Tag Archives: United States

The Senate Convenes at 10:00amET Friday 4, 2011

Following any Leader remarks, there will be a period of morning business with senators permitted to speak for up to 10 minutes each.

There will be no roll call votes during Friday’s session of the Senate.

By unanimous consent, the Senate locked in the agreement outlined below with respect to Executive nominations. As a result of this agreement, there will be 2 roll call votes at 5:30pm on Monday.

On Monday, February 7, 2011, at 4:30 pm, the Senate will proceed to Executive Session to consider the following nominations:

– Calendar #3 Paul Holmes, of AR, to be US District Judge for the Western District of Arkansas;

– Calendar #6 Diana Saldana, of TX, to be US District Judge for the Southern District of Texas;

– Calendar #8 Marco Hernandez, of OR, to be US District Judge for the District of Oregon.

There will be one hour for debate equally divided in the usual form. Upon the use or yielding back of time, Calendar #8 will be confirmed and the Senate will proceed to vote on confirmation of Calendar #3 and Calendar #6 in that order.

As a result of this agreement, at 5:30pm on Monday, February 7, there will be 2 roll call votes on confirmation of the following nominations:

– Calendar #3 Paul Holmes, of AR, to be US District Judge for the Western District of Arkansas; and

– Calendar #6 Diana Saldana, of TX, to be US District Judge for the Southern District of Texas;

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The Senate Convenes at 9:30amET February 3, 2011

Morning business until 10:30am.

Following morning business, the Senate will resume consideration of S.223, the FAA Authorization bill.

The following amendments are pending to S.223:

– Whitehouse amendment #8 (laser pointers)

– Wicker amendment #14 (Excludes TSA from collective bargaining)

– Blunt amendment #5 (private screening company)

– Nelson (FL) #34 (NASA)

– Paul #21 (reduce authorization for FAA to FY2008 levels)

– Wyden #27 (increase test sites for unmanned aerial vehicles)

– Paul #19 (Davis Bacon)

Other Senators are waiting to offer their amendments. Senators will be notified when any votes are scheduled.

1-3pm morning business for the purpose of giving remarks relative to the upcoming centennial of the birth of President Ronald Reagan.

3:00pm Senator Manchin will give his maiden speech to the Senate.

The Senate has entered into an agreement that provides for 2 roll call votes around 5:20pm, if all time is used. Please note that some time may be yielded back and the votes could begin earlier.

Under the agreement, Senator Paul will call up amendment #19 (Davis Bacon). There will then be up to 30 minutes for debate equally divided between Senators Paul and Rockefeller, or their designees. There will then be up to 10 minutes for debate equally divided on the Whitehouse amendment #8 (laser pointers) between Senators Whitehouse and Hutchison, or their designees.

Upon the use or yielding back of time, the Senate will proceed to vote in relation to the following amendments:

– Whitehouse #8 (laser pointers)

– Paul #19 (Davis Bacon)

There will be no amendments or points of order in order prior to the votes.

Votes:

10: Whitehouse amendment #8: (laser pointers);

Agreed To: 96-1

11: Rockefeller motion to table the Paul amendment #19: (Davis Bacon);

Tabled: 55-42

Unanimous Consent:

Adopted S.Res.42, a resolution making Majority Party committee appointments.

Adopted S.Res.43, a resolution making Minority Party committee appointments.

Adopted S.Res.44, a resolution supporting democracy, universal rights, and the peaceful transition to a representative government in Egypt.

Adopted S.Res.45, a resolution congratulating the Eastern Washington University Football team for winning the 2010 National Collegiate Athletic Association Division 1 Football Championship Subdivision title.

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the Senate Convenes at 10:00amET Wednesday

Following any Leader remarks, Senator Paul will be recognized for up to 20 minutes in morning business to deliver his maiden speech.

Following his remarks, the Senate will resume consideration of S.223, the Federal Aviation Administration bill.

The following amendments are pending to S.223, FAA Authorization:

– Stabenow #9 (1099 Reporting)

– McConnell #13 (Health Care Repeal)

– Levin #28 (1099 repeal)

This morning in his opening statement, Senator Reid announced to his colleagues that he spoke to Senator McConnell and they agreed to work towards having up to 3 roll call votes in the 5-6pm range this evening.

Those votes would be in relation to the following amendments to S.223, FAA Authorization:

– Possible Democratic amendment (1099 Reporting);

– Stabenow amendment #9 (1099 Reporting); and

– McConnell amendment #13 (Health Care Law Repeal).

At 5:15pm, the Senate will proceed to a series of 3 roll call votes in relation to the following amendments to S.223, FAA Authorization:

– Levin amendment #28 (repeal of 1099 with oil and gas offset);

– Stabenow amendment #9 (repeal of 1099 with unspent discretionary funds offset, exempts DoD, VA and Social Security Administration); and

– McConnell amendment #13 (repeal of health care reform).

The Levin amendment is subject to an affirmative 60-vote threshold for its adoption. No other amendments, points of order or motions are in order to these amendments prior to the votes except a Budge point of order, if applicable.

