THIS WEEK IN WASHINGTON

We Endorse Kamala Harris

This week in Washington we are writing to endorse Kamala Harris for President of the United States. Kamala and Joe Biden beat the pandemic that claimed one million American lives. In addition the American Recovery Plan lifted millions out of poverty through an expanded Child Tax Credit with $ 3,600 per child mailed and direct deposited to families all over this nation of ours. The Biden-Harris Administration enacted a bi-partisan infrastructure plan that is spending $ 1.2 trillion on building bridges, roads and highways in order to bind the nation together, creating jobs and securing America's economy.

The Biden-Harris Administration has added more than 13 million new jobs - including 800,000 manufacturing jobs. There were more than 10 million applications for new small businesses filed in 2021 and 2022. Inflation has fallen for 11 straight months and has come down by more than half. The clean energy workforce added 300,000 jobs in 2022 and clean energy grew in every state in America. 

For the first time in a generation we have passed meaningful gun control legislation. The Bipartisan Safer Communities Act passed the Senate 65-33 and the House 243-193, providing for the creation of mental health services in schools across the country and expanding the Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinic Program providing mental health services and solving problems before they become crises through SAHMSA. Straw purchases of firearms are now a federal crime. In addition, this legislation expands background checks on purchases for Americans under 21.

Among the accomplishments of this Administration that go unnoticed is it's immigration policy. Kamala and President Joe Biden expanded humanitarian parole programs for people escaping war and political turmoil around the world. As of mid April, some 300,000 Ukrainians arrived in the United States under various programs a number greater than all the people from around the world admitted through the official refugee program in the last 5 years. Kamala & Joe expanded Temporary Protective Status for the diplaced people seeking refuge from persecution hoping to build a more prosperous life as Americans. Operation Allies Welcome has welcomed over 78,000 Afghans through humanitarian parole.

We endorse Kamala Harris for President because we believe that the light of our dreams can drive out the darkness of our nightmares. Kamala's lived experience of integrating schools as a child speak to her dedication to civil rights and her commitment to our nation to form a more perfect union. She doesn't just support civil rights, she's lived a commitment to form a more equitable education system. We have never had a woman President. It has been more than 100 years since women won the vote during the Progressive Era. Our time has come to break the highest of glass ceilings and make a women President. The time has come to throw the darkness of ignorance and poverty back into the night and we endorse Kamala Harris for President without hesitation.         

This Week in Washington

Elizabeth Warren for Massachusetts

This week in Washington we are writing to endorse Elizabeth Warren for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. No stranger to tough fights during the subprime mortgage crises she stood up to the banks and oversaw the Trouble Asset Relief Program providing oversight of the Big Banks to make sure they didn't loot the public. Under her leadership Congres enacted Dodd-Frank, providing for stress tests for the Big Banks to make sure they didn't destroy the economy. She oversaw the creation of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau that has delivered millions of dollars of relief for consumers cheated by the Big Banks like Wells Fargo and Bank of America. On the economy, she has fought for a higher minimum wage, in favor of the Protecting the Right to Organize Act so that workers can organize labor-unions under the protection of the United States and for affordable health care.

On student debt, Warren sounded a call to action to cancel student debt up to $ 50,000 using authority that the Federal Government already had so that Sallie Mae does not hold our college graduates hostage with their loan commitments. Our youngest and most idealistic minds want to start a family, open a business, take a chance on a graduate degree or answer the call to public service careers. For all these Americans, Senator Warren has stood strong, fighting for more affordable interest rates on college degrees. She has fought for free community college with the insight that a better educated workforce will pioneer the next generation of scientific inquiry and discovery. When we invest in education for our young and lifetime learning we are investing in ourselves.

