#U.S. Representative Mario Diaz-Balart

[minnesotafollower]

Congressional Opposition to U.S. Helping Cuban Private Businesses  

As previously noted, the Biden Administration has been developing regulations to allow private Cuban entrepreneurs to open bank accounts in the United States to facilitate their operations and allow U.S. banks to clear dollar transactions originating in third countries that involve Cuban nationals. But those proposed regulations have not yet been publicly announced.[1] The apparent reason for…

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U.S. users email your representatives this, and make sure to include your zip code:

I am your constituent. I am strongly in favor of defunding Israel. I want my opinion logged on every single one of these pieces of legislation. It is an atrocity that the USA is sending our taxpayer dollars, weaponry, and other support to Israel in order to aid in the genocide of the Palestinian people. It does not reflect the will of your constituents, and I demand that you correct this by voting for/against the following bills, resolutions, and legislation.

To be frank, I will be basing my vote for you in upcoming elections on this issue. I will be watching closely to see how you vote on issues regarding funding to Israel. I will not vote for you in the next election if you vote to send any money, support, or weaponry to Israel. I will be voting for you if you vote to block money, support, and weaponry to Israel.

This is the current legislation I am for, and the current legislation I am against. I would like your office to record my opinion for each bill, and I would like you to take this into consideration when you vote.

I am FOR the following, and expect you to vote for this and co-sponsor, either now or when matching legislation reaches your office.

H.Res. 786: by Rep. Cori Bush

H.Res. 388 by Rep. Rashida Tlaib

H.R. 3103 by Rep. Betty McCollum

I am against Joe Biden’s proposal to spend billions of dollars on Israel via a package for Israel, Ukraine, Taiwan, and the US border. Biden is asking for $100 BILLION for this package and it is only 1 YEAR'S worth of funding. This is ABSOLUTELY unacceptable, and I am against you voting for ANY bill that spends even $1 on Israel. I do not care what else is in the bill. If it gives money to Israel, I am against it.

I am AGAINST the following, and expect you to vote against this and not co-sponsor, either now or when matching legislation reaches your office.

S. 3083 by Sen. Bill Hagerty [R-TN]

S.Res. 417 by Sen. Charles “Chuck” Schumer [D-NY]

H.Res. 797 by Rep. Cory Mills [R-FL7]

S. 3081 by Sen. Steve Daines [R-MT]

H.Res. 796 by Rep. Ernest “Tony” Gonzales [R-TX23]

S.Res. 413 by Sen. Marco Rubio

H.R. 552 by Rep. Lance Gooden

H.R. 5959 by Thomas Tiffany

S. 3081 by Sen. Steve Daines

H.Res. 789 by Rep. Jefferson Van Drew

H.Res. 771 by Rep. Michael McCaul

H.R. 5932 by Rep. David Schweikert

H.Res. 768 by Rep. Michael McCaul

H.Res. 770 by Rep. Zachary (Zach) Nunn

H.Res. 701 by Rep. Bradley “Brad” Schneider

H.Con.Res. 61 by Rep. Janice “Jan” Schakowsky

S. 2587 by Sen. Jon Tester

H.Res. 606 by Rep. Andrew Ogles

S. 2413 by Sen. Robert “Bob” Menendez

S. 2438 by Sen. Christopher Coons

H.R. 4709 by Rep. Josh Gottheimer

S.Con.Res. 14: by Sen. Tom Cotton

H.Con.Res. 57 by Rep. August Pfluger

H.R. 4665 by Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart

S. 2265 by Sen. Dan Sullivan

S. 2226 by Sen. John F. “Jack” Reed

H.Res. 581 by Rep. Gregory Steube

S. 2240 by Sen. Christopher Coons

H.R. 4564 by Rep. Claudia Tenney

H.R. 4365 by Rep. Ken Calvert

H.R. 4076 by Rep. Chris Pappas

H.R. 3932 by Rep. Michael Turner

H.R. 3907 by Rep. Lois Frankel

S. 1802 by Sen. Gary Peters

H.R. 3792 by Rep. Joe Wilson

S. 1777 by Sen. Jacky Rosen

H.R. 3393 by Rep. Carlos Gimenez

H.Res. 409 by Rep. Carlos Gimenez

S. 1637 by Sen. Marco Rubio

H.R. 3266 by Rep. Brad Sherman

S. 1504 by Sen. Tom Cotton

H.R. 3099 by Rep. Michael Lawler

S.Res. 188 by Sen. Robert “Bob” Menendez

H.Res. 346 by Rep. Randy Weber

H.R. 2973 by Rep. Cathy Anne McMorris Rodgers

S. 1334: by Sen. Jacky Rosen

S. 1300 by Sen. Benjamin Cardin

H.Res. 311 by Rep. Ann Wagner

H.R. 2670 by Rep. Mike Rogers

H.R. 2531 by Rep. Bradley “Brad” Schneider

S. 1143 by Sen. Jerry Moran

H.R. 1777 by Rep. Joe Wilson

H.R. 1218 by Rep. August Pfluger

H.R. 1102 by Rep. Chip Roy

S. 510 by Sen. Tom Cotton

S. 489 by Sen. Rick Scott

S. 430 by Sen. James Risch

S. 431 by Sen. James Risch

H.R. 987 by Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz

H.Res. 92 by Rep. Josh Gottheimer

H.Res. 76 by Rep. Max Miller

H.R. 687 by Rep. Gregory Steube

H.R. 211 by Rep. Gregory Steube

S. 224 by Sen. Tom Cotton

S. 189 by Sen. Marco Rubio

I am against any legislation that allows troops to deploy to the Middle East in support roles for Israel, as proposed by Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin.

I am against Netanyahu’s ground invasion of Gaza, which will inevitably lead to mass killings of Palestinian civilians and escalate violence. If there are any future bills supporting this, you need to vote against them and not co-sponsor.

The U.S. Constitution and the War Powers Act stipulate that only Congress can authorize the president to use military force in a foreign war, except in cases of self-defense. Previous administrations from both parties have ignored this, with unauthorized strikes in places like Syria and Libya. I want you to stand against ANY use of military force that supports Israel or hurts Palestine.

And of course, I am against the usual funding of $3.8 billion PER YEAR to Israel. This 10-year agreement began in 2016. I do not want a renewal in 2026, and in the next election, I will vote for representatives who WILL NOT VOTE TO FUND ISRAEL. I will be keeping track of how you vote now, and I will not vote for you if you decide to fund Israel in any way.

I am a single-issue voter for this. I want you to defund Israel. I do not want a single dollar spent on supporting Israel. I will be paying attention to how you vote in the upcoming weeks and months, and if you vote to fund or provide weapons, troops, or intelligence to Israel, I will NOT vote for you in the next election.

We are paying attention to the budget. We know when you're giving aid to a country committing genocide instead of helping your constituents in the USA. Both myself and tens of thousands of other constituents have spent years saying that we don’t want our hard-earned taxpayer dollars going to Israel. The lack of willingness to fund anything for American citizens, but the quickness with which you take action for Israel is telling. It is unacceptable.

As an elected official, you have the opportunity to listen to the public and stand against genocide. Israel is currently committing war crimes against Palestine. You can stop this by defunding Israel. THOUSANDS of Palestinian people have been killed, 1/3 of them children, in just a couple of days. One child every 15 minutes is being killed. YOU can prevent this by refusing to send additional weapons and funding to Israel.

We are currently spending BILLIONS of dollars EVERY YEAR on Israel. I do not want my money going towards the ethnic cleansing and genocide of Palestinians. Not a dollar more.

[wafact]

Texas congressman who broke with GOP is censured

Co-Chairmen U.S. Representative Tony Gonzales (R-TX) and Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart (R-FL) lead a news conference with members of the House Hispanic Conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, February 1, 2023. Jonathan Ernst | Reuters Republican U.S. Rep. Tony Gonzales of Texas was censured Saturday in a rare move by his state party over votes that included supporting new gun safety laws after the…

[loosekraken]

Wyoming U.S. Senator > Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) .....says ‘there are not enough Democrats’ to help Liz Cheney win primary , Hummmm John.......I'm not real sure about that one....in light of what will go down right before mid-terms I find it hard to believe that there will be enough Republicans left in Congress in the numbers permitting them to do a darn thing , literally ..with the numbers left why would the Repubs even show up for work ?.......As Close to Mid-Terms as possible , allowing time for a response but no time for an repub party electoral rescue mission , Plaintiffs will file a Federal Complaint which shall remove B4 the Mid-Term Elctions a TOTAL of One Hundred & Fifty-Three Congresspersons from Congress Fourteen (14) Current Congressional SENATORS ........................... **** Ted Cruz (TX) **** **** Josh Hawley (MO) **** Cindy Hyde-Smith (MS) Cynthia Lummis (WY) **** John Kennedy (LA) **** ( "must really suck to be that dumb ! " ) Roger Marshall (KS) **** Rick Scott (FL) **** **** Tommy Tuberville (AL) **** Bill Hagerty (TN) **** Kelly Loeffler (GA) **** James Lankford (OK) Steve Daines (MT) Mike Braun (IND) **** Marsha Blackburn (TN) ****

And One Hundred & Thirty-Nine (139) Current Congressional Representatives from Office on a permanent basis with referrals to the DOJ for Criminal Prosecutions , Violation of Oath of Office at a min (federal felony 1 yr prison & removal from office & bar/ban from any & all federal employment , ever ............

Robert Aderholt (AL) Rick Allen (GA) Jodey Arrington (TX) Brian Babin (TX) Jim Baird (IN) Jim Banks (IN) Cliff Bentz (OR) Jack Bergman (MI) Stephanie Bice (OK) **** Andy Biggs (AZ) **** Dan Bishop (NC) **** Lauren Boebert (CO) **** Mike Bost (IL) **** Mo Brooks (AL) **** Ted Budd (NC) Tim Burchett (TN) Michael Burgess (TX) Ken Calvert (CA) Kat Cammack (FL) Jerry Carl (AL) Buddy Carter (GA) John Carter (TX) **** Madison Cawthorn (NC) **** Steve Chabot (OH) Ben Cline (VA) Michael Cloud (TX) Andrew Clyde (GA) Tom Cole (OK) Rick Crawford (AR) Warren Davidson (OH) Scott DesJarlais (TN) Mario Diaz-Balart (FL) Byron Donalds (FL) Jeff Duncan (SC) Neal Dunn (FL) Ron Estes (KS) Pat Fallon (TX) Michelle Fischbach (MN) Scott Fitzgerald (WI) Chuck Fleischmann (TN) Virginia Foxx (NC) Scott Franklin (FL) Russ Fulcher (ID) **** Matt Gaetz (FL) **** Mike Garcia (CA) Bob Gibbs (OH) Carlos Gimenez (FL) **** Louie Gohmert (TX) **** Bob Good (VA) Lance Gooden (TX) **** Paul Gosar (AZ) **** Garret Graves (LA) Sam Graves (MO) Mark Green (TN) **** Marjorie Greene (GA) **** Morgan Griffith (VA) Michael Guest (MS) Jim Hagedorn (MN) Andy Harris (MD) Diana Harshbarger (TN) Vicky Hartzler (MO) Kevin Hern (OK) Yvette Herrell (NM) Jody Hice (GA) **** Clay Higgins (LA) **** Richard Hudson (NC) Darrell Issa (CA) **** Ronny Jackson (TX) **** Chris Jacobs (NY) Mike Johnson (LA) Bill Johnson (OH) **** Jim Jordan (OH) **** John Joyce (PA) Fred Keller (PA) Trent Kelly (MS) Mike Kelly (PA) David Kustoff (TN) Doug LaMalfa (CA) Doug Lamborn (CO) Jacob LaTurner (KS) Debbie Lesko (AZ) Billy Long (MO) Barry Loudermilk (GA) Frank Lucas (OK) Blaine Luetkemeyer (MO) Nicole Malliotakis (NY) Tracey Mann (KS) Brian Mast (FL) **** Kevin McCarthy (CA) **** Lisa McClain (MI) Daniel Meuser (PA) Mary Miller (IL) Carol Miller (WV) Alex Mooney (WV) Barry Moore (AL) Markwayne Mullin (OK) Gregory Murphy (NC) Troy Nehls (TX) Ralph Norman (SC) **** Devin Nunes (CA) **** Jay Obernolte (CA) Burgess Owens (UT) Steven Palazzo (MS) Gary Palmer (AL) Greg Pence (IN) **** Scott Perry (PA) **** August Pfluger (TX) Bill Posey (FL) Guy Reschenthaler (PA) Tom Rice (SC) Mike Rogers (AL) Hal Rogers (KY) John Rose (TN) Matt Rosendale (MT) David Rouzer (NC) John Rutherford (FL) **** Steve Scalise (LA) **** David Schweikert (AZ) **** Pete Sessions (TX) **** Jason Smith (MO) Adrian Smith (NE) Lloyd Smucker (PA) Elise Stefanik (NY) Greg Steube (FL) Chris Stewart (UT) Glenn Thompson (PA) Tom Tiffany (WI) William Timmons (SC) Jefferson Van Drew (NJ) Beth Van Duyne (TX) Tim Walberg (MI) Jackie Walorski (IN) Randy Weber (TX) Daniel Webster (FL) Roger Williams (TX) Joe Wilson (SC) Rob Wittman (VA) Ron Wright (TX) Lee Zeldin (NY)

