Tag Archives: United States House of Representatives

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Emily J. Martin, National Women’s Law Center

07/04/2013 Nativegrl77

As Americans, we hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men and women are created equal.
This is true not only on the 4th of July, but every day in our country.
Last week, the Senate passed a historic bipartisan immigration reform bill. Though the bill was flawed, it was a good first step toward creating a pathway to citizenship for millions of immigrant women and men who contribute to our communities. Now it’s time for the House of Representatives to follow suit.
Tell your Representative to pass comprehensive immigration reform that meets the needs of immigrant women and their families.
Immigration reform should help families reunite and stay together, ensure that immigrant women have fair access to the path to citizenship and green cards, protect against the exploitation of workers, make affordable health care available to lawfully present immigrants, and preserve tax credits and Social Security benefits for lawful immigrants.
Fight for immigrant women and their families. Tell your Representative we need immigration reform to provide a roadmap for people who aspire to be citizens and to give immigrant women and families a fair chance.
It’s not what you look like or where you were born that makes you American — it’s how you live your life. We believe that families should stick together, and that we have a responsibility to help our neighbors. Common-sense immigration reform will make this possible for the millions of immigrant families contributing to our communities today.
Thank you for everything you do for women and their families.
Sincerely,

Emily J. Martin Vice President and General Counsel National Women’s Law Center

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75 years later

06/26/2013 Nativegrl77 1 Comment

“A fair day’s pay for a fair day’s work”—that was President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s goal when he signed the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) 75 years ago today, establishing a federal minimum wage. It was a wonderful start—and now it’s time to make sure the minimum wage works for the 21st century.
TAKE ACTION: Urge your Senators and Representative to support the Fair Minimum Wage Act of 2013.
The Fair Minimum Wage Act of 2013 will provide a much-needed update to the minimum wage. The federal minimum wage has been stuck at $7.25 per hour for almost four years — and at that rate, a woman working full time, year round earns just $14,500: nearly $4,000 below the poverty line for a family of three. The bill will gradually raise the minimum wage to $10.10 per hour, and index it to inflation in order to keep up with the rising cost of living. It will also increase the minimum cash wage for tipped workers to 70 percent of the regular minimum wage — because right now the federal minimum cash wage for tipped workers is only $2.13 per hour.
ACT NOW: Tell your Members of Congress that it’s time for minimum-wage workers to get a raise!
Need a reason to act? How about five:

Women represent nearly two-thirds of minimum-wage workers and workers in tipped occupations.
Women are the majority in the 10 largest occupations that pay less than $10.10 per hour (and seven of these occupations have two-thirds or more women workers).
Increasing the minimum wage to $10.10 would boost annual earnings by $5,700—enough to pull a family of three out of poverty.
Raising the minimum wage will boost earnings for more than 30 million workers—generating additional economic activity and creating jobs as workers spend this income quickly to make ends meet.
Raising the minimum wage would help close the gender wage gap, and would be especially helpful to women of color, who are disproportionately represented among female minimum-wage workers.

Minimum-wage workers across the country can’t afford to wait for a raise any longer. Celebrate the 75th anniversary of the minimum wage by taking action!
Thank you for all you do for women and families.
Sincerely,

Joan Entmacher Vice President, Family Economic Security National Women’s Law Center

P.S. States can set a higher minimum wage — and some states have done so just this year! Find out how your state is doing by checking out our interactive map.

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Our Kids Deserve a Better Bill

06/21/2013 Nativegrl77 2 Comments

Congress is once again trying to reauthorize the federal law governing public education – but if we don’t speak up, it may not get done right. After two years of “waivers” from the No Child Left Behind Act, 37 states have agreed to the president’s plan for education in their states. But this is not a long-term solution. Congress must act in a responsible, bipartisan way to permanently fix the problems of the No Child Left Behind Act by reauthorizing the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA).
Unfortunately, the House Education and the Workforce Committee stoked the partisan fires this week and approved a bill that is wrong in so many ways. For example, it would:

Virtually eliminate federal enforcement of narrowing the achievement gap;
Give a free pass to states and districts to define their own standards, assessment, and accountability systems;
Freeze the funding levels for K-12 education at a time when we need to invest in our children’s futures;
Ignore the urgent need for comprehensive bullying and harassment policies to protect all our children in public schools; and
Fail to provide adequate protections for civil rights of students.

