Розділ: Політика
Business Lobby Raises Concerns Over Trump Payroll Tax Break
The nation’s leading business group on Wednesday raised serious concerns about President Donald Trump’s move to defer Social Security payroll taxes for American workers, warning that the plan for a shot of economic relief during the coronavirus pandemic could prove unworkable.The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, a White House ally in battles to cut federal regulations and taxes, said in a letter to Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin that Trump’s directive is “surrounded by uncertainty as to its application and implementation” and “only exacerbates the challenges” for companies trying to quickly put his action in place.There was no immediate reaction from the administration.Trump on Saturday directed the Treasury Department to defer the 6.2 percent Social Security tax on wages paid by employees, beginning September 1 and lasting through the end of the year.A deferral leaves workers still on the hook for the money later on. But Trump said his ultimate goal is to make the tax break permanent, which would require congressional approval. That appears unlikely for now: Democrats have blasted Trump’s plan as an attempt to undermine Social Security’s finances and Republicans seem to have little enthusiasm for the idea.There’s a little more than two weeks before the payroll tax plan is supposed to go into effect, and the Chamber’s misgivings compound the problems for a president who wants to be seen as taking decisive action in the face of a stalemate with Congress over another pandemic relief bill.The Chamber’s chief policy officer, Neil Bradley, called the president’s move “well-intended to provide relief,” but raised questions about whether it would be workable.”There remains widespread uncertainty on how businesses will implement and apply the executive order, and as American employers, workers and families work to navigate the COVID-19 crisis they need clarity not more confusion,” Bradley said in a statement.In the letter to Mnuchin, the Chamber pressed to find out whether the tax deferral would be optional. If it’s employers who get that flexibility, it could make it easier for businesses to adjust. But then the tax deferral would not pack the economic punch for which Trump seemed to be reaching.Among the potential problems cited are whether businesses would be liable for repayment of deferred taxes, and what to do about short-term workers and those who earn part of their compensation from bonuses.The letter also raised questions about whether a tax deferral would have much impact on the economy if workers have to pay the money back. Some critics have said people might just save the money, not spend it, knowing that the government would ask for it back.
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By Polityk | 08/13/2020 | Повідомлення, Політика
Trump Congratulates Supporter of QAnon for Congressional Primary Win
U.S. President Donald Trump has congratulated a supporter of a far-right group for her congressional primary victory in the southern state of Georgia.Trump tweeted Wednesday that Marjorie Taylor Greene was a “real WINNER!” after coming out on top in the Republican primary for Georgia’s 14th congressional district.Congratulations to future Republican Star Marjorie Taylor Greene on a big Congressional primary win in Georgia against a very tough and smart opponent. Marjorie is strong on everything and never gives up – a real WINNER!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 12, 2020Greene is a supporter of QAnon, which promotes an unfounded theory of a “deep state” political system aimed at undermining Trump’s presidency.Greene, also a gun rights activist, defeated John Cowan, who had the support of several high-profile Republicans, with 57% of the vote to Cowan’s 43%.Greene is almost assured of winning the November election to Congress from the heavily Republican district as she faces off against Democrat Kevin Van Ausdal.Congressman Adam Kinzinger, a fellow Republican from Illinois, tweeted after Green’s victory that “Qanon is a fabrication” and that “there is no place in Congress for these conspiracies.”Qanon is a fabrication. This “insider” has predicted so much incorrectly (but people don’t remember PAST predictions) so now has switched to vague generalities. Could be Russian propaganda or a basement dweller. Regardless, no place in Congress for these conspiracies.
— Adam Kinzinger (@RepKinzinger) In this Nov. 22, 2019 photo, GOP congressional candidate Michelle Fischbach discusses Minnesota’s 7th District race at a coffee shop in Minneapolis.In another Minnesota race, Republican Michelle Fischbach won her party primary and will face incumbent Democratic Congressman Collin Peterson in a race Republicans are targeting as a chance to flip a Democratic seat to their party. Voters in the district supported President Donald Trump by a 30-point margin in 2016, but Peterson is one of the most conservative Democrats in Congress and was first elected to represent the district in 1990.Voters also cast primary ballots in the state of Wisconsin on Tuesday. In the 3rd congressional district, incumbent Democratic Congressman Ron Kind easily won his primary.In the district’s Republican race, former Navy Seal Derrick Van Orden defeated public relations professional Jessi Ebben. House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy and former Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker have endorsed Van Orden.The general election is November 3, with the president, all 435 seats in the House of Representatives and 35 of the 100 seats in the Senate are up for election. Democrats currently hold the majority in the House, while Republicans are the majority in the Senate.
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By Polityk | 08/13/2020 | Повідомлення, Політика
Supporters Turn Out for Biden, Harris in First Joint Campaign Event
Presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden and his newly named running mate, Senator Kamala Harris, are set to make their first joint appearance Wednesday as a team seeking to defeat President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence in the November general election.The Biden-Harris campaign said the pair would speak in Wilmington, Delaware, about “working together to restore the soul of the nation and fight for working families to move the country forward.”Watch the campaign event:Ahead of their appearance at Alexis DuPont High School Wednesday afternoon, several Delaware locals — including many members of Harris’ sorority, Alpha Kappa Alpha, dressed in the group’s signature salmon pink and apple green — came to show their support.“We are coming out to support this monumental experience,” Melanie Daniels, an AKA member dressed all in pink, told VOA outside the high school.”And as a Delaware native and a graduate, class of ’88, Alexis DuPont High School, it’s just an awesome moment in time for us,” her colleague, Shealese Russell-Reams, who was dressed all in green, added.The two women were among the more than a dozen people who stopped by over the lunch hour in hopes of catching a glimpse of Biden and Harris enter the high school, where a virtual fundraiser is scheduled to take place later Wednesday afternoon.Ahead of the appearance, Biden said he picked Harris, because if they are elected on November 3, “She’s ready to lead on day one.”If @KamalaHarris and I are elected, we’re going to inherit multiple crises, a nation divided, and a world in disarray. We won’t have a minute to waste.That’s exactly why I picked her: She’s ready to lead on day one.
— Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) FILE – U.S. Senator Kamala Harris holds her first organizing event in Los Angeles as she campaigns in the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination race in Los Angeles, California, U.S., May 19, 2019.But Biden and Harris have a long friendship going back to the days when she was California attorney general at the same time Biden’s late son, Beau Biden, was attorney general in Delaware.“She worked closely with Beau. I watched as they took on the big banks, lifted up working people, and protected women and kids from abuse,” Joe Biden tweeted Tuesday. “I was proud then, and I’m proud now to have her as my partner in this campaign.”Harris delivered stinging criticism of her rival during the primary debates but had high praise for Biden during a campaign event several weeks ago, before she was named as his running mate.“Joe has empathy, he has a proven track record of leadership and more than ever before, we need a president of the United States who understands who the people are, sees them where they are, and has a genuine desire to help and knows how to fight to get us where we need to be,” Harris said.Harris, 55, was born in Oakland, California. She is the daughter of immigrants, her father from Jamaica and her mother from India.She graduated from the University of California, Hastings College of the Law and was elected district attorney for San Francisco in 2003 and California attorney general in 2010.Harris arrived in Washington less than four years ago as a U.S Democratic senator from California.In her 2020 presidential campaign, Harris was briefly the Democratic front-runner after success in the early debates. Her criticism of Biden’s one-time opposition to court-ordered busing to achieve racial balance in public schools strained their relationship.But Harris’ overall centrist political stance in the early debates, including her support for law enforcement as an attorney general, failed to excite progressives and liberals, and she dropped out of the presidential race before the first primaries.Some Democrats accused her of being out of touch over issues of police violence – questions that are bound to be raised again amid nationwide protests against police brutality against Black people and other people of color.Several other women whom Biden considered for a running mate gave their endorsements of Harris after her selection Tuesday.US UN Ambassador Susan Rice speaks in the UN General Assembly at UN headquarters in New York after a vote to suspend Libya from the UN Human Rights Council, March 1, 2011“Senator Harris is a tenacious and trailblazing leader who will make a great partner on the campaign trail,” said Susan Rice, former U.S. national security adviser and U.N. ambassador.Congresswoman Karen Bass, who leads the Congressional Black Caucus, a group of most African Americans in Congress, called Harris a “great choice.””Her tenacious pursuit of justice and relentless advocacy for the people is what is needed right now,” Bass said.Senator Elizabeth Warren, who also ran unsuccessfully for the Democratic presidential nomination, said of Harris: “She’ll be a great partner to Joe Biden in making our government a powerful force for good in the fight for social, racial and economic justice.”FILE – In this Dec. 12, 2018, photo, former President Barack Obama accepts the Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Ripple of Hope Award at a ceremony in New York.Former President Barack Obama was among other prominent Democrats who welcomed the Harris selection.“I’ve known Senator Kamala Harris for a long time. She is more than prepared for the job. She’s spent her career defending our Constitution and fighting for folks who need a fair shake. This is a good day for our country. Now let’s go win this thing,” Obama tweeted Tuesday.Democratic Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi, who was born in New Delhi, tweeted: “Regardless of your political leanings, it says so much about the progress our country has made that a major party ticket now includes a Black and South Asian American woman.”Trump said Tuesday he was “surprised” Biden chose Harris.“I was more surprised than anything else because she did so poorly, many people did much better than her in the primaries,” Trump said.Harris is the third woman to run for vice president on a major party ticket.Democratic representative Geraldine Ferraro was Walter Mondale’s running mate in 1984 when they lost by a landslide to the Republican ticket of Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush.Former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin ran with Republican John McCain in 2008 but lost to Democrats Obama and Biden.
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By Polityk | 08/13/2020 | Повідомлення, Політика
Biden Makes History by Choosing Harris as Running Mate
Democratic presumptive nominee Joe Biden has chosen Sen. Kamala Harris as his running mate, making her the first Black woman and the first person of Indian descent, to be selected for a presidential ticket by a major party. White House correspondent Patsy Widakuswara has this story.
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By Polityk | 08/12/2020 | Повідомлення, Політика
Kamala Harris, Once a Presidential Candidate, Returns to Race
U.S. Senator Kamala Harris is trying to become the first woman elected as the country’s vice president after presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden selected her as his running mate. The child of a father from Jamaica and a mother from India, both of whom immigrated to the United States, Harris is already the first Black woman and first South Asian American to be part of a U.S. presidential ticket. The 55-year-old’s resume includes being the first Black attorney general of the state of California as well as the first woman to hold the job. Her 2016 election to a U.S. Senate seat representing California made her the first woman of South Asian heritage to do so. Harris herself wanted to be in Biden’s position as the Democrat seeking to deny President Donald Trump another term and put the White House back in Democratic hands. Her campaign had a strong start, with 20,000 people attending her kickoff rally in her hometown of Oakland, California. In early July 2019, she trailed only Biden in public opinion polls after drawing praise for her performance in one of the early debates against the then-large field of Democratic candidates.FILE – Democratic presidential candidate and former Vice President Joe Biden speaks about his plans to combat racial inequality at a campaign event in Wilmington, Delaware, U.S., July 28, 2020.But in the months that followed, her poll numbers steadily declined and in early December she announced she was dropping out of the race, citing difficulties in raising money for her campaign. In March, just after Biden pulled ahead of Senator Bernie Sanders with a number of state primary wins, Harris gave Biden her endorsement in the race to be the Democratic presidential nominee, saying, “I believe in Joe.” “One of the things that we need right now is we need a leader who really does care about the people and who can therefore unify the people,” Harris said. “And I believe Joe can do that.” Biden, in announcing Harris as his choice to join him on the November ballot, described her Tuesday as “a fearless fighter for the little guy, and one of the country’s finest public servants.” Harris earned an undergraduate degree from Howard University in Washington, D.C., a historically Black college where she joined the Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority. She went on to earn a law degree from the University of California, Hastings, before going to work in the Alameda County district attorney’s office.Harris served two terms as district attorney of San Francisco before being elected California’s attorney general. Her record in those California jobs has been a target of scrutiny, with critics faulting her for not enacting criminal justice reforms and not doing enough to investigate police shootings. With those issues prominent in the United States with protesters carrying out months of demonstrations against police violence and inequality, Harris has been among lawmakers pushing legislation to enact police reforms on a national level.
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By Polityk | 08/12/2020 | Повідомлення, Політика
Kamala Harris’ Selection As VP Resonates With Black Women
China Cochran met Kamala Harris at a campaign event in Detroit last year and was swept away by her ambition, charisma and leadership. She hoped the California senator would advance in politics.
So when Joe Biden named Harris on Tuesday as his running mate — making her the first Black woman on a major party’s presidential ticket — Cochran wasn’t just struck by the history. It represented a full-circle moment for Black women, who for generations have fought for their voices to be heard and political aspirations recognized.
“It tells Black girls that they can be president,” said Cochran, who recently ran for state representative in Michigan. “If you look back at Shirley Chisholm, she ran so that Kamala could lead at this moment. I think it’s important for us to look at that and see other young women of color realize that they can go after their dreams and really make change in our world.”
Harris’ selection is historic in many senses. It also marks the first time an Asian American would be on the presidential ticket. Born to a Jamaican father and Indian mother, she often speaks of her deep bond with her late mother, whom she has called her single biggest influence.
Harris’ boundary-breaking potential serves as an affirmation of the growing power of voters of color, according to nearly a dozen interviews with political strategists, potential voters and activists.
“Joe Biden understood this historic moment required a tough, smart and respected public servant,” said Donna Brazile, who managed Al Gore’s campaign in 2000 and served as Democratic National Committee chair in 2016.