[msfangirlgonewild]

Michael Moore posted on Facebook:

Immediately Remove The Republicans Who Voted In Favor of the Terrorists’ Demands

It’s not just Trump who has to go. The Constitution is clear. Any member of Congress who participates in an “insurrection or rebellion” is in violation of the oath they took to defend and uphold the Constitution — and thus they may no longer serve in Congress. Section 3 of the Fourteenth Amendment, written initially to exclude Confederate Civil War traitors, says that "No person shall be a Senator or Representative in Congress … who … having previously taken an oath, as a member of Congress … to support the Constitution of the United States, shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same[.]"

There are 147 Republican members of the Senate and the House who late last Wednesday night (and into the early hours of Thursday morning) — just hours after a domestic terrorist attack on the Capitol which they and Trump helped to incite — voted to overturn (throw out) the legal and already-certified votes of millions of Americans in the states of Pennsylvania and Arizona. It was an act of sedition and a flagrant violation of their oath of office. Legal experts and other members of Congress have called it an act of treason. THIS MUST BE DEALT WITH. They must be, as the Constitution requires, removed from Congress.

Here are their names. And to be clear: The cop-killing terrorist mob who attacked, trashed, took over and shut down our United States Congress for seven hours — the first time in history this has ever happened — their terrorist demands and their stated intention was to prevent the counting of the votes of millions of Americans and illegally give the election to Trump. So what did these 147 Republican lawmakers do just hours after these domestic terrorists stormed the Capitol in the hopes of killing, harming or kidnapping some of their fellow representatives, including their Republican Vice-President!? They voted to give in to the terrorists’ demands! And do EXACTLY what the cop-killing mob had demanded they do: Throw out the votes of the American people! Imagine if on the night of 9/11, 147 Republican members of Congress voted to give in to the demands of Al Qaeda. We never would have stood for that and we would have had them all arrested. But of course there’s a difference: Bin Laden wanted to take down buildings in the financial and military capitols of America and kill 3,000 people in the process. These 147 Republicans just wanted to take down American Democracy.

ALL 147 OF THEM MUST BE REMOVED IMMEDIATELY PER SECTION 3 OF THE 14th AMENDMENT OF THE UNITED STATES CONSTITUTION:

(Here Are the 147 Republicans Who Voted to Overturn the Certified Election Results)

U.S. SENATE

Tommy Tuberville, Ala.

Rick Scott, Fla.

Roger Marshall, Kan.

John Kennedy, La.

Cindy Hyde-Smith, Miss.

Josh Hawley, Mo.

Ted Cruz, Texas

Cynthia Lummis, Wyo.

U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Robert B. Aderholt, Ala.

Mo Brooks, Ala.

Jerry Carl, Ala.

Barry Moore, Ala.

Gary Palmer, Ala.

Mike Rogers, Ala.

Andy Biggs, Ariz.

Paul Gosar, Ariz.

Debbie Lesko, Ariz.

David Schweikert, Ariz.

Rick Crawford, Ark.

Ken Calvert, Calif.

Mike Garcia, Calif.

Darrell Issa, Calif.

Doug LaMalfa, Calif.

Kevin McCarthy, Calif.

Devin Nunes, Calif.

Jay Obernolte, Calif.

Lauren Boebert, Colo.

Doug Lamborn, Colo.

Kat Cammack, Fla.

Mario Diaz-Balart, Fla.

Byron Donalds, Fla.

Neal Dunn, Fla.

Scott Franklin, Fla.

Matt Gaetz, Fla.

Carlos Gimenez, Fla.

Brian Mast, Fla.

Bill Posey, Fla.

John Rutherford, Fla.

Greg Steube, Fla.

Daniel Webster, Fla.

Rick Allen, Ga.

Earl L. "Buddy" Carter, Ga.

Andrew Clyde, Ga.

Marjorie Taylor Greene, Ga.

Jody Hice, Ga.

Barry Loudermilk, Ga.

Russ Fulcher, Idaho

Mike Bost, Ill.

Mary Miller, Ill.

Jim Baird, Ind.

Jim Banks, Ind.

Greg Pence, Ind.

Jackie Walorski, Ind.

Ron Estes, Kan.

Jacob LaTurner, Kan.

Tracey Mann, Kan.

Harold Rogers, Ky.

Garret Graves, La.

Clay Higgins, La.

Mike Johnson, La.

Steve Scalise, La.

Andy Harris, Md.

Jack Bergman, Mich.

Lisa McClain, Mich.

Tim Walberg, Mich.

Michelle Fischbach, Minn.

Jim Hagedorn, Minn.

Michael Guest, Miss.

Trent Kelly, Miss.

Steven Palazzo, Miss.

Sam Graves, Mo.

Vicky Hartzler, Mo.

Billy Long, Mo.

Blaine Luetkemeyer, Mo.

Jason Smith, Mo.

Matt Rosendale, Mont.

Dan Bishop, N.C.

Ted Budd, N.C.

Madison Cawthorn, N.C.

Virginia Foxx, N.C.

Richard Hudson, N.C.

Gregory F. Murphy, N.C.

David Rouzer, N.C.

Jeff Van Drew, N.J.

Yvette Herrell, N.M.

Chris Jacobs, N.Y.

Nicole Malliotakis, N.Y.

Elise M. Stefanik, N.Y.

Lee Zeldin, N.Y.

Adrian Smith, Neb.

Steve Chabot, Ohio

Warren Davidson, Ohio

Bob Gibbs, Ohio

Bill Johnson, Ohio

Jim Jordan, Ohio

Stephanie Bice, Okla.

Tom Cole, Okla.

Kevin Hern, Okla.

Frank Lucas, Okla.

Markwayne Mullin, Okla.

Cliff Bentz, Ore.

John Joyce, Pa.

Fred Keller, Pa.

Mike Kelly, Pa.

Daniel Meuser, Pa.

Scott Perry, Pa.

Guy Reschenthaler, Pa.

Lloyd Smucker, Pa.

Glenn Thompson, Pa.

Jeff Duncan, S.C.

Ralph Norman, S.C.

Tom Rice, S.C.

William Timmons, S.C.

Joe Wilson, S.C.

Tim Burchett, Tenn.

Scott DesJarlais, Tenn.

Chuck Fleischmann, Tenn.

Mark E. Green, Tenn.

Diana Harshbarger, Tenn.

David Kustoff, Tenn.

John Rose, Tenn.

Jodey Arrington, Texas

Brian Babin, Texas

Michael C. Burgess, Texas

John R. Carter, Texas

Michael Cloud, Texas

Pat Fallon, Texas

Louie Gohmert, Texas

Lance Gooden, Texas

Ronny Jackson, Texas

Troy Nehls, Texas

August Pfluger, Texas

Pete Sessions, Texas

Beth Van Duyne, Texas

Randy Weber, Texas

Roger Williams, Texas

Ron Wright, Texas

Burgess Owens, Utah

Chris Stewart, Utah

Ben Cline, Va.

Bob Good, Va.

Morgan Griffith, Va.

Robert J. Wittman, Va.

Carol Miller, W.Va.

Alexander X. Mooney, W.Va.

Scott Fitzgerald, Wis.

Tom Tiffany, Wis.

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2021/01/07/us/elections/electoral-college-biden-objectors.html (photo collage courtesy of the NY Times)

[removedreality]

Immediately Remove The Republicans Who Voted In Favor of the Terrorists’ Demands

It’s not just Trump who has to go. The Constitution is clear. Any member of Congress who participates in an “insurrection or rebellion” is in violation of the oath they took to defend and uphold the Constitution — and thus they may no longer serve in Congress. Section 3 of the Fourteenth Amendment, written initially to exclude Confederate Civil War traitors, says that "No person shall be a Senator or Representative in Congress … who … having previously taken an oath, as a member of Congress … to support the Constitution of the United States, shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same[.]"

There are 147 Republican members of the Senate and the House who late last Wednesday night (and into the early hours of Thursday morning) — just hours after a domestic terrorist attack on the Capitol which they and Trump helped to incite — voted to overturn (throw out) the legal and already-certified votes of millions of Americans in the states of Pennsylvania and Arizona. It was an act of sedition and a flagrant violation of their oath of office. Legal experts and other members of Congress have called it an act of treason. THIS MUST BE DEALT WITH. They must be, as the Constitution requires, removed from Congress.

Here are their names. And to be clear: The cop-killing terrorist mob who attacked, trashed, took over and shut down our United States Congress for seven hours — the first time in history this has ever happened — their terrorist demands and their stated intention was to prevent the counting of the votes of millions of Americans and illegally give the election to Trump. So what did these 147 Republican lawmakers do just hours after these domestic terrorists stormed the Capitol in the hopes of killing, harming or kidnapping some of their fellow representatives, including their Republican Vice-President!? They voted to give in to the terrorists’ demands! And do EXACTLY what the cop-killing mob had demanded they do: Throw out the votes of the American people! Imagine if on the night of 9/11, 147 Republican members of Congress voted to give in to the demands of Al Qaeda. We never would have stood for that and we would have had them all arrested. But of course there’s a difference: Bin Laden wanted to take down buildings in the financial and military capitols of America and kill 3,000 people in the process. These 147 Republicans just wanted to take down American Democracy.

ALL 147 OF THEM MUST BE REMOVED IMMEDIATELY PER SECTION 3 OF THE 14th AMENDMENT OF THE UNITED STATES CONSTITUTION:

(Here Are the 147 Republicans Who Voted to Overturn the Certified Election Results)

U.S. SENATE

Tommy Tuberville, Ala.

Rick Scott, Fla.

Roger Marshall, Kan.

John Kennedy, La.

Cindy Hyde-Smith, Miss.

Josh Hawley, Mo.

Ted Cruz, Texas

Cynthia Lummis, Wyo.

U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Robert B. Aderholt, Ala.

Mo Brooks, Ala.

Jerry Carl, Ala.

Barry Moore, Ala.

Gary Palmer, Ala.

Mike Rogers, Ala.

Andy Biggs, Ariz.

Paul Gosar, Ariz.

Debbie Lesko, Ariz.