Lastly, Warren has unveiled a plan for universal child care. Her plan would: 1) cap costs for every family in America, (with half paying no more than $ 10 a day, 2) ensure access by funding child care centers across the country, and 3) give child care workers a raise by making sure they receive wages and benefits comparable to public school teachers with similar credentials." We need 'all hands on deck' for the future of America's children. $10,000 is the national average spent on care for one child every year and is over half the median income of a single mother. Mothers working their hearts out for the future of their families and country are handing over half their paycheck for child care. If enacted into law "more families would be able to make ends meet by not straining to cover child care, In addition, more small businesses would be able to fill open positions with new workers in the mix - lifting our whole economy." Further, "more child care workers  would be able to stay in their field instead of needing to switch industries because of low pay." Finally more "kids would start their education with a solid foundation." In exchange, we could see "increas[ed] graduation rates, higher incomes and reduced health risks." Sen Warren teaches that "every dollar spent on quality education is an investment in America's future."    

THIS WEEK IN WASHINGTON

Mazie Hirono for Hawaii

This week in Washington, we are writing to endorse Senator Mazie Hirono for Hawai'i. There is nothing more improbable than Mazie Hirono's rise from obscurity to become United States Senator from Hawai'i. Mazie was born in Japan and immigrated to the United States when she was 8 years old. Her family didn't have much, she was raised by a single mother. Her family gave her love and an education. She had the courage of her convictions and her family provided for her putting food on the kitchen table and a roof over her families head. A proud product of public schools, early on she learned the love of reading. She spent her time in college with patients at a local hospital where she learned the value of health care and the importance of access to medical care. Protesting the war in Vietnam while in college opened her eyes to a path to public service. From obscurity Mazie rose to attend Georgetown where she studied public interest law. 

After graduation from law school, Mazie worked in the anti-trust division of the Hawai'i attorney general's office. In 1980 the Senator succesfully ran for the Hawai'i House of Representatives. While there she chaired the House Consumer Protection and Commerce Committee. Sen. Hirono served in the Hawai'i House for more than a decade. In 1994 she was elected Lt. Governor where she led efforts to improve early childhood education. In 2006, she was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in the 2nd Congressional District where she supported working families with Hawai'i's pre-paid health care law. In 2012, Mazie was elected to the United States Senate for her first full term. Sen. Hirono was the first Asian-American woman and first woman Senator from the Aloha state of Hawai'i. She has served as a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee and Veterans Affairs Committee. As a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee she has fought for civil rights by making sure judicial nominees are committed to equal housing, employment non discrimination, access to education and access to public accommodation.

On April 2019, Hirono joined 41 of her colleagues signing a bipartisan letter to the housing subcommittee praising the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development's Section 4 Capacity Building program as authorizing "HUD to partner with national non profit community development organizations to provide education, training and financial support to local  community development coporations (CDCs) across the country" and expressing disappointment that Trump's budget "slated this program for elimination after decades of successful economic and commmunity development." Hirono wrote of her hope that the subcommittee would support continued funding for Section 4 in the year's budget. Mazie Hirono is endorsed by Emily's List the pro-choice women's PAC and is a survivor of Stage 4 kidney cancer. Sen. Hirono was re elected in 2018, is a champion of bilateral relations with Japan and is the author of Heart of Fire: An Immigrant Daughter's Story 

  

THIS WEEK IN WASHINGTON

Amy Klobuchar for Minnesota

This week in Washington we are writing to endorse Amy Klobuchar for Minnesota. Amy is a cosponsor of our lead legislation the Freedom to Vote Act. At the critical junction, she introduced our legislation taking a strong stand for civil rights. In addition to sponsoring our legislation she attended the University of Chicago Law School where she distinguished herself academically. Since her election to the United States Senate from the State of Minnesota she has cosponsored an avalanche of legislation pending before the Congress. Her grandfather worked 1,500 feet underground in the iron ore mines of Northern Minnesota and Amy takes the values of mine workers with her to Washington where she has been an advocate for workers rights notably in her support of the Protecting the Right to Organize Act. Her father was a newspaperman, a journalist and her mother was an elementary school teacher. In an analysis by Vanderbilt University she was rated as the "most effective" senator in the 115th Congress.

