President Barack Obama walks with Personal Secretary Ferial Govashiri along the West Colonnade of the White House, Aug. 7, 2015. (Official White House Photo by Lawrence Jackson)
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Tag Archives: republicans
From 1600 Penn …
Weekly Address: Reaffirming Our Commitment to Protecting the Right to Vote
In this week’s address, the President celebrated the 50th anniversary of the Voting Rights Act by underscoring the importance of one of the most fundamental rights of our democracy — that all of us are created equal and that each of us deserves a voice.
West Wing Week: “The Measure of a Leader”
Last week, the President announced a new historic action to cut harmful carbon pollution, advocated for the Iran deal, celebrated his 54th birthday, and inaugurated a new class of Mandela fellows.
Business Schools Come Together to Expand Opportunities for Women in Business
Last Wednesday, the Council on Women and Girls and the Council of Economic Advisers hosted a convening focused on opportunities for business schools and the business community to work together to ensure that students are trained to lead in the 21st century and to expand opportunities for women in business.
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The Buckeye Squeeze
Ohio’s Middle Class Is Hurting, And GOP Policies Will Just Make It Worse
In a little more than 24 hours, 10 Republican men will take the stage in Cleveland for the first GOP primary debate. More than likely, most candidates will claim they are champions of Ohio’s middle class.
It is true that Ohio’s working families need a champion, as a new CAP Action report indicates. The Cleveland Plain Dealer discusses the report’s key points ahead of debate night, highlighting that that the median household income in Ohio has dropped by more than 6% in the last 30 years. As the Plain Dealer states, “only three states fared worse” than Ohio in terms of median household income.
However, another new CAP Action report shows that Republican rhetoric on how they value working Ohioans is far different than reality. Actually, many GOP candidates supporting policies that benefit the wealthy at the expense of the Ohio middle class.
In short, GOP candidates’ policies would hurt Ohio’s working families. Here are a few key examples:
- Conservative tax policies overwhelming benefit the wealthiest Americans at the expense of working families. For example, Jeb Bush, Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio, and Rick Perry have all called for eliminating or drastically reducing the capital gains tax, a policy that would benefit 92% of Ohio taxpayers who made $1 million or more in 2012, but would have almost no impact on Ohio’s middle class.
- Conservative policies make it harder to create good-paying jobs. Right-to-work laws, like the one signed by Gov. Scott Walker, are associated with average wages that are 3.1% lower than wages in states without right-to-work laws. Ohio governor and GOP candidate John Kasich pushed anti-worker legislation, which was rejected by Ohio voters, that would have likely lowered incomes and hurt job growth.
- GOP candidates oppose policies that help families balance work and home. Women are the sole, primary, or co-breadwinners in more than 68 percent of Ohio families, yet Republican candidates oppose key policies such as paid sick days, paid family and medical leave, equal pay, and access to childcare. Gov. Walker and Gov. Jindal signed pre-emption laws, preventing cities in their states from requiring paid sick leave.
- GOP governors ignore runaway tuition costs. Under Gov. Jindal and Gov. Perry, students faced exploding costs. College tuition and fees grew 44 percentage points in Louisiana and 69.3 percentage points more in Texas, respectively, more than in Ohio.
BOTTOM LINE: GOP candidates may claim they will help the middle class, but their policies benefit the wealthy while hurting job growth and making it harder for families to balance work and home and afford college for their children. With a falling median income, Ohio’s middle class cannot afford the choices offered by this class of Republican candidates.
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Mayor Rauner … seems to be against his constituents
Rauner suspends $26 million in social services, public health grants
Rauner suspends $26 million in social services, public health grants
Gov. Bruce Rauner’s office worked with the Departments of Human Services and Public Health “to see which grants could be suspended and prioritized essential services.”
Associated Press
Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner suspended $26 million in social services and public health grants as part of his push to whittle away at a $1.6 billion shortfall in the current state budget.
The Republican’s office released a list of targeted programs late Friday that included funding to pay for the funerals and burials of public-assistance recipients, smoking cessation, teen programs, autism, and HIV and AIDS programs, among other things.
Rauner also froze $3.4 million in funding for immigrant integration assistance as part of ongoing efforts to keep the state rolling through the June 30 end of the fiscal year.
Rauner’s office said the check-writing halt – he also interrupted $180 million in parkland grants in March – is necessary because the expenditures were based on the assumption a temporary income tax would be extended past January, but it wasn’t after Rauner won the election.
“Part of the solution to solving the inherited $1.6 billion budget hole without raising taxes or increasing borrowing is to continue to evaluate the current fiscal year’s budget,” Rauner spokeswoman Catherine Kelly said. “The governor’s office worked with agencies to see which grants could be suspended and prioritized essential services.”