David Schweikert, Ariz.

Rick Crawford, Ark.

Ken Calvert, Calif.

Mike Garcia, Calif.

Darrell Issa, Calif.

Doug LaMalfa, Calif.

Kevin McCarthy, Calif.

Devin Nunes, Calif.

Jay Obernolte, Calif.

Lauren Boebert, Colo.

Doug Lamborn, Colo.

Kat Cammack, Fla.

Mario Diaz-Balart, Fla.

Byron Donalds, Fla.

Neal Dunn, Fla.

Scott Franklin, Fla.

Matt Gaetz, Fla.

Carlos Gimenez, Fla.

Brian Mast, Fla.

Bill Posey, Fla.

John Rutherford, Fla.

Greg Steube, Fla.

Daniel Webster, Fla.

Rick Allen, Ga.

Earl L. "Buddy" Carter, Ga.

Andrew Clyde, Ga.

Marjorie Taylor Greene, Ga.

Jody Hice, Ga.

Barry Loudermilk, Ga.

Russ Fulcher, Idaho

Mike Bost, Ill.

Mary Miller, Ill.

Jim Baird, Ind.

Jim Banks, Ind.

Greg Pence, Ind.

Jackie Walorski, Ind.

Ron Estes, Kan.

Jacob LaTurner, Kan.

Tracey Mann, Kan.

Harold Rogers, Ky.

Garret Graves, La.

Clay Higgins, La.

Mike Johnson, La.

Steve Scalise, La.

Andy Harris, Md.

Jack Bergman, Mich.

Lisa McClain, Mich.

Tim Walberg, Mich.

Michelle Fischbach, Minn.

Jim Hagedorn, Minn.

Michael Guest, Miss.

Trent Kelly, Miss.

Steven Palazzo, Miss.

Sam Graves, Mo.

Vicky Hartzler, Mo.

Billy Long, Mo.

Blaine Luetkemeyer, Mo.

Jason Smith, Mo.

Matt Rosendale, Mont.

Dan Bishop, N.C.

Ted Budd, N.C.

Madison Cawthorn, N.C.

Virginia Foxx, N.C.

Richard Hudson, N.C.

Gregory F. Murphy, N.C.

David Rouzer, N.C.

Jeff Van Drew, N.J.

Yvette Herrell, N.M.

Chris Jacobs, N.Y.

Nicole Malliotakis, N.Y.

Elise M. Stefanik, N.Y.

Lee Zeldin, N.Y.

Adrian Smith, Neb.

Steve Chabot, Ohio

Warren Davidson, Ohio

Bob Gibbs, Ohio

Bill Johnson, Ohio

Jim Jordan, Ohio

Stephanie Bice, Okla.

Tom Cole, Okla.

Kevin Hern, Okla.

Frank Lucas, Okla.

Markwayne Mullin, Okla.

Cliff Bentz, Ore.

John Joyce, Pa.

Fred Keller, Pa.

Mike Kelly, Pa.

Daniel Meuser, Pa.

Scott Perry, Pa.

Guy Reschenthaler, Pa.

Lloyd Smucker, Pa.

Glenn Thompson, Pa.

Jeff Duncan, S.C.

Ralph Norman, S.C.

Tom Rice, S.C.

William Timmons, S.C.

Joe Wilson, S.C.

Tim Burchett, Tenn.

Scott DesJarlais, Tenn.

Chuck Fleischmann, Tenn.

Mark E. Green, Tenn.

Diana Harshbarger, Tenn.

David Kustoff, Tenn.

John Rose, Tenn.

Jodey Arrington, Texas

Brian Babin, Texas

Michael C. Burgess, Texas

John R. Carter, Texas

Michael Cloud, Texas

Pat Fallon, Texas

Louie Gohmert, Texas

Lance Gooden, Texas

Ronny Jackson, Texas

Troy Nehls, Texas

August Pfluger, Texas

Pete Sessions, Texas

Beth Van Duyne, Texas

Randy Weber, Texas

Roger Williams, Texas

Ron Wright, Texas

Burgess Owens, Utah

Chris Stewart, Utah

Ben Cline, Va.

Bob Good, Va.

Morgan Griffith, Va.

Robert J. Wittman, Va.

Carol Miller, W.Va.

Alexander X. Mooney, W.Va.

Scott Fitzgerald, Wis.

Tom Tiffany, Wis.

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2021/01/07/us/elections/electoral-college-biden-objectors.html (photo collage courtesy of the NY Times)

[theliberaltony]

via Politics – FiveThirtyEight

Last Wednesday, two U.S. representatives — Republican Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart of Florida and Democratic Rep. Ben McAdams of Utah — tested positive for the new coronavirus. And over the weekend, GOP Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky said he had tested positive. In total, nearly 30 House members are at some stage of self-quarantine and five senators are self-quarantining.

The outbreak of the coronavirus on Capitol Hill has underscored just how ill-equipped Congress is to govern when its members cannot be physically present. Already five Senate Republicans had to miss Sunday’s vote to pass an emergency economic stimulus package because they were quarantined. And if more members become unable to appear in the Senate or House chambers, we could eventually see a struggle to achieve an in-person quorum.

Technically, the Constitution only requires the Senate and House to have a majority of members present to establish a quorum to pass legislation, but both chambers have rules that require senators and representatives to be physically present to cast votes. Leadership in both chambers also largely oppose allowing members to vote without being physically present, but this hasn’t stopped some legislators from renewing calls for remote voting.

In the Senate, Democratic Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin and Republican Sen. Rob Portman introduced a resolution to allow for remote voting for up to 30 days under extraordinary circumstances. After that, the measure could be extended if three-fifths of the Senate votes in favor.

But Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell expressed opposition, telling reporters last week, “We will deal with the social distancing issue without fundamentally changing Senate rules.” The Senate has tweaked its procedures to increase the amount of time allotted for each vote so that fewer senators have to be on the floor at the same time, but at this point, it hasn’t made moves toward any larger overhauls.

In the House, Democratic Reps. Katie Porter and Eric Swalwell of California and Republican Rep. Van Taylor of Texas have asked House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy to adopt rules for remote voting, and more than 50 members have signed onto the request. There isn’t a specific piece of legislation attached to the letter, but Pelosi did ask House Rules Committee Chairman Jim McGovern to examine the issue, and on Monday the committee released a memo reviewing possible adjustments to voting procedures. It sounded a dubious note on the use of remote voting, but was more supportive of proxy voting — whereby an absent member has another member vote on her behalf — which has precedent in the House and Senate (the Senate allows proxy voting in committee).

The memo’s opposition to remote voting lines up with the views of the House leadership. Pelosi has said privately that she opposes remote voting, though the House is planning to alter its voting procedure in some way. McCarthy is also skeptical, particularly about how remote voting would work with parliamentary motions, which may require members to interject quickly to be heard.

To better understand the stakes of Congress voting remotely, I spoke with two legal experts — one in favor of such a step and the other opposed. Daniel Hemel, a professor at the University of Chicago School of Law and proponent of remote voting, stressed to me that there is nothing in the Constitution stopping Congress from allowing members to cast votes from afar.

Yes, the Constitution requires a quorum for the Senate and House to conduct business, but it doesn’t say anything about lawmakers having to be physically present. That requirement comes from chamber rules, which Hemel argues could be rewritten to allow for remote voting in crisis situations. While there might be security concerns, Hemel pointed out that corporate boards permit videoconferencing to count toward a quorum, so it’s unclear why Congress would be incapable of using a similar system to conduct its business.

If remote voting isn’t adopted, Hemel suggested COVID-19 could cause other problems too. “You can imagine a circumstance where one party actually gets a majority because the other party is more affected,” said Hemel, which could create concerns about the long-term legitimacy of votes taken in such circumstances.

Case in point: All five senators currently quarantined are Republican, which has reduced the GOP’s edge in the Senate from 53-47 to 48-47. This has already affected the party’s ability to advance an economic stimulus bill on Sunday, although even without the quarantine, Republicans would have needed some Democratic votes to move forward because of cloture rules, and both sides voted the party line. Still, we can see how abstentions due to health concerns could make it difficult for lawmakers to weigh in on vital issues down the line.

But Joshua Huder, a senior fellow at Georgetown University’s Government Affairs Institute, worries that remote voting could make it easier for leadership to ride roughshod over their party’s legislators. “We’re already at a place where party leaders have outsized control over the policymaking process,” said Huder. “When the rank-and-file aren’t around for the backroom deals and negotiations, you create a legislature that’s a rubber stamp for what the leaders want to pass.”

Huder didn’t rule out using alternate voting systems in a crisis, suggesting that members could remain in Washington and call in from their offices. But he did worry that remote voting would reduce face-to-face interactions, inevitably cutting down on members’ chances to make personal connections, which could exacerbate the divides that already exist in Washington. He also said it’s possible this could establish a precedent where remote voting was used in non-crisis situations because it becomes “a long-term or permanent solution through which Congress is going to pass legislation.”

Still, if the coronavirus crisis keeps getting worse in the U.S., there will be a lot of pressure on Congress — including from its own members — to make changes. “At a time when we’re asking Americans to make huge sacrifices to stop the spread of COVID-19, it is bad leadership for our politicians to then make none of those adjustments themselves,” said Hemel.

[nicepicsworld]

