News: Sequestration, Veterans, Jobs

SEQUESTRATION

Sequestration forces Indian land and military base schools to make drastic cuts: “Military families are always moving around, and those shifts can be tough for children who have to adjust to new surroundings. School districts that serve these students often try to ease the transition by providing counselors for them to talk with. But thanks to sequestration, the Central Union School District in Lemoore, Calif., has had to get rid of that service.”

“Keith McVay is superintendent at the McLaughlin School District in northern South Dakota, which educates a large number of American Indian students. Until last year, the district offered summer school, like so many others do around the country. But McVay just doesn’t have the resources to do so anymore, thanks to sequestration, and the program has been eliminated.” — Huffington Post 5/20/13

VETERANS

Native American veterans push for recognition and a war memorial: “Before World War II and in the decades since, tens of thousands of American Indians have enlisted in the Armed Forces to serve their country at a rate much greater than any other ethnicity. 

“Yet, among all the monuments and statues along the National Mall in Washington, D.C., not one stands in recognition.

“A grassroots effort is brewing among tribes across the country to change that, while Democratic Sen. Brian Schatz of Hawaii has introduced legislation that would clear the way for the National Museum of the American Indian to begin raising private funds for a memorial.” — Talking Points Memo 5/27/13

JOBS

Creating good jobs is the defining issue of our time: “What is the single biggest economic problem facing people early in this century? It is not the budget deficit or national debt. It is the eroding and disappearing of good jobs. People with good jobs – jobs that provide decent pay and benefits and the flexibility to be able to take care of one’s family – are the fuel of the economy and the basis for broadly shared prosperity. Good jobs, and the things that go with them – a good education, affordable health care, and a secure retirement – are the very definition of a successful economy.”

“So why does Washington and elite discussion remain focused on the debt and deficit? And what will it take to move the politics of the nation to take on what the public correctly understands is the central economic issue?” — Next New Deal 5/21/13

News: Jobs, Supreme Court, Sequestration, Marijuana

JOBS

CEO-to-worker pay ratio ballooned 1000% since 1950: “We’ve made progress on a lot of things since the 1950s and so have CEOs — in their quest for more money that is.

“The ratio of CEO-to-worker pay has increased 1,000 percent since 1950, according to data from Bloomberg. Today Fortune 500 CEOs make 204 times regular workers on average, Bloomberg found. The ratio is up from 120-to-1 in 2000, 42-to-1 in 1980 and 20-to-1 in 1950.” — Huffington Post 5/1/13

House Republicans move to replace overtime pay with comp time: “In 1938 President Franklin Delano Roosevelt signed into law one of the most important pieces of legislation concerning American labor, the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). This act established the minimum wage, overtime pay, barred children under 18 from doing dangerous work and barred children under 16 from working during school hours.”

“Today the very foundation to FLSA is under attack with the introduction of H.R. 1406 – Working Families Flexibility Act of 2013. Many of you may know that this bill would amend the FLSA and would effectively eliminate overtime pay for all non-exempt employees. At first glance this bill may not sound so bad, especially with the family friendly name of, “Working Families Flexibility Act.” What it does though is undermine the ability of an employee to earn overtime pay.” — Daily Kos 5/5/13

Senate immigration bill could benefit hiring of immigrants over U.S. citizens: “The current draft of the Senate’s immigration overhaul appears to give some employers a $3,000-a-year incentive to hire a newly legalized immigrant rather than an American citizen in order to avoid the new employer mandates in the health care law.”

“The Senate measure would immediately legalize 11 million unauthorized immigrants currently in the country who meet certain criteria as the first step in a more-than-decade-long pathway to become green card holders and ultimately citizens.

“During that time, the newly legalized immigrants would be permitted to work but would not be eligible for subsidies under the 2010 health care law. That, in turn, could save their employers $3,000 a year.” — Roll Call 5/18/13

News: Gun Safety, Marijuana, Sequestration

GUN SAFETY – BACKGROUND CHECK LEGISLATION

“The Manchin-Toomey background check legislation that died in the Senate on Wednesday had everything going for it. Bipartisan sponsorship by two centrist senators. The support of 90 percent of Americans. President Obama’s full-throated backing. The momentum for reform created by tragedy and sympathetic advocates with gripping stories—ex-Rep. Gabby Giffords, the Newtown families. All the pieces were there.

