Recession Takes a Toll on America’s Women
Every American has been hit by the current economic recession in one way or another—home foreclosures, lost jobs, and rising costs of food, gas, and health care. But now it’s becoming clear that the recession is affecting one group particularly hard—women.
Last week the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee released a report [PDF] that found America’s women are facing a perfect storm of economic risk. It found:
In contrast to previous recessions, in which women have typically fared somewhat better than men, this recession is hitting women harder than men. They are suffering more job losses and larger reductions in wages than the general population.
Forging a negotiated path to Iraq’s future
The Bush administration is moving forward on negotiations to sign a permanent, long-term agreement with the government of Iraq on the role of the US military in future operations, and an agreement is expected to be concluded by mid-July. The stakes are high, and these negotiations move us in the wrong direction. America has given the Iraqi people nearly five years of blood and treasure. It’s wrong for President Bush to try to bind the next president and lock the nation indefinitely into the endless quagmire that the Iraq war has become.
Senator Kennedy at an Oakland, CA rally for Barack Obama
Senator Kennedy went to the Beebe Memorial Cathedral in Oakland to rouse support for Senator Barack Obama. Senator Kennedy spoke about civil rights and the importance of voting for Senator Obama for president. Watch the full speech after the jump.
Barack Obama
Barack Obama inspires me.
That’s why I’m about to take the stage with him here in Washington and endorse his campaign to become the next president of the United States.
It’s that simple. Through Barack, I believe we will move beyond the politics of fear and personal destruction and unite our country with the politics of common purpose.
All Democrats in this race have strong ideas to address the challenges before our country. But Barack is the candidate who can inspire Americans to act and bring us together to achieve those goals—an economy that works for everyone, health care for all, and at long last ending the war in Iraq and bringing our troops home.
Join me and become part of the Obama campaign today:
http://www.democraticmajority.com/obama
Kennedy speaks about the Iraq war
Yesterday, Senator Kennedy spoke on the Senate floor about the Iraq war. Watch his speech:
A Nation of Laws, Not Men
Earlier today I spoke on the Senate floor about startling news from today’s newspapers:
The Central Intelligence Agency in 2005 destroyed at least two videotapes documenting the interrogation of two Qaeda operatives in the agency’s custody, a step it took in the midst of Congressional and legal scrutiny about its secret detention program, according to current and former government officials.
The videotapes showed agency operatives in 2002 subjecting terrorism suspects—including Abu Zubaydah, the first detainee in C.I.A. custody—to severe interrogation techniques. The tapes were destroyed in part because officers were concerned that video showing harsh interrogation methods could expose agency officials to legal risks, several officials said.
The Supreme Court’s Wrong Turn—And How to Fix It
From The American Prospect
Last May, the Supreme Court faced a textbook case of pay discrimination. Lilly Ledbetter was one of a few women supervisors working at a Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company plant in Gadsden, Alabama, and she remained at the plant despite her bosses’ bias against women. One even told her that "the plant did not need women," that women "caused problems." For almost two decades, the company systematically downgraded her performance evaluations to pay her less than male colleagues who performed the same duties. Her pay eventually fell 15 percent to 40 percent behind her male counterparts.
Giving Needy Young Children a Real Head Start
Since its launch in 1965, Head Start has helped more than 24 million children, including more than 900,000 now in the program. It’s currently up for reauthorization by Congress—and we’re using this opportunity to improve it to help millions more.
Stand against torture
Waterboarding and every other form of torture is wrong. Now we have a chance to make this crystal clear in U.S. law.
President Bush’s nominee for Attorney General, Michael Mukasey, claims current law is not specific enough for him to stand up and stop President Bush’s misguided policy. He won’t have any more excuses after this legislation passes.
Here’s what’s happening. I’ve introduced the Torture Prevention and Effective Interrogation Act to make one basic reform: apply the Army Field Manual—which prohibits brutal techniques like waterboarding—to all U.S. government interrogators, not just those in the Department of Defense. With this simple measure, we will clarify the law this Administration has so shamefully distorted.
Stand with me against torture:
http://www.democraticmajority.com/torture
I oppose Michael Mukasey
Waterboarding is torture. Torture is unacceptable. Period.
If Michael Mukasey won’t stand up to President Bush and tell him that, then he doesn’t deserve to be Attorney General.
Are you ready to fight?
I introduced the State Children’s Health Insurance Program ten years ago—and I’m not going to let it go without a fight.
We have less than two weeks to get the votes we need to override President Bush’s veto of SCHIP. Just two weeks.
So I need to know: Are you with me? Are you ready to fight?
Prove it by signing my petition to override the veto:
http://www.democraticmajority.com/childrenshealth
Fight Bush’s Veto
President Bush and I have one thing in common.
When either of us wants to see a doctor, American taxpayers cover 72% of our health care premiums. And when it comes time to pick a medical facility, either of us can go to a government-run hospital like the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland.
President Bush just vetoed a bill extending and reforming the State Children’s Health Insurance Program. So I want to know:
If government-run health care is good enough for me, and is good enough for President Bush, why isn’t it good enough for America’s children?