Governors, White House Race to Reopen America

An arms race of sorts has emerged between red states and blue states to reopen America, with Democrat and Republican governors developing rivaling plans to lead their states out of the darkness of the coronavirus crisis while the White House’s Coronavirus Task Force and President Donald Trump’s ultimate decision looms large over the country. Hundreds of millions of Americans are under some variation of stay-at-home orders in every state in the union, with all 50 states also having active disaster declarations—the first time such a crisis has ever swept the nation in her nearly 250-year history. The president has called the decision to reopen America for business the biggest he will ever make in his presidency, and his life, and is expected to roll out a new task force from the White House on Tuesday to detail his plans and lead the effort from Washington. The president has also said it is his decision—and his alone—to make, arguing Monday that he has the authority as the nation’s commander-in-chief to override any governors or local officials nationwide who may get in his way. That being said, while some Democrat governors have expressed unease with moving too quickly—in other words, they want to go on their own timetable, not Trump’s—there is an emerging competition between various governors nationwide to see who can get there first safely for the people of their state. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, a Republican, is eyeing a plan rollout as early as this week to begin opening parts of his state back up for commerce. During an interview on Sean Hannity’s program on Fox News on Monday evening, Abbott reiterated the need to get Texas back to work as early as this week—and definitely ahead of the previous schedule of May 1. “We want to open. Texans love to work. Texans are dying to get back to work,” Abbott said during the Hannity interview. “We want them to get back to work, but we have to do so in a very safe way so that we don’t regenerate the spread of the coronavirus in the state of Texas. But we’re working on strategis as we speak with medical experts and business leaders to find the right strategy so we can unleash our economy.” He added that he believes Texas—and many other states—can reopen well before May 1. “I think most states can reopen even sooner than later. We don’t have to wait until May 1,” Abbott said. The White House, sources familiar with the matter told Breitbart News, has a list of approximately 20 states they intend to begin the reopening process in as soon as potentially later this week but definitely before the end of April. The virus, public health and federal officials admit, has not lived up to the dire predictions that doomsday models had originally forecast. The vaunted Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) model from the University of Washington has been notoriously wrong, predicting first anywhere from 100,000 to 240,000 dead Americans, then dropping that several times in subsequent weeks down to 93,000, then 81,000, then down to 61,000. The IHME model, which is what the White House used to extend the original “15 days to slow the spread” out from ending at the end of March all the way until now April 30, has also been even more incorrect when it comes to hospitalization numbers. In fact, a little-noticed revision to the model—one of many that the organization has made in the past several weeks—announced that the United States has already passed the proverbial “peak” of the curve of the virus days ago when it comes to hospitalizations and now the modelers admit the virus is in retreat. 1/ Yes, the geniuses at @IHME_UW have updated their model again. According to them, we are now PAST the peak of hospitalizations – which were cut yet again, to 57,000 beds from 94,000 in the previous forecast (and 262,000 in the April 1 forecast – April Fool’s!)… pic.twitter.com/sCioDU9gtG — Alex Berenson (@AlexBerenson) April 13, 2020 Part of the reason why U.S. officials at the federal, state, and local level relied on these now demonstrably flawed models to make their public policy decisions is because they had no real-world data on the threat of the quickly-spreading disease. Chinese Communist officials in Beijing lied to the world—including the World Health Organization (WHO), which dutifully reprinted the inaccurate information the communists provided about the disease’s spread—and then Europe was rocked quickly by it as the virus took a major toll on Italy then Spain then France and the United Kingdom. Meanwhile, the coronavirus scared the public as celebrities like Tom Hanks and several NBA stars were infected early, and lawmakers like Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) as well as Reps. Ben McAdams (D-UT) and Mario Diaz-Balart (R-FL) were all infected. Each of those U.S. lawmakers has since recovered, but their infections combined with the infection of U.K. prime minister Boris Johnson—who was admitted to the ICU in a British hospital for treatment as his condition worsened, something he has since bounced back from as he continues his recovery outside the hospital—gripped American leaders with fear that even they were not invincible to the threat of the coronavirus. Despite all the high-profile cases, and what appeared to be a nasty perfect storm heading into April where U.S. hospitals would have been overrun and not enough ventilators would be available to treat the public as the virus spread, the models and projections have not come to pass. The models have been so badly inaccurate, in fact, that even Surgeon General Dr. Jerome Adams said during an appearance on Breitbart News Daily on SiriusXM 125 the Patriot Channel on Monday morning that the White House team is no longer using them—but instead making decisions on real world data. “It’s important to know that models are projections when you don’t have data,” Adams said. “Our original models were people’s best guesses, and/or they were informed by experiences in very different cultures and very different places. What the American people need to know now is we actually have data and we’re tracking that data and we’re not as reliant on these models as we are as say ‘this is what’s happening in California, this is what’s happening in New York, this is what’s happening in New Orleans.’ We���re following that data every single day and we’re giving that data to the community so they can make intelligent and informed decisions about when and where to reopen. It’s not going to be light-switch—just like it wasn’t a light-switch going off, it’s not going to be a light-switch going back on. Different communities will reopen sooner than other communities and they’ll have to do so based on their testing data—not a model, but actual data—and their capacity to be able to follow up on cases and isolate them. I feel confident that some places will start to reopen in May, June—other places won’t—it will be piece by piece, bit by bit, but it will be data-driven.” On that note, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo—a Democrat—said on Monday that his state has contained the virus, a huge win for the country as New York has represented the American epicenter of the disease. “We can control the spread. Feel good about that,” Cuomo said early on Monday, also adding, “because, by the way, we could have got to a point when we said we can’t control this damn thing.” “The worst is over,” Cuomo also said. After announcing those breakthroughs against the virus in New York, Cuomo then led a conference call with several Democrat governors from neighboring and nearby states like New Jersey, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Delaware, Pennsylvania, and others to discuss reopening the country. That effort came as the governors of Washington state, Oregon, and California each announced a pact between those western states to discuss reopening the country. This very interesting analysis came in just as the three Democratic governors of CA, OR, and WA announced a pact to reopen WITHOUT an explicit goal of no infections or deaths. (A long way from no @nfl season, as @CAgovernor said just days ago.) https://t.co/IBcM25I946 pic.twitter.com/5Nqw5yy29D — Alex Berenson (@AlexBerenson) April 13, 2020 Several other GOP governors in a number of states in addition to Texas are looking at reopening before May 1, too, Breitbart News has learned, though much remains in flux and depends on data that keeps rolling in this week. What these efforts by the White House and by these various governors—Republican and Democrat from all different parts of the country—could end up forcing, however, is essentially an arms race to reopen America. “Whoever figures it out first, good on them,” a former Trump White House official told Breitbart News. “They should be competing over who can safely open back up for business first and then instill confidence in their neighbors around the country, all while President Trump keeps edging the country back from the brink. if Texas leads the way or California does, it really doesn’t matter. We need to get the country back in business.” Read the full article

[minnesotafollower]

Cuban-American Congressmen Reiterate Call for Re-Designation of Cuba as "State Sponsor of Terrorism"

Cuban-American Congressmen Reiterate Call for Re-Designation of Cuba as “State Sponsor of Terrorism”

On July 10, 2019, two Republican Congressmen from Florida=–Mario Diaz-Balart and Francis Rooney– asked Secretary of State Pompeo to re-designate Cuba as a “state sponsor of terrorism.”[1]

Their letter said the following:

“We strongly commend you and President Trump and his administration for imposing tough sanctions on the brutal regime in Cuba, and for the unprecedented decision to allow…

[dirkpitt454]

The Sedition Caucus

This is a complete listing of the congressional representatives who supported disenfranchising legal voters in six U.S. states on January 6, 2021…every one of the following is a Republican:

U.S. Senate

Tommy Tuberville, Ala.

Rick Scott, Fla.

Roger Marshall, Kan.

John Kennedy, La.

Cindy Hyde-Smith, Miss.

Josh Hawley, Mo.

Ted Cruz, Texas

Cynthia Lummis, Wyo.

U.S. House of Representatives

Robert B. Aderholt, Ala.

Mo Brooks, Ala.

Jerry Carl, Ala.

Barry Moore, Ala.

Gary Palmer, Ala.

Mike Rogers, Ala.

Andy Biggs, Ariz.

Paul Gosar, Ariz.

Debbie Lesko, Ariz.

David Schweikert, Ariz.

Rick Crawford, Ark.

Ken Calvert, Calif.

Mike Garcia, Calif.

Darrell Issa, Calif.

Doug LaMalfa, Calif.

Kevin McCarthy, Calif.

Devin Nunes, Calif.

Jay Obernolte, Calif.

Lauren Boebert, Colo.

Doug Lamborn, Colo.

Kat Cammack, Fla.

Mario Diaz-Balart, Fla.

Byron Donalds, Fla.

Neal Dunn, Fla.

Scott Franklin, Fla.

Matt Gaetz, Fla.

Carlos Gimenez, Fla.

Brian Mast, Fla.

Bill Posey, Fla.

John Rutherford, Fla.

Greg Steube, Fla.

Daniel Webster, Fla.

Rick Allen, Ga.

Earl L. “Buddy” Carter, Ga.

Andrew Clyde, Ga. 

Marjorie Taylor Greene, Ga.

Jody Hice, Ga.

Barry Loudermilk, Ga.

Russ Fulcher, Idaho

Mike Bost, Ill.

Mary Miller, Ill.

Jim Baird, Ind.

Jim Banks, Ind.

Greg Pence, Ind.

Jackie Walorski, Ind.

Ron Estes, Kan.

Jacob LaTurner, Kan.

Tracey Mann, Kan.

Harold Rogers, Ky.

Garret Graves, La.

Clay Higgins, La.

Mike Johnson, La.

Steve Scalise, La.

Andy Harris, Md.

Jack Bergman, Mich.

Lisa McClain, Mich.

Tim Walberg, Mich.

Michelle Fischbach, Minn.

Jim Hagedorn, Minn.

Michael Guest, Miss.

Trent Kelly, Miss.

Steven Palazzo, Miss.

Sam Graves, Mo.

Vicky Hartzler, Mo.

Billy Long, Mo.

Blaine Luetkemeyer, Mo.

Jason Smith, Mo.

Matt Rosendale, Mont.

Dan Bishop, N.C.

Ted Budd, N.C.

Madison Cawthorn, N.C.

Virginia Foxx, N.C.

Richard Hudson, N.C.

Gregory F. Murphy, N.C.

David Rouzer, N.C.

Jeff Van Drew, N.J.

Yvette Herrell, N.M.

Chris Jacobs, N.Y.

Nicole Malliotakis, N.Y.

Elise M. Stefanik, N.Y.

Lee Zeldin, N.Y.

Adrian Smith, Neb.

Steve Chabot, Ohio

Warren Davidson, Ohio

Bob Gibbs, Ohio

Bill Johnson, Ohio

Jim Jordan, Ohio

Stephanie Bice, Okla.

Tom Cole, Okla.

Kevin Hern, Okla.

Frank Lucas, Okla.

Markwayne Mullin, Okla.

Cliff Bentz, Ore.

John Joyce, Pa.

Fred Keller, Pa.

Mike Kelly, Pa.

Daniel Meuser, Pa.

Scott Perry, Pa.

Guy Reschenthaler, Pa.

Lloyd Smucker, Pa.

Glenn Thompson, Pa.

Jeff Duncan, S.C.

Ralph Norman, S.C.

Tom Rice, S.C.

William Timmons, S.C.

Joe Wilson, S.C.

Tim Burchett, Tenn.

Scott DesJarlais, Tenn.

Chuck Fleischmann, Tenn.

Mark E. Green, Tenn.

Diana Harshbarger, Tenn.

David Kustoff, Tenn.

John Rose, Tenn.

Jodey Arrington, Texas

Brian Babin, Texas

Michael C. Burgess, Texas

John R. Carter, Texas

Michael Cloud, Texas

Pat Fallon, Texas

Louie Gohmert, Texas

Lance Gooden, Texas

Ronny Jackson, Texas

Troy Nehls, Texas

August Pfluger, Texas

Pete Sessions, Texas

Beth Van Duyne, Texas

Randy Weber, Texas

Roger Williams, Texas

Ron Wright, Texas

Burgess Owens, Utah

Chris Stewart, Utah

Ben Cline, Va.

Bob Good, Va.

Morgan Griffith, Va.

Robert J. Wittman, Va.

Carol Miller, W.Va.

Alexander X. Mooney, W.Va.

Scott Fitzgerald, Wis.

Tom Tiffany, Wis.

