Tag Archives: United States

Friends-

We hope this message finds you well. Happy Women’s History Month! Today marks the beginning of a month dedicated to honoring the women who have made our country great and the moments that have defined this nation.

Thursday was a great day for women across the country with the reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) passing in the House of Representatives, following the Senate’s passage of the same bill. Also this week, the Department of Labor announced the rescission of “Compensation Standards” and “Voluntary Guidelines.”

Today marks the beginning of a month dedicated to honoring the women who have made our country great and the moments that have defined this nation. You can find the President’s Women’s History Month Proclamation here.

Best wishes,

The White House Council on Women & Girls

President Obama Holds a Press Conference to Address the Sequester

President Obama held a press conference this morning after meeting with Congressional leaders to talk about his plans to move the country forward in light of the severe budget cuts that will start to take effect today.

These cuts, which are known as the sequester, will hurt our economy and cost us jobs, the President said. And as Americans all across the country work hard to keep our economic recovery going, arbitrary cuts to services and investments that businesses and workers depend on makes that far more difficult. As the President said:

“None of this is necessary. It’s happening because of a choice that Republicans in Congress have made. They’ve allowed these cuts to happen because they refuse to budge on closing a single wasteful loophole to help reduce the deficit. As recently as yesterday, they decided to protect special interest tax breaks for the well-off and well-connected, and they think that that’s apparently more important than protecting our military or middle-class families from the pain of these cuts.”

Read the President’s complete remarks here.

Violence Against Women Act Reauthorization Passed by Congress

On Thursday there was exciting news for women across the country with the reauthorization of Violence Against Women Act passing in the House of Representatives. This bill, which the Senate has already passed, supports the reduction of domestic violence and the improved treatment of rape victims, extending these protections to members of the Native American and LGBT communities.

The President and Vice-President both released statements praising the bill’s importance for the country. Here is the President’s complete statement:

“I was pleased to see the House of Representatives come together and vote to reauthorize and strengthen the Violence Against Women Act. Over more than two decades, this law has saved countless lives and transformed the way we treat victims of abuse. Today’s vote will go even further by continuing to reduce domestic violence, improving how we treat victims of rape, and extending protections to Native American women and members of the LGBT community. The bill also reauthorizes the Trafficking Victims Protection Act, providing critical support for both international and domestic victims of trafficking and helping ensure traffickers are brought to justice. I want to thank leaders from both parties – especially Leader Pelosi, Congresswoman Gwen Moore and Senator Leahy – for everything they’ve done to make this happen. Renewing this bill is an important step towards making sure no one in America is forced to live in fear, and I look forward to signing it into law as soon as it hits my desk.”

VAWA: Valerie Jarrett Tweet

US Labor Department Rescinds Restrictions On Investigating Pay Discrimination

This week, the U.S. Department of Labor announced exciting news for women and all Americans. The Department is resending two documents, commonly known as the “Compensation Standards” and “Voluntary Guidelines,” that have dictated how pay discrimination can be investigated. This change will enable to Department of Labor to identify and remedy more forms of pay discrimination.

“Today, we are lifting arbitrary barriers that have prevented our investigators from finding and combating illegal pay discrimination,” said Patricia A. Shiu, a member of the President’s National Equal Pay Task Force.

The Department of Labor also plans to release new guidance for employers that will explain the procedures, analysis and protocols that will now be used in conducting compensation discrimination investigations.

“A strong American middle class hinges on ensuring equal pay,” said acting Secretary of Labor Seth D. Harris. “As President Obama has made clear, everyone – including the wives, mothers, sisters and daughters among us – must be paid fairly and without discrimination. These new standards will strengthen our ability to ensure that women and men are fully protected under our nation’s laws.”

The new approach will enable investigators to better examine practices and available evidence to uncover discrimination.

Read the complete News Release here.

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

– Debarment Rulemaking

03/04/2013 Nativegrl77

A public hearing on proposed rules for debarment of vendors is set for 8 a.m. March 18.

The hearing will be held in the presentation room of the 1500 Jefferson Street building in Olympia. Directions and parking information is available here.

To submit comments on the proposed rules, use the online form. The deadline for submitting comments is March 17, 2013.