“Yet it failed. The bill won a 54-vote majority but fell short of the Senate’s 60-vote threshold to pass new laws, a high hurdle that progressives decry as undemocratic. But the main reason it failed—and this is the key point for gun control advocates—is because the NRA has unrivaled political power … ” — Mother Jones 4/18/13

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LEGAL MARIJUANA

“Across the country, the liberalization of strict marijuana laws is accelerating. The trend reached a new peak in November when voters in Colorado and Washington passed ballot measures to legalize recreational marijuana use. Amid polls showing a major upswing in support for legalization, marijuana enthusiasts are hopeful that there might soon be enough momentum in Washington to legalize the drug nationwide.

“For many Americans, it seems that the end of two of the key “culture war” battles that have long divided the American populace is within view. Along with the spread of liberalized marijuana laws, support for same-sex marriage has mushroomed across the country. Both of the movements have soared in recent years, reversing years of low support to become more the norm than the exception across major swaths of the nation. Although the issues center around vastly different concerns, they both appeal to an ingrained American tradition of personal liberty.” — International Business Times 4/28/13

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EFFECTS OF SEQUESTRATION

“After thousands of flight delays across the country this week, the United States Senate voted Thursday night to give the Federal Aviation Administration the flexibility to keep the nation’s airports running smoothly. The delays were caused by the furlough of air traffic controllers, who were rotating off the job because of sequestration’s automatic budget cuts that began taking effect on March 1.”

“That means lawmakers will be able to fly home for recess this weekend without any delays … Unfortunately, though, Congress has shown no willingness to provide similar relief for the families that are being hammered by sequestration in other ways. Here are 12 programs that have experienced devastating cuts … ” — Think Progress 4/26/13

Jobs and Unemployment: The Disaster Continues

Discrimination against the long-term unemployed: “This past Friday, the Atlantic’s Matthew O’Brien dug up a study by Northeastern University which found that, after submitting an application for a job, a person’s chances of being called back for an interview completely collapse if they’ve been out of work for more than six months.”

“As long as you’ve been out of work for less than six months, you can get called back even if you don’t have experience. But after you’ve been out of work for six months, it doesn’t matter what experience you have.” — Think Progress 4/16/13

Congress has forgotten about the long-term unemployed: “More than five years since the start of the Great Recession, unemployment remains a major economic problem in the United States, with long-term unemployment among its most stubborn aspects.

“Nobody told Congress.

“A hearing Thursday on long-term unemployment held before the 19-member Joint Economic Committee began with just a single lawmaker in attendance. Panelists testifying on the problem and its potential solutions spoke only to Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), the committee’s vice-chair, for the beginning of the roughly 90-minute session.” — Huffington Post 4/24/13

Part-time workers unable to get more hours: “The American economy has generated 30 straight months of job growth. But for millions of people looking for more work and greater income, that improvement provides little solace.

“In March, 7.6 million Americans who want more hours were stuck in part-time jobs, about the same as a year earlier and three million more than there were when the recession began at the end of 2007.

“These almost invisible underemployed workers do not count toward the standard jobless rate of 7.6 percent.” — New York Times 4/19/13

Labor movement organizing without unions: “The country’s largest non-union workers’ group will soon announce plans to establish chapters in every state, achieve financial self-sufficiency and extend its organizing—so far focused on politics and policy—directly into the workplace.

“This organization has done really what nobody else thought could be done,” AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka told The Nation, “and that’s recruit more than three million people without a union to be part of the labor movement.”

“That organization is Working America, the AFL-CIO affiliate for workers without a union on the job.” — The Nation 4/17/13

News: Jobs, Social Security, Sequestration

JOBS AND UNEMPLOYMENT

Creating the political will to tackle the jobs crisis: “We can create the political will to tackle the jobs crisis by advancing a progressive economic narrative.

“The question we must ask today, on the 78th anniversary of the founding of the Works Progress Administration is: Why isn’t there the political will to take dramatic steps to address today’s jobs emergency?” — National Memo 4/8/13

Michigan Democrats introduce bill to increase minimum wage: “Michigan workers were dealt a staggering blow last year when Gov. Rick Snyder (R) signed a so-called “right to work” law to gut unions. Democratic lawmakers introduced legislation on Friday that may help combat the negative effects of that law by raising the minimum wage from $7.40 to $10 an hour. Minimum wage in the state has not been raised since 2008.” — Think Progress 4/12/13

House GOP bill could take away worker’s overtime pay: “On Thursday morning, the House Subcommittee on Workforce Protections held a hearing regarding the innocuously titled Working Families Flexibility Act of 2013, which would allow workers to choose between receiving overtime pay or additional time off in exchange for extra hours on the job. While supporters of the legislation say it would give employees the freedom to decide on their own how to use their overtime, critics argue that the power would really be in the hands of the boss.