[khalilhumam]

US Trade Policy Shouldn’t Pit Developing Countries Against Each Other

New Post has been published on http://khalilhumam.com/us-trade-policy-shouldnt-pit-developing-countries-against-each-other/

US Trade Policy Shouldn’t Pit Developing Countries Against Each Other

This blog post originally appeared on World Politics Review.  The global economy is gradually healing from the economic blows dealt by the coronavirus pandemic, but the recovery remains fragile and halting. Reduced trade is more a symptom than a cause of those trends—and what governments do in terms of additional fiscal stimulus will do far more to determine the shape of the recovery in the United States and other countries. Still, trade policy could be a factor, supporting or undermining the nascent recovery. President Donald Trump’s trade wars have already complicated the direct response to COVID-19 infections—by making imports of some critical products more expensive or harder to find—and made the road to recovery steeper. If the House of Representatives passes a bipartisan resolution currently under consideration that opposes tariff exemptions to developing countries in certain sectors, it would be another sign that the United States is moving in the wrong direction. Generalized System of Preferences programs were adopted in most rich countries in the 1970s—and more recently in major emerging markets such as China and India—to encourage trade and support industrialization and job creation in developing countries. These so-called GSP programs allow designated imports from eligible developing countries to enter without payment of the normal tariff. Almost all of them have weaknesses, however, that undermine their effectiveness, such as exclusions in key sectors or rules of origin for determining product eligibility with which poorer countries struggle to comply. The US GSP has long been one of the least generous and has become relatively less so over time. Now, with much of the world—and developing countries in particular—facing high unemployment and struggling to recover from the economic as well as health effects of the coronavirus, some in Congress want to lock in that miserliness. From the beginning, Congress statutorily excluded certain “sensitive” products from eligibility, including the clothing and footwear sectors, where many developing countries have a comparative advantage. Not coincidentally, those are also products for which trade preferences are particularly valuable because they face relatively high tariffs when entering the American market. When Congress passed legislation extending the GSP program in 2015, it authorized the president to grant eligibility for previously excluded textile and leather products, including handbags and luggage. Now, as the House faces a year-end deadline to once again authorize continuation of the GSP program, Democratic Reps. Albio Sires, Adriano Espaillat, and Karen Bass, along with Republican Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart, have introduced a resolution to get the House on the record opposing any extension of these benefits to textiles, clothing, or footwear. In introducing the resolution, the bipartisan sponsors are in effect lining up with the National Council of Textile Organizations in a policy debate that pits some developing countries against others. Mexico, Central America, Haiti, and a handful of countries in South America—along with a number of sub-Saharan African countries—are already accorded at least some duty-free access for their clothing and footwear exports under existing bilateral trade agreements or special, regional preference programs. With encouragement from the textile industry association, these countries are opposing the expansion of tariff exemptions to other countries because it could increase competition and erode the benefits of preferential access they currently enjoy. Their preferential access under these arrangements, however, is conditional. To be eligible for them, Western Hemisphere exporters typically have to meet onerous rules of origin that force them to use American textiles and other inputs in the clothing they produce for export. African countries exporting preferentially under the African Growth and Opportunity Act have an exemption allowing them to import fabric and other inputs from whatever source is most efficient. That was necessary for the program to work because the transportation and other costs involved in having to use US inputs would be prohibitive. The American textile industry accepts this carve-out because African exports are not significant enough to pose a threat, and the visible support to exporters from poorer African countries serves as useful cover for the industry’s underlying protectionist stance. The congressional resolution’s sponsors are genuinely concerned about the potential impact that generalized exemptions could have on trade partners in Latin America and Africa. But instead of opposing them across the board, they should explore alternatives that could shield these countries while improving access to the U.S. market for other low income countries. One such compromise solution would be to provide additional benefits only to United Nations-designated “least developed countries,” as other rich countries—notably Canada and the European Union—have done. To further protect current beneficiaries from “preference erosion,” such an expansion might exclude selected textile or apparel items on which African and Latin American expoters are particularly dependent. Congress might also choose to limit new benefits in sensitive sectors to countries that are deemed particularly vulnerable and meet certain conditions in terms of protecting workers’ rights and the environment, as the EU does with its GSP+ program. Or, as proposed in a recent Center for Global Development paper, improved access in sensitive sectors might be granted to vulnerable countries hosting large numbers of refugees and agreeing to grant them legal rights to employment. Worldwide, the poor within and across countries are disproportionately feeling the economic effects of the coronavirus pandemic. Governments in developing countries typically have far less fiscal space to mitigate the costs for the most vulnerable. Expanded trade preferences are a way to support developing countries while also lowering costs for American consumers and manufacturers. Congress should not take that possibility off the table.

[theliberaltony]

via Politics – FiveThirtyEight

Once upon a time, people really did vote for person over party. As recently as the 1970s, a voter’s preferences were only loosely moored to partisanship. But those days are over. Here in 2018, the results of the just-concluded U.S. House elections tracked almost perfectly1 with FiveThirtyEight’s partisan lean metric,2 or how much more Republican- or Democratic-leaning a district is than the country as a whole.

That doesn’t mean that Republicans won all the red districts and Democrats won all the blue districts — in fact, Democrats won or are leading in 40 districts that lean Republican. But it helps us understand the pivotal role the national environment played in deciding the electoral map. Our partisan lean metric is calibrated to a neutral political environment (imagine a world in which the Democratic and Republican presidential candidates tie 50-50 in the popular vote), but this election did not take place in a neutral environment. Indeed, the Democratic-leaning national mood played a pivotal role in deciding the electoral map: The swing toward Democrats was almost totally uniform, with a few exceptions (which we’ll get to in a moment).

If you wanted to predict the results of the 2018 midterm elections, you could have done a lot worse than simply adding the generic-ballot average to each district’s partisan lean. The average Democratic candidate in a contested House district3 outperformed his or her district’s partisan lean by 7.3 percentage points, which almost exactly mirrors the national House popular vote.4

But while House races as a whole were very predictable, there were still some individual districts that moved farther to the left or right than the national political environment would imply. (Although they really didn’t stray too far from the pack in the chart above.) Forty-three Democratic candidates outperformed their districts’ partisan leans by more than 15 percentage points. The biggest overperformers included Democratic Rep. Dan Lipinski in the Illinois 3rd District, who won against a Nazi sympathizer and white supremacist who was disavowed by Republicans, and Democratic Rep. Collin Peterson in the Minnesota 7th District, a long-time incumbent in a red, rural district who has survived by taking socially conservative stances and wielding clout on the House Agriculture Committee.

The 10 Democratic candidates who most outperformed their districts’ partisan leans

District Democrat Partisan Lean 2018 Margin Dem. Swing IL-3 Dan Lipinski D+11 D+47 +37 MN-7 Collin Peterson R+25 D+4 +30 NY-26 Brian Higgins D+21 D+47 +27 WV-3 Richard Ojeda R+37 R+13 +25 CT-2 Joe Courtney D+2 D+27 +25 TN-5 Jim Cooper D+13 D+36 +23 IL-17 Cheri Bustos D+1 D+24 +22 WI-3 Ron Kind R+3 D+19 +22 NY-27 Nate McMurray R+23 R+1 +22 SC-1 Joe Cunningham R+19 D+1 +20

Partisan lean is the average difference between how a district votes and how the country votes overall, where 2016 presidential results are weighted 50 percent, 2012 presidential election results are weighted 25 percent and results from elections for the state legislature are weighted 25 percent.

2018 election results are unofficial as of Nov. 19.

Source: ABC News

Forty-three Republican candidates outperformed their districts’ partisan leans, too. The difference was that their margins weren’t as big, which is no surprise, given that the national environment was so favorable to Democrats. In the farming-dependent California 21st, Republican Rep. David Valadao has given himself a fighting chance at re-election (the race is still too close to call) by focusing on water-access issues and not on President Trump, who lost there in 2016. And in the Florida 25th District, demographics may have helped Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart win re-election. The district is 44 percent Cuban-American, and although Cuban-Americans are cool toward Trump, they continue to be warm toward down-ballot Republicans, which probably benefited Diaz-Balart (a Republican who is also a member of a prominent Cuban-American family). Fellow Cuban-American Republican Rep. Carlos Curbelo wasn’t so lucky; he lost re-election despite an almost as strong overperformance in the neighboring Florida 26th. In other cases shown below, the Republican may have just faced a weak Democratic candidate, like Dana Balter in the New York 24th.

The 10 Republican candidates who most outperformed their districts’ partisan lean

District Republican Partisan Lean 2018 Margin GOP Swing CA-21 David Valadao D+10 R+2 +12 FL-25 Mario Diaz-Balart R+9 R+21 +12 NY-24 John Katko D+5 R+6 +12 WI-8 Mike Gallagher R+16 R+27 +11 LA-5 Ralph Abraham R+26 R+37 +11 AR-1 Rick Crawford R+30 R+40 +10 LA-4 Mike Johnson R+21 R+31 +10 LA-6 Garret Graves R+32 R+41 +8 FL-26 Carlos Curbelo D+10 D+2 +8 AR-4 Bruce Westerman R+29 R+36 +6

Partisan lean is the average difference between how a district votes and how the country votes overall, where 2016 presidential results are weighted 50 percent, 2012 presidential election results are weighted 25 percent and results from elections for the state legislature are weighted 25 percent.

2018 election results are unofficial as of Nov. 19.

Source: ABC News

Elections are complex, with many different issues factoring into people’s votes. And even though it’s touted as a national election, the U.S. House of Representatives election is 435 different elections — enough races that the bulk can go to form while still leaving dozens to move in idiosyncratic ways. Still, those are the exceptions, not the rule. Most districts moved in tandem. That doesn’t mean there are no persuadable voters left in American politics. There are plenty — Democrats couldn’t have carried so many red districts without them. But those voters are increasingly responding to national issues, not local quirks.

[paulbenedictblog]

%news%

New Post has been published on %http://paulbenedictsgeneralstore.com%

Usa today Coronavirus live updates: US surpasses 26,000 cases as Senate negotiates massive stimulus package; New Jersey, Hawaii join in restrictions

Usa today

CLOSE

President Donald Trump says each person looks to be working laborious to mosey additional laws for financial reduction at some point soon of the coronavirus pandemic. USA TODAY

Even as President Donald Trump used to be asserting federal abet Sunday for Recent York, Washington and California — three states walloped by the coronavirus disaster —lawmakers in Congress persisted to haggle within the night over a huge stimulus equipment that stalled after at the starting set appearing terminate to being agreed on.

Congress again felt the wrath of the virus on a non-public level as Rand Paul, R-Ky., on Sunday modified into the well-known senator to test certain for COVID-19. Two members of the Condominium rep also examined certain, and a number of other lawmakers rep long gone into self-isolation after coming in contact with contaminated of us.

Earlier within the day, the governor of Recent York and the mayor of Recent York Metropolis specified by stark phrases the grim possibilities forward for his or her jurisdictions, and a rising desire of states issued cease-at-house orders because the nation lurched thru one other day below the coronavirus' siege.

The stimulus equipment targets to pump life right into a nationwide financial system staggered by shutdowns and quarantines. The GOP conception, now estimated at $1.4 trillion, entails $1,200 checks for many U.S. adults and a superb deal of of billions to wait on agencies ground nearly to a pause by the pandemic. With Federal Reserve emergency lending and other actions, the complete effort might presumably attain $2 trillion.

Condominium Speaker Nancy Pelosi, nevertheless, said Sunday that there’s “no deal” on a huge stimulus equipment. 

"We’ll be introducing our like bill,” said Pelosi, D-Calif.

The U.S., which had confirmed better than 33,000 cases and 417 deaths as of Sunday night, overtook Spain and now trails simplest Italy and China in reported infections. Confirmed cases, nevertheless, are a fair of sorting out. Worldwide cases of confirmed coronavirus surpassed 332,000, and there were better than 14,400 deaths, in line with the Johns Hopkins University data dashboard.

Our live weblog on the coronavirus is being as much as this point at some point soon of the day. Refresh for the most up-to-the-minute data. Extra headlines:

Despite present and safety worries, optional surgeries are persevering with at some US hospitals. 

Canned goods and non-perishables are selling out— right here is where it's seemingly you'll presumably per chance also peaceable steal them. 

Gas costs across the US proceed to tumble because the coronavirus pandemic continues to restrict  transportation and journey.

Sick at house with COVID-19: like your loved ones members contaminated with coronavirus. 

'One thing went depraved' in Recent York Metropolis: At some point of the town's complicated quest to construct coronavirus sorting out kits. 

Which states are ordering residents to cease at house? Right here's a issue checklist and what it capacity to refuge in set of residing. 

Usa today Scientific abet for 3 laborious-hit states: Washington, Recent York and California

President Donald Trump announced recent actions to relieve Washington issue, California and Recent York, asserting FEMA might presumably be funding "100% of the payment" to deploy the National Guard to these states to wait on governors in combating the unfold of the virus. 

He also directed FEMA to construct: 

Four spacious federal medical stations with 1,000 beds in Recent York, which has by some distance the greatest desire of COVID-19 cases within the country with better than 15,000. 

Eight spacious federal medical stations with 2,000 beds in California, which at the side of Recent York is anticipated to make your mind up up sanatorium ships from the Navy. 

Three spacious federal medical stations and 4 minute federal medical stations with 1,000 beds for Washington.