Black women in particular helped rescue Biden’s campaign earlier this year by delivering a resounding victory in the South Carolina primary, powering him to the Democratic nomination. As he prepares for the general election, Biden is trying to recreate the multi-racial and cross-generational coalition that twice sent Barack Obama to the White House.
That will hinge on Black voters in battleground states like Michigan to turn out in force in November.
“We’ve seen from an electoral process what happens if we don’t vote, that can mean the difference between winning and losing a state,” said Karen Finney, a senior Democratic strategist and spokesperson for Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential campaign. “We’re in this moral inflection point of this country and Vice President Biden is someone who’s talked about healing the soul of our country and certainly one of the ways to do that is to uplift the voices of Black women.”
Strategists said that Harris will help that effort.
“It sends a strong signal about not only the current state of our party but what the future of our party looks like,” said Antjuan Seawright, a veteran political strategist in South Carolina. “And what better way to reward a group of people who have been the political glue in this party than to put an African American woman on the ticket.”
Ravi Perry, Howard University’s political science chair, said Harris’ elevation also represents the first time that a graduate of a historically Black college or university will be represented on the ticket. Harris graduated from the Washington-based university and is a member of the storied Black sorority Alpha Kappa Alpha.
While Harris’ selection has largely been applauded among the Democratic Party and voters, some have raised concerns. She joins the ticket at a time of immense racial tensions and crises in the nation. The coronavirus pandemic has disproportionately impacted Black Americans and other people of color. Protests against systemic racism and brutality are also at the top of mind for potential voters.
And Harris’s record as California attorney general and district attorney in San Francisco could make it difficult for Biden to galvanize support among younger Black and Latino voters.
Lindsey Roland, a 31-year-old Black woman and Michigan realtor, said that background gave her pause.
“While I fully appreciate her scope of responsibilities while she was in that role, I still think she was empowered to stand up more for minorities and I think it was just a really missed opportunity,” she said. “But I absolutely will be voting. We have far too much at stake. And for me, as a mother, I’m frightened and I just feel like another four years with this administration will be catastrophic.”
Some of the nation’s leading activists who have long fought for criminal justice reform see Harris as a potential ally in their push for change. Color of Change President Rashad Robinson said Harris has evolved over time and declared herself a “progressive prosecutor” who backs reform.
“What I appreciate about her is that she’s been willing to listen and willing to evolve, and she’s been willing to put legislation behind that evolution and policy platforms behind that evolution,” Robinson said. “Yes, I think there will be very real things that people will raise, but I think that she has been listening and working to address those things.”
Alicia Garza, the co-founder of the Black Lives Matter movement, said the nation is in a moment where “deep and profound change is needed.”
“For some activists, it is important that a Black woman is represented on this ticket and for other activists, substance is going to be much more important than symbolism,” Garza said. “The trick of getting people out to vote will be a successful combination of the two. This is an incredible moment of opportunity, it’s a moment that is rife with possibility and I’m still hopeful that this newly announced ticket will rise to meet the moment.”
It’s also not lost on many that the selection comes nearly 100 years after the 19th Amendment was ratified, giving women the right to vote.
But for Black women, the freedom to vote didn’t come until much later, part of a historical pattern of being denied justice offered to others.
And for Nse Ufot, CEO of the New Georgia Project, that’s a call for action and a reminder how much more work needs to be done. Ahead of the election, her organization is working to register more than 1 million Black, Latino and Asian American voters. So, far they’ve registered 425,000 in the state.
“It took an additional 45 years of organizing to secure the rights to vote for Black women and other women of color,” Ufot said. “And so, you know, there is a long history of, sort of, uncredited work. I think the Biden-Harris ticket is going to make it easier for us to have conversations, particularly in places like Georgia’s rural Black belt about why they need to vote.”
Melanie Campbell, president and CEO of the National Coalition on Black Civic Participation, was overcome with emotion after the announcement.
She wished her late mother could have lived to see the historic moment. She also wished that Black women who came before Harris — civil rights activists Fannie Lou Hamer, Dorothy Height, Ella Baker and many others — could know how their legacy and hard work culminated into this powerful moment.
“I thought about my mother, my grandmother, I thought about my sisters. I thought about in this moment that as a Black woman, we are seen,” Campbell said. “This moment is more than about the VP slot. It affirms Black women and all we did for this country. I’m glad I lived to see it.”
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By Polityk | 08/12/2020 | Повідомлення, Політика
VP Nod the Latest in a Career of Firsts for Kamala Harris
Kamala Harris, Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden’s pick to be his running mate in November’s election, has been a trailblazer all her life. “My mother used to have a saying,” the 55-year-old Harris is fond of recounting. “She would say to me ‘You may be the first to do many things but make sure you’re not the last.'” Harris was the first black attorney general of California, the first woman to hold the post, and the first woman of South Asian heritage to be elected to the US Senate. She is now seeking to become the first female vice president of the United States. And with the 77-year-Biden expected to serve only a single term if elected, Harris would be favored to win the Democratic presidential nomination four years from now. That could give her a shot at more history-making — as the first female president of the United States. “Senator Harris is a tenacious and trailblazing leader who will make a great partner on the campaign trail,” said Susan Rice, who served as national security adviser under former President Barack Obama and was also under consideration to be Biden’s running mate. Since ending her White House run and endorsing Biden, Harris has stepped up her criticism of President Donald Trump on a host of issues — from his handling of the COVID-19 outbreak to race to immigration. “Trump’s repeated racist rhetoric tries to place blame for his coronavirus failures on anyone but himself,” she tweeted recently. “It’s dangerous and it’s wrong — and has real life consequences for Asian Americans and Asian immigrants.” Harris’s own parents were immigrants to the United States — her father from Jamaica, her mother from India — and their lives and her own have in some ways embodied the American dream. – Close to Beau Biden – Harris was born on October 20, 1964 in Oakland, California. Her father, Donald Harris, was an economics professor and her mother Shyamala Gopalan, was a breast cancer researcher. Her parents separated when Harris was about 5 years old and she and her sister Maya were raised by her mother, who died in 2009. Harris earned her undergraduate degree at historically black Howard University in Washington and is a proud member of “Alpha Kappa Alpha,” the oldest African American sorority. She earned her law degree from the University of California, Hastings College of Law, became a prosecutor and served two terms as a district attorney in San Francisco. She was elected attorney general of California in 2010 and re-elected in 2014, the same year she married Douglas Emhoff, a lawyer with two children from a previous marriage. As attorney general, Harris developed a working relationship with Biden’s late son, Beau, who held the same position in the state of Delaware. Beau Biden died of cancer in 2015. Her failure, however, to enact bold criminal justice reforms while attorney general dogged her presidential campaign and did not sit well with many black voters during the primaries. Harris was elected to the Senate in November 2016, becoming just the second black female senator ever. As a senator, she has employed tough questioning skills honed as a prosecutor, notably during the Senate confirmation hearing of Supreme Court justice nominee Brett Kavanaugh. ‘That little girl was me’ Harris launched her campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination on Martin Luther King Jr’s birthday in January 2019 at an event attended by 20,000 people in Oakland. She clashed with Biden during the first Democratic debate, chiding the former senator over his opposition to 1970s busing programs that forced integration of segregated schools. “There was a little girl in California who was part of the second class to integrate her public school, and she was bused to school every day,” she said. “And that little girl was me.” It provided her with a breakout moment and a bump in the polls, but it was to prove short-lived. Harris dropped out of the race in December 2019 and endorsed Biden in March. Despite their debate clash, Biden has made it clear he does not hold a grudge, describing Harris as a “first-rate intellect, a first-rate candidate and a real competitor.” Harris voted for Trump’s impeachment at his Senate trial and to defeat him she has invoked the need to rebuild the “Obama coalition” — African Americans, Hispanics, women, independents and millennials. A tireless campaigner, Harris has a knack for personal connection and a steely demeanor that can give way to a million-watt smile. Along with her experience in the judicial, executive and legislative branches of government, Harris is expected to provide a jolt of energy to a White House campaign overshadowed by the coronavirus and economic crisis.