Amy has fought to expand job and education opportunities for returning service members while also fighting to insure that returning Minnesota National Guard members receive the full benefits thay earned. Specifically, Amy expanded opportunity by turning Minnesota's "Beyond the Yellow Ribbon" program into a groundbreaking national program. As a member of the Agricultural Committee she has worked passing bipartisan Farm Bills, changing the tone in Washington and showing that when Republicans and Democrats set their differences aside they can accomplish anything they put their minds to strengthening Minnesota's rural economy and providing the certainty and support farmers need. Amy's accomplishments in the Senate are pratically numberless. Amy pushed cell phone companies to enact more consumer friendly policies and her efforts to protect consumers have resulted in the largest airbag recall in american history, creating safer cars and transportation across America.

Sem. Klobuchar is a member of the Joint Economic Committee and the Senate Commerce Committee. As a member of these committees Sen. Klobuchar has been a leader in making sure America's small businesses can compete anywhere in the world, bringing prosperity home. She has made sure that three proud words, made in America continue to make us proud. She has led the charge innovating and creating good jobs in Minnesota. She has authored legislation to lift the trade embargo on Cuba so we can make peace with our neighbors. As co-chair of the Senate Broadband Caucus, Senator Klobuchar has been a leader in making sure that every American has access to high speed internet so we can build a 21st century economy broad enough to include every American no matter their income, background or economic status. We whole heartedly endorse Amy for reelection.

 

   

THIS WEEK IN WASHINGTON

Jacky Rosen for Nevada

This week in Washington we are writing to endorse Jacky Rosen for Nevada. In 2021, Jacky helped write and pass the historic Bipartisan Infrastructure Law as part of the bipartisan group of Senators who negotiated the final landmark package. The Infrastructure Investmwent and Jobs Actis now delivering thousands of good paying jobs for the state of Nevada and fixing roads and bridges  while modernizing airports and making high speed internet faster and more affordable. Sen. Rosen is gfighting to build an economy that gives everyone a chance at success. Jacky is the Chair of the Subcommittee on Tourism, Trade, and Export Promotion where she has led efforts to strengthen tourism to Nevada, provide tesources to small businesses and entrepreneurs while building on the states clean energy economy and building upo Nevada as an incubator of innovative new technologies and cutting edge research.

Jacky is a champion for organized labor and favors the right of workers to join, organize and achieve unionization. Sen Rosen supports affordable child care, paid family leave, and equal pay for equal work. Rising prices have stretched family budgets to the breaking point and in response Jacky is pushing to increase access to affordable housing in Nevada while cutting taxes fopr the middle class and lowering cost for everyday essentials. On education, Jacky has passed funding to rebuild crumbling K-12 public schools while fighting for better pay for public school teachers and working for access to mental health resources for students She has introduced legislation to expand and improve key workforce development programs and skills training inititiatives to prepare Nevadans for the careers of the 21st century.

Senator Rosen knows that health care is the resource that makes other resources possible. She is working to bring down the rising cost of health care and prescription drugs while tackling Nevada's doctor shortage and increasing access to telemedicine and rural health care. As Chair of the Senate's bipartisan Comprehensive Care Cacuus she is fighting to support family caregivers and will always stand strong to protect Medicare annd Social Security for our seniors. On immigration reform Jacky has pushed Congress to finally tackle the issue by providing a pathway to citizenship and while keeping families together and repairing what has become a broken system. Jacky is a fierce defender of civil and voting rights including LGBTQ+ rights. In addition Jacky grew up in the Chicago suburbs and was the first in her family to graduate from college. Jacky is Jewish and knows the strength of diversity in our patch work heritage and grew up to achieve the American dream .

THIS WEEK IN WASHINGTON

Sherrod Brown for Ohio

This week in Washington we are writing to endorse Sherrod Brown for Ohio in the United States Senate. Sherrod Brown has soent his career fighting for the dignity of work, the idea that if you work hard and play by the rules you deserve to get ahead no matter who you are, where you live, or what kind of work you do. Sherrod Brown has sat across 500 kitchen tables across Ohio listening to what working and middle class families are doing for the American people. In the Senate Sherrod has brought a laser like focus on policy problems working to make communtiies in Ohio whole again. The best ideas don't come from Washington they come from conversations with Ohioans. Senator Brown commitment to great working people is reflected in his efforts to make the Earned Income Tax Credit permanent so that Ohioans have a floor under their income and the AAmerican people can walk in the bright sunshine of prosperity.

