Monthly Archives: January 2014

Black History

CONGRESS 1/21 ~~


capitolsnowclosed

The Senate will meet on the following days at the following times for pro forma sessions only with no business conducted:

–        Friday, January 17th at 11:15am;

–        Tuesday, January 21st at 10:30am; and

–        Friday, January 24th at 9:30am.

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Last Floor Action:
11:33:55 A.M. – The Speaker announced that the House do now recess. The next meeting is subject to the call of the Chair.

Last Floor Action:1/17
1:03:53 P.M. – The Speaker announced that the House do now adjourn pursuant to pursuant to section 4(b) of H. Res. 458.

The next meeting is scheduled for 11:00 p.m. on January 21, 2014.

11:30:00 A.M. The House convened, starting a new legislative day.
11:30:05 A.M. The Speaker designated the Honorable Luke Messer to act as Speaker pro tempore for today.
11:30:10 A.M. The House received a communication from Paul Irving, Sergeant at Arms. Pursuant to clause 12(c) of rule I, an imminent impairment of the scheduled time for the House meeting of 1:00 p.m. on Tuesday, January 21, 2014, was in place due to weather. Subsequently, the Chair announced that the rescheduling of the time of meeting for the House at 11:30 a.m. had been communicated to the Members.
11:31:00 A.M. Today’s prayer was offered by the House Chaplain, Rev. Patrick J. Conroy.
11:32:16 A.M. JOURNAL APPROVED – The Chair announced that pursuant to section 4(a) of H. Res. 458, the Journal of the last day’s proceedings was approved.
11:33:19 A.M. PLEDGE ALLEGIANCE TO THE FLAG – The Chair led the House in reciting the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag.
11:33:55 A.M. The Speaker announced that the House do now recess. The next meeting is subject to the call of the Chair.

9:00:55 A.M. The House convened, returning from a recess continuing the legislative day of January 21.
9:00:57 A.M. The Speaker announced that, by unanimous consent, when the House adjourns today, it adjourn to meet at 12 p.m. on Monday, Jan. 27, 2014.
9:01:00 A.M. The Speaker announced that the House do now adjourn. The next meeting is scheduled for 12:00 p.m. on January 27, 2014.
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Making 2014 a Year of Action to Expand Opportunit​ies for the Middle Class


Weekly Address: Making 2014 a Year of Action to Expand Opportunities for the Middle ClassIn this week’s address, President Obama said 2014 will be a year of action, and called on both parties to help make this a breakthrough year for the United States by bringing back more good jobs and expanding opportunities for the middle class.

Click here to watch this week’s Weekly Address.

Watch: President Obama's Weekly Address

 
Top Stories
Expanding Educational Opportunity: And yesterday, a group of leaders in higher education joined the President and First Lady at the White House to take the next step toward ensuring that every child, rich or poor, has the opportunity for a quality college education so they can get ahead.“We’ve got philanthropists and business leaders here; we’ve got leaders of innovative non-for-profits; we’ve got college presidents — from state universities and historically black colleges to Ivy League universities and community colleges,” President Obama said. “More than 100 colleges and 40 organizations are announcing new commitments to help more young people not only go to, but graduate from college.” These leaders made the commitment to take action on areas crucial to making college a reality to more kids.

The day before, the First Lady hosted a discussion on education to support the President’s “North Star” Goal, which states that by 2020, Americans will have the highest proportion of college graduates in the world.

America’s Newest High-Tech Manufacturing Hub: President Obama visited Raleigh, North Carolina on Wednesday to announce that Raleigh is going to be America’s newest manufacturing innovation hub. This new hub will bring leading companies, universities, and federal research together under one roof to help develop the next generation of power electronics. President Obama has proposed building a network of these hubs across the country to help make the United States a magnet for the good, high-tech manufacturing jobs that we need to grow the middle class and keep this country on the cutting edge.

“Together, these hubs will “help build new partnerships in areas that show potential,” the President said. “They’ll help to lift up our communities. They’ll help spark the technology and research that will create the new industries, the good jobs required for folks to punch their ticket into the middle class.” You can check out his complete remarks here.

Cabinet Meeting: On Tuesday, President Obama held his first Cabinet meeting of the new year. “We’ve got a lot to do in 2014. As I’ve said before, this is going to be a year of action,” he said before the meeting. The President said he was pleased that the House and Senate agreed to a budget and put forward a bill to fund the government and is looking forward to working with each side of the aisle to advance economic recovery. Read his full remarks here.

Get ready for the State of the Union: Next Tuesday, January 28th at 9 P.M. ET, President Obama will deliver his fifth State of the Union Address. This year there will be more ways to watch the speech and share exclusive graphics. Want to stay updated on the latest State of the Union news? Sign up to get exclusive content before and after the speech and follow @WhiteHouse on Twitter for real-time updates on the State of the Union.