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By Polityk | 08/12/2020 | Повідомлення, Політика
NAACP Launches Drive to Boost Black Voter Turnout in Six Key States
The NAACP, the largest U.S. civil rights organization, is launching a drive ahead of November’s presidential election to boost Black voter turnout in six key states, it said on Tuesday. The initiative aims to enlist the services of about 200,000 “high-propensity” Black voters, or people who turned out to vote in a high number of recent local, state and presidential elections. Those voters, in turn, will seek to mobilize so-called “low-frequency” Black voters – people who were registered to vote, but who had not voted in the most recent election cycle or several election cycles — in Florida, Georgia, Michigan, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. The goal is to increase Black turnout by more than 5% compared to 2016. That year, Black voter turnout declined for the first time in 20 years, according to the Pew Research Center. “We’ve seen the outcome of when we have a drop in voter activity in the Black community,” said NAACP President Derrick Johnson. “We have racism germinating from the White House,” he said, stressing the urgency of getting African American voters to the polls. The voter turnout initiative comes during a national reckoning on race after a summer of nationwide protests sparked by the killing of African American George Floyd by a police officer. A majority of Americans said they were sympathetic with the protests, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll in June. Earlier on Tuesday, presumptive Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden selected Senator Kamala Harris to be his running mate in the 2020 election, the first Black woman to appear on the presidential ticket for a major party. Biden will face off against President Donald Trump, who has often publicly stated that he has done more for African Americans than previous presidents. Polling has found his approval rating among Black Americans remains low.
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By Polityk | 08/12/2020 | Повідомлення, Політика
Biden Picks Senator Kamala Harris as His Running Mate
Presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden has picked California Senator Kamala Harris as his vice presidential running mate —making her the first Black woman to be named to a major party’s ticket for a presidential election.As a woman of Indian descent, she is also making history as the first major South Asian-American candidate to run in the general election.“I have the great honor to announce that I’ve picked Kamala Harris — a fearless fighter for the little guy, and one of the country’s finest public servants — as my running mate,” Biden tweeted Tuesday afternoon. “Together, with you, we’re going to beat Trump.”After winning enough primaries to secure the nomination earlier this year, Biden, 77, committed himself to picking a female vice presidential candidate. There was much speculation he would choose a Black woman to run with him. A number of familiar and respected names surfaced in the press as potential running mates.Former Vice President Joe Biden and Senator Kamala Harris shake hands before the start of the second night of the second 2020 presidential Democratic candidates debate in Detroit, July 31, 2019.But Biden and Harris have a long friendship going back to the days when she was California attorney general at the same time Biden’s late son, Beau Biden, was attorney general in Delaware.“She worked closely with Beau. I watched as they took on the big banks, lifted up working people, and protected women and kids from abuse,” Joe Biden tweeted Tuesday. “I was proud then, and I’m proud now to have her as my partner in this campaign.”Harris had high praise for Biden during a campaign event several weeks ago before she was named as his running mate.“Joe has empathy, he has a proven track record of leadership and more than ever before we need a president of the United States who understands who the people are, sees them where they are, and has a genuine desire to help and knows how to fight to get us where we need to be,” Harris said.Harris, 55, was born in Oakland, California, to a Jamaican American father and an Indian American mother.She graduated from the University of California, Hastings College of the Law and was elected district attorney for San Francisco in 2003 and California attorney general in 2010.Harris arrived in Washington less than four years ago as the U.S Democratic senator from California.In her 2020 presidential campaign, Harris was briefly the Democratic front-runner after success in the early debates. Her criticism of Biden’s one-time opposition to court-ordered busing to achieve racial balance in public schools strained their relationship.But Harris’ overall centrist political stance in the early debates, including her support for law enforcement as an attorney general, failed to excite progressives and liberals, and she dropped out of the presidential race before the first primaries.Some Democrats accused her of being out of touch over issues of police violence — questions that are bound to be raised again amid nationwide protests against police brutality against Black people and other people of color.Social media sites are already full of excitement from many Democrats over the Biden-Harris ticket, including a tweet from former President Barack Obama.FILE – In this Dec. 12, 2018, photo, former President Barack Obama accepts the Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Ripple of Hope Award at a ceremony in New York.“I’ve known Senator Kamala Harris for a long time. She is more than prepared for the job. She’s spent her career defending our Constitution and fighting for folks who need a fair shake. This is a good day for our country. Now let’s go win this thing,” Obama tweeted Tuesday.Democratic Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi, who was born in New Delhi, tweeted: “Regardless of your political leanings, it says so much about the progress our country has made that a major party ticket now includes a Black and South Asian American woman.”But senior Trump campaign adviser Katrina Pierson calls Harris “Phony Kamala” and says she “will abandon her own morals, as well as try to bury her record as a prosecutor, in order to appease the anti-police extremists controlling the Democrat Party. … She is proof that Joe Biden is an empty shell being filled with the extreme agenda of the radicals on the left.”Harris is the third woman to run for vice president on a major party ticket.Democratic representative Geraldine Ferraro was Walter Mondale’s running mate in 1984 when they lost by a landslide to the Republican ticket of Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush.Former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin ran with Republican John McCain in 2008 but lost to Democrats Obama and Biden.