Sherrod has fought against tax and trade polciies that sell workers out whil taking the fight to Wall Street. In 2009 following the subprime mortgage lending crises America entered the Great Recession and Ohio was on the ropes. Sherrod succesfully fought to save the auto industry. Sen Brown fought for Ohio's auto supply chain with legislation that fought to get rid of tax incentives for auto companies to ship jobs overseas through outsourcing. Sherrod Brown was instrumental in passing the Dodd-Frank Wall Street reform creating the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau that has delivered millions of savings for hard working Americans. Sherrod Brown voted against NAFTA keeping faith with workers everywhere. In 2020 Brown secured groundbreaking worker protections, including his Brown-Wyden provision, the strongest labor enfrocemtn in American history in a U.S. trade deal.

Sherrod was a champion for health care throughout his career from a patient's bill of rights to Obamacare because no American should be denied care because of a pre existing condition. Brown lives by his belifs where he gets his health care through the health exchange because he lives by his beliefs. Senator Brown fought to protect Ohio's medicaid expansion. Sherrod Brown is committed to social and economic justice and joined Civil Rights icon John Lewis in commemorating the March across the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma Alabama and is a strong supporter of the John Lewis Voting Rights Act. Sherrod is fighting against politicians and judges who erect more and more barriers to voting. As a former Ohio Sevretary of State, Sherros has long championed voting rights and the Washington Post called his voter registration efforts "probably the most intensive and wide ranging in the nation." Sherrod Brown is a loud and proud graduate of Ohio State University and a life long Ohioan. We proudly support his reelection      

THIS WEEK IN WASHINGTON

Jon Tester for Montana

This week in Washington we are writing to endorse Jon Tester for Montana in the United States Senate. Senaotr Jon Tester is a third-generation Montana farmer, a proud grandfather, and a former school teacher with deep roots in hard work, responsibility and accountability. Jon and his wife Sharla still farm the same land near the town of Big Sandy, Montana that was homesteaded by Jon's grandparents n 1912. Jon's parents believed public education and family agriculture are the cornerstone of democracy - and those values had a tremendous role in shaping Jon's leadership. Sen. Tester earned a degree in music from the College of Great Falls and in 1978 took over the Tester family farm. A teacher, Tester taught music at F.E. Miley Elementary and was elected to the Big Sandy School Board. Fired up by the Montana Legislature's decision to deregulate Montana's power industry (resulting in higher power costs), Jon ran for and was elected to the Montana Senate in 1998.

In 2005, Jon's colleagues chose him to serve as Montana Senate President. The people of Montana then elected Jon to the United States Senate in 2006. They voted to send him back in 2012 and again in 2018. Jon believes in holding himself accoutable to the highest standard possible, and he has improved transparency at all levels of govenrment. Jon was the first senator to post his daily public schedule online. In the Seante, Jon is a tireless defender of rural America and the Montana was of life. He is the Treasure State's strongest advocate for family farms, ranchers, veterans, small business owners, sportsmen, women, and Tribal Nations. Tester has created jobs, comb atted agricultural consolidation, championed responsible energy development, improved schools and expanded high quality health care.

Jon is always fighting to bring down costs, grow our economy, and improve the lives of all Montanans. As a senior member and former chairman of the Senate Indian Affairs Committee, Jpon has worked closely with Tribal Nations to expand resrouces at the Indian Helath Service, increase investments in Tribal schools, and secure resources and expand jurisdiction for Tribal Law Enforcement agencies. Jon is Chairman fo the Senate Vterans' Affairs Committee and effective advocate for veterans. Tester is astrong supporter of the VA Mission Act assuring Congressional oversight. The VA Mission Act works to better integrate the VA with community health care providers, fix structural issues with the VA's outside care programs and establishes a community care program among ohter provisions., Tester has made uus all proud to call ourselves Americans and we endorse Jon without reservation.  