Trump also said these laborious-hit states would bought medical equipment and offers,  similar to respirators and protective equipment, which were in high quiz because the disaster escalates.

The president said he approved disaster declarations for Recent York and Washington and would rapidly enact the identical for California.  

-- Courtney Subramanian

Usa today Utah Rep. Ben McAdams hospitalized with 'excessive shortness of breath'

Rep. Ben McAdams, D-Utah, one amongst two members of the Condominium of Representatives to be diagnosed with the coronavirus, said in an announcement slack Sunday night he had been admitted to the sanatorium after experiencing "excessive shortness of breath."

McAdams said he bought oxygen "as I struggled to withhold my blood oxygen at appropriate ranges" but now used to be feeling "slightly better" and used to be off oxygen.

The Utah Democrat said he anticipated to be launched "as rapidly because the docs settle it's some distance appropriate."

Two other members of Utah's delegation of Congress, Sens. Mitt Romney and Mike Lee, said they would self-quarantine after coming into contact with Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., who announced an even coronavirus evaluation on Sunday. 

– Nicholas Wu 

Usa today Reports: DC Mayor Muriel Bowser restricts choose up entry to to Tidal Basin

Washington D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser announced the National Guard and the Metropolitan Police Division will restrict choose up entry to to the Tidal Basin, in line with stories from WTTG-TV and WRC-TV. 

Crowds persisted to flock to the set of residing to search cherry blossoms, prompting the shutdown. WRC-TV reported choose up entry to to the Jefferson Memorial and the National Mall will be restricted  within the set of residing bounded by 14th Avenue to 23rd Avenue and Structure Avenue to Independence Avenue SW. 

The National Park Provider tweeted a hyperlink to the "Bloom Cam," which allows of us to search the cherry blossoms from house. 

Usa today Kentucky's Rand Paul is first US senator to test certain for coronavirus

Paul examined certain for COVID-19 but feels "elegant" and is being quarantined, his set of residing of job said. Paul is asymptomatic and used to be examined "out of an abundance of caution due" to his huge journey and occasions," his set of residing of job said in a Twitter post. "He used to be now not attentive to any bellow contact with any contaminated particular person."

Paul, 57, had lung surgical operation in August to take care of an wound stemming from a physical war of words with a neighbor in November 2017.

Final week, Reps. Mario Diaz-Balart, R-Fla., and McAdams announced they'd examined certain for the virus. Dozens of other lawmakers who fear they also can simply were uncovered rep passed thru self-quarantines.

– Sarah Ladd, Louisville Courier Journal

Usa today Gov. Andrew Cuomo: 80% of issue might presumably choose up contaminated; drug trials to delivery

Recent York issue on Tuesday will delivery up sorting out treatment that will presumably be pale to wrestle the coronavirus, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said. The Food and Drug Administration has shipped 70,000 doses of hydroxychloroquine, 10,000 of Zithromax and 750,000 of chloroquine to the issue, Cuomo said. President Donald Trump has expressed optimism that these treatment also can simply relieve be a “sport changer” in treating the virus. Cuomo credited the FDA for though-provoking fleet to construct the treatment.

Cuomo said as much as 80% of issue residents might presumably develop into contaminated with the virus, although the overwhelming majority would rep restful symptoms.

“The president ordered the FDA to mosey and the FDA moved," Cuomo said. "We are all optimistic that (the treatment) might presumably work. I’ve spoken with a desire of health officers and there might be a honest foundation to imagine that they also can simply match.” Cuomo said the need of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Recent York had risen to 15,168, and the demise toll within the issue is 114, every perfect within the nation.

– Lorenzo Reyes

Usa today Ohio, Louisiana, Delaware disclose residents to cease house; LA mayor enacts stricter measures

The dramatic measures at the starting set taken by the San Francisco Bay Build after which California to stop additional unfold of the virus are initiating to boost to more of the country.

Ohio, Louisiana and Delaware are amongst the states that instituted cease-at-house orders on Sunday, mandating their residents now not to leave the house excluding for critical actions similar to procuring groceries and medicines, searching for medical treatment and exercising. 

Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti tweeted the town's Division of Recreation and Parks will shut down sports and game at city parks and that parking at city seashores will be shut down in accordance with "too many participants packing seashores, trails and parks." 

"That doesn’t mean rep in different places," he tweeted. "Right here is serious."

Usa today Stimulus: $1,200 checks for folk; relieve for agencies, too

Your $1,200 check might presumably be within the mail as rapidly as a deal is struck, but that timeline used to be removed from settled. Senate Majority Chief Mitch McConnell said a deal used to be "very advance" whereas Pelosi used to be much less optimistic.

McConnell's conception would supply a $1,200 check for many participants making as much as $75,000 yearly; there might presumably be smaller checks for folk making more and no checks for these making in excess of $99,000. Some Democrats called for "unemployment insurance on steroids," giving workers who misplaced their jobs checks approximating what they were making earlier than they were let mosey. Hundreds of billions more might presumably be ticketed for agencies and issue and native governments.

Usa today Amtrak cancels Acela carrier

Amtrak will kill its flagship Acela Explicit trains within the Northeast on Monday, because the coronavirus pandemic continues to reduce quiz for intercity journey.

The railroad will peaceable fair its slower Northeast Regional trains from Boston to Recent York to Washington, although at simplest 40% of the favorite weekday time table.

Amtrak had beforehand canceled simplest a handful of Acela trains that slither with out stops between Recent York and Washington.

The trains, launched in 2000, carried 3.5 million passengers in 2019, out of the 12.5 million passengers on the Northeast Hall and 31.5 million passengers nationwide.

– Curtis Tate

Usa today Predominant situation: Present of kit for health care workers

The tear for critical equipment wanted to protect health care workers continues to intensify. Hospitals in Detroit place out a plea for donations of disposable face masks, N95 respirators, peer protection at the side of face shields and safety goggles and other safety equipment. Recent York Gov. Andrew Cuomo told President Donald Trump to make verbalize of the Defense Manufacturing Act to compel corporations to create mighty wanted masks, gowns and ventilators.

FEMA Administrator Peter Gaynor told CNN that a mandate is now not required attributable to corporations are willingly producing the equipment. He said requests are coming in from every issue "searching for the particular identical issues ... We are making an try to make your mind up up clear we focal point our efforts on the recent spots that need it he  most. And then even as you happen to don't it simply away you will be pretty additional down the checklist, but we can choose as much as you."

Usa today NYC mayor Bill de Blasio says coronavirus outbreak will 'choose up loads worse'

The coronavirus outbreak "is going to make your mind up up loads worse" in April and Would possibly presumably, Recent York Metropolis Mayor Bill de Blasio warned, urging President Donald Trump to send medically trained protection pressure personnel to sizzling spots similar to Recent York. De Blasio, making the spherical of data reveals, told NBC Data he would verbalize the NYPD to "spoil up spacious congregations where of us are gathering.” He also echoed the selection of many issue and native leaders for federal relieve in obtaining equipment critical for an anticipated onslaught of sick of us.

“We’re now not getting the stuff we need. If we don’t choose up ventilators within the next 10 days of us will die who don’t need to die, it’s as easy as that'" de Blasio told CNN. "And the one pressure that will presumably enact that, the federal govt thru the protection pressure, is now not performing.”

De Blasio is now not the greatest elected official to criticize the Trump administration for the inability of medical offers to wrestle the virus. Cuomo and Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker rep voiced the identical criticism, and on Sunday the latter obtained right into a Twitter feud with the president. 

"You wasted precious months even as you doubtlessly can've taken lag to protect Americans & Illinoisans," Pritzker, a Democrat, tweeted at Trump. "You furthermore mght can simply peaceable be leading a nationwide response in set of residing of throwing tantrums from the back seat."

– Lorenzo Reyes and David Jackson

Usa today Donald Trump offers North Korea relieve with COVID-19

President Donald Trump has sent a letter to North Korean leader Kim Jong-un offering to relieve the secretive, communist nation's wrestle in opposition to the coronavirus, the White Condominium confirmed Sunday. The letter, which also expresses a desire to toughen diplomatic household, reveals the strong "personal household" between Trump and Kim, said Kim Yo-jong, Kim's sister and first vice department director of the Central Committee of the North's Workers' Celebration, in an announcement carried by the official Korean Central Data Agency. The letter came after North Korea again examined rapid-differ ballistic missiles over the weekend, drawing protests from South Korea.

– David Jackson

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Usa today Tenor Placido Domingo has the virus

World-effectively-known opera singer Placido Domingo said in a Fb post that he has examined certain for the virus.

Domingo, 79, said he and his household rep self-isolated in Mexico, and he told the general public to, “Please observe your native govt’s guidelines and rules for staying stable and maintaining now not simply yourselves but our complete neighborhood.”

Domingo is the most up-to-the-minute celeb from the sports and leisure worlds to acknowledge contracting COVID-19. The checklist entails actors Tom Hanks and his wife Rita Wilson, fellow actor Idris Elba and NBA stars Kevin Durant, Rudy Gobert and Donovan Mitchell.

Per the Niagara (N.Y.) Gazette, disgraced movie producer Harvey Weinstein has also examined certain for coronavirus and has been place in isolation at a Recent York issue reformatory.

Usa today Support for stranded Americans

The Say Division has chartered two flights to delivery up evacuating on Monday a superb deal of of Americans who are stranded in Guatemala.

Guatemala suspended all air journey excluding for cargo flights on March 16 so as to gradual the unfold of coronavirus.

"We enact now not know when civilian flights will resume in Guatemala after these U.S. govt-coordinated charter flights, but slither vacationers to proceed to envision the availability of commercial flight strategies," the Say Division said.

On Friday, Secretary of Say Mike Pompeo told newshounds at the White Condominium that the department had established a repatriation job pressure to relieve Americans trapped delivery air the country.

– Curtis Tate

Usa today 24 TSA officers across nation test certain, 5 at JFK

Now now not now not as much as 24 Transportation Security Administration officers across the nation rep examined certain for the coronavirus, at the side of 9 at airports within the Recent York Metropolis set of residing. 

The breakdown: 5 officers at JFK and four at Newark Liberty. To boot to, the TSA said an worker at LaGuardia has examined certain.

TSA said the airport's safety screening checkpoints remain delivery.

Workers rep examined certain at a number of airports, with recent cases at Washington Dulles and Phoenix Sky Harbor. A TSA officer at the airport in St. Thomas, Virgin Islands, also examined certain, in line with the company.

Lots of affected airports comprise Orlando, Florida; Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson; San Jose, California; Fort Lauderdale, Florida; and Cleveland.

– Curtis Tate

Usa today Hawaii, Recent Jersey enact strict measures 

Hawaii’s governor will institute a critical 14-day self-quarantine starting for all of us traveling to the issue, and Recent Jersey Governor Phil Murphy ordered residents to cease at house as more states tightened restrictions aimed at curtailing the outbreak.

Acknowledged Murphy: "We now need to change our behaviors."

Illinois required residents to cease house as mighty as that it's seemingly you'll presumably per chance also imagine. Recent York plans to ban all nonessential journey starting set Sunday night, following California's lead, which began Friday. Connecticut and Oregon were making ready to enact the identical. Hawaii Gov. David Ige said his disclose applies to returning residents as effectively as guests. It applies to all arrivals at Hawaii airports.

Fetch every single day COVID-19 updates in your inbox: Join Coronavirus Mark

Usa today Germany's Angela Merkel self-quarantines

German Chancellor Angela Merkel will mosey into self-quarantine after coming into contact with a health care provider who has examined certain for the coronavirus, her spokesperson told German media outlets Sunday. The Linked Press reported that Merkel had bought a vaccination from the physician.

