The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities reports that the SNAP program helped 4 million people suffering economic hardship. Here is a chart.
The CBPP projects that the cost of the SNAP program will decrease. The findings are tied to the the GDP. I would have to see the numbers. I would say that depends on the economic recovery. So far Congress has done little to stimulate the economy. If people are still enrolling in the SNAP program in big numbers that means a). the economy is still bad 2.) SNAP cost may increase.
Economist Mark Zandi testified to the Senate Finance Committee that every dollar spent on SNAP puts $1.74 back into the economy. Considering that many people are economically hurting and SNAP stimulates the economy; it should come as no surprise that the House of Representatives voted to cut $4 billion from the program. The House bill would also allow potential SNAP recipients to be tested for drugs. Courts have already struck this down on the state level, including Florida.
Bill Nelson Questions Air Force on Sexual Assault Case Reversed
During the Senate Armed Services Committee hearing, Sen. Bill Nelson asked military officials if they have ever decided to not prosecute an accused enlisted man or officer because of an outstanding service record. Nelson didn't completely buy it. Nelson asked Air Force Gen. Mark A. Welsh about a sexual assault conviction that was reserved by Lt. Gen. Susan Helms. Ignoring her own legal advisers, Helms overturned the conviction of a captain. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand has let Gen. Welch know her displeasure of the Air Force's handling of sexual assault cases.
At a widely watched committee hearing last month, Senator Kirsten E. Gillibrand, Democrat of New York, narrowed her eyes with disdain as Michael B. Donley, the secretary of the Air Force, expressed regret about recent assault cases. She then excoriated him and Gen. Mark A. Welsh III, the chief of staff of the Air Force, when they suggested that they were making progress on the problem.
“I do not think you should pat yourself on the back,” Ms. Gillibrand admonished them. Sexual assault, she said, is “undermining the credibility of the greatest military force in the world.” She has since introduced legislation that would give military prosecutors rather than commanders the power to decide which sexual assault cases to try. Her goal is to increase the number of people who report sex crimes without fear of retaliation.
Pay no attention to the happy talk by generals at the Armed Services Committee hearings. There is still much work that needs to be done to make women safe in the military.
Get this: Student loan interest rates are about to double to 6.8 percent. But big banks? They’re getting a sweet deal on borrowing money from the Fed: 0.75 percent.
No, that’s not a typo. Students will be paying 900 percent more than the biggest banks on Wall Street to borrow money.
Our biggest banks don’t deserve another sweetheart deal. And educated young Americans looking for jobs, and looking to build a future for themselves, don’t deserve to see their interest rates skyrocket.
The text of Warren's remarks.
Warren's legislation would direct the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System to make available low interest student loans available through the Federal Reserve System. Warren's concern is that students will be buried in debt if Congress allows student loan rates to increase. On July 1st, student loan rates will increase from 3.4 to 6.8 percent. President Barack Obama and Congressional Democrats should hammer Republicans on this issue. Republicans can't afford to lose more young voters.
Democracy For America sent out this email to its supporters.
Senators Tammy Baldwin and Kirsten Gillibrand have signed onto our campaign to keep student loan interest rates from doubling -- joining more than 100,000 other Democracy for America members demanding we treat our students as well as the big Wall Street banks.
Let's see how many more Democratic senators Democracy For America and activists can get on board.
All five people who hit my website in a day probably won't be disappointed enough to call their Congressman," admitted Johnson, a software consultant for a Tampa firm. "But Wikipedia has enough clout that they can get everyone involved."
SOPA and PIPA is an government overreach of the internet supported by people like Ruport Murdoch. Media moguls such as Murdoch would benefit from the government. An internet provider could decide to take any web site off its search engine under the claim that site is hosting pirated content. No proof is needed on the part of Google. Fortunately, Google is against the current forms of the SOPA and PIPA bills.
The legislation is unenforcibly. I cannot image Twitter and Facebook going through millions of updates looking for pirated content to delete. It is not possible. This is legislation created by members of Congress who have no understanding of just how vast and complex the internet is.
I have decided to withdraw my support for the Protect IP Act. Furthermore, I encourage Senator Reid to abandon his plan to rush the bill to the floor. Instead, we should take more time to address the concerns raised by all sides, and come up with new legislation that addresses internet piracy while protecting free and open access to the internet.
Rep. Lee Terry (R-Neb.) and Ben Quayle (R-Ariz.) have dropped their support for SOPA.
When the going gets tough politicians fold. Rubio, Terry and Quayle have not suddenly become fans of free speech. They are scared of voter backlash against the bills. Politicians want campaign donations from movie and music corporations. Campaign dollars don't mean a thing if they cannot get re-elected.