    

THIS WEEK IN WASHINGTON

Bob Casey for Pennsylvania

This week in Washington we are writing to endorse Bob Casey for Senate from Pennsylvania. Bob Casey was born in Scranton and is a member of 4 Senate committees including the Health, Education, Labor & Pension Committee. He is Chair of the Special Committee on Aging where he focuses on supporting seniors and individuals with disabilities. Senator Casey graduated from the College of the Holy Cross in 1982 and spent the following year teaching and coaching basketball in inner city Philadelphia for the Jesuit Volunteer Corps. Sen. Casey received his law degree from Catholic University, to this day he lives in Scranton with his family. The words "all public service is a trust, given in faith and accepted in honor" are inscribed over the front door of the Finance Building in Harrisburg, and are principles that have guided Senator Casey throughout his time in public service. Since he was elected to the United States Senate in 2006, he has fought for the needs of workers, families in the Commonwealth and across the Nation. 

As Chairman of the Senate Special Committee on Aging, Senator Casey has led Senate efforts to ensure that our Nation's seniors have the resources and support they need in their old age. Through committee work, Senator Casey continues to be the Senate's leader in disability rights, leading a total of 19 disability policy bills in 2019 alone that covered education, health, employment, financial security, civil rights, disaster preparation and relief, veterans and Social Seurity. He was the prime Senate sponsor of landmark legislation for individuals with disabilities, the Stephen Beck Jr. Achieving a Better Life Experience Act. ABLE will allow millions of families across the United States to save for the long term care of their loved ones with a disability by using a tax-advantage savings account.

The Associated Press hailed this legislation as "the most important new law [for those with disabilities] in 25 years. Senator Casey believes that people with disabilities have a lot of ability, and we must give them the tools to succeed in the workforce and to live life to the fullest. Across Pennsylvania, Senator Casey works to boost initiatives that create good-paying jobs and grow local economies. He believes creating opportunity for Pennsylvania businesses and workers is key to creating jobs and investing in the economic future of the Commonwealth. During his time in the Senate, Senator Casey has fought to increase the minimum wage, ensure equal pay for equal work and enhance worker protection. We endorse Bob Casey for United States Senate for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

THIS WEEK IN WASHINGTON

House of Representatives Seats

Listed below are our endorsements for Seats for the House of Representatives

Toss Up - D           Lean Democratic        Likely Democratic

CO-08 Caraveo         AK-AL Peltola          AL-02 Open Seat

ME-02 Golden          CA-47 Open(Porter)     CA-09 Harder

MI-07 Slotkin         CT-05 Hayes            CA-49 Levin

MI-08 Kildee          IL-17 Sorensen         FL-09 Soto

NC-01 Davis           IN-01 Mrvan            FL-23 Moskowitz

NM-02 Vazquez         MN-02 Craig            KS-03 Davids

OH-09 Kaptur          NV-03 Lee              MD-06 Open Seat (Trone)

OH-13 Sykes           NY-18 Ryan             MI-03 Scholten

PA-07 Wild            NY-22 Williams         NH-01 Pappas

PA-08 Cartwright      OR-06 Salinas          NH-02 Open Seat (Kuster)

WA-03 Perez           PA-17 Deluzio          NV-04 Horsford

TX-34 Gonzalez        VA-07 Spanberger       NY-03 Suozzi

                                             OH-01 Landsman

                                             OR-04 Hoyle

                                             WA-08 Schrier

Toss Up - Flippable    Democrats in          Democrats in 

                       Lean Republican Districts   Likely Republican Districts  

from R ===> D          CA-45 Tran            CA-03  Morse       

AZ-01 July 30th        CO-03 Frisch          CA-40  Kim

AZ-06 July 30th        IA-03 Baccam          FL-13  August 20th Primary

CA-13 Grey             August 6th Primary    IA-01  Bohannan 

CA-22 Salas            ME-02 Vargas          MT-01  Tranel

CA-27 Whitesides       PA-10 Stelson         NY-01  Avlon 

CA-41 Rollins          VA-02 Smasal          PA-01  Ehasz

NJ-07 Payne            WI-03 August 13th     TX-15  Vallejo

NY-04 Gillen                                 WI-01  Barca

NY-17 Jones

NY-19 Riley

OR-5  Bynum