A new state law (Chapter 39.26 RCW) that changes how the state conducts procurement and contracting took effect Jan. 1, 2013. All state procurements and contracts are governed by the new law. As part of this, Enterprise Services is required to establish a debarment process by rule.

More information about the debarment rule-making process is available here.

If you are interested in following or participating in this rule-making activity, please send an email to rules@des.wa.gov and include “debarment rules interested party” in the subject line. You will be added to the rulemaking mailng list and receive future notifications and updates.

What: Public hearing on proposed rules for debarment of vendors

When: 8 a.m., March 18

Where: Presentation room, 1500 Jefferson Street building in Olympia

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

The Sequester presser

03/02/2013 Nativegrl77

Starting today, our government will need to grapple with a set of arbitrary budget cuts that will hurt the economy, make life harder for middle-class families, and threaten our national security. That’s what Washington means when it talks about the sequester.

Not everyone will feel the consequences of these cuts immediately, but if sequestration is allowed to continue, it will make life more difficult for Americans all across the country. That’s a fact that no one disputes.

And the reason we are here is because some members of Congress have made a choice to prioritize these cuts over closing tax loopholes for the wealthy. But there is still time for them to make a different choice and undo this manufactured crisis.

Today, President Obama discussed this situation and answered questions from the press. “This is not a win for anybody,” he said. “This is a loss for the American people.”

Help us make sure your friends and neighbors know what’s at stake. Share this video of President Obama on Facebook or Twitter — or even just forward this email to your friends.

Watch:

http://www.whitehouse.gov/sequester-briefing

PS — We put a page together that outlines President Obama’s solution for resolving the sequester, explains what these cuts will mean for communities across the country, and asks you to share your story. Check it out: WH.gov/Sequester.

Stay Connected

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Weekly Address: Congress Must Compromise to Stop the Impact of the Sequester.

03/02/2013 Nativegrl77

President Obama urges Congress to stop the sequester — the harmful automatic cuts that threaten thousands of jobs and affect our national security from taking effect on March 1.

Watch this week’s Weekly Address.

Just Dumb

03/02/2013 Nativegrl77

By ThinkProgress War Room

Sequester: “A Fancy Word for a Dumb Idea”

That’s what the President of the AFL-CIO, Richard Trumka, called the sequester — and he’s absolutely right.

Republicans have once again shown that they’ll do almost anything to protect the wealthy and special interests like Big Oil — no matter the cost to the rest of us and to the economy. This time, they have allowed devastating across-the-board spending cuts to kick in.

Just yesterday, the Senate voted on a balanced plan to replace this year’s indiscriminate cuts with a mix of targeted cuts and new revenues from ending loopholes for the very wealthiest Americans and corporate special interests. This plan got 52 votes and should have passed but Republicans blocked it by insisting on a 60-vote margin.

It’s clear that Republicans would rather impose painful spending cuts that will hurt the economy and millions of Americans than end a single tax loophole for the wealthy and special interests like Big Oil and Wall Street.

As a reminder, here’s a list of things Republicans apparently prefer to happen instead of eliminating wasteful giveaways in the tax code:

70,000 kids will get kicked off of Head Start
10,000 teacher jobs will be at risk
7,200 special education teachers, aides, and staff could be cut
Nearly 140,000 fewer children will receive life-saving vaccinations
Up to 373,000 seriously mentally ill adults and seriously emotionally disturbed children could go untreated
2,100 fewer food inspections will take place
Tax returns and refunds will be delayed
The long-term unemployed will see their benefits cut by about 10 percent
Nearly a billion dollars in loans to small businesses cut
It could take several hours to get through security at the airport
More than 100 airports might have to simply close down
Our military leaders have said it would weaken our national security
The Secretary of Homeland Security said the cuts will make it harder to protect the country from a terror attack and that the border will be less secure

Not all these things will happen overnight, but they will happen. And the longer the sequester goes on, the worse things will get. Worse yet, unless a permanent replacement is agreed to, these painful and damaging cuts will continue for nine years.

BOTTOM LINE: Instead of standing by and watching as our economy and millions of Americans are hurt by these irresponsible and devastating cuts, Republicans need to agree to reduce our deficit with the kind of responsible, balanced approach that three-quarters of Americans prefer. Their reckless behavior got us into this mess in 2011 and now it’s time for them to come back to the table and help get us out of it before the worst impacts of these indiscriminate cuts happen.