Right now, 70,000 Montanans are caught between not qualifying for Medicaid and being unable to afford health insurance on their own.
Governor Bullock has just signed a bipartisan bill that would close this gap and ensure all Montanans have access to quality health care.
SIGN YOUR NAME: Thank Governor Bullock for expanding Medicaid!
a reminder and repost
Every working mom should get paid enough to care for herself and her family.
But research has shown that working mothers are offered lower starting salaries than women who don’t have children — while working fathers are actually recommended for significantly higher pay than men without kids.
It’s outrageous double standards like this that contribute to the gender wage gap. Mothers who work outside the home full time, year round typically make only 70 cents for every dollar paid to fathers — and things are even worse for mothers of color and single moms.
| Every working mom should get paid enough to care for herself and her family.
But research has shown that working mothers are offered lower starting salaries than women who don’t have children — while working fathers are actually recommended for significantly higher pay than men without kids. It’s outrageous double standards like this that contribute to the gender wage gap. Mothers who work outside the home full time, year round typically make only 70 cents for every dollar paid to fathers — and things are even worse for mothers of color and single moms.
The Paycheck Fairness Act would help end wage discrimination by closing loopholes in the Equal Pay Act. It would make it harder for employers to pay women less for the same work, prohibit retaliation against employees who talk about their pay, and require that employers who break the law fairly compensate the women they’ve discriminated against. In this tough economy, more and more families are counting on women’s earnings. Yet pay discrimination undermines women’s ability to provide for themselves and their families. Tell Congress: Support equal pay by co-sponsoring the Paycheck Fairness Act. Thank you for all you do for women and their families. Sincerely, P.S. To see how working mothers in your state fare, check out our interactive map.. |
Today New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie turned his back on New Jersey kids for his own political gain. In a speech this afternoon Christie, a likely 2016 presidential candidate, reversed his position on Common Core, a set of education standards he had earlier supported. Christie was for the Common Core State Standards long before he was against them. Unfortunately and unsurprisingly, since 2010 when he adopted the standards, Christie has reversed his position in an attempt appeal to the extreme right-wing conservative base. From 2010 to 2015 Christie has slowly walked away from the standards. Below are a few examples showing his evolution on the issue:
But the truth is that Common Core is working. Kentucky, which was the first state to adopt the standards, saw their college and career readiness rates increase from 34 to 62 percent in just four years after the standards were put in place. Common Core standards are designed to measure real world skills to help students graduate college and career ready and one set of standards helps level the playing field to ensure that all kids have an equal chance at succeeding.
Christie’s flip flop comes the same day that the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals is hearing a case Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, another marquee flip-flopper on the Common Core, has brought against the standards. Jindal’s lawsuit suggests that the federal government forced states to adopt Common Core in order to receive federal funding as a part of the Race to the Top program. But in fact, Race to the Top grants were awarded based on several criteria, and the decision to adopt Common Core standards was completely voluntary. Christie and Jindal aren’t the only GOP governors who have flip flopped on Common Core, Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee and Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, are two other 2016 contenders who have reversed their positions for political gain.
BOTTOM LINE: Common Core standards level the playing field and help to give all students an equal opportunity to graduate ready for college or a career. Chris Christie should not play politics with the future of New Jersey’s students.
Terrance Heath
Police Violence Against Blacks Has An Economic Context
Police violence against unarmed African Americans occurs against a too-often-ignored backdrop of economic disparity that both fuels and informs the resentments and racial tensions behind the events … Thirty years of Republican policies led to the economic abandonment of black communities. The remnants and results inform the mistrust and resentment between predominantly white police forces and African-American communities in cities all over the country … In 2009, McKinney settled a large housing discrimination lawsuit, alleging that the city was blocking the development of affordable housing for tenants with Section 8 vouchers, in the whiter, more affluent west side of the city …
GOP aiming for Friday vote, but nothing is firm. Politico:“Senior aides and lawmakers in GOP leadership are intent on scheduling the vote at the moment they believe they have the votes locked up — ideally by Friday, to spare supportive lawmakers the possibility of another weekend of attacks by trade foes back in their districts … Still, the state of play remains fluid, GOP lawmakers and aides cautioned, and there’s a chance the vote will slide into next week.”
Medicare offset for Trade Adjustment Assistance “a last-minute sticking point.” Politico:“Pelosi privately pressed Boehner to drop a proposal, already passed by the Senate, that would prolong a cap on Medicare spending to pay for TAA. But late Tuesday night, the two sides appeared to be in agreement. The measure will now be offset by increasing penalties on companies that file incorrect 1099 tax returns, and by stepping up enforcement of fraudulent higher-education tax credit claims.”