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By Polityk | 08/12/2020 | Повідомлення, Політика
Biden’s Pick of Harris as Running Mate Draws Tears from Some, Criticism from Others
Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden on Tuesday announced that U.S. Senator Kamala Harris of California would be his running mate in the Nov. 3 election. Here are some reactions to the choice: Former President Barack Obama, via Twitter: “I’ve known Senator @KamalaHarris for a long time. She is more than prepared for the job. She’s spent her career defending our Constitution and fighting for folks who need a fair shake. This is a good day for our country. Now let’s go win this thing.” U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont, who had been one of Biden’s rivals for the Democratic nomination, via Twitter: “Congratulations to @KamalaHarris, who will make history as our next Vice President. She understands what it takes to stand up for working people, fight for health care for all, and take down the most corrupt administration in history.” Georgia political activist Stacey Abrams, who was on Biden’s list of potential running mates, via Twitter: “Thrilled to support @KamalaHarris as next VP. I was honored to speak with @JoeBiden at length over the weekend and again today. His focus on reaching out to every corner of our country speaks to how he will lead us. …” Republican U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham via Twitter: “Senator @KamalaHarris will be a formidable opponent. She is smart, aggressive, and has fully bought in to the Democratic Party’s very liberal agenda.” Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel in a statement: “A hiding, diminished, and incoherent Joe Biden didn’t just select a vice-presidential candidate, he chose the person who would actually be in charge the next four years if he is somehow able to win. Kamala Harris’ extreme positions, from raising taxes to abolishing private health insurance to comparing law enforcement officials to the KKK, show that the left-wing mob is controlling Biden’s candidacy, just like they would control him as president. These radical policies might be popular among liberals, but they are well outside the mainstream for most Americans.” Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, who was on Biden’s list of potential running mates, via Twitter: “Congratulations to @kamalaharris and @JoeBiden on a fantastic and historic ticket. Now, let’s go win!” Republican U.S. Senator Tom Cotton of Arkansas in a statement: “Kamala Harris supports Medicare for All, she implied that Joe Biden is racist, and she laughed at the idea that the Constitution would stop her from confiscating guns. Her presidential campaign was a mismanaged catastrophe that ended before any votes were cast. “By selecting Kamala Harris, Joe Biden’s staff have shown just how radical and incompetent a Biden administration would be.” U.S. Representative Sheila Jackson Lee of Texas, via Twitter: “I have tears in my eyes but joy in my soul. I am so overwhelmed, as I know that women around the nation, women of color, and yes Black women can see their equal status in this nation finally. Thank you Vice President Biden …” Hillary Clinton, the 2016 Democratic presidential candidate, via Twitter: “I’m thrilled to welcome @KamalaHarris to a historic Democratic ticket. She’s already proven herself to be an incredible public servant and leader. And I know she’ll be a strong partner to @JoeBiden. Please join me in having her back and getting her elected.” U.S. Senator Michael Bennet of Colorado, who had run for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination, in a statement: “Kamala Harris has spent her career fighting for people who need it most – an essential quality for our Vice President as we face the coronavirus pandemic, economic turmoil, and our longstanding struggle for racial justice in America. “She is a champion for middle-class families, and her leadership in the Senate on criminal justice reform has been vital.” NAACP President Derrick Johnson, in an interview: “She will not only be able to speak to the moment, she understands the plight of Black women; therefore, she’s up to the task.” Aimee Allison, founder of She the People, a group that promotes women of color in politics, in a phone interview: “It’s remarkable. Today is a spark of hope. It’s a watershed moment for Black women, for women of color. It’s nothing short of historic.”
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By Polityk | 08/12/2020 | Повідомлення, Політика
Facebook Announces Restrictions on Political Content
Facebook announced new regulations Tuesday that prevent U.S. publishers with demonstrated ties to political groups from running advertisements that look like news reports on the social networking site.Facebook has been under pressure to manage disinformation appearing on its pages during the coronavirus pandemic and as the country prepares to vote for president in November.The rules announced Tuesday permit publishers with political connections to register with the site, but they will be excluded from using Facebook’s “news” page for their messages.“The news pages with these affiliations will not be eligible for inclusion in Facebook News,” the social media giant said.Previously, such organizations were labeled “news exempt,” meaning that their content was not labeled as political.Facebook defines a “political entity” as “an organization, company, or other group whose predominant purpose is to influence politics and elections,” such as political action groups and organizations designated as social welfare organizations by the Internal Revenue Service.A “political person” includes candidates for public office, those whose positions are subject to legislative confirmation, such as Supreme Court justices and others, who possess the authority to enforce political power.The Columbia Journalism Review published a report Tuesday outlining “new networks of shadowy, politically backed ‘local news websites,’” distributing domestic and internationally-sourced disinformation surrounding the U.S. election.Several tech companies have cracked down on political exploitation of their platforms in recent weeks. Google recently told media company Axios it was planning to implement a similar ban in September, and Twitter temporarily suspended the account of the president’s son, Donald Trump, Jr., in July after he promoted the drug hydroxychloriquine as a treatment for coronavirus. Hydroxychloriquine’s efficacy in treating COVID-19 has been dismissed by medical experts after several clinical trials.
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By Polityk | 08/12/2020 | Повідомлення, Політика
Mike Pence: Backing up a Demanding Boss
U.S. Vice President Mike Pence has weathered storms that have shaken the Trump White House, standing by the president through an impeachment trial and many Cabinet reshuffles. He has served as an international envoy and taken a leading role in the COVID-19 response. Mike O’Sullivan spoke with two analysts about Pence’s performance so far.
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By Polityk | 08/12/2020 | Повідомлення, Політика
Trump Abruptly Escorted from White House Briefing After Shots Fired Nearby
U.S. President Donald Trump was abruptly escorted from a White House media briefing Monday afternoon by a U.S. Secret Service agent because of a shooting outside the building. Returning to the briefing room lectern minutes later, Trump said, “There was an actual shooting, and somebody’s been taken to the hospital.” The shots were fired by law enforcement, the president said. A male subject and a Secret Service officer “were both transported to a local hospital,” a Secret Service statement said. “At no time during this incident was the White House complex breached or were any protectees in danger.”Two gunshots were heard by at least one reporter who was in the briefing room. “I heard two shots in rapid succession just after you took the podium,” Fox News White House correspondent John Roberts told the president when Trump asked the journalist what he had heard. Here’s audio of the shots being fired: https://t.co/zrARtsyy6b@SecretService
— Steve Herman (@W7VOA) U.S. Secret Service Police stand outside the James Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House, in Washington, as a news conference by President Donald Trump was paused, Aug. 10, 2020.“You were surprised, I was surprised also,” Trump told reporters when he returned to the briefing room, saying he had been taken to the Oval Office. “I do want to thank the Secret Service. They are fantastic,” Trump said, adding that he was not certain the incident “had to do anything with me.” Asked by a reporter if he was rattled by the extraordinary event, he responded. “I don’t know. Do I seem rattled?” Trump told reporters he gave no thought to not resuming the briefing once the Secret Service told him it was safe to do so.
