Tag Archives: United States

the Senate considers S.1238,Student loans ~~ Congress ~~ the House considers HR2609,Energy&Water


capitolphonelines

The Senate stands in adjournment until 10:00am on Wednesday, July 10, 2013.

  • Following the prayer and pledge, the Majority Leader will be recognized.  It is expected he will renew the motion to proceed to S.1238, the Keep Student Loans Affordable Act of 2013. The time until 12:00pm will be equally divided and controlled between the two Leaders or their designees with Senators permitted to speak therein for up to 10 minutes each.
  • At 12:00pm, there will be a roll call vote on the motion to invoke cloture on the motion to proceed to S.1238, the Keep Student Loans Affordable Act of 2013.

Senator Burr asked unanimous consent that if cloture is not invoked on the pending motion to proceed to S.1238, Keep Student Loans Affordable Act of 2013 (Reed), that it then be in order to move to proceed to S.1241, Bipartisan Student Loan Certainty Act (Manchin); further that the cloture motion which will be at the desk be considered filed on the motion to proceed and further, notwithstanding Rule XXII, the Senate then immediately proceed to vote on the motion to invoke cloture on the pending motion to proceed to the Manchin bill, S.1241. If the request would have been agreed to it would have resulted in 2 cloture votes on motions to proceed to the two versions of student loan rates at noon today.

Senator Harkin objected.

the motion to proceed to S.1238, Keep Student Loans Affordable Act of 2013;

Not Invoked: 51-49

Cloture on the motion to proceed to S.1238, Keep Student Loans Affordable Act, failed 51-49. Senator Reid changed his vote to no and then entered a motion to reconsider in order to preserve his ability to reconsider the failed vote at a later time.

The motion to proceed to S.1238, Keep Student Loans Affordable, remains the pending business.

WRAP UP

ROLL CALL VOTE

1)      Motion to invoke cloture on the motion to proceed to S.1238, the Keep Student Loans Affordable Act of 2013; Not Invoked: 51-49

LEGISLATIVE ITEMS

Concurred in the House amendment to the Senate amendment to H.R.588, the Vietnam Veterans Donor Acknowledgement Act of 2013.

Passed H.R.251, to direct the Secretary of the Interior to convey certain Federal features of the electric distribution system to the South Utah Valley Electric Service District, and for other purposes.

Passed H.R.254, Bonneville Unit Clean Hydropower Facilitation Act.

Adopted S.Res.193, honoring the fallen heroes of the Granite Mountain Interagency Hotshot Crew.

No EXECUTIVE ITEMS

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July 2013
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Last Floor Action:
12:03:58 A.M. – The House adjourned. The
next meeting is scheduled for 10:00 a.m. on July 10, 2013.

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Shouldn’t Government Be Easy to Use?


Watch live to find out how a new management agenda is improving government.Shouldn’t Government Be Easy to Use?

President Obama is devoted to making government smarter — improving disaster response, reducing waste, and opening up government data. We’ve made some big progress, but there’s more to do to make government user-friendly for Americans.

That’s why, today, President Obama is highlighting a new management agenda — directing his cabinet to continue to bring this government into the 21st century, and make it easier than ever for Americans to get the services they need from government.

Watch live at 11:50 AM ET to find out how a new management agenda is improving government.

Top Stories
The Promise of America: Welcoming Our Newest CitizensLast week more than 7,800 candidates became citizens at more than 100 ceremonies across the country and around the world. Obama Administration officials participated in ceremonies which were part of the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services’ annual celebration of Independence Day.

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The Employment Situation in June

While more work remains to be done, Friday’s employment report provides further confirmation that the U.S. economy is continuing to recover from the worst downturn since the Great Depression.

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Weekly Wrap Up: Connecting Continents

Last week, the First Family traveled to Africa, for a three country, four stop visit that started in Dakar, Senegal and ended in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania with stops in Johannesburg and Cape Town, South Africa sandwiched in between.

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Emily J. Martin, National Women’s Law Center


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

Demand the snack food industry remove rainforest destruction from its products.


Orangutans

www.ran.org

I stand with RAN in calling on the US snack food industry to help stop the destruction of Indonesia‘s rainforests for palm oil.

The rainforests of Indonesia are some of the most biodiverse forests in the world and home to a number of endangered species, like Sumatran orangutans, Sumatran tigers, pygmy elephants and rhinoceros. These rainforests continue to be destroyed to produce palm oil so it can be used in the manufacturing of food products, including in snack foods and sweets that are some of America’s favorite brand name products.

I would prefer my crackers, chocolate, cookies, peanut butter, and ice cream not to come with orangutan extinction. That is why I am standing with RAN in calling on snack food companies to protect Indonesia’s rainforests and all of the people and wildlife who depend on them by cutting palm oil tied to rainforest destruction and social conflict out of their supply chains.

We have reached the last stand for Sumatran orangutans, but it’s not too late to save them.

Many Americans are being made into unwitting accomplices in the destruction of Indonesia’s rainforests—which provide crucial habitat for a number of endangered species like the Sumatran orangutan—because palm oil is in half of all the products on their neighborhood grocery store‘s shelves. In the months ahead, we’re going to tackle this problem at its source.

RAN has just sent letters to 20 snack food companies—makers of some of the most popular brand name products in America—alerting them to the rainforest destruction and orangutan extinction in their supply chains.

Stand with us: Sign our petition and demand the snack food industry remove rainforest destruction from its products.

150 million wieners!


Policy and Action from Consumer Reports

Hot dogs, apple pie and antibiotics.This Fourth of July, declare your independence! Sign our pledge, and join tens of thousands of consumers not buying meat from animals routinely fed antibiotics.Sign pledge!

Did you pledge yet?

July 4th is just two days away, and you can still join tens of thousands of Americans pledging their independence this holiday from meat raised on drugs.

Why is this pledge so important? The Fourth of July holiday is one of the biggest weekends for meat sales (yes, 150 million wieners), and your pledge shows industry that consumers don’t want products from animals routinely fed antibiotics.

Take the pledge now, and declare your independence from antibiotics this Fourth of July!

You know enough not to take antibiotics everyday just to keep from getting sick, since it weakens their effectiveness for when you really need them. But most conventional beef, poultry and pork sold in our grocery stores come from animals routinely fed antibiotics to promote their growth or so they can survive in filthy feedlots, rather than just giving them medicine when they are sick.

All this overuse on livestock is contributing to the spread of antibiotic-resistant ‘superbugs’ in both animals and people. Unless we stop this practice, there may be a day when our antibiotics no longer work.

Congress has a bill before that would prevent routine dosing, reserving the drugs for when animals are sick. But ultimately, consumers like you can change the tide by not buying these products. And what better day to declare our independence than the Fourth of July?

Pledge this July 4th, and be part of the movement to save our antibiotics!

Thank you for pledging with us this Independence Day. And have a great holiday weekend.

Meg Bohne, Consumers Union Policy and Action from Consumer Reports