Tag Archives: politics

by Patty Murray

Stop Child Summer Hunger

Stop Child Summer Hunger Act

During the school year, low-income children have the opportunity to receive free or reduced-priced meals at school. However, millions of these same children go hungry during summer break. That’s why I was proud to introduce the Stop Child Summer Hunger Act, a long-term, common-sense solution to reducing child hunger during school breaks. This legislation will provide families who have children eligible for free or reduced-price school meals with an electronic benefit transfer (EBT) card. This EBT card will include funds that the family can use to purchase food to replace the meals that the children would otherwise be receiving at school. The threat of hunger doesn’t take a summer break. We shouldn’t either. We must do more to make sure kids get the nutrition they need to learn, grow, and thrive.

Learn more about my bill.

“Sen. Murray proposes summer food benefits for low-income kids”
– KUOW

“Bill would buy summer lunch for kids out of school”
– The Olympian

“To fight students’ ‘summer hunger,’ Sen. Murray pushes debit cards for lunches” – KPLU

‘Serious and Disturbing’ Picture of VA’s Failure to Provide Timely Access to Care

The release of the VA’s Nationwide Access Audit of veterans health facilities paints a serious and disturbing picture of the VA’s system-wide failure to provide timely access to care for our nation’s heroes. I am especially concerned by the number of facilities that serve Washington state veterans that have been flagged for further review and investigation. This information confirms what I have been hearing from so many veterans who are struggling with extended wait times in the Pacific Northwest.

Thankfully, the Senate overwhelmingly passed the Sanders-McCain compromise, legislation aimed at addressing transparency, wait times, and accountability issues at the VA. This legislation is a critical step toward addressing some of the immediate accountability and access concerns plaguing the VA. In addition, as further investigations and reviews are completed, we need to keep working to ensure the VA continues to take substantive action to address any management, resource, and personnel shortcomings that have contributed to today’s findings.

Critical Federal Funding for Washington State in Appropriations Bills

As a senior member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, I was proud to deliver for Washington state in the Appropriations bills passed last week. Funding will go toward projects in Seattle, Spokane, Pullman, Walla Walla and more, and includes everything from funding for the FAA Center of Excellence for Alternative Jet Fuels and Environment led by Washington State University, to new requirements for oil train safety, to funding for airport improvement projects, and more.

The Commerce, Justice, and Science Appropriations bill included funding for additional immigration judges to reduce case backlog, a new report on the next generation of polar icebreakers, and funding for pacific salmon restoration.

Find a list of selected projects and programs in the Transportation, Housing, and Urban Development Appropriations bill that benefit Washington state.

A Win For Workplace Fairness

06/21/2014 Nativegrl77

CAP Action War Room

President Obama Just Announced The Single Largest Expansion Of LGBT Workplace Protections In Our Country’s History

Progress

As many as 9 out of 10 voters believe federal law already protects LGBT workers from discrimination. But it doesn’t. And while the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) was passed by the Senate this year, it has stalled in the House; Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) has made it clear that there is “no way” ENDA will pass this year.

Enter the latest chapter of the Obama Administration’s “year of action.” The White House announced today that President Obama will issue an executive order requiring that all companies who contract with the federal government must not discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity.

Think Progress reporter Zack Ford has the details:

The order, expected to be finalized in the coming weeks, is an extension of orders previously issued by past presidents — most recently Johnson — similarly banning employment discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, or national origin among all contractors and subcontractors who do over $10,000 in business with the government in any one year.

The protections will reach over one million LGBT workers across the country, making it the single largest expansion of LGBT workplace protections in our country’s history. There continue to be 29 states that offer no employment protections on the basis of sexual orientation and 32 with no protections based on gender identity, but many LGBT workers in those states will now have workplace protections for the first time ever. As many as 43 percent of lesbian, gay, and bisexual people and 90 percent of transgender people have experienced some form of harassment or discrimination in the workplace.

As with Obama’s executive order raising the minimum wage for employees of federal contractors to $10.10, this order will cover an enormous number of people but still relies on Congress to pass a law making sure that millions more LGBT Americans have the freedom to work.

Recently, some LGBT advocates have been giving second thoughts to the current ENDA bill in Congress, based on a religious liberty exemption that could have the potential interpreted too broadly. Here’s Zack Ford again:

The LGBT movement has also become increasingly divided over whether ENDA in its current form is worth pursuing. After two decades of failed consideration in Congress, the bill has been weakened by an exemption that would grant religious organizations unprecedented privilege to continue discriminating against LGBT people. A number of state groups and legal organizations have recently dropped their support for ENDA because they believe that the exemption goes too far and codifies into law the idea that LGBT identities are incompatible with faith. The executive order is thus an important step even if ENDA eventually passes.

BOTTOM LINE: Americans of any sexual orientation and gender identity should have the freedom to work and the right to equal treatment in the workplace. President Obama’s latest executive action is the biggest expansion of those rights in American history. There is more left to be done when it comes to giving all Americans equal protection, and Congress should follow the President’s lead by passing a federal law that ends unfair and discriminatory workplace practices that hurt LGBT workers and their families.

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Some Bee Pollen Weight Loss Products Are a Dangerous Scam

06/19/2014 Nativegrl77

Some Bee Pollen Weight Loss Products Are a Dangerous Scam

06/19/2014 2:00 PM EDT

Bee pollen is not a miracle ingredient. It’s a gimmick, and a dangerous one for consumers. FDA is warning consumers to stop usingZiXiu Tang Bee Pollen, whichcontains potentially harmful pharmaceutical ingredients.Read the Consumer Update to learn more. Also available in Spanish (Español), Vietnamese (Trên trang này), Simplified Chinese (中文) and Tagalog (Tagalog).

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Dan Sullivan and extreme views

06/19/2014 Nativegrl77

VoteVets.org
When Sarah Palin appointed Dan Sullivan to serve as Alaska’s Attorney General, she was promoting the next generation of Tea Party leadership in the state.

Now Sullivan is running for the U.S. Senate where he sees himself aligned with Senators like Ted Cruz and Mike Lee; the crazy wing of the once-proud Republican Party.

After twenty years in the service, including a tour in Iraq, I’m happy to join with VoteVets in an effort to educate Alaskans about Sullivan’s extreme views.

Like the multiple times he tried to usher in a plan that would quickly grant land use permits on sensitive fisheries and hunting areas to his special interest friends – including general permits for mineral extraction – all without public notice or the chance to comment.

It’s a violation of Alaska’s State Constitution, and as an Alaskan, that’s something I take very seriously.

Watch VoteVets’ ad about Dan Sullivan’s special interest land grab and help us keep it on the air. Air time is cheaper in Alaska, so even a $5 contribution goes a long a way.

In a recent hearing about the bill, over 150 Alaskans attended to protect their fisheries, forests and wetlands. Only two stood in support of the bill, both representatives of a local mining association.

For many veterans, these lands are vital to re-acclimating to society after returning home from service overseas. They shouldn’t be handed over to special interests happy to irreparably destroy them for a quick buck.

Thank you for helping us make our voices heard on this issue.

http://action.votevets.org/land-grab

All the best,

Paul Lincoln
Iraq War Veteran
VoteVets.org

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Obama’s Solar Rebates: Stop Overpaying for Energy! ==

06/19/2014 Nativegrl77

How it Works:

A Solar System allows you to generate your own clean power and costs LESS than your current utility company. Simply pay by the month, like you do now…but at a LOWER rate and start saving immediately.