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Demand a Vote on the Paycheck fairness Act


National Women's Law Center - Stop Discounting Women
Write Your Representative Today
                It’s time for the House to hold an up or down vote on the Paycheck Fairness Act.
Take Action

Dear Carmen,
Late last week, the House of Representatives blocked a vote on the Paycheck Fairness Act. This was a blow to all of us who have worked so hard on policies to help close the wage gap.
But it’s not over yet! That’s right — there is a way to FORCE a vote on the Paycheck Fairness Act. Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro put forward what’s called a “discharge petition” and all we need to do is get 218 Representatives to sign it in order to release the bill for a vote.
That’s where you come in. We need you to urge your Representative to stand up for fair pay by signing the “discharge petition” on the Paycheck Fairness Act. The more noise we make, the more likely we’ll reach our goal.
A vote on the Paycheck Fairness Act is long overdue. For the last decade, the typical woman who works full time, year round has made 77 cents for every dollar earned by her male counterparts. That 23-cent wage gap translates into more than $400,000 in lost wages over a woman’s lifetime.
Here’s why we need the Paycheck Fairness Act. It would:

  • Make it harder for employers to pay women less for doing the same work.
  • Prohibit unfair retaliation against employees who discuss their wages with their co-workers.
  • Guarantee that employers who break the law compensate women for the pay they are owed.

It’s time to move the Paycheck Fairness Act forward. Urge your Representative to sign the discharge petition.
Thank you for all you do.
Sincerely,
Fatima Goss Graves Fatima Goss Graves Vice President for Education and Employment National Women’s Law Center    
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Tragedy


By  ThinkProgress War Room

Our thoughts and prayers go out to the victims of today’s bombings in Boston and their families.

We’ll be back in this space tomorrow.

For breaking news updates, you can follow us on Twitter: @ThinkProgress.

-The Progress Report team

Black History

:::::: CONGRESS ::::::


visitors-memorials-eve

The Senate stands in adjournment until 10:00am on Tuesday, April 16, 2013.

  • Following any Leader remarks, the Senate will be a period of morning business for one hour with the Majority controlling the first half and the Republicans controlling the final half.
  • Following morning business, the Senate will resume consideration of S.649, the Safe Communities, Safe Schools Act of 2013 with the time until the recess for the caucus meetings for debate only.
  • The Senate will recess from 12:30pm until 2:15pm to allow for the weekly caucus meetings.

The period for debate only on S.649, Safe Communities, Safe Schools Act of
2013, has been extended until 3:30pm today. Senator Reid will then be
recognized. The Senate stands in recess until 2:15pm to allow for the weekly
caucus meetings. The Republicans need to have their caucus to discuss if an
agreement on amendments to the gun safety bill can be reached.

The period for debate only has been extended until 5:30pm and Senator Reid will
be recognized at that time. We are still working on an agreement to consider the
first amendments to S.649, the Safe Communities, Safe Schools
Act of 2013. However, no agreement has been reached yet.

The time until 6:00pm will be for debate only on S.649, the Safe Communities, Safe Schools Act of 2013.  At 6:00pm, the Senate will recess subject to the call of the Chair to allow for a Senators-only briefing.

When the Senate reconvenes, the Majority Leader will be recognized and another message will be sent.

The Senate has reconvened.

We hope to reach an agreement on amendments to S.649, the Safe Communities, Safe Schools Act of 2013 this evening.

We expect votes in relation to those amendments to occur sometime tomorrow.  When an agreement is reached, another message will be sent.

The Senate has reached an agreement for 8 additional amendments to be in order S.649, the Safe Communities, Safe Schools Act of 2013.  The Manchin-Toomey amendment #715 (background checks) is currently pending to the bill.  The agreement results in a series of up to 9 roll call votes at approximately 4:00pm on Wednesday, April 17th.  The details of the agreement are below.

It is in order for the Manchin-Toomey amendment #715 to be set aside and the following amendments to be called up:

–          Grassley substitute amendment consistent with the summary which is at the desk;

–          Leahy-Collins amendment #713 (trafficking);

–          Cornyn amendment #719 (conceal carry);

–          Feinstein amendment #711 (assault weapons/clip bans);

–          Burr amendment #720 (veterans/guns);

–          Lautenberg-Blumenthal amendment #714 (high capacity clip ban)

–          Barrasso amendment #717 (privacy) and

–          Harkin-Alexander amendment relative to mental health, the text of which is at the desk.

Following Leader remarks on Wednesday, April 17th, the time until 4:00pm will be equally divided between the two Leaders, or their designees, to debate the amendments concurrently.

At approximately 4:00pm, the Senate will proceed to a series of up to 9 roll call votes in the order listed below.  All amendments will be subject to a 60 affirmative-vote threshold. No other amendments or motions to commit are in order to any of these amendments or to the bill prior to these votes. There will be 2 minutes of debate equally divided prior to each vote. All votes after the first vote will be 10 minutes in duration.

–          Manchin-Toomey amendment #715

–          Grassley substitute amendment consistent with the summary which is at the desk;

–          Leahy-Collins amendment #713 (trafficking);

–          Cornyn amendment #719 (conceal carry);

–          Feinstein amendment #711 (assault weapons/clip bans);

–          Burr amendment #720 (veterans/guns);

–          Lautenberg-Blumenthal amendment #714 (high capacity clip ban)

–          Barrasso amendment #717 (privacy) and

–          Harkin-Alexander amendment relative to mental health, the text of which is at the desk.