The Miami Heat back at the White House: The President welcomed the Miami Heat back to the White House on Wednesday to congratulate the team on their back-to-back championship titles. Last season, the Heat won a team-record 66 games and beat the San Antonio Spurs in the finals. “The Heat showed us the kind of heart and determination it takes to be a champion,” the President said.

Nomination for the Small Business Administration: On Wednesday the President announced his nominee to lead the Small Business Administration, Maria Contreras-Sweet. The President spoke about her previous experience starting small businesses and her proven track record to helping small businesses succeed.

Vice President Attends Auto Show: While the President was back in Washington, D.C., Vice President Biden spoke at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit on Thursday. After speaking at the event, he got to tour the exhibit. “I’m like a kid in a candy shop,” the Vice President said.
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a message from Gov.Inslee


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One year ago today, I was sworn in as governor of the great state of Washington — and what a year it has been.

We made historic investments in education — without cuts to vital services. We passed important legislation that will protect the future of Washington’s aerospace industry. We implemented a health insurance exchange that is the envy of the nation.

But the Washington Supreme Court underscored last week that we have a lot more to do. According to the court, we are not moving fast enough to fund basic costs. We must show “immediate, concrete action… not simply promises.”

That’s why I am proposing that this legislative session we approve $200 million for school districts and fund a voter-mandated cost-of-living adjustment for our educators. And I propose we pay for it by eliminating tax breaks and loopholes that, when weighed against our moral and legal obligation to educate Washington’s kids, fall short.

Are you with me? Sign on as a citizen endorser of my 2014 agenda today and show that you’re committed to do what we have to do in 2014 to build a working Washington.

Of course, we also need to pass the DREAM Act, and send thousands more young Washingtonians to college.

We need to pass a new transportation package and prevent dozens of key thoroughfares from becoming structurally deficient.

We need to raise our state’s minimum wage, an immediate step to begin correcting 50 years of widening income inequality.

We need to make good on Washington’s chance to lead our country and the world in realizing the possibilities of a new, clean energy economy.

And we need to build on our momentum and take steps to improve childhood health, drive down the cost of healthcare, and better serve patients by helping integrate care across providers.

None of these will be easy to do — but all of them are worth doing, and I will need your support to accomplish any of them.

Will you sign on today as a citizen endorser of my 2014 agenda, and show that you’re with me?

I know it’s an ambitious agenda for a 60-day legislative session, but I didn’t run for governor because it would be easy. This is Washington, and when we work together, we really can do big things.

Thanks for your continued support, and for joining me today on the next step of our journey together.

Let’s go get ’em!

Jay Inslee
Governor

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KUOW Series Preview: Sacred Catch


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Justice for Jewlyes Gutierrez … Change.org

Drop charges against transgender teen defending herself!

By Valerie Poquiz
Hercules, California

My sister, Jewlyes Gutierrez, is a 16 year old teenager, who identifies as a transgender female. Her gender identity has caused her to be a victim of taunting, harassment, and bullying by her peers.  On November 13, 2013, Jewlyes defended herself against three girls who were tormenting and then physically attacked her. This was captured on video and you can see Jewlyes trying to run away. The students involved were suspended but to our disbelief, District Attorney Daniel Cabral then filed charges against Jewlyes for battery – she’s the only one charged.

Jewlyes should not be charged criminally. Rather, this altercation should be the responsibility of the school district, who should take proper action and implement the necessary resources to prevent incidents like these from happening again.

One of the girls who attacked Jewlyes had repeatedly bullied her – even spitting gum in her face. Jewlyes sought help from the assistant principal in fear of her physical safety but the issue was not properly addressed, no necessary action was taken by the administration. The bullying continued.

Jewlyes attends Hercules High School in Hercules, CA – part of the Contra Costa Unified School District. Even the school district president disagrees with the charges being brought against Jewlyes: “This is just a young child who is 16-years-old, already going through a lot of stress,” he said. “This is a remedy? Is this the way we want to deal with children?”

Violence towards transgender and queer youth is a serious problem. Recently in Oakland, CA, a transgender teen was lit on fire. What message is the District Attorney’s Office sending when they prosecute a transgender teen who school officials labeled as the victim in this incident?

Sign this petition and tell District Attorney we are outraged by the decision to charge Jewlyes and that we hope he will use his discretion to allow for a restorative and educational solution rather than the court system to deal with what happened at Hercules High School.

Please tell the District Attorneys Office that we want our tax dollars spent on teaching tolerance and on conflict resolution programs in schools, not on prosecuting youth who are in need of a safe learning environment.