the Senate ~~ CONGRESS 7/23 ~~ the House


beaseedforchangestickersGREEN

The Senate stands adjourned until 9:30am on Wednesday, July 23, 2014.

 

Following any Leader remarks, the Senate will resume consideration of the motion to proceed to calendar #453, S.2569, with the time until 11:00am equally divided and controlled between the two Leaders, or their designees.

 

At 11:00am, there will be a roll call vote on the motion to invoke cloture on the motion to proceed to S.2569, the Bring Jobs Home Act, followed by voice votes on 3 nominations.

 

11:00am—1 roll call vote expected:

  1. Motion to invoke cloture on the motion to proceed to S.2569, Bring Jobs Home Act (roll call vote);
  2. Confirmation of Executive Calendar #802 Julia Akins Clark, of Maryland, to be General Counsel of the Federal Labor Relations Authority for a term of five years (voice vote expected);
  3. Confirmation of Executive Calendar #786 Andrew H. Schapiro, of Illinois, to be Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States of America to the Czech Republic (voice vote expected); and
  4. Confirmation of Executive Calendar #599 Madelyn R. Creedon, of Indiana, to be Principal Deputy Administrator, National Nuclear Security Administration (voice vote expected)

 

The Senate has reached an agreement to consider the Highway and Transportation Funding Act at a time to be determined. Under the agreement the Wyden, Carper-Corker-Boxer, Lee and Toomey amendments are in order for consideration to the bill. Upon disposition of the amendments, the Senate would proceed to vote on passage of H.R.5021, as amended, if amended. The amendments and bill are subject to 60-affirmative vote thresholds

The agreement is as follows:

At a time to be determined by the Majority Leader, with the concurrence of the Republican Leader, the Senate proceed to the consideration of Calendar #468, H.R.5021, the Highway and Transportation Funding Act; that the only amendments in order to the bill be the following:

Wyden #3582 (text of Finance-reported bill);

Carper-Corker-Boxer #3583 (Date Change and Finance Committee-reported financing provisions, with the exception of pension smoothing provisions);

Lee #3584 (devolution/text of S.1702); and

Toomey #3585 (Exemptions – Damaged Road/Bridge reconstruction)

Further, that each amendment have one hour of debate equally divided between the proponents and opponents; that there be up to two hours of general debate on the bill equally divided between the two Leaders, or their designees; that upon the use or yielding back of time, the Senate proceed to votes on the amendments in the order listed; that no second degree amendments be in order to any of the amendments prior to the votes; that no motions to commit the bill be in order; that upon disposition of the Toomey amendment, the bill be read a third time, as amended, if amended, and the Senate proceed to vote on passage of the bill, as amended, if amended; further, that the Secretary be authorized to make technical changes to amendments if necessary to allow for proper page and line number alignment; further, that the amendments and the vote on passage be subject to a 60 affirmative vote threshold; finally, if the bill is passed, the Senate proceed to the consideration of H.Con.Res.108, which was received from the House and is at the desk; the concurrent resolution be agreed to and the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table with no intervening action or debate.

 

11:00am The Senate began a 15 minute roll call vote on the Motion to invoke cloture on the motion to proceed to S.2569, Bring Jobs Home Act;

Agreed to: 93-7

 

The following nominations were agreed to by voice votes:

  1. Confirmation of Executive Calendar #802 Julia Akins Clark, of Maryland, to be General Counsel of the Federal Labor Relations Authority for a term of five years (voice vote expected);
  2. Confirmation of Executive Calendar #786 Andrew H. Schapiro, of Illinois, to be Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States of America to the Czech Republic (voice vote expected); and
  3. Confirmation of Executive Calendar #599 Madelyn R. Creedon, of Indiana, to be Principal Deputy Administrator, National Nuclear Security Administration (voice vote expected)

11:35am Cloture was invoked on the motion to proceed to the Bring Jobs Home Act by a vote of 93-7. The Senate confirmed the Clark, Schapiro, and Creedon nominations by voice votes. There will now be up to 30 hours of post-cloture debate on the motion to proceed to the Bring Jobs Home Act. Another message will be sent when the next vote is scheduled.