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By Polityk | 08/11/2020 | Повідомлення, Політика
Trump Says Party Acceptance Speech Likely at White House or Gettysburg
U.S. President Donald Trump has announced he is likely to give the acceptance speech for his party’s nomination at either the White House or 115 kilometers to the north at the Civil War battlefield in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. Asked by a reporter at a briefing on Monday why he is considering Gettysburg, which Trump said he had visited numerous times, the president replied, “It’s the history. It’s incredible, actually to me. It was a very important place and is a very important place in our country.” The White House location, however, would be easier in terms of expense and security, according to Trump. The president did not clearly indicate whether he is planning to invite an audience for the event, but noted: “You have plenty of room at both locations.” Other venues are also under consideration, according to Trump. We have narrowed the Presidential Nomination Acceptance Speech, to be delivered on the final night of the Convention (Thursday), to two locations – The Great Battlefield of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, and the White House, Washington, D.C. We will announce the decision soon!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) FILE – Democratic presidential candidate and former Vice President Joe Biden speaks about his plans to combat racial inequality at a campaign event in Wilmington, Delaware, July 28, 2020.The Democrats have also drastically downscaled their party convention next week in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Former Vice President Joe Biden has announced he will not travel to Milwaukee and will deliver an acceptance speech in his home state of Delaware.Both the White House and the historic battlefield are federal properties, raising legal and ethical concerns about their use for what will be a political event by the president.After the White House was first mentioned as a possible venue, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi called it an idea that “should be rejected right out of hand,” predicting “It won’t happen, let’s put it that way.”Trump administration and campaign officials are obviously not rejecting it.The alternative to the White House, which is a national park in Pennsylvania, commemorates the decisive July 1863 Union victory that ended Confederate General Robert E. Lee’s second and most ambitious invasion of the North during the Civil War, the years-long fight over states’ rights regarding slavery in the United States. Four months after the battle, President Abraham Lincoln delivered what came to be known as the Gettysburg Address, which is one of the best-known speeches in American history. Lincoln said that the soldiers who died there helped preserve U.S. liberty and that America’s “government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.” The battlefield, however, may not provide the best political optics for such a speech by Trump, acknowledge some Republican sources, because of the president’s recent defense of generals from the losing side.Both the White House and Gettysburg could be risky sites for some White House staff asked to help organize the event, as the Hatch Act limits the political activities in which they can be involved.Certain executive branch appointees are allowed to engage in limited political activity while on duty in the executive residence portion of the White House, and political parties have to reimburse the federal government for all costs.“Whether Trump holds this event at the White House or at Gettysburg, he’s sending a message that there is no line between private gain and public responsibility in this administration,” said Walter Shaub, former director of the U.S. Office of Government Ethics.“Trump is helping himself to a public resource to advance his personal political ambitions. It is not a resource that is available to his opponent, and it is one that should not be available to him. But the consistent theme of the Trump administration has been abuse of power, so it’s no surprise that he’s abusing power again,” Shaub, who became a harsh public critic of Trump after leaving his post in mid-2017, told VOA.As for any administration officials or career staff not subject to Hatch Act exemptions to participate, Shaub added, “I hold out little hope that anyone responsible for enforcing that law will take appropriate action.”Democrat Jimmy Carter in 1979 — while 50 Americans were being held hostage in Iran — decided to make his reelection announcement during a brief East Room ceremony. His campaign also used the Oval Office as a setting for an advertisement for a campaign that saw him lose to Ronald Reagan.
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By Polityk | 08/11/2020 | Повідомлення, Політика
Trump Nomination Speech to Be at White House or Gettysburg
U.S. President Donald Trump said Monday he will make his Republican presidential renomination acceptance speech from either the White House or at a Civil War battlefield in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. With the coronavirus pandemic unchecked in the U.S., neither Trump nor his Democratic opponent in the November 3 election, former Vice President Joe Biden, is planning to make a traditional nomination acceptance speech at either of their respective scaled-back conventions. Biden last week said he would make his August 20 nomination acceptance speech from his home state of Delaware rather than go to the convention site in the midwestern city of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Republicans are holding a limited gathering in Charlotte, North Carolina, starting August 24. Trump said in a Twitter comment he would announce soon whether he would make his August 27 renomination acceptance speech from the White House or Gettysburg. The national park at Gettysburg commemorates the scene of a decisive 1863 Union victory that ended Confederate General Robert E. Lee’s second and most ambitious invasion of the North during the Civil War, the years-long fight over states’ rights and slavery in the United States. Four months after the battle, President Abraham Lincoln delivered what came to be known as the Gettysburg Address, honoring those killed there. He said that the fallen helped preserve U.S. liberty and that its “government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.”
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By Polityk | 08/11/2020 | Повідомлення, Політика
White House Open to More Coronavirus Aid Talks
The White House signaled Monday it is open to more negotiations with opposition Democrats on a coronavirus aid package and willing to spend more money to reach a deal. “We’re prepared to put more money on the table,” Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin told CNBC. “The president is determined to spend what we need to spend.” U.S. President Donald Trump signs executive measures for economic relief during a news conference amid the spread of the coronavirus disease, at his golf resort in Bedminster, N.J., Aug. 8, 2020.President Donald Trump signed executive orders Saturday extending a portion of the expired benefits to millions of unemployed workers and deferring payroll taxes for many employed Americans. In a new Twitter comment, he did not rule out more negotiations but blamed Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi for Friday’s collapse of talks on an aid package. “So now Schumer and Pelosi want to meet to make a deal,” Trump tweeted. “Amazing how it all works, isn’t it. Where have they been for the last 4 weeks when they were “hardliners”, and only wanted BAILOUT MONEY for Democrat run states and cities that are failing badly? They know my phone number!” So now Schumer and Pelosi want to meet to make a deal. Amazing how it all works, isn’t it. Where have they been for the last 4 weeks when they were “hardliners”, and only wanted BAILOUT MONEY for Democrat run states and cities that are failing badly? They know my phone number!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, accompanied by Senate Minority Leader Sen. Chuck Schumer, left, speak to reporters following a meeting with Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, Aug. 7, 2020.As the talks collapsed last week, Schumer and Pelosi said Democrats were willing to cut $1 trillion from their original demand for White House approval of the $3.4 trillion coronavirus aid package approved by the Democrat-controlled House of Representatives in mid-May. They said the White House should at the same time double its call for a $1 trillion deal to at least $2 trillion, but the Trump administration refused. The Treasury chief said the Trump administration is willing to spend more money, but not “unlimited amounts of money that don’t make sense.” Mnuchin said the two sides have “agreed on more money for businesses that are particularly hard hit,” sending another $1,200 check economic stimulus check to most adult Americans, providing more aid to schools so they can reopen safely and more money for hospitals and the development of vaccines to combat the coronavirus. But one key sticking point in the coronavirus talks is additional aid to state and local governments, the assistance Trump disparaged as “bailout money” for jurisdictions run by opposition Democrats. Pelosi and Schumer say the hard-pressed state and local governments need $1 trillion. “We’ve offered more money for state and local [governments],” Mnuchin said, “but we’re not going to give a trillion…. That’s just not a reasonable approach.” Mnuchin called for congressional passage of aid the two sides have agreed on while talks continue on disputed items, but the Democrats have balked at a piecemeal approach to an aid package. Mnuchin declined to speculate when talks could resume. With the collapse in the negotiations, Mnuchin said Trump “needed to take action,” the executive orders he signed at a golf resort he owns in Bedminster, New Jersey. In Sunday talk show appearances, Schumer and Pelosi derided the provisions as too limited to help unemployed workers or other Americans impacted by the coronavirus. Pelosi also said Trump’s actions were unconstitutional since U.S. authority for spending legislation rests with Congress, not the president. FILE – Motorists take part in a caravan protest in front of Senator John Kennedy’s office at the Hale Boggs Federal Building asking for the extension of the $600 in unemployment benefits to people out of work, in New Orleans, La., July 22, 2020.In the fruitless negotiations, Democrats sought to extend the $600-a-week federal government boost to less generous state unemployment benefits through the end of 2020 after they expired at the end of July. Trump cut the figure to $400 and said states should pay $100 of that amount. The president also suspended the 7.65% payroll tax for workers who make less than $100,000 a year through the end of 2020. Unemployed workers, who do not pay the tax because they aren’t collecting a paycheck, won’t benefit. The taxes are used to fund pensions and health care for older Americans. The money would need to be paid back eventually unless Congress acts to write off the deferred taxes. Trump also said he was extending protections for rental tenants threatened with eviction, further delaying student loan payments and maintaining zero percent interest on federally financed loans. The spread of the pandemic remains unchecked in the U.S. with the country’s number of confirmed cases topping 5 million on Sunday and the death toll more than 163,000. Both figures are the biggest national totals across the globe.