There will be 2 minutes for debate prior to each vote. The first vote will be 15 minutes in duration and the remaining 2 votes will be 10 minutes in duration.

Votes:

7: Levin amendment #28: (repeal of 1099 with oil and gas offset) (60-vote threshold);

Not Agreed To: 44-54

8: Stabenow motion to waive the Budget Act with respect to Stabenow amendment #9: (repeal of 1099 with unspent discretionary funds offset, exempts DoD, VA and Social Security Administration);

Waived: 81-17 (subsequently agreed to by consent)

9: McConnell motion to waive Budget Act with respect to McConnell amendment #13: (repeal of health care reform);

Not Agreed To: 47-51

There will be no further roll call votes tonight.

Unanimous Consent:

Adopted S.Res.30, a resolution celebrating February 2, 2011, as the 25th anniversary of ‘National Women and Girls in Sports Day’.

Adopted S.Res.36, a resolution raising awareness and encouraging the prevention of stalking by designating January 2011 as “National Stalking Awareness Month”.

Adopted S.Res.37, a resolution recognizing the goals of Catholic Schools Week.

Adopted S.Res.38, a resolution congratulating Brooklyn Center, Minnesota on its 100th anniversary.

Adopted S.Res.39, a resolution congratulating the Auburn University football team for winning the 2010 Bowl Championship Series National Championship.

Adopted S.Res.40, a resolution congratulating the University of Akron men’s soccer team on winning the National Collegiate Athletic Associate Division I Men’s Soccer Championship.

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H.R.3 goes too far …The anti-choice bill

02/01/2011 Nativegrl77

A NEW LOW FOR ANTI-CHOICE LEADERS IN CONGRESS

New legislation would take away the health benefits women have today. It attempts to ban private health insurance for abortion even in many cases of rape and when the woman’s life is in danger.

They’ve gone too far. Tell Congress to reject the anti-choice Smith bill.

http://www.ppaction.org/site/R?i=8qsoOaW_zYiNkfFrYCUrCw..

H.R. 3 simply goes too far. The restrictions contained in this bill represent an unprecedented effort to deny women the right to make their own personal and private medical decisions and to purchase the health care coverage they want.

Supporters:

“This is a reckless effort to cripple an irreplaceable organization out of pure politics.”

That’s what The New York Times wrote yesterday about extreme anti-choice legislation recently introduced in Congress that would strip Planned Parenthood of funds to provide preventive care — birth control and family planning — to millions of women. More people are recognizing the truth about what we’ve been saying for months: anti-choice attacks on women’s health and Planned Parenthood itself are escalating, and our opponents want nothing less than to eliminate Planned Parenthood and with it a source of care for millions of women.

The new anti-choice leadership in the House presents a real danger to the future of women’s health in America. The first step to stopping them is to speak out. Tell Congress to reject the anti-choice Smith bill.

Representative Smith (R-NJ) introduced a bill that attempts to ban private insurance coverage for abortion for millions of women — even for women who have such coverage today. It goes so far as to raise taxes for individuals and small businesses that purchase health insurance coverage for abortion with their own money. And it gets worse.

Heartlessly, the Smith bill would even prevent many rape survivors from getting the care they need. If this bill passes, only rape survivors who become pregnant through “forcible rape” will be allowed federal financing of abortion. This means women who are drugged, unconscious, coerced — or whatever else state lawmakers decide does not constitute “forcible rape” — could be excluded from the abortion coverage they need. Read that again, because it is truly shocking. The sponsors of this bill want to ban federal funding for abortion in cases of rape they deem not “forcible.”

This bill would reverse existing protections that guarantee millions of women access to abortion coverage when their life is in danger. And if that is not enough, it expands restrictions on abortion funding and makes them permanent. To protect access to abortion, we must stop this bill.

I can’t express how unjust, and how cruel, this legislation truly is. Rep. Smith and his extreme anti-choice colleagues have taken their campaign against women’s health and rights to a new low, and they must be stopped. Do your part now. Tell Congress to reject this attack on women’s health. Click here to take action.

It is unconscionable for anti-choice politicians who were elected on a promise to fix the economy to use their newly found power to deny women access to reproductive health care, including abortion. But that’s exactly what they are trying to do.

Our opponents want to shut down local Planned Parenthood health centers and deny women access to basic preventive health care like birth control and family planning. They want to take away women’s right to make their own personal and private medical decisions. The members of the new House majority have proven that there is no limit to how far they will go in their assault on women’s health and rights.

We have to stand against them. You and I and everyone who cares about women’s health, we must speak out together. Please, take action now — and then tell you friends, your family, and your co-workers to join you.

Thank you so very much for standing with us and the women, men, and teens that rely on Planned Parenthood.

Sincerely,

Cecile Richards, President

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Lift our country

01/31/2011 Nativegrl77

In this new Congress, it is not enough to talk about common ground. We must — together — seek it.

We must enact an agenda that will lift our country from this recession and confront the challenges of this new decade.