“This legislation is based on smoke and mirrors,” said National Partnership for Women and Families senior adviser Judith Lichtman in her testimony before the committee. “It pretends to offer the time off people need, when they need it, but in fact, it is a pay cut for workers without any attendant guarantee of time.” – Crooks and Liars 4/11/13

News Mix

SUPREME COURT

VOTING RIGHTS: “When the Supreme Court hears oral arguments next week about the constitutionality of a key element of the Voting Rights Act, the Obama administration and other proponents of the law will be facing five very skeptical justices.”

“At issue is the validity of Section 5 of the landmark 1965 law designed to quash voter disenfranchisement efforts such as poll taxes and literacy tests. Section 5 requires states and municipalities with a history of racial discrimination (read: mostly in the south) to seek preclearance from the Justice Department or a federal court before making changes to their voting laws.” — Talking Points Memo  2/20/13

CAMPAIGN FINANCE: “McCutcheon could be the new Citizens United.

“The Supreme Court’s decision Tuesday to hear a campaign finance case, McCutcheon v. Federal Election Commission, in its next term gives the justices a chance to continue their dismantling of restrictions on money in politics, most notably with the landmark Citizens United v. FEC decision of early 2010.

“With the new case, the court could strike a blow against fundraising limits for federal candidates and political parties.” — Washington Post 2/20/13

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GOV. JENNIFER GRANHOLM ON CLEAN ENERGY INTIATIVES (VIDEO): “Kicking off the TED2013 conference, Jennifer Granholm asks a very American question with worldwide implications: How do we make more jobs? Her big idea: Invest in new alternative energy sources. And her big challenge: Can it be done with or without our broken Congress?” TED Talks 2/28/13

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Democrats vs Republicans On Core Issues

DEMOCRATS VS REPUBLICANS ON CORE ISSUES

MINIMUM WAGE AND GUN SAFETY

MINIMUM WAGE BATTLE MAY WOUND REPUBLICANS: “President Barack Obama’s push for a $9-an-hour minimum wage in his State of the Union address this week has already been rejected by Speaker John A. Boehner, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing for Democrats.

“As the president and his fellow Democrats look for popular wedge issues in their effort to hold on to the Senate and their long-shot bid to retake the House in 2014, the debate could prove a useful cudgel regardless of whether the policy becomes law.” — Roll Call 2/13/13

“President Obama’s expansive second term agenda — as articulated in his Inaugural Address and State of the Union speech — has broadened the array of policy and governing priorities Democrats have at their disposal to run on in 2014. Dems in charge of the party’s strategy for retaking the House next year are planning to campaign aggressively on not just tax fairness and defending entitlements, as in the last two elections, but on issues like gun control and the minimum wage, too.

“In an interview today, DCCC chair Steve Israel told me the party’s House candidates will be running aggressively on Obama’s proposals to reduce gun violence and raise the minimum wage. Both will be incorporated into a broader indictment of the GOP as so imprisoned by ideological extremism that the party has been rendered incapable of tackling the major challenges facing the country.” — Washington Post 2/21/13

DEMOCRATS VS REPUBLICANS ON GUN SAFETY: “A visibly distraught father of a 6-year-old killed at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut urged a Senate panel on Wednesday to pass legislation to prevent another gun massacre.

“It’s hard for me to talk about my deceased son,” said Neil Heslin, father of Jesse Lewis. “I’m not here for sympathy or a pat on the back. I’m here to speak up for my son.” — USA Today 2-28-13

“Democrats and Republicans on the Senate Judiciary Committee strongly disagreed Wednesday over a proposed reinstatement of the assault weapons ban, indicating that the panel may break along party lines when it marks up the legislation, possibly as early as Thursday.

“At a crowded hearing filled with uniformed law enforcement officers and those who have lost loved ones to gun violence, Democrats said the assault weapons legislation (S 150) — which would ban the future production of 157 specific kinds of gun, as well as ammunition magazines with more than 10 bullets — would save lives. Recent shooting massacres could have been prevented or made less deadly had the proposal been on the books, they said.” — Roll Call 2-27-13

News Roundup

GUN LEGISLATION: “Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., and Rep. Carolyn McCarthy, D-N.Y., unveiled legislation Thursday that would reinstate and considerably expand the expired federal ban on assault weapons and large-capacity ammunition magazines.

