1% Senators Blocked Consumer Protections for the 99%
Today, obstructionists in the Senate blocked an up-or-down vote on the nomination of Richard Cordray to head the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). Fifty-three senators voted for Cordray, while 45—all Republicans—voted against ending debate on his nomination. Massachusetts Sen. Scott Brown (R) voted for Cordray, and Maine Sen. Olympia Snowe (R) voted present.
The new agency, which was created by the Wall Street Transparency and
Accountability Act, is limited in its powers and cannot fully protect
consumers—until a director is confirmed. Which is exactly why 44 Republican senators have no intention of letting any director be confirmed. In May, they signed a letter to President Obama threatening to block any nomination to head the agency.
The 44 GOP senators who would not allow an up-or-down vote on Richard Cordray’s nomination have received millions from Wall Street this year. And they are shameless in admitting their goal is to force “structural changes” that prevent the bureau from doing its job: protecting consumers from Wall Street abuses. This shows just how much Wall Street greed dominates in Washington these days—particularly within the GOP.
House Kills China Currency Bill and Chance to Create U.S. Jobs
House Republicans killed another jobs bill tonight, with nearly all of them casting a vote on a procedural motion that buried the Currency Reform for Fair Trade Act (H.R. 639). The bill, which would have held China accountable for its job-killing currency manipulation, was passed last night by the Senate. The motion to bring the bill to the floor was defeated 192-236, with only four Republicans joining 188 Democrats in supporting the move to bring the legislation to a vote.
Had anti-worker Republicans supported the bill, it would have:
- Created at least one million manufacturing jobs in the United States.
- Leveled the playing field for American workers and businesses.
- Enhanced our economic and national security by cutting our trade deficit with China, at no cost to taxpayers.
Senate Passes China Currency Bill: Will Boehner Support Jobs as Well?
By a wide margin, the U.S. Senate this evening passed a bill to hold China accountable for its job-killing practice of currency manipulation. The 63-35 vote on S.1619, the Currency Exchange Rate Oversight Act of 2011, is a good step toward creating U.S. jobs.
According to new data, 2.8 million American jobs were lost or displaced over the past decade due to the growing U.S. trade deficit with China—fueled by Chinese currency manipulation.
But the measure must now be passed by the House, and AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka called on House Majority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) to “allow this vote to take place without delay.”
Congress must stand up for American manufacturing and put an end to the trade war being waged against the working families and communities. Our country needs jobs, and we can no longer afford to be passive.
Alliance for American Manufacturing Executive Director Scott Paul also challenged Boehner to pass the bill after tonight’s vote:
Will you side with the Beijing regime and outsourcers, or will you stand with American manufacturing?
Senate Votes Today on China Currency
The U.S. Senate today will vote on a bill (S. 1619) to hold China accountable for its job-killing practice of currency manipulation. According to new data, 2.8 million American jobs were lost or displaced over the past decade due to the growing U.S. trade deficit with China—fueled by Chinese currency manipulation. (Call your senators today and urge them to vote for S. 1619 or click HERE to e-mail your senators.)
A filibuster against the China currency bill was broken Oct. 6 (63-28). But the vote on final passage was delayed last week when Republicans tried to attach a series of weakening amendments.
Chinese Currency Bill Could Lead to More than 2 Million Jobs
Next week, the U.S. Senate will take up consideration of a bill to address Chinese currency manipulation. The Republican-controlled House is holding up its version of the legislation, even though it passed the House with overwhelming bipartisan support in 2010, with 99 Republicans supporting it.
Unlike other currencies, the Chinese yuan does not fluctuate freely against the dollar but is artificially pegged in order to boost China’s exports. Bringing the Chinese yuan to its equilibrium level—a 28.5 percent appreciation—is essential to creating much-needed jobs in this country. The Alliance for American Manufacturing says addressing Chinese currency manipulation would lead to:
Pop Quiz: What Will Rep. Ryan’s Robin Hood in Reverse Budget Do to America?
Manny Herrmann, AFL-CIO online mobilization coordinator, details the extent to which the Republican budget proposal would hurt working families.
Pop Quiz: What would America look like under Rep. Paul Ryan’s (R-Wis.) radical tea party-inspired budget?
A. A typical 65-year-old would spend $6,359 more per year out of pocket for health care by 2022 because Medicare’s promise would be replaced with underfunded vouchers.
B. At least 15 million U.S. residents would lose Medicaid health care.
C. $4.2 trillion in new tax cuts would be handed out mostly to corporations and the rich.
D. All of the above.
Call Your Rep. Now on State Jobs Bill
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The U.S. Senate on Thursday voted for a bill giving essential aid to state and local governments that would save or create nearly a million jobs for teachers, public employees, police officers, firefighters and others. The measure is fully paid for, in part because it closes tax loopholes for multi-national corporations that send U.S. jobs overseas.
The House will vote on the bill tomorrow TODAY. Speaker Nancy Pelosi called representatives back from their August recess to vote because of the importance of this bill to America’s workers.
Please take a moment right now to urge your representative to vote for state aid and teacher funding to save these essential jobs. Call 877-442-6801.
Rand Paul and the Right to Work for Less
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The Rand Paul for Senate campaign says their guy was glad to get $2,500 from the National Right to Work Committee (NRTWC) because the group “supports candidates best suited to protect Americans from labor union abuses.”
Jeff Wiggins isn’t surprised that the viciously anti-labor group is backing Paul, who wants to be Kentucky’s next Republican senator. In short, says Wiggins, president of the Paducah-based AFL-CIO Western Kentucky Area Council:
It’s a case of an extremist organization supporting an extremist candidate.
Millionaires Killing Jobs
Today, 1.2 million jobless workers lose their extended unemployment insurance (UI) because some Senate millionaires think a $300 a week unemployment check will make people too lazy to look for a job. This group also is pushing to reduce the nation’s budget deficit rather than use short-term spending to create desperately needed jobs for the nation’s 26 million unemployed or underemployed workers.
Three things:
* The Senate yesterday failed for the FOURTH time to extend UI because Senate Republicans are blockading the bill. Economists say extending UI is fiscally prudent and essential to improve the faltering economy. Several hundred thousand more unemployed workers will lose their UI each week in addition to the 1.2 million jobless workers who already have.
* While more than 15 million U.S. workers can’t find work because there’s five workers for every one job opening, the rich are getting massively richer. The ranks of the nation’s millionaires rose 16.5 percent, to 2.87 million, last year. Their total wealth in North America rose 17.8 percent, to $10.7 trillion.
* A new poll shows the majority of the U.S. public wants government to take a larger and stronger role in making the economy work for America’s workers. Nine out of 10 agree that government and corporations should join with individuals to place the common good above greed. Another poll, by the Alliance for American Manufacturing, shows nearly three of five respondents (58 percent) say the United States no longer has the world’s strongest economy, compared with 36 percent who believe otherwise.
America’s Toilet Paper Economy
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The pundit class is so desperate to put a happy spin on the nation’s faltering economy they have resorted to this: toilet paper.
Forget tea leaves. Now we are told the state of the economy can be divined by the shift in consumer purchases from one-ply to two-ply—and even three-ply!—toilet paper. The more ply people buy, the better the economy. Clearly then, we as a nation are on a roll.
America’s 27 million jobless also see the economy in terms of toilet paper. But they’re not counting the number of tissue layers.
In May, some 6.8 million U.S. workers were out of a job for 27 weeks or longer, up from 4 million a year ago. More than 250,000 people a week are losing their unemployment benefits, according to the National Employment Law Project (NELP).
So, what is Congress doing about it?
