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Our Kids Deserve a Better Bill

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AAUW Action Network
Congress is once again trying to reauthorize the federal law governing public education – but if we don’t speak up, it may not get done right.   After two years of “waivers” from the No Child Left Behind Act, 37 states have agreed to the president’s plan for education in their states. But this is not a long-term solution. Congress must act in a responsible, bipartisan way to permanently fix the problems of the No Child Left Behind Act by reauthorizing the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA).
Unfortunately, the House Education and the Workforce Committee stoked the partisan fires this week and approved a bill that is wrong in so many ways. For example, it would:

  • Virtually eliminate federal enforcement of narrowing the achievement gap;
  • Give a free pass to states and districts to define their own standards, assessment, and accountability systems;
  • Freeze the funding levels for K-12 education at a time when we need to invest in our children’s futures;
  • Ignore the urgent need for comprehensive bullying and harassment policies to protect all our children in public schools; and
  • Fail to provide adequate protections for civil rights of students.

To make matters worse, a few members of Congress have vowed to bring amendments to the floor which would weaken public education by diverting public funds to private or religious schools through vouchers schemes.
Now the ESEA reauthorization bill (H.R. 5) heads to the full House floor – and that’s where you come in.

The reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) finally gives us a chance to update the flawed and outdated No Child Left Behind Act, but H.R. 5 is not the solution. AAUW supports an ESEA reauthorization that would introduce needed flexibility while retaining a commitment to high standards, civil rights protections, and greater accountability in our nation’s public schools.
Earlier today, the AAUW Action Fund Capitol Hill Lobby Corps visited the House of Representatives, telling lawmakers that our kids deserve a better education bill: Contact your representative today and send the same message!
Black History

~~ CONGRESS ~~


Rainbow-bridge-utah-tom-till-superstock-corbisrainbow bridge in Utah~tom till

The Senate stands in adjournment until 10:30am on Friday, June 21, 2013.

  • Following any Leader remarks, the Senate will resume consideration of S.744, the Border Security, Economic Opportunity, and Immigration Modernization Act and the Majority Leader will be recognized at that time.
  • Negotiations with respect to the Immigration bill continue.  Senators will be notified if and when an agreement is reached.
  • The Senate has resumed consideration of S.744, the Comprehensive Immigration Reform bill. The time until 2:30pm is for debate only, with the time equally divided and controlled between the two Leaders, or their designees, and with senators permitted to speak therein for up to 10 minutes each. Senator Sessions will control up to 2 hours.We are working on a couple unresolved issues to a border security amendment. We hope we can resolve those issues quickly so that we are able to find a path forward on the bill.
  • After much hard work and negotiations, we have made significant progress on S.744, the Comprehensive Immigration reform bill.Senator Leahy modified amendment #1183, with the text of a perfecting substitute amendment that includes negotiated border security language. Senator Reid then offered a technical amendment in the second degree slot and filed cloture on Leahy amendment #1183, as modified. By consent, the cloture vote on the Leahy amendment #1183, as modified, will occur at 5:30pm on Monday, June 24.

    Senator Reid also filled the underlying bill side of the amendment tree and entered a motion to recommit the bill with instructions and filled that portion of the amendment tree with technical amendments.

    The Senate will vote on Monday evening on the motion to invoke cloture on the Leahy border security amendment. We’ll continue to work to get an agreement to help process amendments. But, barring any further agreement the Senate will vote on cloture on the committee-substitute early Wednesday and cloture on the bill on Thursday. We’ll finish the bill before the recess.

  • The filing deadline for second degree amendments to Leahy amendment #1183, as modified, is 4:00pm on Monday, June 24.
  • At a time to be determined by the Majority Leader, in consultation with the Republican Leader, the Senate will proceed to Executive Session to consider Executive Calendar #180, the nomination of Penny Pritzker, of Illinois, to be Secretary of Commerce. There will be 30 minutes for debate equally divided in the usual form. Following the use or yielding back of time, the Senate will proceed to vote without intervening action or debate on the nomination.
  • At a time to be determined by the Majority Leader, in consultation with the Republican Leader, the Senate will proceed to Executive Session to consider Executive Calendar #179, the nomination of Anthony Renard Foxx, of North Carolina, to be Secretary of Transportation. There will be 30 minutes for debate equally divided in the usual form. Following the use or yielding back of time, the Senate will proceed to vote without intervening action or debate on the nomination.
  • WRAP UP
  • No ROLL CALL VOTES 

    LEGISLATIVE ITEMS

    S.Res.181, Recognizing the sesquicentennial of West Virginia and commemorating its history, people, and culture.