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By Polityk | 08/10/2020 | Повідомлення, Політика
‘Dark Money’ Campaign Contributions Headed for Record High
Nonprofit organizations and other outside groups that don’t disclose their donors are spending record amounts of money on the 2020 U.S. presidential and congressional races, signaling their growing influence in national politics.These so-called “dark money” groups so far have funneled at least $177 million to independent political action committees, known as super PACs, in the 2020 election cycle, according to data compiled by the Center for Responsive Politics, a Washington-based group that tracks money in politics.By comparison, those groups gave $178 million in the entire campaign cycle two years ago, according to the center. In addition, dark money groups this time have spent more than $19 million on direct political advertising, a figure that is likely to rise as campaigning picks up its pace in the coming months.Anna Massoglia, a researcher at the Center for Responsive Politics, said spending by super PACs and other outside groups that take money from unidentified sources is on track to set a new record in this two-year election cycle.“Dark money spending has continued to flow into the 2020 election cycle,” Massoglia said in an interview. “We’ve seen dark money influencing and impacting 2020 elections in a few different ways.”Super PACsProponents of political groups that are beneficiaries of contributions from unidentified donors, such as nonprofits and shell corporations, reject the “dark money” label used by their detractors.Regardless of what this practice is called, the prevalence of outside money exploded after a 2010 Supreme Court ruling that said the government could not restrict political spending by corporations and labor unions. That gave rise to the emergence of a new breed of political spending juggernauts – the super PACs.In the decade since the Supreme Court decision known as Citizens United, dark money groups, such as the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, have reported nearly $1 billion in direct spending on U.S. elections to the Federal Election Commission, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.While that’s a small fraction of the overall spending on U.S. elections, critics say it has enabled wealthy donors to influence the outcome of elections while keeping voters in the dark about their role.“This is a growing problem, and millions of dollars are going to be flowing into super PACs in the weeks ahead before Election Day,” said Michael Beckel, research director for Issue One, a Washington-based group that monitors the role of money in politics. “Some of that money could be coming from mysterious sources that the public has no idea who it is,” he told VOA.Conservative defenders of anonymous spending dismiss claims of nefarious intent and say that disclosing the names of individual donors could subject them to political intimidation and harassment.When organizations such as the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and Planned Parenthood give money to super PACs, they say, voters know that the funds come from their members and backers.“So the idea that this is something that the American people know nothing about and don’t know who’s trying to influence them, I think is often quite false,” said Bradley A. Smith, a former Republican chairman of the Federal Election Commission who now heads the Institute for Free Speech, a conservative group that opposes campaign finance restrictions.Veil of secrecyDark money groups don’t just give money to super PACs and other political organizations. Increasingly, they are funding so-called issue advocacy ads. While carefully avoiding terms such as “vote for” or “vote against” a candidate, these ads can nonetheless cast a candidate in a certain light, Massoglia said.“In doing so, they effectively operate as political ads without having to disclose to the FEC,” Massoglia said.The goal of transparency is at the heart of the U.S. campaign finance system, even if it often is not achieved. By law, all political organizations must disclose their donors to the Federal Election Commission to help voters make more informed decisions about which party or candidate to support. Super PACs are no exception.But examining a super PAC’s FEC disclosure filings won’t lift the veil of secrecy over the true source of their funds.Take, for example, Victory 2020, a new joint fundraising committee involving two super PACs working to elect Democrats this November. One is called American Bridge 21st Century and the other is the pro-Joe Biden group Unite the Country.Victory 2020’s FEC filing shows that $5.7 million out of the $5.9 million it has raised this election cycle came from a progressive outfit called the Sixteen Thirty Fund. But because the Sixteen Thirty Fund is registered as a social welfare organization whose primary purpose is not political, it is not required to disclose its donors. The group says it helps “nonprofit leaders and advocates confront a wide range of challenges,” from climate change to racial justice.This lack of transparency runs the political gamut. On the Republican side, the super PAC Congressional Leadership Fund received $9 million from the conservative American Action Network in June. Like the progressive Sixteen Thirty Fund, the American Action Network is registered as a social welfare organization not required to disclose its donors.On its website, the group says that its “goal is to put our center-right ideas into action by engaging the hearts and minds of the American people and spurring them into active participation in our democracy.”The role of shell companiesWhile nonprofit groups are the most common vehicle for funneling dark money into elections, wealthy donors also use shell companies to fund super PACs.In a recent report, Issue One identified a dozen such shell corporations. Among them: a New York-based company that gave $75,000 to a liberal super PAC in Texas. Issue One said it could not conclusively link the company to any one individual. Other shell companies were apparently formed for the sole purpose of making donations to super PACs.“We’re completely in the dark about where some of these shell companies got the funds,” Beckel of Issue One told VOA.This is a loophole that could be exploited by foreign actors seeking to meddle in U.S. elections, Beckel warned.“The threat is serious, and anyone across the political spectrum could be benefiting from secret money,” he added.In recent years, the Justice Department has charged several individuals accused of giving foreign money to pro-Obama and pro-Trump super PACs.“This is a problem that needs action now, and it is a glaring loophole in campaign finance law that is just waiting to be abused,” according to Beckel.Transparency advocates want Congress to beef up disclosure requirements. A bipartisan bill introduced on Capitol Hill called the Shell Company Abuse Act would make it a crime to set up a shell company with the intent of concealing foreign campaign donations.“Unless Congress puts more teeth in the law, we expect foreign actors to continue to try to abuse this loophole in the system,” Beckel said.