To make matters worse, a few members of Congress have vowed to bring amendments to the floor which would weaken public education by diverting public funds to private or religious schools through vouchers schemes.
Now the ESEA reauthorization bill (H.R. 5) heads to the full House floor – and that’s where you come in.

TAKE ACTION: Urge your representative to vote against H.R. 5 and oppose any voucher amendments.

The reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) finally gives us a chance to update the flawed and outdated No Child Left Behind Act, but H.R. 5 is not the solution. AAUW supports an ESEA reauthorization that would introduce needed flexibility while retaining a commitment to high standards, civil rights protections, and greater accountability in our nation’s public schools.
Earlier today, the AAUW Action Fund Capitol Hill Lobby Corps visited the House of Representatives, telling lawmakers that our kids deserve a better education bill: Contact your representative today and send the same message!

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Bills & Hearings in the House : May 2013

05/30/2013 Nativegrl77

Thursday, May 30, 2013

Field Hearing: How Southern California Freight Transportation Challenges Impact the Nation

1:30 PM | 1170 West 3rd Street San Bernardino, CA 92410
Host: Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure | Full Committee

Tuesday, May 28, 2013

Field Hearing: Oversight of California High Speed Rail

7:00 AM | Auditorium Room AM120, Madera Community College Center, Madera, CA Host: Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure | Subcommittee on Railroads, Pipelines, and Hazardous Materials

Tuesday, May 21, 2013

Hearing: The Call for Economic Liberty in the Arab World

9:30 AM | 2172 Rayburn HOB Host: Committee on Foreign Affairs | Full Committee

Hearing: Joint Hearing – The Current and Future Applications of Biometric Technologies

10:00 AM | 2318 Rayburn HOB Host: Committee on Science, Space, and Technology | Subcommittee on Research

Hearing: Maritime Transportation: The Role of U.S. Ships and Mariners

10:00 AM | 2167 Rayburn HOB Host: Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure |

Hearing: Legislative Hearing on Draft Legislation, ‘The Veterans Integrated Mental Health Care Act of 2013;’ Draft Legislation, ‘the Demanding Accountability for Veterans Act of 2013;’ H.R. 241; H.R. 288; H.R. 984; and H.R. 1284

10:00 AM | 334 Cannon HOB Washington DC Host: Committee on Veterans’ Affairs | Subcommittee on Health

Markup: H.R. 982, the Furthering Asbestos Claim Transparency FACT Act of 2013

10:00 AM | 2141 Rayburn HOB Host: Committee on the Judiciary | Full Committee

Hearing: Chairman Brady Announces Hearing on the President’s and Other Bipartisan Proposals to Reform Medicare

10:00 AM Host: Committee on Ways and Means | Subcommittee on Health

Hearing: Cyber Threats and Security Solutions

10:00 AM | 2123 Rayburn HOB Host: Committee on Energy and Commerce | Subcommittee on Energy and Power

Hearing: Visa Security and Overstays: How Secure is America?

10:00 AM | 311 Cannon HOB Host: Committee on Homeland Security | Subcommittee on Border and Maritime Security

Hearing: The Future of the CFTC: Market Perspectives

10:00 AM | 1300 Longworth HOB Host: Committee on Agriculture | Full Committee

Hearing: “Reviewing the President’s Fiscal Year 2014 Budget Proposal for the U.S. Department of Education”

10:00 AM Host: Committee on Education and the Workforce | Full Committee

Hearing: Oversight Hearing on “Perspectives on the Management of Federal and State Land: Testimony by Governor Gary Herbert (R-UT), Chairman of the Western Governors’ Association”

10:30 AM | 1324 Longworth House Office Building, Washington, D.C. 20515 Host: Committee on Natural Resources | Subcommittee on Public Lands and Environmental Regulation

Hearing: Oversight Hearing on “Data collection issues in relation to the reauthorization of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act”

10:30 AM | 1334 Longworth House Office Building, Washington, D.C. 20515 Host: Committee on Natural Resources | Subcommittee on Fisheries, Wildlife, Oceans and Insular Affairs

Markup: Full Committee Mark Up – FY 2014 Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Appropriations Bill and Report on the Suballocation of Budget Allocations for FY 2014

11:00 AM | 2359 Rayburn Host: Committee on Appropriations | Multiple Subcommittees

Hearing: Understanding the Cost Drivers of Passenger Rail

1:00 PM | 2167 Rayburn HOB Host: Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure | Subcommittee on Railroads, Pipelines, and Hazardous Materials

Hearing: Why Can’t DHS Better Communicate with the American People?

