Congress

Chris Hedges: Don’t Be Fooled By Joe Biden

May 4, 2021 Chris Hedges, ScheerPost.com. Educate! Congress, Joe Biden, oligarchy, Sadism

Don’t be fooled by Joe Biden. He knows his infrastructure and education bills have as much chance at becoming law as the $15-dollar minimum wage or the $2,000 stimulus checks he promised us as a candidate. He knows his American Jobs Plan will never create “millions of good paying jobs – jobs Americans can raise their families on” any more than NAFTA, which he supported, would, as was also promised, create millions of good paying jobs. His mantra of “buy American” is worthless. He knows the vast majority of our consumer electronics, apparel, furniture and industrial supplies are made in China by workers who earn an average of one or two dollars an hour and lack unions and basic labor rights.

Government Report Documents US Responsibility For Venezuela’s Humanitarian Dilemma

May 2, 2021 Roger Harris, Popular Resistance. Educate! Congress, US Regime Change, US Sanctions, Venezuela

The US government blames the crisis on the mismanagement and corruption of the Venezuelan government headed by Nicolás Maduro. The Venezuelan government faults the US and its allies for imposing sanctions, unilateral coercive measures illegal under international law. An official US Congressional Research Service report issued April 28, Venezuela: Background and US Relations, suggests the Venezuelan government has valid arguments that it is being strangulated by US sanctions. According to the report: It is difficult to attribute precisely the extent of Venezuela’s economic collapse that is due to US sanctions versus broad economic mismanagement.

RENACER Act: US Congress To Expand Nicaragua Sanctions

April 30, 2021 the Alliance for Global Justice. Resist! Congress, Nicaragua, US Regime Change, US Sanctions

Nicaragua’s Sandinista Revolution is being targeted with a new sanctions bill as retaliation for triumphing over Washington’s domination attempts and as President Daniel Ortega is anticipated to win this year’s election. The Reinforcing Nicaragua’s Adherence to Conditions for Electoral Reform (RENACER) Act (full text of the bill here), introduced in March, would require the U.S. government to increase sanctions coordination with Canada and the European Union and proposes new immediate measures against the Nicaraguan government and officials ahead of Nicaragua’s November elections, all under the guise of promoting democratic elections. A House companion bill to the RENACER Act, with the same wording of the bill to be voted on in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, will be brought to the House Foreign Affairs Committee any day now—potentially speeding up the process.

SALT Cap Repeal Would Exacerbate Racial Inequities

April 22, 2021 the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy. Educate! Congress, Racial disparities, Taxes, wealth inequality

A new analysis from the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy provides critical data for the debate over whether to repeal the $10,000 cap on state and local tax (SALT) deductions. The report, Not Worth Its SALT: Tax Cut Proposal Overwhelmingly Benefits Wealthy, White Households, finds that repeal of the SALT cap without other reforms would worsen economic disparities and exacerbate racial inequities baked into the federal tax system. Black and Hispanic families are respectively 42 percent and 33 percent less likely to benefit from SALT repeal than white families. Overall, 72 percent of the benefit of SALT repeal would go to white households. More specifically, white households earning more than $200,000 a year are 6.7 percent of all households but would receive 66.8 percent of the benefit of SALT repeal.

We Need Jobs And Healthcare, Not More Money For Bombs And Bullets.

April 11, 2021 CODEPINK. Educate! Congress, Federal budget, Joe Biden, Pentagon Budget

Today, the Biden Administration released their budget proposal for Federal discretionary spending in Fiscal Year 2022. This included a proposal for a $753,000,000,000 Pentagon budget, an increase from President Trump’s final enacted budget. This signals a concerning continuity with the Trump Administration which, over the course of four years, increased the Pentagon budget by $133 billion with bipartisan Congressional approval. "Submitting a $753 billion Pentagon budget proposal during a historic pandemic while millions of working people across the country continue to struggle from the resulting economic turmoil is unconscionable," said CODEPINK national co-director and Divest from War campaign director Carley Towne.

Senate Unveils Sweeping Legislation To Confront China

April 9, 2021 Dave DeCamp, Antiwar.com. Educate! China, Congress, New Cold War, Wars and Militarism

The Senate Foreign Relations Committee announced a new piece of bipartisan legislation to confront China through prioritized military spending and more arms sales in the Indo-Pacific, sanctions, money for “democracy promotion” in Hong Kong, and other areas where the US seeks to counter Beijing. The legislation still needs to go through the Committee before being introduced in the Senate, but a draft of the bill, titled the Strategic Competition Act of 2021, was released by Senator Bob Menendez (D-NJ), the Committee chairman. Menendez negotiated the bill with Committee Ranking Member Jim Risch (R-ID). In a release on the Committee’s website, the 281-page bill was described as the “first major proposal to bring Democrats and Republicans together in laying out a strategic approach towards Beijing...

Congress Given Specific Path To Cut Pentagon Budget By $80 Billion

March 25, 2021 Kenny Stancil, Commondreams. Create! Congress, Nuclear Weapons, Pentagon Budget, US military

A coalition of more than 25 groups representing a range of political perspectives sent a letter Wednesday to key congressional committees with specific suggestions for slashing the Pentagon's budget by roughly $80 billion—savings that progressives say could be redirected from war to address pressing human needs. "Well-researched analysis from experts across the ideological spectrum show[s] that the Pentagon can dramatically reduce its spending, meet today's national security challenges, and continue supporting our troops and their families," the letter (pdf) reads.

What’s Behind The Biden Administration’s New $100 Billion Nuclear Missile System?