“Opposition from Republicans, the National Rifle Association and potentially some Democrats, however, spells trouble for the measure … ” — Roll Call 1/24/13

Hartford, CT — “Under heightened security, including the rare use of metal detectors inside the Legislative Office Building, gun owners warned that they shouldn’t have to give up their rights after Adam Lanza killed his mother, then murdered 20 children and six adults at Sandy Hook Elementary School on Dec. 14.

“Some warned that gun ownership is a check on governmental tyranny and charged that Obama has an agenda to disarm them and take away rights guaranteed under the state Constitution and the Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.” — ctpost.com 1/29/13

VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN ACT: “[M]any are wondering why Republican House leadership, particularly Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA), are so opposed to the provisions protecting Native American women on tribal reservations.

“… [W]hat are Republicans like Cantor still so concerned about that they’re willing to hold up the landmark law that funds services, strengthens law enforcement for domestic violence, and increases accountability for offenders?

“Here’s everything you need to know about the GOP’s opposition to new protections for Native women on tribal lands:” — Think Progress 12/11/12

“The 22 Senate Republicans who voted against reauthorizing the popular Violence Against Women Act this week include a trio of presidential aspirants, a pair of tea party rookies and the chamber’s most high-ranking GOP members.

“Democrats were most surprised by Florida Sen. Marco Rubio’s vote against reauthorizing the law, which still passed the Senate by a wide margin. Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul and South Dakota Sen. John Thune, both eyeing the White House, also voted against the bill.” — New York Daily News 2/13/13

Jobs and Unemployment: A Persistent Problem

JOBS AND UNEMPLOYMENT: A PERSISTENT PROBLEM

Job market expanding, but so are the numbers of part-timers and workers earning lower wages: “While there continue to be signs that the economy may be on the verge of moving out of the sluggishness that has afflicted it ever since growth began again in the summer of 2009, the job front remains problematic.”

“Uncertainty about the future, managerial strategizing and technological gains have persuaded many employers not to put workers whose hours were reduced back on full-time status or to hire new full-time workers.” — Daily Kos 1/18/13

Union membership takes another hit in 2012: “Surprising no one who’s paying attention, the percentage of American workers belonging to a union fell once again last year, dropping from 11.8 percent in 2011 to 11.3 percent in 2012, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

“Public sector workers are unionized at much higher rates than private sector workers … And of course unions are under fierce attack in both the public and private sectors, through legislation targeting public workers in states like Wisconsin and through the pitched warfare of intimidation and firings in retail stores and restaurants and factories.” — Daily Kos 1/23/13

NYC Mayor Bloomberg and NYC Speaker Quinn battle over jobless bias bill: “The latest battle is over a bill the Council plans to pass Wednesday that would make it illegal for employers to refuse to hire someone who is out of work or to post help wanted ads that invite only people with jobs to apply.” – New York Daily News 1/22/13

Hillary Clinton Steps Down

HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON HAS STEPPED DOWN FROM THE OFFICE OF SECRETARY OF STATE AFTER SERVING OUR COUNTRY FOR FOUR YEARS.

THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE, HILLARY.

CLINTON FORMALLY RESIGNS AS SECRETARY OF STATE: “Hillary Rodham Clinton formally resigned Friday as America’s 67th secretary of state, capping a four-year tenure that saw her shatter records for the number of countries visited.

“In a letter sent to President Barack Obama shortly before she was to leave the State Department for the last time in her official capacity, Clinton thanked her former foe for the 2008 Democratic presidential nomination for the opportunity to serve in his administration. Clinton said it had been an honor to be part of his Cabinet.” — Yahoo News 2/1/1 3

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“Hillary Rodham Clinton’s plan for 2013 was simple.

“She’d embark on an epic swansong around the world as secretary of state, a dizzying itinerary of east-west and north-south flights that would take her past 1 million miles in the air at the helm of American diplomacy and perhaps break her own record of 112 countries visited while in the post. Then, there would be a long rest, time and work with her husband, former President Bill Clinton, on development issues and a sequel to her 2003 memoir “Living History.”

“Finally, she’d make a destiny-defining decision: whether to try again to become America’s first female president.” — Yahoo News 2/2/13

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The story of Hillary Clinton as Secretary of State — in 13 images — “During her four years, Clinton has traveled 956,733 miles, visited 112 countries and, most amazingly, spent the equivalent of almost 87 days on an airplane. And she has danced — a lot.” — Washington Post 2/1/13

A Photo of Hillary Clinton In Every Country She’s Visited [See all 112 photos at =>] BuzzFeed 2/1/13