1:30 PM | 311 Cannon HOB Host: Committee on Homeland Security | Subcommittee on Oversight and Management Efficiency

Hearing: Next Steps in Human Exploration to Mars and Beyond

2:00 PM | 2318 Rayburn HOB Host: Committee on Science, Space, and Technology | Subcommittee on Space

Hearing: JOINT HEARING: The Growing Crisis in Africa’s Sahel Region

2:00 PM | 2172 Rayburn HOB Host: Committee on Foreign Affairs | Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health, Global Human Rights and International Organizations

Hearing: Cybersecurity: An Examination of the Communications Supply Chain

2:00 PM | 2123 Rayburn HOB Host: Committee on Energy and Commerce | Subcommittee on Communications and Technology

Hearing: H.R. 3-Northern Route Approval Act

3:00 PM | H-313 Capitol Host: Committee on Rules | Full Committee

Wednesday, May 22, 2013

Hearing: Exascale Computing Challenges and Opportunities

10:00 AM | 2318 Rayburn HOB Host: Committee on Science, Space, and Technology | Select…

Markup: Full Committee Mark Up – FY 2014 Homeland Security Appropriations Bill

10:00 AM | 2359 Rayburn Host: Committee on Appropriations | Multiple Subcommittees

Hearing: Saving Taxpayer Dollars: Freezing the Federal Real Estate Footprint

10:00 AM | 2167 Rayburn HOB Host: Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure | Subcommittee on Economic Development, Public Buildings and Emergency Management

Hearing: Expediting Claims or Exploiting Statistics?: An Examination of VA’s Special Initiative to Process Rating Claims Pending Over Two Years

10:00 AM | 334 Cannon House Office Building Washington DC
Host: Committee on Veterans’ Affairs | Full Committee

Hearing: The Economic Outlook

10:00 AM | G-50 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building
Host: Joint Economic Committee |

Hearing: Legislative Hearing on H.R. 1964, H.R. 1965, H.R. 1394, and H.R. 555

10:00 AM | 1324 Longworth House Office Building, Washington, D.C. 20515 Host: Committee on Natural Resources | Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources

Hearing: H.R. 1911-Smarter Solutions for Students Act

10:00 AM | H-313 Capitol Host: Committee on Rules | Full Committee

Hearing: U.S. Citizens’ Constitutional Rights During the War on Terror

10:00 AM | 2141 Rayburn HOB Host: Committee on the Judiciary | Full Committee

Hearing: Examining SAMHSA’s Role in Delivering Services to the Severely Mentally Ill

10:00 AM | 2123 Rayburn HOB Host: Committee on Energy and Commerce | Select…

Hearing: “Examining the Regulatory and Enforcement Actions of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission”

10:00 AM Host: Committee on Education and the Workforce | Subcommittee on Workforce Protections

Hearing: Assessing the Threat to the Homeland from al Qaeda Operations in Iran and Syria

10:00 AM | 311 Cannon HOB Host: Committee on Homeland Security | Subcommittee on Counterterrorism and Intelligence

Markup: H.R. 850, Nuclear Iran Prevention Act of 2013

10:00 AM | 2172 Rayburn HOB Host: Committee on Foreign Affairs | Full Committee

Hearing: CLOSED: Ongoing Intelligence Activities

1:00 PM | HVC304 Capitol Host: House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence | Full Committee

Hearing: he Middle East and North Africa FY 2014 Budget: Priorities and Challenges

2:00 PM | 2172 Rayburn HOB Host: Committee on Foreign Affairs | Subcommittee on Middle East and North Africa

Hearing: S. 744 and the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986: Lessons Learned or Mistakes Repeated?