Side note: Rubio, Terry and Quayle are suppose to be less government conservatives. Internet piracy is already illegal. How is it conservative to make unenforcable laws that could have a financially negative impact on Google, Pay Pal and MSN conservative? The answer is it isn't. The wise thing to do is hire more federal government employees to enforce the anti-piracy laws that are already in place.
Andrew Rasiej, chairman of the New York Tech Meetup, told the New York Daily News that not only would SOPA and PIPA open the door to censorship of the Internet, but the laws would also have negative effects on the ability of the U.S. to remain a leader in the global tech industry.
"Because a new innovation by a start-up could be interpreted by a judge unfamiliar with how the technology works as infringing on copyright, investors and entrepreneurs would be discouraged from moving forward with a start-up due to a significantly increased risk of legal entanglement," Rasiej told the New York Daily News. "This in turn would dampen job creation and future opportunities for New Yorkers and Americans as a whole."
Schumer and Gillibrand are the co-sponsors of PIPA.
The Young Turks on Ruport Murdoch's support of SOPA.
Update: Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg posted why he is against SOPA and PIPA.
The internet is the most powerful tool we have for creating a more open and connected world. We can't let poorly thought out laws get in the way of the internet's development. Facebook opposes SOPA and PIPA, and we will continue to oppose any laws that will hurt the internet. The world today needs political leaders who are pro-internet. We have been working with many of these folks for months on better alternatives to these current proposals. I encourage you to learn more about these issues and tell your congressmen that you want them to be pro-internet. You can read more about our views here: https://www.facebook.com/FacebookDC?sk=app_329139750453932.
There are some people angry that Zuckerberg didn't shut down Facebook for the day like Wikipedia. However, that is an inside the internet story.
Obama campaign just sent out an anti-SOPA fundraising email. #bandwagoning
President Obama wouldn't send out that email unless it was safe to oppose SOPA. It's official. People hate SOPA and PIPA. Politicians are running away from this legislation.
Illegal piracy should be punished, but I have serious concerns with SOPA and PIPA. We need to deal with piracy without chilling the innovation, diversity, and free exchange of ideas that define the Internet and have shaped our increasingly interconnected world.
Update:Daily Kos has a SOPA petition you can send to your Senator.
On Saturday, the White House announced that the Obama administration will not support legislation that reduces freedom of expression or undermines the dynamic, innovative global internet.
As Congress works to address the very real issue of online piracy, we must guard against the risk of online censorship of lawful activity—and we must not inhibit innovation by businesses large and small.
Online piracy hurts our economy, threatens middle-class jobs, and undermines the work of some of our most creative companies and entrepreneurs. The President has called on all parties to work together to find solutions that address the problem of online piracy while remaining true to our values.
Update Video of State of Sunshine blogger Jom Johnson being interviewed on Action News.
The poll results shows solid support for repealing "Don't Ask, Don't Tell." Which makes it insanely stupid for Democrat Carl Levin to be negotiating with John McCain to strip the DADT repeal language from the defense appropriations bill. You know Levin has miscalculated when Joe Lieberman is on the right side of the issue.
“The Senate has passed a defense bill for 48 consecutive years. We should not fail to meet that responsibility now, especially while our nation is at war,” Sens. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.), Mark Udall (D-Colo.) and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) said in a joint statement on Tuesday. “We must also act to put an end to the ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ policy that not only discriminates against but also dishonors the service of gay and lesbian service members.”
I agree with Matt Yglesias that Republicans filibustering the defense appropriations bill would be a politically losing proposition.
The White House seems to be getting the message. It is amazing how the Obama administration wants to cater to the base after a bruising midterm election. This is why I continue to say progressives shouldn't be Democratic apologists. The only way to get good legislation passed is to put pressure on Democratic leaders. Remember, the White House killed a DADT repeal amendment when it had super-majorities in 2009.
The CBPP projects that the cost of the SNAP program will decrease. The findings are tied to the the GDP. I would have to see the numbers. I would say that depends on the economic recovery. So far Congress has done little to stimulate the economy. If people are still enrolling in the SNAP program in big numbers that means a). the economy is still bad 2.) SNAP cost may increase.
Economist Mark Zandi testified to the Senate Finance Committee that every dollar spent on SNAP puts $1.74 back into the economy. Considering that many people are economically hurting and SNAP stimulates the economy; it should come as no surprise that the House of Representatives voted to cut $4 billion from the program. The House bill would also allow potential SNAP recipients to be tested for drugs. Courts have already struck this down on the state level, including Florida.
