on the Perez nomination.
  • Upon disposition of the Perez nomination, there will be a cloture vote on Executive Calendar #98, the nomination of Regina McCarthy, of MA, to be Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency. If cloture is invoked on the McCarthy nomination, there will be up to 8 hours of debate on the nomination. We hope to confirm both the Perez and McCarthy nominations during Thursday’s session of the Senate.

Senator Reid moved to proceed to Calendar #99, S.1243, the Transportation, and Housing and Urban Development (THUD) Appropriations bill. The motion to proceed is a debatable motion and we will work with senators on an agreement to adopt the motion early next week.

The Senate is in a period of morning business for 1 hour, with senators permitted to speak therein for up to 10 minutes each. The Majority controls the first 30 minutes and the Republicans control the final 30 minutes.

Senator Reid moved to proceed to Calendar #99, S.1243, the Transportation, and Housing and Urban Development (THUD) Appropriations bill. The motion to proceed is a debatable motion and we will work with senators on an agreement to adopt the motion early next week.

The Senate is in a period of morning business for 1 hour, with senators permitted to speak therein for up to 10 minutes each. The Majority controls the first 30 minutes and the Republicans control the final 30 minutes.

Following morning business, the Senate will resume Executive session to consider Executive Calendar #99, the nomination of Thomas Perez, of Maryland, to be Secretary of Labor, post-cloture. We would like to vote on confirmation of the Perez nomination and cloture on the McCarthy nomination this morning and on confirmation of the McCarthy nomination early after the lunches. We will continue to work with the Republicans on an agreement to set those votes. Senators will be notified when the votes are scheduled.

Senator Reid also announced that there is also an agreement among Senators Harkin, Durbin, King, Manchin, Alexander, Coburn and Burr on the student loan interest rate legislation. We will work with senators on a path forward that could result in a couple votes. I suspect the process of reaching an agreement for floor consideration will take a bit of time and it would slip into next week, but Senator Reid has said he would like to consider it as soon as possible.

By consent, the vote on confirmation of the Perez nomination will occur at 12:15pm today. Following disposition of the Perez nomination, the time until 2:30pm will be equally divided in the usual form prior to the cloture vote on the McCarthy nomination. If cloture is invoked on McCarthy, there would be up to 8 hours for debate prior to a vote on confirmation. However, we hope to be able to yield a good portion of that time back.

12:15pm vote:

Confirmation of Executive Calendar #99, the nomination of Thomas Edward Perez, of Maryland, to be Secretary of Labor

2:30pm vote:

Cloture on Executive Calendar #98, the nomination of Regina McCarthy, of MA, to be Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency

TBD vote:

Confirmation of Executive Calendar #98, the nomination of Regina McCarthy, of MA, to be Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency

12:16pm The Senate began a 15 minute roll call vote on confirmation of Executive Calendar #99, the nomination of Thomas Edward Perez, of Maryland, to be Secretary of Labor;

Confirmed: 54-46

2:31pm The Senate began a 15 minute roll call vote on the motion to invoke cloture on Executive Calendar #98, the nomination of Regina McCarthy, of MA, to be Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency;

Invoked: 69-31

Cloture was invoked on the McCarthy nomination by a vote of 69-31. There will now be up to 8 hours for debate. We hope to yield back a substantial amount of time, and we could potentially vote within the hour. However, that takes consent and we’re still working on it.

Senator Reid filed cloture on the motion to proceed to S.1243, Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2014. By consent, the vote on the motion to invoke cloture on the motion to proceed will occur at 12:00 noon on Tuesday, July 23rd. If cloture is invoked, all post cloture time will be yielded back and the Senate will proceed to vote on the motion to proceed. If the motion to proceed to Calendar #99, S.1243 is adopted, the text of H.R.2610, as reported by the House Appropriations, be deemed House passed text for the purposes of rule 16.

WRAP UP

ROLL CALL VOTES

1)      Confirmation of Executive Calendar #99, the nomination of Thomas Edward Perez, of MD, to be Secretary of Labor; Confirmed: 54-46

2)      Motion to invoke cloture on Executive Calendar #98, the nomination of Regina McCarthy, of MA, to be Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency; Invoked: 69-31

3)      Confirmation of Executive Calendar #98, the nomination of Regina McCarthy, of MA, to be Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency; Confirmed: 59-40

LEGISLATIVE ITEMS

Completed Rule 14 process of S.1315, Keep the IRS Off Your Health Care Act. (Cornyn)

Completed the Rule 14 process of S.1316, Protecting Seniors’ Access to Medicare Act. (Cornyn)

Completed the Rule 14 process of H.R.1911, Smarter Solutions for Students Act.

Read the following bills twice and placed them on the Calendar:

S.1334, Bipartisan Student Loan Certainty Act. (Manchin)

S.1335, Sportsmen Act. (Murkowski)

S.1336, Voter Registration – Proof of Citizenship. (Cruz)

 

No additional EXECUTIVE ITEMS

  • ____________________________________________
July 2013
S M T W T F S
1 2 3 4 5 6
7 8 9 10 11 12 13
14 15 16 17 18 19 20
21 22 23 24 25 26 27
28 29 30 31
  • _______________________________________________________

Last Floor Action:
12:02:16 P.M. – PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE –
The Chair designated Mrs. Hartzler to lead the Members in reciting the Pledge of
Allegiance to the Flag.

——————————————————————————————————-