Tag Archives: United States Congress

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Gun Violence ~ Dan Pfeiffer, The White House

04/19/2013 Nativegrl77

Hello –During the State of the Union, President Obama called for a reasonable debate on a set of commonsense measures to help protect our kids by reducing gun violence. That night, Congress stood up and applauded. But now that the cameras are off and they aren’t forced to look the families of Newtown in the face, some in Congress aren’t backing up that show of support with action.

When it matters most, they’re hoping that you’re not paying attention.

But I know that’s not the case. In the past week, 17,000 people have told us that they’ll commit to adding their voices to this debate through social media — together, they’ll reach more than 15 million of their friends on Facebook and Twitter.

We’re planning to have them speak out today. And we could really use your help.

Pledge to speak out about the need to reduce gun violence.

If we have a simple vote in Congress, we can get this done. And this afternoon, we’ll begin to understand whether or not that’s possible.

The Senate is considering a proposal that would go a long way toward making our country safer and protecting our kids. This afternoon, lawmakers get a chance to offer amendments — some of them aimed at making the legislation better, some aimed at sinking it. One idea, closing loopholes in the background check system, has support from 90 percent of the public. In fact, even a majority of senators support this step. But we still need you to make your voice heard.

Vice President Biden will be talking through all of this today at 2:45 p.m. ET. He’ll lead a discussion with a group of mayors from around the country on the steps we can take to reduce gun violence. You can watch that as it happens at whitehouse.gov.

And while you’re doing that, take a minute to join the debate.

Pledge to speak out, and we’ll work to make sure you’re part of the conversation about guns here in Washington:

http://www.whitehouse.gov/issues/preventing-gun-violence/action

Thanks,

Dan

Dan Pfeiffer Senior Advisor White House

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

The time is NOW ~ Gun Reform Reduces Gun Violence

04/12/2013 Nativegrl77

David Simas Deputy Senior Advisor

Hello, all –For the first time since the 1990s, Congress might be on track to pass legislation aimed at reducing gun violence in the United States. And it’s because folks in Washington are starting to understand that the rest of the country isn’t going to sit by and let them ignore this issue. Your voices are the reason we have a chance to win this debate. The American people expect and demand a yes or no vote.But this is a critical moment. It’s been almost four months since the tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, thousands more Americans have died at the hands of gun violence, and time is on the side of those who would prefer that we do nothing.We want to make sure that your voices are impossible to ignore. So we’re asking people from all over the country to speak out online in concert — all at the same time. Will you join us?

Pledge to speak out about the need to reduce gun violence.

It’s easy to participate. Over the next few days, anyone can sign up to tweet or share a message to Facebook. Through that time, we’ll gather up as many people as we can. Then we’ll make sure that all these individual messages get posted together in the same moment for maximum effect.

That wave of social media will get seen by millions and millions of people.

We’re talking about common-sense reforms. Like the idea that any of us who want to buy a gun should have to go through a background check first — which 90 percent of Americans support.

So let’s make sure that there’s absolutely no confusion about the public consensus.

Pledge to speak out with us, and then forward this email to your family and friends:

http://www.whitehouse.gov/now-is-the-time/action

Thanks!

David

David Simas
Deputy Senior Advisor
The White House

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Working Hard for Less Money

04/10/2013 Nativegrl77

ThinkProgress War Room

What the Pay Gap Means for Women & Their Families

Today is Equal Pay Day, which marks the additional days into 2013 that a woman needs to work just to equal what a man made in 2012. The pay gap is real — and really persistent.

The amount that women lose as a result of the pay gap doesn’t just hurt them. Their families also pay the price for this lost income. Here’s what the median pay gap means over the course of just one year: $10,784. The total cost to a woman and her family over the course of her entire working life is staggering: $431,360.

Click through to check out an interactive version of this graphic showing how the pay gap affects women’s lives:

You can find all of our resources on equal pay HERE.

BOTTOM LINE: It’s 2013 and Congress needs to pass meaningful equal pay legislation like the Paycheck Fairness Act. Republicans have blocked this vital bill during the last three Congresses and it’s well past time for them to stop standing in the way of equal pay.