The Senate is in recess subject to the call of the Chair.

When the Senate
reconvenes, another message will be sent.

The Senate has reconvened.  S.744, the Border Security, Economic
Opportunity, and Immigration Modernization Act was introduced.

WRAP UP

No ROLL CALL VOTES

LEGISLATIVE ITEMS

Adopted S.Res.98, Honoring the life, legacy, and example of British Prime Minister Baroness Margaret Thatcher.

Adopted S.Res.99, expressing the sense of the Senate that public servants should be commended for their dedication and continued service to the United States during Public Service Recognition Week.

Adopted S.Res.100, Commending the University of Louisville men’s basketball team for winning the NCAA championship and the women’s basketball team for being the runner up.

Began the Rule 14 process of S.743, the Marketplace Fairness Act. (Enzi)

Completed the Rule 14 process of S.729, the Disarm Criminals and Protect Communities Act. (Cruz)

Completed the Rule 14 process of S.730, the Firearm Straw Purchasing and Trafficking Prevention Act. (Cruz)

No EXECUTIVE ITEMS

********************************************************************************************************

April 2013
S M T W T F S
1 2 3 4 5 6
7 8 9 10 11 12 13
14 15 16 17 18 19 20
21 22 23 24 25 26 27
28 29 30

*************************************************************************************************************

Last Floor Action:
8:55:45 P.M. – The House adjourned. 4/15

The next meeting in the House is scheduled for 10:00 a.m. on April 16, 2013.

——————————————————————–

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

What limited access to safe affordable health care Choice means …


Keep Abortion Safe, Legal & Accessible
Keep Abortion Safe, Legal & Accessible (Photo credit: World Can’t Wait)
Keep Abortion Safe and Legal
Keep Abortion Safe and Legal (Photo credit: World Can’t Wait)

Why We Need to Talk About the Horrifying Gosnell Abortion Trial

By  Katie  J.M. Baker, Jezebel

His business was able to thrive because of limited access to reproductive choice, not because of reproductive choice itself. READ MORE»

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Keystone XL pipeline


Sierra Club - Explore, enjoy and protect the planet

Keystone XL would be nine times larger than the Arkansas tar sands pipeline that spilled through backyards.
Ten days left to submit your official comment.
Take action! The ExxonMobil tar sands pipeline spill — photo courtesy of the Sierra Club‘s Glen Hooks, on the ground in Arkansas.

Take action!

There are two things you need to know right now.

First — stopping Keystone XL is key to stopping the deadly tar sands, no matter what Big Oil and its allies say. Alternative tar sands pipelines are running into equally stiff opposition and have been delayed. TransCanada executives openly admit that without Keystone, production will be slowed. So if the tar sands don’t need Keystone, why is Big Oil spending millions on lobbyists to ram it through? [1]

Second — there are only ten days left to submit your official comment against Keystone XL. Take action today and push the total to one million comments!

The tar sands are a disaster, from start to finish. Not only are they absolutely toxic for the climate, the mining process destroys the pristine Boreal Forest and threatens Canadian First Nations.

Then, because the tar sands are so heavy and corrosive, the export pipelines are more likely to spill than conventional pipelines [2] — we saw this just days ago when rivers of oil poured through Arkansas backyards where children usually play. Two other spills happened that same week in Canada and Texas, and the first Keystone pipeline spilled 12 times in its first year alone. The 2010 Michigan tar sands spill, which sickened children and killed family pets, still hasn’t been fully cleaned up. [3]

Ask yourself: Do you want this in your home? Do you want it in your town? Do any Americans deserve to live in a community with these risky pipelines — or in a world with a threatened climate?

TransCanada executives get the profits, the rest of us get the risks. Submit your official comment to the State Department against this toxic export pipeline today!

Over the next ten days, the Sierra Club will be partnering with top environmental allies to highlight ten reasons to oppose Keystone XL. Keep an eye on our blogs and social media to learn more about the climate, the families already harmed by tar sands pipelines, alternative energy solutions, the threats tar sands pose to American Indians and First Nations, wildlife issues, and much more.

Today, we’re reminded that tar sands will not help our energy security. Keystone XL is almost assuredly an export pipeline that would send oil through America, not to America — its destination refineries export 60% of their products. Furthermore, top scientists say the tar sands are “game over” for the climate [4] — and the Pentagon has routinely identified climate change as a threat to our national security. [5]

There are countless reasons to oppose the tar sands, one of the most extreme fuels on earth. Stopping Keystone XL will be a huge step forward in that effort — submit your comment today!

Thanks for all you do,

Michael Marx
Sierra Club Beyond Oil Campaign Director

P.S. After you take action, be sure to forward this alert to your friends and colleagues — five comments will have even more impact than one!

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References

[1] Israel, Josh. “Supporters Of Keystone XL Outspend Opponents 35 To 1.” Climate Progress. 20 February 2013.

[2] Swift, Anthony. “Tar sands pipeline risks – examining the facts.” NRDC Switchboard. 30 March 2013.

[3] Rowan, Anne. “EPA Orders Enbridge to Perform Additional Dredging to Remove Oil from Kalamazoo River.” EPA. 14 March 2013.

[4] Hansen, James. “Game Over for the Climate.” New York Times. 9 May 2012.

[5]  Fitzsimmons, Jill. “15 Military Leaders Who Say Climate Change Is A National Security Threat.” Media Matters. 30 May 2012.

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