Earlier this week, I stood outside the White House with working families to ask that very question—and we’ve got it on video. Watch it, and join our effort:
http://www.democraticmajority.org/schip
Senate Passes Hate Crimes Bill, 60-39
Today, Senators Edward Kennedy and Gordon Smith celebrated the passage of the Matthew Shepard Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act of 2007. This legislation will ensure that all our citizens are guaranteed equal protection under the law, and will strengthen the ability of federal, state, and local government investigate and prosecute hate crimes based on race, ethnic background, religion, gender, sexual orientation, disability, and gender identity.
Senator Kennedy said, "For far too long, law enforcement has been forced to investigate these crimes with one hand tied behind its back. That’s wrong and today, Congress set it right. No member of our society deserves to be the victim of a violent crime because of their race, religion, ethnic background, disability, gender, sexual orientation, or gender identity."
Pay Raise Day 2007
On Tuesday, the minimum wage increase took effect, and millions of American workers finally got the pay raise they've been waiting 10 years for. To celebrate, Democrats from the House and Senate joined thousands of union activists, Democratic supporters, and working families in a jubilant rally on Capitol Hill.
How we fix the student loan system
I'm on my way to the Senate chamber right now for the debate on the Higher Education Bill, which addresses the critical gap in financial aid that prevents vast numbers of students from seeking a college education.
The time is now: Medicare for all
The 20th century was shaped by advances in engineering, physics, computer science and chemistry, but our current century will be the time of life sciences. We are entering an era when patients will receive personalized medicine tailored to match their genetic profiles, when new stem cell therapies can regenerate damaged organs, and when molecular diagnosis of cancer and other diseases will revolutionize their treatment.
Yet the cruel irony of these advances is that they have outstripped the progress of our public policy. For nearly a century, Americans have sought to make health care a right enjoyed by all, rather than a privilege reserved for a few. But time and again, the quest for quality health care for all has been thwarted by those who profit from our current disjointed, inefficient and inequitable health care system.
Video: S-Chip Press Conference
KENNEDY ON NO CHILD LEFT BEHIND REAUTHORIZATION
KENNEDY ON NO CHILD LEFT BEHIND REAUTHORIZATION
WASHINGTON, D.C.—Today, the following opinion editorial by Senator Edward M. Kennedy, Chairman of the United States Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) appeared in the Washington Post. Kennedy, chief author of the No Child Left Behind Act, is holding a series of hearings and roundtables in the HELP committee, and in Massachusetts, throughout the spring to discuss the reauthorization of the law and to hear from parents, teachers, administrators and other stakeholders.
What a Difference an Election Makes
As printed in the Washington Post on March, 11, 2007
Rome wasn't built in a day, but if this new Congress had been its architect, it might have been. It has been just 66 days since Congress changed hands, and already the results are remarkable. In my 45 years in Congress, I have never seen the Senate turn so rapidly from stalemate toward real progress. While the daily media focus may be on our internal debates or the next presidential election, the biggest news of 2007 is that the election mattered and that the Democrats have already delivered for the American people.
Happy Birthday, Senator Kennedy!
Today, February 22nd, is Senator Kennedy's birthday. You can wish him a happy birthday on his facebook page.
Do-Something Democrats Tackle College Affordability
College tuition rates have skyrocketed out of control. Hundred of thousands of bright, talented young Americans are priced out of a college education each year. This morning, Senator Kennedy will take the fight for college affordability to the Senate Education Committee, urging the Senate to pass the Student Debt Relief Act.
Building the Democratic Majority Online
For the first time in 12 years, Democrats control both houses of Congress, and we are in excellent position to win back the White House in 2008, as well. As part of our continuing effort to strengthen our Democratic majority, Senator Kennedy is connecting with Democrats online.
Become a Founding Member
At this key moment, the people have given the Democratic Party the power to set the agenda in Congress for the first time in a dozen years. We have a unique opportunity to implement better policies and define a better vision of what our nation can be.
The Committee for a Democratic Majority isn’t just about new leadership in Congress. It’s also about new leadership for the country.
By becoming a founding member of the Committee, you can be one of those leaders, and help advance our continuing efforts to create a better America for every American.
It’s Our Decision, Not His
President Bush's plan to send 21,500 more U.S. soldiers into Iraq is the latest in a long series of blunders that has cost thousands of lives and billions of dollars. Even top generals do not believe in the President's plan. The vast majority of Americans know this, and they refuse to sit back and watch as more and more of our brave troops put their lives on the line for a war that America never should have fought, and that cannot be won with tanks and guns.
What you thought about passing the minimum wage
Someone who is working full time should be able to live above the poverty level.
- Alexandra Mummery from Alameda, CA
Video: Discussing Minimum Wage
Video: Affordable Higher Education
Video: Iraq Speech at National Press Club
Video: Swearing In Speech
Video: Raise the Minimum Wage
Video: Support Net Neutrality
Video: Support the Fair Minimum Wage Act