One key group of individuals will be champions of this effort: the Democrats in the Senate. They will keep the agenda focused on progress — on growing the economy, on adding jobs. They will keep us moving forward.

In the weeks and months ahead, we must do everything we can to support these lawmakers.

The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee stands ready to do just that — and lay the groundwork to protect our majority in the next round of elections.

The DSCC has set a goal of raising $50,000 by January 31 to ensure they have the resources to beat back mistruths and distortions, hire staff for the next set of races, and support the work of Democrats in the Senate.

This is a moment that calls for respect and a seriousness of purpose from lawmakers of every party and persuasion.

The challenges we face as a people demand nothing less.

We must spur innovation and renew our nation’s infrastructure so that the United States remains competitive and prosperous in a global economy.

We must reform our education system so that America’s young people have the knowledge and skills to create and fill the jobs of a new age.

We must discover and implement the solutions that will allow us to stop the warming of our planet, create green jobs, and deliver security for future generations.

As this new year unfolds, Senator Harry Reid and other Democrats will lead the effort to answer these challenges. And they will be supported in all their work by the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee.

To lay the groundwork for that kind of progress, the DSCC must raise $50,000 before January 31. Chip in $5 or more to help them meet their goal.

Thank you,

President Barack Obama

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Stand with President Obama

01/31/2011 Nativegrl77

This is it.

This is your chance to stand with President Obama and House Democrats and say “no” to the extreme Republican agenda.

In just 24 hours, the first FEC fundraising deadline since the President’s inspiring State of the Union speech will hit. Washington pundits and the national media will be watching our totals closely as a sign of Democratic unity and determination to keep moving America forward and winning back our House Majority.

And, the most important thing you can do right now is to make sure House Democrats exceed our goal and have an over-the-top result in our first big fundraising deadline of the year.

Contribute $5 or more before Midnight Tomorrow and your contribution will be matched dollar-for-dollar by a group of generous Democrats.

President Obama’s stirring vision for the future stands in stark contrast to the Republicans’ reckless plans for privatizing Social Security and Medicare while giving away more tax breaks to the rich and the special interests.

Republicans’ hypocritical vote to repeal heath insurance reform and deny the American people the same protections from industry abuse they enjoy as Members of Congress is outrageous. And it’s just the first step in their radical plan to dismantle our Democratic accomplishments from the last two years.

Help us fight back.

Contribute $5 or more before Midnight Tomorrow and your contribution will be matched dollar-for-dollar by a group of generous Democrats.

http://www.dccc.org/page/m/1d63c45c/1b9dd8ab/50ebb247/4e0d1000/3850854669/VEsH/

It’s critical we not fall behind Republican fundraising and have to play catch up in the early months of the campaign. Republicans have their corporate connections and special interest contributors to count on. We have grassroots Democrats like you.

Your generous contribution is urgently needed. Please rush your contribution to the DCCC now.

Thank you.

Robby Mook

DCCC Executive Director

P.S. Contribute before Midnight tomorrow and your support will be matched by a group of generous Democrats.

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Fraudulent Colleges ruin lives …Repost -good information

01/31/2011 Nativegrl77

Shannon Croteau was 11 classes away from a degree from Kaplan University Online (a for-profit college owned by The Washington Post Company) when she learned she was out of financial aid, $30,000 in debt, and here’s the kicker – the degree she was working toward would be worthless in her state of New Hampshire.

She was billed for loans she never signed up for, enrolled in classes she didn’t choose and, when she complained, was given the runaround by a succession of fake “loan officers” who wouldn’t tell her the truth, let alone their last names. “They lied and cheated,” Shannon told us at “It has ruined me.”

She’s just one of millions of students to have her financial life devastated by the fraudulent and predatory practices of for-profit colleges. Countless other Kaplan students have come forward, saying they’ve been charged for classes even after they’ve withdrawn, stalked by aggressive admissions officers or had their degrees held hostage if they don’t ante up “surprise” fees.

Shannon has started a petition on the Change website , demanding that the Washington Post Company stop preying on low-income students.

Add your name.

It’s important to understand that for-profit colleges stay in business by taking billions from the federal government: During the 2008-09 academic year alone, for-profit colleges siphoned off $4.3 billion of federal student aid.

And if the students can’t pay those loans back, who cares? Students who attend for-profit colleges account for only 12% of America‘s college students, but they represent nearly half of student loan defaults. Those students will be hounded by creditors for the rest of their lives. Our tax dollars cover their debts. And the for-profit colleges never have to give back a dime.

They don’t care whether the students they recruit can afford college, or even whether those students will be able to use their degrees if and when they graduate. For these businesses, each new recruit represents a profit. Nothing more, nothing less.

But Shannon Croteau and a group of former Kaplan students are fighting back – and Change.org members can help. By raising the profile of these appalling institutions, we can pressure the Washington Post Company to get out of the business of preying on people’s dreams of better educations and better careers.

Please take action today to tell Washington Post Company Chairman Donald Graham to either stop the fraudulent practices or shut down Kaplan University:

Thanks for taking action,

Judith and the Change.org team