Tag Archives: United States

Congress Must Extend the Middle Class Tax Cuts


 

 
 
 
President Obama urges Congress to extend the middle class income tax cuts for 98 percent of Americans and 97 percent of small businesses without delay, making it clear that a balanced approach to deficit reduction means that Republicans in Congress must agree to ask the wealthiest Americans to pay higher tax rates.

ThinkProgress …


Congress‘s lame duck session is proving more interesting than expected. Don’t miss out on these three important ThinkProgress stories from this week:

1. What You Need To Know About The Michigan GOP’s ‘Right-To-Work’ Assault On Workers

2. 11 Reasons You’re Glad Jim DeMint Is Leaving The Senate

3. After Spending $9 Million To Defeat Her, Wall Street Watches Sen-Elect Warren Join Banking Committee

Best,

Igor Volsky
Deputy Editor, ThinkProgress

Clean Power …


 
 
Union of Concerned Scientists
 

Unleash Clean Power

The Union of Concerned Scientists has a practical plan to cut U.S. oil use in half over the next 20 years, which will save billions of dollars each year, dramatically cut global warming emissions, and ease many other serious problems, including oil spills, the high cost of oil and gas price spikes, and health threats from air pollution that have become the all-too-familiar face of oil.

A key piece of that plan is cleaner fuels. Imagine a future where the fuel in our cars and the electricity that powers our homes and businesses come from fast-growing grasses and agricultural and other wastes, which can serve as non-food sources of biofuel or bioenergy. This future may not be far off if we put smart policies in place to spur growth in this emerging industry.

In the coming weeks, an innovative company—INEOS Bio—will begin producing clean fuel and electricity from vegetative waste at a first-of-its-kind biorefinery. And this plant is just the beginning. Our new report, The Promise of Biomass, finds that, by 2030, we could sustainably produce enough non-food bioenergy to make four times the corn ethanol produced in the United States in 2010, or nearly 20 percent of total U.S. power consumption that year.

But the policies that have set the stage for clean bioenergy to become a large-scale power source are under attack from the fossil fuel industry and its allies, who profit handsomely from the status quo. If Congress fails to act, a key policy supporting production of clean bioenergy from sustainable, non-food sources will expire at the end of 2012, slowing the development of this burgeoning industry at a critical time.

Choose a clean power future.

Urge your member of Congress to promote innovation by extending production tax credits for clean, non-food-based fuels and renewable electricity.

Take Action Today!

Sincerely,
Rachel Cohen
Rachel Cohen
National Field Organizer
Clean Vehicles Program
Union of Concerned Scientists

Meet Tiffany and Family


The White House

Over the last week we’ve asked you what $2,000 more in taxes would mean to you and your family, and we’ve already received more than 370,000 responses — including one from Tiffany.

Today, President Obama will meet Tiffany and her family in their Northern Virginia home, where he’ll talk more about why it is so important for Congress to pass the middle-class tax cuts before the end of the year, both for families like hers and our economy.

Meet Tiffany, and find out why $2,000 means so much to her family.

Video: Meet Tiffany

In Case You Missed It
Here are some of the top stories from the White House blog:President Obama Speaks to the Business Roundtable
Yesterday, President Obama spoke to members of the Business Roundtable, an association of CEOs of American businesses, and reiterated his plan to extend tax cuts for middle-class families.Watch: President Obama’s Twitter Q&A on #My2k
From the Roosevelt Room of the White House Monday, President Obama connected directly with Americans via Twitter, where he answered questions about extending middle-class tax cuts.

Continuing the Progress in Tribal Communities
Yesterday, President Obama hosted the 2012 White House Tribal Nations Conference at the Department of Interior. This conference continued to build upon the President’s commitment to strengthen the government-to-government relationship with Indian Country