2:00 PM | 2141 Rayburn HOB Host: Committee on the Judiciary | Full Committee

Hearing: The President’s Fiscal Year 2014 Budget: Administration Priorities for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

2:00 PM | 2167 Rayburn HOB Host: Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure | Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment

Thursday, May 23, 2013

Hearing: CLOSED: Ongoing Intelligence Activities

8:30 AM | HVC304 Capitol Host: House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence |

Hearing: Restoring U.S. Leadership in Weather Forecasting

9:30 AM | 2318 Rayburn HOB Host: Committee on Science, Space, and Technology | Subcommittee on Environment

Hearing: Chairman Johnson Announces Hearing on the President’s and Other Bipartisan Entitlement Reform Proposals

9:30 AM Host: Committee on Ways and Means | Social Security

Hearing: Legislative Hearing on H.R. 255, H.R. 745, and H.R. 1963

10:00 AM | 1324 Longworth House Office Building, Washington, D.C. 20515 Host: Committee on Natural Resources | Subcommittee on Water and Power

Hearing: H.R. 1797, the District of Columbia Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act

10:00 AM | 2141 Rayburn HOB Host: Committee on the Judiciary | Full Committee

Hearing: Building America: Challenges for Small Construction Contractors

10:00 AM Host: Committee on Small Business | Subcommittee on Contracting and Workforce

Hearing: Examining Drug Compounding

10:00 AM | 2322 Rayburn HOB Host: Committee on Energy and Commerce | Subcommittee on Health

Hearing: U.S.-Mexico Security Cooperation: An Overview of the Merida Initiative 2008-Present

10:00 AM | 2172 Rayburn HOB Host: Committee on Foreign Affairs | Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere

Field Hearing: Oversight of California High Speed Rail

7:00 AM | Auditorium Room AM120, Madera Community College Center, Madera, CA Host: Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure | Subcommittee on Railroads, Pipelines, and Hazardous Materials

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Senate Floor Pro Forma Schedule :::::: CONGRESS ::::::

05/24/2013 Nativegrl77

The Senate will meet on the following days at the following times for pro forma sessions only with no business conducted, unless the Senate receives a message that the House has adopted S.Con.Res.17, the adjournment resolution:

– Friday, May 24^th at 12:30pm

– Tuesday, May 28^th at 12:00pm and

– Friday, May 31^st at 12:00pm

Senate Floor Schedule for Monday, June 3, 2013 2pmET

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The next meeting in the House is scheduled for 2:00 p.mET on June 3, 2013.

May 2013
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12	13	14	15	16	17	18
19	20	21	22	23	24	25
26	27	28	29	30	31

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Last Floor Action:
2:37:46 P.M. – The House adjourned
pursuant to a previous special order

The next meeting in the House is scheduled for 10:00 a.m. on May 24, 2013.

10:00:00 A.M.		The House convened, starting a new legislative day.
10:00:55 A.M.		The Speaker designated the Honorable Thomas E. Petri to act as Speaker pro tempore for today.
10:00:56 A.M.		Today’s prayer was offered by Reverend William Gurnee, Blessed John Paul II Seminary, Washington, DC.
10:02:40 A.M.		The Speaker announced approval of the Journal. Pursuant to section 3(a) of H. Res. 232, the Journal stands approved.
10:02:46 A.M.		PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE TO THE FLAG – The Chair led the House in reciting the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag.
10:03:00 A.M.		The House received a message from the Clerk. Pursuant to the permission granted in Clause 2(h) of Rule II of the Rules of the U.S. Representatives, the Clerk notified the House that she had received the following message from the Secretary of the Senate on May 24, 2013 at 9:06 a.m.: That the Senate agreed to S. Con. Res. 17.
10:05:25 A.M.	S. Con. Res. 17	Considered as privileged matter. S. Con. Res. 17 — “Providing for a conditional adjournment or recess of the Senate and an adjournment of the House of Representatives.”
10:05:45 A.M.	S. Con. Res. 17	On agreeing to the resolution Agreed to without objection.
10:05:55 A.M.	S. Con. Res. 17	Motion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without objection.
10:05:58 A.M.		The Speaker announced that the House do now adjourn pursuant to S. Con. Res. 17. The next meeting is scheduled for 2:00 p.m. on June 3, 2013.