New York City Brennan
Center Comment
Frustrated with decades of change they had unsuccessfully
opposed---Republican presidents since Richard Nixon have
understood that the power to make lasting, even dramatic or
sudden change, is not in the presidency or the Congress, but
lies with the Court.
The executive and legislative branches seldom offer change
that has the breathless quality of the Court’s most contro-
versial decisions in June or others that yield gasps and
howls during each year.
Alas, no Democratic president since FDR has given much
priority to Supreme Court nominations.
Yet, not only critical constitutional matters but even what
the next president or Congress might accomplish could rest
on the fiat of a 5-4 Court majority. Not to be melodramatic,
but seriously, if the moment hasn’t already passed, the next
eight years may be the last chance -- and it is neither a clear
nor a fair chance -- to salvage the progressive legislative
changes of the 20th century and the most important work of
the Court itself.
Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush promised to lead a
counter revolution. They failed, but their agents, their
judicial picks, are succeeding.
Posted by Congresswoman Elanor Holmes Norton (05-01-2008, 11:40
AM) filed under Judicial Appointments
_______________________________________________
Center Comment
Frustrated with decades of change they had unsuccessfully
opposed---Republican presidents since Richard Nixon have
understood that the power to make lasting, even dramatic or
sudden change, is not in the presidency or the Congress, but
lies with the Court.
The executive and legislative branches seldom offer change
that has the breathless quality of the Court’s most contro-
versial decisions in June or others that yield gasps and
howls during each year.
Alas, no Democratic president since FDR has given much
priority to Supreme Court nominations.
Yet, not only critical constitutional matters but even what
the next president or Congress might accomplish could rest
on the fiat of a 5-4 Court majority. Not to be melodramatic,
but seriously, if the moment hasn’t already passed, the next
eight years may be the last chance -- and it is neither a clear
nor a fair chance -- to salvage the progressive legislative
changes of the 20th century and the most important work of
the Court itself.
Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush promised to lead a
counter revolution. They failed, but their agents, their
judicial picks, are succeeding.
Posted by Congresswoman Elanor Holmes Norton (05-01-2008, 11:40
AM) filed under Judicial Appointments
_______________________________________________
The Congressional
Black Caucus Wants an Employment
Program for America
As the dark clouds of economic recession loom over our
country, America’s working families disproportionately
carry the weight of the domestic and global forces that
have taken our economy into a tailspin.
Like all other Members of Congress, I applaud the unprece-
dented and authentic bipartisan effort toward compromise
and comity as we worked toward creating a stimulus package
that will help the American people.
The Congressional Black Caucus (CBC), in discussions with
the Democratic Leadership, offered a key proposal to be
included as part of the Economic Stimulus package: a sum-
mer employment program for all Americans.
This initiative will boost our crippled economy and provide
immediate assistance to Americans struggling to pay their
bills and sustain their families.
The CBC’s proposal would place a renewed focus on sum-
mer jobs for all Americans. While traditional summer job pro-
grams target teenagers and young adults, the CBC’s initiative
would encompass their parents as well as older adults.
Under current law, there exist meaningful parameters for job
training programs, including adult education and literacy,
welfare-to-work, vocational education, and vocational
rehabilitation.
We must continue to fight for our employment program.
The development of a summer employment program is an
investment in America’s future.
Our economy is weak. The housing market has collapsed.
Our country is at war. Unemployment is at an all-time high.
Participation in a summer employment program would pro-
vide Americans with opportunities to build skills and the
confidence to succeed. Their experiences will not only pre-
pare them for the future, but they will also secure America’s
position as a global economic leader.
According to the objective and non-partisan Congressional
Budget Office, the proposed economic stimulus package
offers little to bolster the American economy.
To be certain, there are aspects of this legislation that will
immediately affect the lives of all Americans. In particular,
the one-year increase in the FHA’s ability to guarantee more
loans and the temporary increase in the capacity of Fannie
Mae and Freddie Mac to purchase loans will help reduce the
number of homes lost to foreclosure.
The rebate component of the bill is superior to that offered
by the President; under his proposal, more than 25 million
low-and middle-income working families would have
received little to nothing.
Our compromise version includes rebates to seniors and vet-
erans. This is good, but it is not enough for America’s fam-
ilies.
We must consider other options and work to develop real
solutions that will reinvigorate the economy, renew consu-
mer confidence, and relieve America’s families of the burdens
of the high costs of education, health care, gas, and groceries.
We must focus on creating real results for real families with
real problems. The Congressional Black Caucus’s summer
employment program will go a long way to improve the lives
of Americans and the longevity of American businesses.
American people expect, and deserve, a stimulus package
that will generate the most growth and produce the most
progress during this economic emergency.
The federal government must play a role in putting low-
income and disadvantaged youth, the unemployed, and
those transitioning into new careers to work.
We must offer a summer employment program for America.
This important and immediate solution must be added to
plans we are currently discussing to address the fiscal chal-
lenges that so many of our families face not in six months,
not in three months, but right now. The next stimulus pack-
age should be one of many steps that should address and
assuage the needs of Americans.
