Sam Knight - page 61

Two Democratic lawmakers, including a leader of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, are scheduled to attend a fundraiser aimed at rallying younger Democrats around attempts to address the nation’s burgeoning level of student debt. Rep. Keith Ellison (D-Minn.), caucus co-chair, and Rep. Joe Courtney (D-Conn.) have agreed to appear at the May 12 Virginia Young Democrats (VAYD) and Young Democrats of America event on Capitol Hill—one where attendees will pay admission rates inversely proportional to the amount of debt they have accumulated to pay for tuition. Those… Keep Reading

Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn (R-Texas) cited instability in a regional ally gripped by pro-US authoritarian rule as a reason to grant the administration Trade Promotion Authority. Cornyn remarked at a Senate Finance Committee hearing on Tuesday that the recent exodus of migrant children fleeing violence in Honduras justifies a move by the panel to advance the hotly-debated bill—one required for Congress to advance the Obama administration’s ambitious corporate lobbyist-backed trade agenda. Cornyn referred to a Congressional delegation to the Central American nation he embarked… Keep Reading

When asked after November’s midterm election what kind of room for cooperation existed between a Republican-dominated Congress and a White House without any kind of re-election to prepare for, both President Obama and incoming-Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said the two branches of government could find common ground on trade and tax reform. But the bridge on the former issue is looking increasingly threatened, if last week’s announcement by US Trade Representative Michael Froman—about rules concerning congressional oversight over Trans-Pacific Partnership negotiations are concerned—is any… Keep Reading

On Thursday, just before it was announced that key lawmakers hashed out an agreement to advance the Trans-Pacific Partnership, US Trade Ambassador Michael Froman appeared at a Bloomberg News symposium to assure reporters that critics’ concerns about secrecy surrounding the deal were being taken into consideration. Froman, who did not take any questions from reporters in the audience, didn’t say the details of the plan would be publicly revealed anytime soon, but did say he has moved “to accommodate” legislators asking to see “an unredacted version,… Keep Reading

Democrats hoping that the upcoming Republican presidential primaries will be reminiscent of the sprint to the far-right four years ago may have been disappointed Wednesday after remarks made by Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.). Defending his tax plan from conservative criticism, the hopeful Commander-in-Chief not only suggested that inequality is problematic, but said that Ronald Reagan’s approach to governing wouldn’t be appropriate today. Rubio said that Republicans “need to recognize that the 21st century has some significant differences from the era from which [Reagan] governed,” in response… Keep Reading

The Obama administration concealed American Indians’ appeals to reject the Keystone XL pipeline, according to a report published Tuesday by The Hill. The nations had written to the Department of the Interior, claiming the TransCanada tar-sands vessel would jeopardize the cleanliness of resources, infringe upon prior treaty agreements, and violate sacred lands, in stacks of letters only revealed through Freedom of Information Act Request. “Interior sent 175 pages of letters from tribes to the State Department, according to documents obtained by The Hill,” the daily… Keep Reading

A House Tea Party Republican with well-known ties to major corporate handout-seekers is at the center of a charge to weaken post-2008 financial reforms. Rep. Stephen Fincher (R-Tenn.) has attached his name, through co-sponsorship or authorship, to half of eight measures on the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau being taken up by the House this week. Many of those proposals are, however, also backed enthusiastically by Democrats, who helped carry them to approval by wide margins in House Financial Services Committee mark-up votes. The bipartisan zeal–along with the… Keep Reading