The cuts will save the state $21.8 million in Department of Human Services Grants and $4.5 million in unexpended funding through the Department of Public Health. The suspensions only affect this year’s funding, Kelly said.
But there’s always another price – this one paid for by constituents who, as soon as Monday morning, will be told through closed doors there’s no more money to help them.
Breandan Magee, senior director of programs for the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights, said dozens of organizations assisted 102,000 legal immigrants in 2014 with applications for citizenship, English as a Second Language classes and health and nutrition programs for low-income immigrants.
“There are 299 jobs across 60 different immigrant-services agencies at risk” with funding ceasing, Magee said Saturday. “There are workshops scheduled for citizenship, applications for citizenship pending, ESL classes hallway through.”
Immigrant integration programs – which Rauner proposed eliminating entirely in the 2016 budget – will forfeit nearly half of their $6.7 million budget, according to figures provided by the governor’s office. Magee said he hopes the state will cover expenses he’s already incurred.
A copy of Friday’s letter from Human Services, obtained by The Associated Press, notifies the recipient to “immediately cease incurring additional obligations, costs or spending any further grant funds.” Agencies must submit records of all spending for the year. Jimi Orange of Children’s Home and Aid faces the unenviable task of telling up to 25 of the 100 children in Chicago’s impoverished West Englewood neighborhood they can’t come to Earle Elementary School for after-class tutoring and cultural activities because the state has recalled the remaining $3.1 million of Teen REACH money for kids ages 7 to 17.
“The staff’s concern is how to tell the families? What to tell the kids? How to tell the kids?” Orange said. “These are kids who already have abandonment issues, trust issues.”
Parkland-related grants Rauner has suspended this year include $90 million for park facility construction, $56 million for local governments to purchase open space for future parkland, and $30 million for museum capital-construction grants.
Grants suspended by Rauner include:
DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN SERVICES
Funeral & Burial, $6.9 million
Rauner’s ‘turnaround budget’ has cuts called ‘reckless,’ ‘wrong priorities’
You be the judge. Look at the list below and decide if grants for the Homeless or for HIV assistance, Addiction prevenetion, and so on are reckless.
Immigrant Integration Services, $3.4 million
Welcoming Centers, $191,300
ARC Lifespan, $118,100
Best Buddies, $250,000
Autism, $1 million
Group Home Loans, $20,000
Compulsive Gambling $406,000
Westside Health, $94,200
Addiction Prevention, $1.6 million
Assistance for Homeless, $300,000
Community Services, $2 million
Teen REACH, $3.1 million
Coalition F/Tech Assist-Child, $250,000
For Children’s Health Program, $231,600
Outreach to Individuals to Engage in Services, $380,700
Regions Special Consumer Support, $277,700
SMRF Training, $420,100
Transportation, $43,900
DD Latino Outreach, $87,500
Microboard Development and Outreach, $47,500
Epilepsy, $514,700
DHS TOTAL: $21.8 million
DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES
Brothers and Sisters United Against HIV/AIDS, $789,800
Increasing Access to Health Care-Wellness on Wheels, $180,000
Wellness on Wheels – Mobile Administration 2015, $135,000
Illinois Tobacco Quitline, $3.1 million
Project Safe Sleep Education and Outreach, $250,000
MidAmerica Regional Public Health Leadership Institute, $75,000
IDPH TOTAL: $4.5 million
DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES*
Park and Recreational Facility Construction, $89.5 million
Open Space Lands Acqusition and Development, $56.3 million
Museum Capital Grants, $30.4 million
Bike Paths, Mud-to-Parks, others, $2.6 million
IDNR TOTAL: $178.8 million
*Grants suspended in March
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Karen Deal, WA Democrats: Voting Rights Act
History has taught us: Our government is stronger if every voice is heard.
Sadly, today in Washington, that’s just not happening. Injustice in our election system means many communities, especially communities of color, aren’t being fairly represented by government.
Democrats have introduced the Voting Rights Act, which empowers local governments to fix these problems. You and I know voters deserve a government that truly represents them, and so do our state’s newspapers — Editorial boards across the state have voiced support for the Voting Rights Act. 1
But State Senate Republicans are taking a page out of the playbook of national Republicans. They’ve blocked this bill.
Not only that — Senator Slade Gorton is back. He’s re-entered the public sphere, using his authority and influence to lobby State Senate Republicans to ignore the public outcry and vote “no” on this bill.
Every voter should feel like their vote makes a difference, creating a government that is accountable to all people. We need to fix our broken election system — We need to pass the Voting Rights Act.
Karen
1 http://www.seattletimes.com/opinion/editorials/legislature-should-enact-voting-rights-act/, http://www.theolympian.com/2015/03/11/3618019_voting-rights-act-deserves-a-vote.html?rh=1, http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2015/apr/04/editorial-washington-voting-rights-act-offers/
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