It must create good paying jobs and the opportunities that
they offer. Finally, it must support workers who are transi-
tioing from one industry to another. It is up to Congress to
make this happen. The CBC is ready and will continue to
work for a strong employment program for America.
Posted by Congresswoman Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick (02-12-2008, 11:
37 AM) filed under Economic Security
________________________________________________
Black Caucus Wants an Employment
Program for America
As the dark clouds of economic recession loom over our
country, America’s working families disproportionately
carry the weight of the domestic and global forces that
have taken our economy into a tailspin.
Like all other Members of Congress, I applaud the unprece-
dented and authentic bipartisan effort toward compromise
and comity as we worked toward creating a stimulus package
that will help the American people.
The Congressional Black Caucus (CBC), in discussions with
the Democratic Leadership, offered a key proposal to be
included as part of the Economic Stimulus package: a sum-
mer employment program for all Americans.
This initiative will boost our crippled economy and provide
immediate assistance to Americans struggling to pay their
bills and sustain their families.
The CBC’s proposal would place a renewed focus on sum-
mer jobs for all Americans. While traditional summer job pro-
grams target teenagers and young adults, the CBC’s initiative
would encompass their parents as well as older adults.
Under current law, there exist meaningful parameters for job
training programs, including adult education and literacy,
welfare-to-work, vocational education, and vocational
rehabilitation.
We must continue to fight for our employment program.
The development of a summer employment program is an
investment in America’s future.
Our economy is weak. The housing market has collapsed.
Our country is at war. Unemployment is at an all-time high.
Participation in a summer employment program would pro-
vide Americans with opportunities to build skills and the
confidence to succeed. Their experiences will not only pre-
pare them for the future, but they will also secure America’s
position as a global economic leader.
According to the objective and non-partisan Congressional
Budget Office, the proposed economic stimulus package
offers little to bolster the American economy.
To be certain, there are aspects of this legislation that will
immediately affect the lives of all Americans. In particular,
the one-year increase in the FHA’s ability to guarantee more
loans and the temporary increase in the capacity of Fannie
Mae and Freddie Mac to purchase loans will help reduce the
number of homes lost to foreclosure.
The rebate component of the bill is superior to that offered
by the President; under his proposal, more than 25 million
low-and middle-income working families would have
received little to nothing.
Our compromise version includes rebates to seniors and vet-
erans. This is good, but it is not enough for America’s fam-
ilies.
We must consider other options and work to develop real
solutions that will reinvigorate the economy, renew consu-
mer confidence, and relieve America’s families of the burdens
of the high costs of education, health care, gas, and groceries.
We must focus on creating real results for real families with
real problems. The Congressional Black Caucus’s summer
employment program will go a long way to improve the lives
of Americans and the longevity of American businesses.
American people expect, and deserve, a stimulus package
that will generate the most growth and produce the most
progress during this economic emergency.
The federal government must play a role in putting low-
income and disadvantaged youth, the unemployed, and
those transitioning into new careers to work.
We must offer a summer employment program for America.
This important and immediate solution must be added to
plans we are currently discussing to address the fiscal chal-
lenges that so many of our families face not in six months,
not in three months, but right now. The next stimulus pack-
age should be one of many steps that should address and
assuage the needs of Americans.
It must create good paying jobs and the opportunities that
they offer. Finally, it must support workers who are transi-
tioing from one industry to another. It is up to Congress to
make this happen. The CBC is ready and will continue to
work for a strong employment program for America.
Posted by Congresswoman Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick (02-12-2008, 11:
37 AM) filed under Economic Security
________________________________________________
Washington, D.C. -“Today, the Supreme Court, in its un-
fair, unwarranted, and un-American decision endorsing the
alien- ation of the poor, senior citizens, ethnic minorities and
legal immigrants from the electoral process is sad, sordid and
shameless,” remarked Congresswoman Carolyn C. Kilpatrick
(D-MI), Chairwoman of the Congressional Black Caucus.
“In an era of unprecedented voter turnout for our nation’s
primaries, there has been not one incident of voter fraud.
Regrettably, and once again, the majority in the Supreme
Court has distanced themselves from common sense.
The CBC will fight today’s Supreme Court’s selection of
covert and regressive voting suppression tactics over encour-
aging and stimulation voting by all eligible Americans.”
_________________________________________________
fair, unwarranted, and un-American decision endorsing the
alien- ation of the poor, senior citizens, ethnic minorities and
legal immigrants from the electoral process is sad, sordid and
shameless,” remarked Congresswoman Carolyn C. Kilpatrick
(D-MI), Chairwoman of the Congressional Black Caucus.
“In an era of unprecedented voter turnout for our nation’s
primaries, there has been not one incident of voter fraud.
Regrettably, and once again, the majority in the Supreme
Court has distanced themselves from common sense.
The CBC will fight today’s Supreme Court’s selection of
covert and regressive voting suppression tactics over encour-
aging and stimulation voting by all eligible Americans.”
_________________________________________________
CONGRESSIONAL
BLACK CAUCUS
DENOUNCES
INDIANA VOTER
ID RULING
BLACK CAUCUS
DENOUNCES
INDIANA VOTER
ID RULING
Chairwoman, Congresswoman
Carolyn Kilpatrick
Carolyn Kilpatrick