    S.Res.182, congratulating the American Dental Hygienists’ Association on the 100th anniversary of the profession of dental hygiene and commending its work to improve the oral health of the people of the United States.

    No EXECUTIVE ITEMS

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June 2013
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Watch Most Recent House Floor Activity

Last Floor Action: 6/20/13
5:05:16 P.M. – The House adjourned
pursuant to a previous special order.

The next meeting in the House is scheduled for 11:00 a.m. on June 24, 2013

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~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Support comprehensive Immigration Reform

1 Comment

National Women's Law Center
It’s not what you look like or where you were born that makes you American. It’s how you live your life and what you do that makes you a part of this country.
That’s why all Americans deserve immigration reform that includes a pathway to citizenship.
Raise your voice for the millions of immigrant women and their families who make ours a stronger country. Tell your Senators to support a comprehensive immigration reform bill that meets the needs of women and families.
The next weeks will be critical in the immigration reform fight. Senators will consider hundreds of amendments that could affect the lives of immigrant women and their families for decades to come.
To meet the needs of women and their families, immigration reform must:

  • Help keep families together. Immigration reform should reunite families.
  • Ensure immigrant women have fair access to the path to citizenship and green cards. Women’s economic circumstances, the kinds of jobs they do, and their caregiving responsibilities should not prevent them from becoming citizens.
  • Protect against worker exploitation. Immigrant women workers who challenge workplace abuses like sexual harassment, discrimination, and wage theft must have meaningful protections and remedies available.
  • Make affordable health care available to lawfully present immigrants. Women on the path to citizenship should be able to get the same health coverage and services as other women across the country.
  • Preserve tax credits and Social Security benefits for lawful immigrants. Lawful, taxpaying immigrants must receive the full benefits they earned in Social Security and access to family tax credits.

We believe that families should be able to stick together and that we should help our neighbors. We all do our part to contribute, and we’re all the better for welcoming the immigrant women who play a key role in our nation and our economy as members of our communities.
Tell your Senators to support a comprehensive and strong immigration reform bill that meets the needs of women and their families.
Thank you for everything you do.
Sincerely,
Emily J. Martin Emily J. Martin Vice President and General Counsel National Women’s Law Center
~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Police attack 14-year-ol​d holding puppy

1 Comment

Change.org 

 My 14yr old son was brutally attacked by police while he was standing on the beach, holding a puppy. Now, he’s being charged with felony resisting arrest. Tell the State Attorney to drop the charges!

On Memorial Day, I took my kids and our new puppy to the beach near our home in Miami. It was supposed to be a treat. But it turned into a nightmare when the police attacked my 14-year-old son for no reason.

My son Tremaine was horsing around with one of his friends when the police showed up on ATVs. Tremaine was holding a newborn puppy in one hand and a bottle in the other. The police asked him where his mother was, and he turned to walk toward me. That’s when the police pounced on him, threw him to the ground, injuring our puppy and choking Tremaine so hard he urinated on himself.

It was a horrible, violent experience that left my son terrified and depressed. And now the police are charging my son with felony resisting arrest. Resisting arrest — for what? All he was doing was standing on the beach holding a puppy!

I started a petition on Change.org demanding that Florida State’s Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle drop the resisting arrest charges against my son. Will you click here to sign?

Tremaine loves animals, and we love to watch Animal Planet together. He was so excited about our new puppy. Memorial Day was supposed to be a fun kickoff to our summer together — since I work in Miami Dade public schools as a nutritional specialist, I get the summer off to be with my kids.

But now, instead of spending time together, we’re preparing for Tremaine’s hearing on July 16. Instead of worrying whether he’ll stay out too late, I’m worried about finding a good lawyer. I still can’t believe this is happening. The police attacked my son for no reason, and now they’re throwing these charges at him to justify their brutality.

But there is some good news — public pressure can be very powerful in situations like these. Last fall, a man in New York was brutally beaten by police and then charged with resisting arrest, but after more than 100,000 people signed a petition on Change.org, all charges were dropped. I hope that if enough people sign my petition, State’s Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle will drop these trumped up charges against my son.

Click here to sign my petition demanding that Florida State’s Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle drop the charges against my son, who was attacked by police while holding our new puppy.

Thank you,

Maurissa Holmes

Miami, FL

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