11:36am The following nominations were agreed to by voice votes:

  1. Confirmation of Executive Calendar #802 Julia Akins Clark, of Maryland, to be General Counsel of the Federal Labor Relations Authority for a term of five years (voice vote expected);
  2. Confirmation of Executive Calendar #786 Andrew H. Schapiro, of Illinois, to be Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States of America to the Czech Republic (voice vote expected); and
  3. Confirmation of Executive Calendar #599 Madelyn R. Creedon, of Indiana, to be Principal Deputy Administrator, National Nuclear Security Administration (voice vote expected)

WRAP UP

Roll Call Votes

  1. Motion to invoke cloture on the motion to proceed to S.2569:”>S.2569, Bring Jobs Home Act; Agreed to: 93-7

 

Legislative Business

Passed S.J.Res.40, providing for the appointment of Michael Lynton as a citizen regent of the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Institute.

Adopted by voice vote S.Res.500, expressing the sense of the Senate with respect to enhanced relations with the Republic of Moldova and support for the Republic of Moldova’s territorial integrity.

Adopted S.Res.501, A resolution commemorating the 20th anniversary of the Wright Museum of WWII History in Wolfeboro, New Hampshire

Adopted S.Res.489, A resolution supporting the goals and ideals of “Growth Awareness Week”. , with Kirk amendment

Adopted S.Res.514, Designating August 10 through 16, 2014, as “National Nurse-Managed Health Clinic Week.”

Adopted S.Res.515, Designating July 24, 2014, as “National Self-Care Day”.

Adopted S.Res.516, Legal Counsel – State of North Dakota v. Beatrice Quill

Began the Rule 14 process to place S.2649 on the Legislative Calendar of Business

 

Executive Business

The following nominations were agreed to by voice votes:

  1. Confirmation of Executive Calendar #802 Julia Akins Clark, of Maryland, to be General Counsel of the Federal Labor Relations Authority for a term of five years
  2. Confirmation of Executive Calendar #786 Andrew H. Schapiro, of Illinois, to be Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States of America to the Czech Republic
  3. Confirmation of Executive Calendar #599 Madelyn R. Creedon, of Indiana, to be Principal Deputy Administrator, National Nuclear Security Administration

 

The Senate confirmed the following military promotions:

ARMY

#934 Maj. Gen. Partrick J. Donahue, II – to be Lieutenant General

 

AIR FORCE

#935 Col. Lee E. Payne – to be Brigadier General

#936 Col. Ricky N. Rupp – to be  Brigadier General

#937 Col. Walter J. Lindsley – to be Brigadier General

 

ARMY

#938 Brig. Gen. John L. Gronski – to be Major General

 

AIR FORCE

#939 Brig. Gen. Mark A. Brown – to be Major General

#940 Brig. Gen. Roger W. Teague – to be Major General

 

MARINE CORPS

#941 Joseph F. Dunford, Jr. – to be General

 

ARMY

#942 Lt. Gen. Joseph L. Votel – to be General

#943 Gen. John F. Campbell – to be General

 

NAVY

#944 Adm. William E. Gortney – to be Admiral

 

AIR FORCE

#945 Maj. Gen. James K. McLaughlin – to be Lieutenant General

 

ARMY

#946 Gen. Daniel B. Allyn – to be General

#947 Lt. Gen. Mark A. Milley – to be General

#948 Maj. Gen. Sean B. MacFarland – to be Lieutenant General

 

AIR FORCE

#949 Lt. Gen. Lori J. Robinson – to be General

#950 Gen. Herbert J. Carlisle – to be General

 

ARMY

#951 Lt. Gen. Frederick B. Hodges – to be Lieutenant General

============================================

Last Floor Action:
8:41:40 P.M. – SPECIAL ORDER SPEECHES – The House has concluded all anticipated legislative business and has proceeded to Special Order speeches.

Last Floor Action:7/22
9:59:39 P.M. – The House adjourned.

The next meeting is scheduled for 10:00 a.m. on July 23, 2014.

=================================================

ABB Introduces the Schedules that Work Act!