Usa today Extra coronavirus data, tricks and data from USA TODAY:

Younger of usmore in wretchedness for abuse and neglect at some point soon of pandemic, specialists declare.

Coronavirus closings: Macy's, Apple, Sephora declare they'll reopen rapidly. However will they?

Her bat mitzvah used to be rescheduled twice: cope when coronavirus cancels milestone celebrations.

Reality check: Does the usage of ibuprofen even as you rep got coronavirus choose up symptoms worse?

Make a choice additional precautions even as you kill up on the mosey. Right here's the complete thing you rep got to protect yourself from germs. 

Usa today We go at dawn: Truckers are working, and now not from house

Lots of the nation's 3.5 million official truckers are working flat-out to withhold stores and agencies stocked as shoppers fear about riding out house quarantines. Some truckers declare they need to now not overly eager about getting sick, although their jobs -- which require touching shipments that will presumably be unsuitable, interacting with others and going out in public at a time when many lawmakers are urging of us to cease house – might presumably place them at increased risk of contracting COVID-19.

"I rep now not stopped since this all started," Ron Applegate, 57, says of the coronavirus outbreak. "If of us are going to devour, the trucks are gonna mosey. If they need medical offers, the trucks are gonna mosey. If we stop, the realm stops."

– Trevor Hughes

Contributing: The Linked Press

Usa today How many cases of coronavirus in US?

Usa today Extra coronavirus data and data from USA TODAY:

American Airlines is finding a cause for some of its lazy planes: The airline's first cargo-simplest flight since 1984 is carrying medical equipment.

Sooner than a vaccine arrived within the 1950s, polio had the US anxious and quarantined. Now, of us who lived thru it face a identical apprehension: Coronavirus.

Runt colleges were already on the brink. Now, coronavirus threatens their existence.

Would possibly presumably peaceable you be wiping down programs and disinfecting letters? No, but attach washing your hands, specialists declare. 

Read or Portion this memoir: https://www.usatoday.com/memoir/data/health/2020/03/22/coronavirus-updates-us-issue-lockdowns-stimulus-equipment-congress-pence/2877552001/

[patriotsnet]

Why Did Republicans Vote Against Equal Pay

New Post has been published on https://www.patriotsnet.com/why-did-republicans-vote-against-equal-pay/

Why Did Republicans Vote Against Equal Pay

Playing Politics With Violence Against Women

An ad from Alison Lundergan Grimes knocks Sen. Mitch McConnell for voting two times against the Violence Against Women Act evidence, Grimes concludes, that McConnell has forgotten that over half the voters in Kentucky are women.

But McConnell has never opposed the central purpose of the Violence Against Women Act. In fact, he was a cosponsor of the original bill in 1991, and he has twice supported its reauthorization.

McConnell did vote against a massive crime bill that included the VAWA because it also contained a ban on assault weapons. And he more recently voted against reauthorization of VAWA in 2012 and 2013 because he opposed Democratic expansions of the bill that included provisions for same-sex couples and immigrants, and one that would have allowed Native American tribal courts to try non-Native Americans accused of domestic violence on reservations. In both cases, McConnell supported Republican alternatives to those bills that he claimed would have strengthened the Violence Against Women Act.

Throughout her campaign, Grimes has highlighted womens issues, and her campaign website says that the contrast between her and McConnell on that front could not be starker. Drawing that contrast is the aim of this latest ad, the third in a series that features a Kentucky resident sitting beside Grimes and posing a rhetorical question to McConnell. We previously reviewed the first two installments, one on Medicare, the other on jobs.

McConnells History on VAWA

The Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act

In the 2007 case Ledbetter v. Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co., the Supreme Court upended longstanding precedent and held that employees could not sue for pay discrimination under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 if their employers original discriminatory pay decision occurred more than 180 days before they initiated a claim.

Congress acted swiftly to pass the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act to overturn the Courts decision. The Act made it clear that each discriminatory paycheck  not just an employers original decision to engage in pay discrimination  resets the period of time during which a worker may file a claim of pay discrimination on the basis of sex, race, national origin, age, religion and disability.

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Its another delay in a decades-long effort to close the wage gap, which has the potential of widening after this recession. According to a study by economists at Northwestern University,  past recessions have typically narrowed the gender pay gap because men were more likely to lose their jobs and return to work in lower positions after being out for an extended period of time. But the pandemic recession will have the opposite effect, widening the gap because its women, this time, who will be out of work longer than men. 

The Paycheck Fairness Act sought to build on past legislation the Equal Pay Act of 1963 and the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009 to eliminate the gap. The bill would require employers to prove why a pay disparity exists, bar them from asking employees about their salary history and build in more transparency and avenues for recourse if workers feel their employers are paying them unfairly. 

One of the other reasons for the persisting gender wage gap is the jobs workers are concentrated in. Women work in two-thirds of the 40 lowest paid jobs in the country, and men are concentrated in the highest earning fields, driving the gap in earnings.

Murray said that argument is offensive. 

Economists who have studied the gender pay gap have said unequivocally that the issue goes beyond personal choice. 

More from The 19th

Barriers for Black women set U.S. economy back by $500 billion, report finds

Why These Republican Women Voted Against Equal Pay For All

In a not-so-surprising move, Republican senators, including all four Republican women, unanimously voted against the Paycheck Fairness Act on Monday night. The law would make it easier for employees to talk about wagesâand potentially help women learn whether they earn less than their male colleagues. It would also force employers to explain or justify why two similarly qualified workers earn different wages.

This is the third time since 2012 that Republicans have voted down the bill.

Pay disparities between women and men are a reality. Recent research that in some industriesâsuch as financeâwomen earn as little as 66 percent of menâs wages. Overall women take home about 71 cents for every dollar men earn.

Low-income women also suffer from gender-based wealth disparities. According to the National Womenâs Law Center, the poverty rate for women is 13 percent, while only 11 percent of men live in poverty. Women in low-wage jobs make 13 percent less than men who do similar work.

Senate Gop Blocks Paycheck Fairness Act For The Second Time

Senate Republicans on Monday blocked the Paycheck Fairness Act, a bill that Democrats are pushing as part of their message to women in the midterm elections.

Democrats needed 60 votes to advance the legislation but fell short in a 52-40 vote. Sen. Angus King , who caucuses with Democrats, voted against the bill.

Republicans had blocked the same bill earlier this year in a 53-44 vote.

Senate Democrats said they were giving Republicans another opportunity to ensure women receive equal pay for equal work.

A woman who performs the same work as a man should be paid the same as a man, Senate Majority Leader Harry ReidHarry Mason ReidBiden grapples with twin crisesFive takeaways from Biden’s week of chaos in AfghanistanWhite House seeks to shield Biden from GOP attacks on crime issue said. Senate Republicans simply cannot accept that notion. American women deserve better.

The Paycheck Fairness Act is part of Democrats Fair Shot agenda that is meant to draw a contrast with the GOP ahead of Novembers election. The Senate is also expected to vote on raising the minimum wage and allowing students to refinance their loans, all measures that have already failed this year.

Republicans say the Democrats are wasting time on political show votes. The Senate will need to pass a short-term continuing resolution to keep the government funded after Sept. 30 or the government will shut down.

Republicans need six seats to gain control of the Senate.

These 2 Nj Republicans Sponsored Equal Pay For Women Bill Then Voted No Heres Why

New Jersey Republican Congressmen Rep. Jeff Van Drew, center, and Rep. Chris Smith, right, voted against a bill they co-sponsored after it was amended to the point where they could no longer back it. Aristide Economopoulos | NJ Advance Media

Jonathan D. Salant | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

Alone among House Republicans, Rep. Chris Smith two years ago co-sponsored legislation outlawing pay discrimination against women. When the bill was reintroduced this year, Smith co-sponsored it again, joined by New Jerseys other House Republican, Jeff Van Drew.

But when the House passed the legislation Thursday, both Smith, R-4th Dist., and Van Drew, R-2nd Dist., voted no. The third Republican co-sponsor, Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, R-Pa., was the only member of his party to vote yes.

The two New Jersey lawmakers said the bill that reached the House floor was not the one they agreed to support, and Smith said it was too late to remove their names once they saw the changes.

Its not the same bill, Van Drew spokesman Scott Weldon said.

Smith said the bill was amended to include benefits for pregnancy, childbirth and related medical conditions, and that repeatedly has been interpreted to include abortion coverage.

Im committed to equal pay for equal work, Smith said. Im not for forcing employees, including churches and synagogues, to subsidize abortion on demand.

The measure passed in a 217-210 vote, and it advances to the Senate.

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Most Republicans Oppose Measure Say There Are Better Ways To Get Pay Parity Without Lawsuits

Lindsey McPherson

House Democrats on Wednesday passed another one of their top party priorities, a bill called the Paycheck Fairness Act that is designed to help close the gender pay gap. 

HR 7 passed, 242-187, with only seven Republican votes. Those included New Jerseys , an original cosponsor of the bill, Floridas Mario Diaz-Balart, Idahos Mike Simpson, New Yorks Tom Reed, Texas Will Hurd, Pennsylvanias Brian Fitzpatrick and Illinois Rodney Davis. All 235 House Democrats voted for the measure. 

Smith and Diaz-Balart are the only two Republicans left in the House who voted for prior versions of the bill when Democrats brought it the floor the last two Congresses they were in the majority. In 2008, it passed , with 14 Republicans supporting it. And in 2010, it passed 256-163, with 10 Republicans backing it.

Diaz-Balart told Roll Call before the vote that he planned to remain consistent and vote for the measure because it was not substantially different from the prior versions. But he lamented that Democrats werent willing to address Republican concerns to make the bill more bipartisan.

I wish that Democrats had actually put something forward that actually could get close to becoming law, he said. Theres things I dont like in it, obviously, but I have voted for it, in essence, twice before.

Republicans opposing the legislation said it would open the door to frivolous lawsuits. 

Flashback: Pelosi, Lewis and House Democrats unveil legislative agenda for 116th

Gop Blocks Equal Pay Bill In Senate

Video: Global Warming Lorem Ipsum Dolor Sit …

Senate Republicans voted Wednesday to block the Paycheck Fairness Act, legislation designed by Democrats to mobilize women voters in the midterm elections.

The bill, which would require employers to be more transparent about wages and prohibit them from retaliating against workers who raise concerns about pay, failed to get the 60 votes needed to move forward with debate. The vote comes a day after a well-publicized, coordinated push on equal pay by the White House and congressional Democrats. But the latter arent bothered by that failure — they expected it, and the rejection allows them to keep hitting Republicans on the issue moving toward November.

For some unknown reason, Senate Republicans do not appear to be interested in closing the wage gap for working women, Majority Leader Harry Reid said before the vote, which fell mostly on party lines.

Republicans, though, seem unbothered by recording a vote against this bill, which they have dismissed as a political ploy to benefit Democrats in an election year. GOP senators argued that its already illegal to discriminate against women in the workplace, and that the legislation regarding pay regulation would open the doors to frivolous lawsuits.

GOP Senate leader Mitch McConnell has criticized Democrats push for the bill as a way to move voters focus away from the health care law.

Senate Republicans Reject Equal Pay Bill

On Tuesday, during a news conference, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi wondered out loud whether Republican senators who had tweeted support for the idea of equal pay for equal work could be counted on to vote for the Paycheck Fairness Act of 2014.

On Wednesday, Pelosi got her answer.

Despite weeks of heavy messaging, Democrats failed to get a single GOP vote as the third attempt in recent years to pass the wage equality legislation fell six votes short.

The promise of equal pay for equal work should not be a partisan issue it should be a matter of common sense and fairness, an essential step for the security of our families, the growth of our economy, and the strength of our middle class, Pelosi said in a statement after the vote.

