President Obama and the FCC have taken a stand to protect the Internet’s future, but the cable companies are spending millions to block them and turn this into a partisan issue. We have days to show Congress that the public fully supports Obama’s call — click now to keep the Internet free and equal:
Ten people who wrote the President about their health care were invited to the White House this week. See what they said to the President, and read their personal stories here.
When the Health Insurance Marketplace opened last year, Ann from Westport, Connecticut found that she qualified for Medicaid in her state. That coverage finally gave her the opportunity to see a doctor — and catch her breast cancer early on.
Don from Phoenix, Arizona signed up for health insurance last year under the Affordable Care Act and had a general checkup soon after. After getting a routine colonoscopy, however, doctors found a large, cancerous tumor. Now it’s gone, and Don is cancer-free.
As House Republicans keep trying to repeal the Affordable Care Act — this week marked more than 50 times they’ve voted to repeal or undermine it — the law continues to help and save the lives of millions of Americans. A number of them have written the President just to say “thank you,” and on Wednesday, the President met with 10 of those letter-writers here at the White House.
Unfortunately, there are still millions of uninsured Americans who don’t know why it’s so important to get covered, or how they stand to benefit. And it’s on each and every one of us to change that.
If you know someone who needs to get health insurance, share these stories with them today — and remind them that the deadline to sign up for health insurance is February 15.
Friday brought some very good news for Americans in the workforce, and for those who haven’t yet entered it (students!).
The January jobs report added more evidence that the U.S. economy continues to get stronger, not just for those at the very top but also for the middle-class and those looking to get into the middle-class. Headlines from major news outlets delivered the message loud and clear:
A different event garnered far fewer headlines, but represents another important victory. This time, its not for those who are in the workforce now, but for those who rely on quality education to hopefully one join it.
Today, Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-TN), the lead Republican on the Senate Committee with jurisdiction over the nation’s education policy, reneged on his attempt to push through a partisan bill to rewrite the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, also known as No Child Left Behind. In a joint statement with Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA), the top Democrat on the Committee, Alexander agreed to scrap his bill and move forward to develop a bipartisan starting point for the Committee to consider.
Just one month ago, Alexander put forward an aggressive timeline to have a bill on the Senate floor by the end of this month. But as education experts, including our colleagues at CAP, dug into the that bill, they found that it included a number of troubling provisions. Among other things, it would divert funding away from students living in the poorest communities who need it the most; fail teachers, parents, and students with disabilities; and rollback the federal government’s role in ensuring an equitable education for all students no matter their background, zip code, or income level.
A CAP report released this week demonstrated how communities with concentrations of poverty could lose federal funding to wealthier school districts under Alexander’s original proposal. For example, Chicago could lose more than $64 million, while the much more affluent suburb of Naperville could see its allocations increase. In Los Angeles Unified School District, students could lose out on more than $75 million, while Beverly Hills could gain.
BOTTOM LINE: In 1965, the original goal of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act was to ensure low-income students have a chance of success. After initially introducing a plan that could have done the opposite, GOP Sen. Lamar Alexander has pulled back and announced a more bipartisan process. That is a very important step in making sure that our nation’s education policy improves to ensure student success in an equitable way.
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No Robocalls to Cell phones – Protect Your Rights and Privacy! |
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Alabama Chief Justice Refuses to Accept Marriage Equality
Take action urging the Judicial Inquiry Commission to reprimand Alabama Chief Justice Roy S. Moore, who has urged the governor and probate court judges to continue enforcing Alabama’s unconstitutional marriage ban.
His behavior is unethical, discriminatory, and a violation of his duties as chief justice.
TAKE ACTION BY MIDNIGHT
Every time we make progress in the fight for equality, an obstacle rears its head – one step forward, two steps back.
Take for example the egregious, unethical actions recently taken by Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy S. Moore…
In Alabama, a federal court has recently decided that same-sex marriage bans are unconstitutional, paving the way for marriage licenses to be issued as early as Monday, February 9th – however, Alabama Chief Justice Roy S. Moore has made it very clear: he’s not willing to comply. This could delay marriage equality for some couples throughout the state as he has directed probate judges not to comply with the marriage equality decision.
Issuing multiple statements, both after the federal court’s decision and after the U.S. Court of Appeals’ refusal to issue a stay, Alabama Chief Justice Moore claims that the federal government has no say in marriage and he will continue to enforce the state’s marriage bans. He has even gone so far as urging Alabama’s governor to refuse to issue marriage licenses to loving, committed same-sex couples.
The Southern Poverty Law Center has taken action against Chief Justice Moore by filing a complaint with the Judicial Inquiry Commission of Alabama. Will you join us in urging the commission to investigate Chief Justice Moore’s discriminatory ethics violations?
It should be noted, this isn’t his first blatant ethics violation. In 2003, the Alabama Court of the Judiciary had Roy S. Moore removed from his position as chief justice for violating the First Amendment by installing a monument to the Ten Commandments in the Alabama Supreme Courthouse – again, he refused to comply, yet was re-elected. We are asking the Judicial Inquiry Commission of Alabama to consider the same action they took in 2003 to ensure that the rule of law is followed by leaders like Chief Justice Moore.
I ask you to join HRC in calling on the Judicial Inquiry Commission of Alabama to take action against Alabama Chief Justice Roy S. Moore for attempting to influence the governor and state courts to uphold Alabama’s same-sex marriage ban despite the federal ruling. As the highest ranking member of Alabama’s court system, it is his duty to facilitate the decision of the courts, not stand in the way of justice. Chief Justice Moore is setting an irresponsible, unscrupulous precedent as we near a Supreme Court decision on marriage equality and he needs to be held accountable.
Sincerely,
Chad Griffin
President
Human Rights Campaign
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