Dear Friend,
Today, A Better Balance is headed to the U.S. capitol to demand fair schedules for all workers. ABB Co-President Sherry Leiwant will be speaking this afternoon at a Congressional Briefing on the Schedules That Work Act, introduced today in the U.S. House of Representatives (see the image below for more information on the briefing). This groundbreaking legislation would alleviate the burden of abusive scheduling practices that wreak havoc on millions of working families.
Currently, workers at all income levels experience difficulties caring for their families while holding jobs that require around-the-clock availability. Low-wage workers are hit the hardest, often facing erratic yet inflexible schedules that make arranging childcare and transportation a daily struggle. A lack of control over hours makes it difficult for many workers to hold a second job or advance their education, and dramatic fluctuations in weekly or monthly pay make effective budgeting impossible.
The Schedules That Work Act would give workers greater control over their work hours. Among other protections, it would give workers a right to request a schedule change without fear of retaliation, create a right to schedule changes in certain situations, like a childcare emergency, and provide additional payment for workers called in at the last moment. ABB is proud to have worked on this bill, and we hope you will join us in spreading the word about the need for fair schedules. If you’d like to learn more about the Act, we encourage you to read our blog post and join our upcoming webinar this Thursday. Please click here to register. 
Thank you for all that you do,
Sherry, Dina, Phoebe, Jared, Liz, Elizabeth, Risha, Rachel & Morenike 

The New Populist Movement


“More liberal, populist movement
emerging ahead of 2016 elections.”

Front page, The Washington Post, December 1, 2013:

The past two years have been scarred by a government shutdown, the sequester, the near default of the US government and a Tea Party Congress blocking everything.

campaignForAmericaLgo

And yet –

In the midst of the wreckage, we’ve helped build a populist movement that the media and the politicians no longer can ignore.

That movement – that you, the Campaign for America’s Future and others are forcing onto the table the changes that the American people want.

Take a look at last year:

  • We blocked politicians from cutting one dollar of Social Security and Medicare benefits — and now our champions in Congress are pushing to expand those programs.
  • We put economic inequality on the national agenda and drove demands for a higher minimum wage.
  • We pushed for investment in jobs and full employment and against job-killing austerity.
  • We demanded prosecution of banks and bankers who tanked the economy – and pushed to break up too-big-to-fail financial institutions.
  • We stopped Larry Summers from becoming Federal Reserve chairman.
  • We challenged job-killing trade agreements and the corporations that wrote them in secret.

In this election year, we need to keep up the fight. We need to support political champions like Senator Elizabeth Warren. We must keep up the fight for the minimum wage and pre-school for every child. We can’t do this without you.   We need your energy and we need your help with a donation.

Can you help with a $10 donation to build this movement?

Thanks for all you do,

Roger Hickey & Robert L. Borosage
Co-Directors, Campaign for America’s Future

Aurora, two years later


Everytown for Gun Safety

My heart sank when I heard the news about the shooting two years ago in a movie theater in Aurora, Colorado. It was opening day of The Dark Knight Rises and 12 people had just been shot and killed at a midnight showing — 58 wounded.

The only thing I could think to do was go to Aurora. I visited the survivors and family members in the hospital.

One of the amazing survivors of the shooting I met was Steve Barton — a guy who just happened to be passing through on a cross-country bike trip when he stopped to go to the movies with friends.

Tomorrow marks two years since the Aurora shooting. Click here to watch Steve’s moving story and then share it with your family and friends to mark this somber anniversary.

Watch Steve Barton's powerful message

After the shooting, Steve focused his incredible talents on fighting for public safety measures that will prevent others’ lives from being affected by gun violence like his was. I’m inspired by his resilience and dedication.

The fact is, there’s a lot more we can do to cut down on gun violence. After the Aurora shooting, Colorado passed a strong law that has already blocked criminals from easily buying guns without a background check.

But making that kind of progress in other states or at the federal level is going to require elected officials with the backbone to act. That’s why it’s so important to support local, state and federal candidates who will push for common-sense gun laws.

On this sad anniversary, let’s all recommit ourselves to turning tragedy into meaning.

Watch Steve’s powerful message now and then spread the word:

http://every.tw/aurora-two-years

It’s an honor to stand with Steve, with you and with all Americans fighting to reduce gun violence.

Thank you,

Christian Bale

Christian Bale