Unfortunately, Senate Republicans disagree, she added.

The bill, sponsored by Sen. Barbara A. Mikulski , had 52 sponsors, but Democrats were unable to persuade Republicans to vote for the legislation, which needed to clear a 60-vote threshold to open debate on the bill.

Had it passed, the bill would have made it illegal for employers to retaliate against workers who inquire about or disclose their wages or the wages of other employees in a complaint or investigation. It also would make employers subject to civil actions by employees who feel aggrieved. As part of the bill, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission would be required to collect pay information from employers.

Wesley Lowery

There Still Isnt Unity Among Democrats On The Filibuster

Senate Democrats are still fractured as ever on eliminating the filibuster, with Manchin and Sinema among those who are the most vocal opponents of such a move. I will not vote to weaken or eliminate the filibuster, Manchin recently reiterated in a Charleston Gazette op-ed.

Other senators in the Democratic caucus have recently signaled that they have reservations about getting rid of the filibuster as well, although some, including Sens. Jacky Rosen and Angus King , have indicated a willingness to consider it if necessary.

Its unclear just how much these votes could potentially sway them if at all. For months Manchin and Sinema have emphasized that theyre focused on preserving the filibuster so the minority still has a voice in the Senate. What repeated failed votes could do is establish a record Democrats can point to if they ultimately pursue rules changes.

Its an effort that echoes how Democrats built up to reforms to the nominees filibuster in 2013, when Republicans slow-walked appointees put forth by President Barack Obama. That year, Democrats voted to do away with the filibuster on most presidential nominees after Obamas defense secretary pick, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau pick, and Circuit Court judge picks ran into Republican obstruction.

He seems intent on maintaining the same position meaning the filibuster is likely here to stay, for now.

Senate Republicans Propose Stripped

Laura Bassett

in Congress have taken a lot of heat over the past few years for repeatedly blocking ‘ equal pay legislation, so this year GOP women senators are proposing a bill of their own to combat the gender wage gap. But the GOP’s stripped-down version of the Paycheck Fairness Act has so far garnered nothing but eye rolls from across the aisle.

Sen. Deb Fischer , joined by GOP Sens. Kelly Ayotte , Susan Collins and Shelley Moore Capito , introduced the Workplace Advancement Act last week, which would make it illegal for employers to retaliate against employees for talking to each other about their salaries. The retaliation provision is one of many in the Democrats’ Paycheck Fairness Act, which would also require employers to report wage data broken down by gender to the federal government, set up negotiation skills training programs for women and girls, and help women sue for back pay once they realize they’ve been earning less than their male colleagues for the same work.

Republicans have blocked the Democrats’ bill three times in the Senate, claiming that it would cause job losses. Now that the GOP controls the Senate, Fischer is challenging Democrats to support her bill, since it’s the only one with a chance of getting a vote.

Fischer’s office pointed out that two Democrats and one independent, Sens. Angus King , Joe Donnelly and Joe Manchin , supported her equal pay amendment to the GOP’s fiscal 2016 budget, saying that means they’d be likely to support her bill.

All For Equal Pay But Not This Bill

Heres a radical notion: It is simultaneously possible to believe that women are entitled to equal pay and to not support the Paycheck Fairness Act.

Not that youd know it from the rhetoric President Obama and fellow Democrats are happily flinging at Republicans who dare to oppose the measure.

I dont know why you would resist the idea that women should be paid the same as men and then deny that thats not always happening out there, Obama said Tuesday. If Republicans in Congress want to show that they do, in fact, care about women being paid the same as men, then show me. They can join us, in this, the 21st century and vote yes on the Paycheck Fairness Act.

Last week, as Senate Republicans blocked the measure from moving forward on the floor, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., issued a similar blast. If Senate Republicans are ideologically opposed to ensuring equal pay for equal work, they are free to vote against passage of the Paycheck Fairness Act, he offered.

Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., went even further. It is outrageous that in 2014 some in Congress apparently still think that women dont deserve to earn the same amount as a man for doing the same job, she said in a statement.

Oh come on.

House Republicans Vote Against Equal Rights For Women

A House resolution removing the ratification deadline for the Equal Rights Amendment passed Thursday with just five GOP votes.

Nearly every House Republican voted against a resolution that could help ratify the Equal Rights Amendment on Thursday, citing a litany of excuses not to enshrine equality on the basis of sex in the Constitution.

The House of Representatives voted, 232 to 183, for a to remove the 1982 deadline for states to ratify the ERA. Five Republicans joined all 227 Democrats present in voting for the measure; 182 Republicans and a conservative independent voted against.

During Thursday’s floor debate, some Republicans they opposed the resolution on constitutional grounds, but many argued against the Equal Rights Amendment on its merits.

Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner warned that banning discrimination would mean women could no longer enjoy discounts. “Girls get substantially lower rates on auto insurance because they’re better drivers,” he said, adding that, with a constitutional ban on sex discrimination, such advantages “would become unconstitutional and girls are going to have to pay boy-drivers’ rates for auto insurance.”

Sensenbrenner also said that, although women “live longer than men,” women would also have to pay more for life insurance than they do now.

Rep. Vicky Hartzler said the ERA “would not bring women any more rights than they currently have right now.”

TAGS

Senate Fails To Advance Paycheck Fairness Act

Oriana Gonzalez

The Senate on Tuesday failed to advance the Paycheck Fairness Act, legislation intended to address the gender pay gap.

The big picture: The 49-50 vote saw Democrats in support and Republicans opposed. At least 60 votes were required to end the filibuster and move the measure to the floor for a vote.

The bill would “provide more effective remedies to victims of discrimination in the payment of wages on the basis of sex.”

Pennsylvania Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick was the only republican to vote in favor.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said Monday that Democrats’ agenda is up against GOP resistance, and is “transparently designed to fail,”CNN writes.

Most Republicans support the Wage Equity Act, introduced by Rep. Elise Stefanik , which would encourage companies to voluntarily analyze employee pay and direct GAO, an independent government agency, to study the impacts of women leaving the workforce for family-related reasons.

What they’re saying: “he only way that a bill to provide equal pay to women is designed to fail is if Senate Republicans block it,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said, per CNN.

Background: The legislation passed the House 217-210 in April along party lines, making it the fourth time Democrats have attempted to pass the act. It previously passed the House in 2008, 2009 and 2019.

Senate Republicans Defeat Womens Equal Pay Bill Again

Mark Gruenberg

WASHINGTONBy a party-line 50-49 vote, every Senate Republicaneven the womendefeated HR7, the bill to put teeth into the Equal Pay Act that helps working women. All 47 voting Democrats backed it, as did both independents. Sen. Kristen Gillibrand, D-N.Y., was absent from the 6:42 pm vote on June 8. It was the fourth time the Senate Republicans beat the bill over the years.

The GOP phalanxs success meant senators couldnt even debate the Paycheck Fairness Act, HR7, which the Democratic-run House approved earlier this year. Instead, the GOP filibuster threat prevailed. The 50-50 Senate needs 60 votes to shut off such talkathon threats.

The loss is in line with Senate GOP leader Mitch McConnells blockade of all Democratic legislation, and his embrace of both the corporate class agenda and of Trumpism. Republicans follow the Kentuckians orders like sheep.

Unions and womens groups strongly supported the legislation, authored, as usual, by influential Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn. It would put teeth into the almost 60-year-old Equal Pay Act by eliminating corporate excuses for discriminating against women in pay. Instead, firms would have to prove unequal pay is not due to prejudice against women workers.

It also would make it easier for wronged women workers to find out, in broad categories, what their privileged male colleagues with the same credentials earn, and to sue if their pay isnt equal.

Republicans Filibuster Equal Pay Legislation In Latest Display Of Shameless Obstruction

Fix Our Senate: âThis is the latest example of Republican obstreperousness and another clear demonstration that the filibuster must be eliminated as Sen. McConnellâs weapon of partisan obstruction.â

Supermajority: “This is why we support eliminating the filibuster â because itâs too often a tactic to block racial justice and equity”

WASHINGTON, D.C. â Today, after Senate Republicans filibustered the Paycheck Fairness Act, Sen. Patty Murrayâs bill to help address the gender pay gap in America, Fix Our Senate and Supermajority released the below statements calling on Democrats to finally eliminate the filibuster. Tonightâs vote comes on the heels of a Senate Republican filibuster that blocked the bipartisan commission to investigate the Jan. 6 insurrection and as the House continues to pass critical legislation destined to die in the Senate until the filibuster is fixed.

“Sen. McConnell is doing exactly what he promised to do: spending 100 percent of his energy blocking President Bidenâs popular agenda that is supported by a majority of Americans and a majority of their representatives in Congress,â said Fix Our Senate spokesman Eli Zupnick. âThis is the latest example of Republican obstreperousness and another clear demonstration that the filibuster must be eliminated as Sen. McConnellâs weapon of partisan obstruction.â

Background

Equal Pay For Equal Work Seems Like A No

On Wednesday, Senate Republicans blockedfor the third timethe Paycheck Fairness Act, a bill proposing to close the pay gap between men and women. The goal of the billthe attainment of equal pay for equal workseems like a no-brainer, right? Women with the same job, and same qualifications, as men deserve to be paid the same. They do not deserve to be discriminated against in salary on the basis of gender. Seems obvious. And yet not a single Republican voted in favor of the Act, and many Americans no longer know what to think, either.

The problem is that the message has been greatly muddled, twisted, and usurped, mostly for political gain. Equal Pay has become less a noble, unquestionable goal than a political talking point. Democrats argue that wage disparities persist, pulling out the oft-cited figure that women, on average, earn 77 percent to a mans dollar. They accuse Republicans of failing the bill in favor of more important political agendas.

Which means that both parties want the same thing. So whats the problem? The problem, of course, is politics. And unfortunately nothing will happen until Democrats and Republicans agree to make Equal Pay a fairness issue rather than a political one. In the meantime, its women who suffer.

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  The Equal Pay Act Today

The EPA, which passed as an amendment to the Fair Labor Standards Act in 1963, “prohibits discrimination on account of sex in the payment of wages by employers.” Specifically, the EPA provides that employers may not pay unequal wages to men and women who perform substantially equal jobs and work at the same establishment. Substantially equal jobs has been interpreted to mean jobs that require similar skill , effort and responsibility, and are performed under similar working conditions. An employers work establishment is generally understood to mean a distinct physical place of business rather than an entire business or enterprise consisting of several places of business.

The EPA permits unequal pay for equal work if it is the result of wages being set pursuant to: 1) a seniority system; 2) a merit system; 3) a system which measures earnings by quantity or quality of production; or 4) any factor other than sex. These four circumstances constitute the statute’s four affirmative defenses against claims of wage discrimination.

At the outset of a case, the employee has to establish a prima facie case of gender-based wage discrimination under the EPA by showing that different wages are paid to employees of the opposite sex who work in jobs that require substantially equal skill, effort, and responsibility, and are performed under similar working conditions in the same establishment. This is a very high burden to meet.

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First member of U.S. Congress tests positive for coronavirus

U.S. Representative Mario Diaz-Balart said on Wednesday he has tested positive for the coronavirus, becoming the first member of Congress known to have contracted the virus.

from Reuters: U.S. https://ift.tt/2UgYaNw from Blogger https://ift.tt/2TZ6UJc

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U.S. Authorizes U.S. Litigation Against Entities on Cuba Restricted List

U.S. Authorizes U.S. Litigation Against Entities on Cuba Restricted List

On January 16, 2019, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo extended for 45 days the right to bring certain lawsuits in U.S. federal courts  by Americans who owned property in Cuba that was confiscated by its government. The stated reasons for this 45-day extension, instead of the long-standing practice of granting six-month extensions was to “permit us to conduct a careful review of the right to…