Some holdouts angling for concessions. The Hill:“Some members may be genuinely undecided, while others may want to keep their heads down to avoid the ire of whichever side they are disappointing. And others might want to see what they can get. Rep. Terri Sewell (D-Ala.) on Tuesday said her support is contingent on whether the House includes language in the trade package that would help steel producers in her district … Another undecided member, Rep. Collin Peterson (D-Minn.), has repeatedly said he has gripes about how trade policy gives an edge to Canadian poultry and dairy producers.”
GOP ignores filibuster threat on spending bills to keep government open. Politico:“Their reaction suggests the GOP is in no mood to negotiate, at least not yet, making it increasingly likely that senators will spend weeks, perhaps even months, working on appropriations legislation that has little chance of becoming law … McConnell in the coming days plans to call up a massive defense spending bill, daring Democrats to vote against money supporting troops …”
And rejects bipartisan “budget summit.” The Hill:“McConnell’s dismissal creates a fiscal standoff in the Senate months earlier than expected over whether spending limits, known as the sequester, should be lifted … Democrats have warned that they will block the Senate from taking up the annual defense spending bill unless the GOP agrees to lift the sequester on both defense and nondefense spending.”
WH prepares slew of climate policies for summer. WSJ:“The Environmental Protection Agency is expected to announce as soon as Wednesday plans to regulate carbon emissions from airlines, and soon after that, draft rules to cut carbon emissions from big trucks … In the coming weeks, the EPA is also expected to unveil rules aimed at reducing emissions of methane—a potent greenhouse gas—from oil and natural-gas operations. And in August, the agency will complete a suite of three regulations lowering carbon from the nation’s power plants…”
And lays groundwork for international accord in December. WSJ:“Mr. Obama and the other leaders of the world’s largest industrialized democracies emerged from two days of meetings in the foothills of the Bavarian Alps with consensus that greenhouse-gas emissions should be reduced by as much as 70% by 2050 … Obama departed Germany having moved one step closer to finalizing the global climate pact that sits high on his agenda.”
While GOP plans climate counterattack. The Hill:“Legislation coming before the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee on Wednesday would effectively block the EPA’s latest proposal, a rule defining which waterways it can regulate … The House Appropriations Committee released an Interior and Environment spending bill Tuesday that would block potential EPA rule-making on everything from the power plant regulations to oversight of lead in fishing tackle. McConnell has previously endorsed using appropriations riders to target EPA policies where possible.”
WH wins climate court ruling. The Hill:“The Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ruled that the energy companies and states that filed the lawsuit had jumped the gun, and the court cannot yet review a regulation that has only been proposed, but not made final.”
Obama aims to help poor countries deal with climate change. The Hill:“The Obama administration launched a $34 million public-private effort [to] ‘provide needed climate services — including actionable science, data, information, tools, and training’… the White House said in a fact sheet.”
Hillary Clinton should use kickoff rally to build on FDR’s “Four Freedoms,” says W. Post’s Katrina vanden Heuvel:“This is Hillary Clinton’s historic opportunity. The greatest threat to freedom now is posed by the entrenched few that use their resources and influence to rig the rules to protect their privileges. She would do a great service for the country — and for her own political prospects — by offering a far more expansive American view of what freedom requires, and what threatens it.”
Wall Street ties of new SEC chief of staff questioned by AFL-CIO. McClatchy:“The AFL-CIO on Tuesday wrote to SEC Chair Mary Jo White demanding to know what sort of perks Andrew Donohue received when he left the Wall Street titan for a job as a regulator … Of particular interest to opponents of Donohue’s appointment is the Stock Incentive Plan at Goldman Sachs. It reportedly has a clause allowing the accelerated vesting of stock awards or equivalent cash payments when a Goldman exec resigns to enter government service.”
Today, a massive gunfight between rival biker gangs in Waco, Texas left at least 9 people dead and 18 injured. “In 34 years of law enforcement, this is the worst crime scene, the most violent crime scene I have ever been involved in,” Waco Police Sargent Patrick Swanton said.
The police have not named the gangs involved, but images taken after the massacre appear to show members of the Bandidos and the Cossacks, among other gangs, who have a history of violent confrontations in the area. The gang members reportedlyopened fire on the police when they arrived at the scene.
Many of the individuals involved appear to be white, including some with white supremacist tattoos and patches. One image, in particular, is raising question about whether the suspects would be treated differently if they were minorities:
See photos from the scene of a biker gang…
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