March 19, 2021 Jeremy Kuzmarov, Covert Action Magazine. Educate! Congress, Joe Biden, Military Industrial Complex, Nuclear Weapons

One of the more important tasks that the Biden administration will undertake this year will be to review the Pentagon’s nuclear weapons budget and modernization strategy. According to a 2019 Congressional Budget Office report, the U.S. is committed to spending $494 billion on its nuclear forces over the next decade, or about $50 billion per year. Over the next three decades, nuclear weapons modernization plans could cost as much as $1.5-$2 trillion. This total includes investment in a $100 billion Ground Based Strategic Deterrent (GBSD), a land-based nuclear missile, which is slated to replace the aging Minuteman III Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM).

Workers Insist The $15 Minimum Wage Fight Isn’t Over

March 15, 2021 Joe Maniscalco, DC Report. Organize! Congress, Democrats, Joe Biden, Minimum Wage

Women comprise the overwhelming majority of frontline workers who risk their lives and the lives of their families during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. But the Democrats who they helped retake the White House and the Senate don’t seem so interested in rewarding that support. The proposal to set a $15 an hour minimum wage by 2025 in President Joe Biden’s signature $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan could have helped lift some 74 million poor and low-income women out of poverty, according to the Poor People’s Campaign. But eight Senate Democrats opposed the measure. Team Biden also declined to challenge arcane and non-binding parliamentary procedures, supposedly prohibiting a $15 minimum wage in the coronavirus relief package.

H.R. 1 Has Poison Pill To Kill Minor Party Competition

March 11, 2021 Mike Feinstein, Maryland Matters. Educate! Congress, Democracy, Elections, Third Party Politics

With much fanfare among voting rights, electoral reform and good government advocates, H.R. 1 — the For the People Act — has passed the House and is now on the way to the Senate. Authored by Maryland’s own John Sarbanes (D-3rd), H.R. 1 is an omnibus electoral reform bill allegedly intended to strengthen voting rights, enhance campaign finance reform, and address government ethics and corruption in politics. Together with H.R. 4 — the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act — H.R. 1 is a pillar of the Democrats’ response to our country’s democracy crisis. But democracy for whom? H.R. 1 contains a poison pill designed to reduce political competition and voter choice by weakening minor parties, at exactly a time where, according to a recent Gallup poll, support for a third party is at an all-time high.

Tell Congress To Support Pro-Democracy Movement In Haiti

March 11, 2021 Woy Magazine. Resist! Congress, Haiti, Joe Biden, US Regime Change

On Friday, March 12, 2021, the Committee on Foreign Affairs will host a hearing on policy recommendations for the Biden Administration regarding the constitutional crisis in Haiti. This crisis, exacerbated by Jovenel Moise’s refusal to step down from power after his presidential mandate ended, is threatening to submerge Haiti into yet another dictatorship. Inspired by Haitian activists on the ground and online, Woy Magazine has put together a comprehensive guide to help Haitian-Americans call their Congressional Representatives and demand that President Joe Biden to respect the clear limits set in place by the Haitian constitution and cease all support for the Moise regime. Calling your Congressional representative can be daunting, but as a constituent it is your right to have your voice heard regarding the pressing issues you care about — Haiti, certainly included.

Doing Too Little In This Crisis Will Come Back To Haunt The US Economy

March 6, 2021 Thea M. Lee, Economic Policy Institute. Educate! American Rescue Plan, Congress, Minimum Wage, Recession

The $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan (ARP) is essential to a robust and equitable recovery. The risk of doing too little is far greater than the risk of doing too much, and the American Rescue Plan meets the scale of the crisis. The overall size and components of the ARP have been carefully studied and considered. Given the balance of risks facing the economy and the danger of delay, passing the plan at its current scale and composition is the most prudent thing policymakers can do to ensure a rapid and fair recovery. Clearly, this is necessary. As the Senate debates what belongs in the final relief bill this week, policymakers must not shortchange aid to state and local governments, which is essential to a robust recovery.

The George Floyd Act Wouldn’t Have Saved George Floyd’s Life

March 5, 2021 Derecka Purnell, The Guardian. Educate! Congress, George Floyd, Police violence

On Wednesday night, the House of Representatives voted to pass the George Floyd Act, named after the Black man killed by Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin last summer. Among many reforms, the act seeks to ban racial profiling, overhaul qualified immunity for police, and ban the use of chokeholds. While these seem like good measures, they are woefully insufficient to stop police violence. These reforms could not have even saved George Floyd’s life. To be clear, Floyd did not die from a chokehold. A police officer put his knee to Floyd’s neck for eight minutes and 46 seconds. A medical examiner’s autopsy reported “cardiopulmonary arrest complicating law enforcement subdual, restraint and neck compression”. Floyd also had blunt force trauma to his head, face and shoulders. Banning chokeholds is important, as we should reduce the number of tactics that the police can employ to be dangerous.

We Should Be Taxing The Rich, Not The Unemployed

March 4, 2021 Jake Johnson, Commondreams. Create! Congress, Democrats, Taxes, Unemployment benefits

With tax season well underway, many Americans who lost their jobs due to the coronavirus pandemic and found some relief in supercharged unemployment benefits last year are discovering that they now owe the federal government hundreds—even thousands—of dollars in surprise payments, an economic nightmare for low-income people and a looming political catastrophe for the party currently in power. Because unemployment benefits in the United States are classified as taxable income, a potentially significant portion of the estimated 40 million Americans who received unemployment insurance (UI) in 2020 "will be in for a rude awakening" when they find out "they are on the hook for thousands of dollars in owed income taxes at the federal and, in some cases, the state level," Brian Galle and Elizabeth Pancotti warned in a report for The Century Foundation last month.

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