In this week’s address, the President laid out why new, high-standards trade agreements are important for our economy, our businesses, our workers, and our values.These new trade deals are vital to middle-class economics — the idea that this country does best when everybody gets their fair shot, everybody does their fair share, and everybody plays by the same set of rules.The President has been clear: Any deal he signs will be the most progressive trade agreement in our history with strong provisions for both workers and the environment. It would also level the playing field — and when the playing field is level, American workers always win.

Watch the President’s Weekly Address here.

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Recapping Earth DayOn Wednesday, the President traveled to the Everglades in southern Florida for the first time to celebrate Earth Day. While enjoying the natural beauty of the 1.5-million-acre wetland ecosystem, President Obama also highlighted how climate change is affecting the region and our planet.The President also sat down with Bill Nye the Science Guy to discuss that threat, conservation, and science education in America. Watch their conversation below:

Climate change is hurting our parks, ecosystems, and outdoor spaces in every state and every region of America. That’s why on Monday, we asked you to join us in taking a stand.

We called on you to help make the problem real for your friends, family, and followers on social media by sharing a photo of your favorite outdoors spot that you’d fight to protect. And we were overwhelmed by your responses — like the following:

“[I would fight to protect] every eucalyptus forest in the United States. This, for example, is Mount Sutro Open Reserve in San Francisco. It is one of the most fragrant places a city can ever have, and I think the most divine places in Northern California.” — Jarrod B.

This week marked the 10th year that the White House has participated in “Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day.” This year, in order to give more kids an opportunity to grow and broaden their horizons, the White House expanded its program beyond the children of Executive Office of the President staff to include children from the Boys and Girls Club of Greater Washington and the D.C. Child and Family Services Agency.

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Right As Republicans Vote Against Equal Pay, New Evidence Reaffirms the Gender Wage Gap ~repost

04/25/2015 Nativegrl77

By CAP Action War Room

Right As Republicans Vote Against Equal Pay, New Evidence Reaffirms the Gender Wage Gap

Last night, only a week after the Republican National Committee claimed that all Republicans support an equal wage, Senate Republicans unanimously voted to block the Paycheck Fairness Act. The bill, which failed to advance despite achieving a majority of 52 votes in favor, would ban salary secrecy and tighten rules to try to narrow the persisting wage gap between men and women.

This isn’t the first time that the GOP has blocked bills that require equal pay for equal work over the years. They usually claim that the gap isn’t as large as stated and that provisions are already in place to protect women workers. But we know those claims to be untrue: the gender wage gap can’t just be explained away and discrimination against women is likely at least partly to blame.

What’s more, this morning the Census Bureau released new numbers on the earnings of men and women that proves that the GOP’s position on equal pay remains out of touch. In 2013, according to the Census, the average woman who works full time makes 78 cents to every man’s dollar, just a single penny improvement from the 77 cent wage gap in 2012. As the chart below depicts, in 2013 median earnings for men were $50,000 while median earnings for women hovered at just $39,200.

CREDIT: Census Bureau

We already know that the claim that the gender wage gap is a myth is a myth itself. The new evidence shows that the problem isn’t getting any better — in fact, for the last decade, there has been little progress on closing the wage gap. The Paycheck Fairness Act is one of many policies that would help address this gap, and more broadly help increase economic opportunity for women and families.

BOTTOM LINE: With their latest vote to block equal pay for equal work, Senate Republicans continue to ignore the facts about the gender pay gap and continue to reject policies that would help women and families succeed. New data from the Census Bureau released today proves that point by showing the wage gap hasn’t budged. If conservatives really supported women, they would stop paying lip service to women on the one hand, and voting against policies to help women and families on the other