Wednesday, April 1, 2015

THE DISGRACEFUL REPUBLICAN BUDGET


	TAKE THE POLL: Do you think corporations are paying their fair share in federal taxes?

The Senate on Friday passed a budget that envisions more than $5 trillion in cuts over the coming decade by slashing health care and other benefits for working families and the middle class while leaving tax breaks in place for the wealthiest Americans and multi-national corporations. Twenty-seven million Americans would lose health insurance under the Republican plan as they eliminate the Affordable Care Act and make huge cuts to Medicaid. "What they are proposing is major cuts in programs for some of the most vulnerable people in this country — the elderly, children, sick and low-income people,” said Bernie, the ranking member of the Senate Budget Committee. “At the same time they want to give significant tax breaks to the wealthy and the large corporations.” During the week-long debate Republicans rejected proposals to create millions of new jobs, raise the minimum wage, help students afford college, and protect seniors on Social Security and Medicare.

	WATCH BERNIE RALLY WITH STUDENTS AGAINST BUDGET CUTS

	LISTEN TO BERNIE ON KQED IN SAN FRANCISCO


	A DISGRACEFUL BUDGET

	Bernie led the opposition to the Republican budget proposal during a week-long debate. He summed up the Republican plan during the floor debate. “We’ll make it harder for kids to go to college, we’ll throw people off health insurance, but we will not ask the rich and powerful to pay more in taxes,” he said. “Their intention is to balance the budget on the backs of the elderly, the children, the sick and the poor.”


	REBUILD AMERICA

	The Senate earlier in the week blocked another amendment from Bernie that would have encouraged a major investment in roads, bridges and other infrastructure projects and, in the process, support millions of construction jobs. Fifty-two Senate Republicans voted against that proposal.


	RAISE THE MINIMUM WAGE

	Senate Republicans blocked Bernie's amendment calling for an increase in the minimum wage. “Since 1968, the real value of the federal minimum wage has fallen by close to 30 percent,” Bernie said before the vote. “Let us stand today with the tens of millions of workers who are struggling to put food on the table, to take care of their families. Let us raise the minimum wage." Bernie wants the federal minimum wage to go from the current $7.25 an hour to at least $10.10 an hour and eventually to $15 an hour.


	IF YOU WANT A WAR, PAY FOR IT

	An amendment from Sen. Marco Rubio would have increased military funding above caps Congress imposed on itself in 2011without offsetting cuts. Bernie told Rubio his measure undermined the Republicans’ avowed desire to reduce the federal budget deficit. "Enough is enough, if you want to go to war, start paying for it,” Bernie said.


	CLIMATE CHANGE IS REAL

	Bernie's amendment was offered during the debate that would have recognized the reality of global climate change. It said climate change is real and caused by humans. Five Republicans voted for it, but that wasn’t enough to adopt the amendment.


	EQUAL PAY FOR WOMEN

	Also falling on similar nearly party-line votes were proposals to protect women in the workplace by ensuring equal pay for equal work.


	HELP FOR COLLEGE STUDENTS

	An amendment that called for reducing student debt by allowing borrowers with existing federal and private student loans to refinance their loans at lower interest rates was rejected by Republicans.


	DEFEND SOCIAL SECURITY

	An amendment co-sponsored by Bernie which called for no cuts to Social Security attracted five Republican votes and won by a 50-49 vote. On the other hand, no Republicans voted to expand Social Security benefits in an amendment that failed 42-56.

MUST READS


	Trillion Dollar Fraudsters
	Paul Krugman for The New York Times


	The Middle Class Has Gotten Smaller In Every State Since 2000
	Jenny Che for The Huffington Post


	How China used more cement in 3 years than the U.S. did in the entire 20th Century
	Ana Swanson for The Washington Post

COMING EVENTS


	Listen to "Brunch with Bernie" Fridays at 12 noon ET

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The TRUTH will set you FREE.

Arctic drilling rights OKd for Shell Oil

Apr 1st, 2015

by John Donovan.

No comments yet

Article by Jennifer A. Dlouhy published Tuesday, March 31, 2015 by sfgate.com

Arctic drilling rights OKd for Shell Oil

WASHINGTON — The Obama administration on Tuesday reaffirmed a 2008 government auction of Arctic drilling rights over objections from environmentalists, delivering a major victory to Shell Oil Co. as it seeks to resume exploratory drilling in the Chukchi Sea this summer.

In validating the 7-year-old auction, Interior Secretary Sally Jewell stressed that the Arctic “is an important component of the administration’s national energy strategy.”

“We remain committed to taking a thoughtful and balanced approach to oil and gas leasing and exploration offshore Alaska,” Jewell said in a statement. “This unique, sensitive and often challenging environment requires effective oversight to ensure all activities are conducted safely and responsibly.”

The TRUTH will set you FREE.

Interior approves updated OCS Lease Sale analysis, clears one hurdle for Shell

Apr 1st, 2015

by John Donovan.

No comments yet

Article by Tim Bradner published 31 March 2015 by The Alaska Journal of Commerce:

Interior approves updated OCS Lease Sale analysis, clears one hurdle for Shell

The U.S. Interior Department published a long-awaited Record of Decision Tuesday on a contested 2008 Arctic offshore lease sale that had blocked Shell Oil’s exploration plans on leases it purchased.

The decision, or ROD, gave formal approval to a Supplementary Environmental Impact Statement published in February by the U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management. The revised environmental document corrected a defect in the environmental study for the 2008 lease sale over which environmental groups sued.

Posted in: Alaska, Arctic, Beaufort Sea, Chukchi Sea, Environment, Oil, Royal Dutch Shell Plc, Shell, Simon Henry.
Tagged: Alaska · Arctic Ocean · Beaufort Sea · Chukchi Sea · Oil · Royal Dutch Shell Plc

The TRUTH will set you FREE.