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By Polityk | 08/09/2020 | Повідомлення, Політика
Naturalized Americans Flex Growing Electoral Clout
Brenda Cienfuegos recently became a U.S. citizen and is eager to exercise her new rights as an American. She says voting gives Latinos like her a voice.“Voting is something I’ve always done in my country,” she said. “I couldn’t do it here, but now I can.”Originally from El Salvador, Cienfuegos, a mother of two who came legally to the United States in 2010, registered to vote right after her U.S. citizenship ceremony in York, Pennsylvania, earlier this year.She demurs when asked if she is backing a candidate in the November presidential contest.“Like I learned in my country, my vote is secret,” Cienfuegos said. “But what I can tell you? I’m going to support the candidate who better supports the Latino community.”Cienfuegos is part of a growing cohort flexing its muscle in America’s democratic process. U.S. Census data compiled by the Pew Research Center shows more than 23 million naturalized citizens will be eligible to vote in the 2020 presidential elections, comprising about 10 percent of the electorate.The clout of naturalized Americans at the ballot box is recognized by political groups spanning the ideological spectrum.Mark Madrid, cofounder of the Lincoln Project, a political action committee of renegade Republicans working to defeat President Donald Trump, notes that naturalized citizens “have a greater likelihood to vote” than their native-born counterparts and are “a much more pro-immigrant voting bloc, being immigrants themselves.”Trump loyalists say they, too, are reaching out to Americans born in other lands.“We recognized the importance of engaging every American citizen as a potential voter, including those who are naturalized citizens,” the Republican National Committee’s Director of Hispanic Media, Yali Nuñez, told VOA.New American turnoutAccording to Pew, Latinos and Asians account for nearly two-thirds of new citizens eligible to vote this year.Pew found that 53 percent of naturalized Latinos and 52 percent of naturalized Asians voted in 2016, compared to 46 percent of native-born Latinos and 45 percent of native-born Asians.The top countries from which new voters originated are Mexico, Philippines, India, and China.In North Carolina, Juliana Cabrales of the NALEO Educational Fund, a nonpartisan organization that promotes Latino civic participation, said political parties need to maintain a dialogue with new Americans on a constant basis, not just in election years.“What we’ve seen in prior years is that political parties tend to take Latinos for granted, as never voting or always voting one way,” Cabrales said. “As an organization, we actively ask political parties to engage Latinos.”Cabrales added that presidential campaigns actively reach out to new Americans in battleground states but often overlook them in the rest of the country.“Latinos that live in California, in New York, in Texas are often forgotten, and don’t hear from candidates requesting them to vote, or even … as to why they should support one candidate over another,” she said. “So there needs to be greater investment across the board, in getting voters to turn out and making sure that the focus is not just on those states that are considered crucial in one election versus another.”Party affiliationOpinion surveys and exit polling data from recent elections show that immigrant voters as a whole tend to lean Democratic, something that doesn’t surprise some Republican operatives.Brendan Steinhauser, a Texas-based GOP consultant, told VOA that rhetoric from the top of the party has caused a perception that Republicans do not welcome immigrants even if they come legally to the United States.Steinhauser, who has worked for Texas Republican Senator John Cornyn, said Cornyn has regularly sent aides to attend naturalization ceremonies in the state.“He did a great job that actually ended up winning the Hispanic vote in Texas [in past elections],” Steinhauser said, adding that, going forward, appealing to new citizens will be imperative for both political parties.“After 2020, regardless of what happens, the Republican Party — just like the Democrats—will have no choice but to appeal to a wide swath of the American people,” he said. “A party that doesn’t do that will not have a future in this country.”Real-life consequencesDue to the COVID-19 pandemic, Olivia Quinto had no family or friends at her side for her recent naturalization ceremony.Originally from the Philippines, Quinto will be voting for the first time November 3 in Texas with her mother, who became a U.S citizen at the beginning of the year.She told VOA much is at stake in the outcome.“This election is going to be about real-life consequences to the people that we love. And so that’s where I have my head [focused],” she said.
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By Polityk | 08/09/2020 | Повідомлення, Політика
Trump Takes Executive Action on Economic Relief Package
President Donald Trump on Saturday moved to defer payroll taxes and extend an expired unemployment benefit after negotiations with Congress on a new coronavirus rescue package collapsed.At his private country club in Bedminster, New Jersey, Trump moved to continue paying a supplemental federal unemployment benefit for millions of Americans out of work during the outbreak.However, his order called for up to $400 payments, one-third less than the $600 people had been receiving. Congress allowed those higher payments to lapse on August 1, and negotiations to extend them have been mired in partisan gridlock, with the White House and Democrats miles apart.Trump largely stayed on the sidelines during the administration’s negotiations with congressional leaders, leaving the talks on his side to Chief of Staff Mark Meadows and Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin.Trump’s embrace of executive actions — he signed one executive order and three memoranda Saturday — to sidestep Congress runs in sharp contrast to his criticism of former President Barack Obama’s use of executive orders on a more limited basis. And the president’s step back from talks with Congress breaks with his self-assured negotiating skills.FILE – House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, accompanied by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, speaks to reporters following a meeting with Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, Aug. 7, 2020.States are asked to helpNow, Trump, who has not spoken with Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi since last year, sought to play the role of election-year savior, with the $400 weekly assistance, as well as a deferral of payroll tax and federal student loan payments and the continuation of a freeze on some evictions during the crisis.”It’s $400 a week, and we’re doing it without the Democrats,” Trump said, asking states to cover 25% of the cost. Trump is seeking to set aside $44 billion in previously approved disaster aid to help states maintain supplemental pandemic jobless benefits, but he said it would be up to states to determine how much, if any of it, to fund, so the benefits could be smaller still.Many states have been facing budget shortfalls because of the coronavirus pandemic and would have difficulty assuming the new obligation. The previous unemployment benefit was fully funded by Washington.The president said at his club on Friday night that “if Democrats continue to hold this critical relief hostage I will act under my authority as president to get Americans the relief they need.”Democrats had said they would lower their spending demands from $3.4 trillion to $2 trillion but said the White House needed to increase its offer. Republicans have proposed a $1 trillion plan.Trump said the employee portion of the payroll tax would be deferred from August 1 through the end of the year. The move would not directly aid unemployed workers, who do not pay the tax when they are jobless, and employees will need to repay the federal government eventually without an act of Congress, where there is bipartisan opposition.Interest-free loanIn essence, the deferral is an interest-free loan that would have to be repaid. Trump said he’d try to get lawmakers to extend it, and the timing would line up with a post-election lame-duck session in which Congress will try to pass government funding bills.”If I win, I may extend and terminate,” Trump said, repeating a longtime goal but remaining silent on how he’d fund the Medicare and Social Security benefits that the 7% tax on employee income covers. Employers also pay 7.65% of their payrolls into the funds.FILE – Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore. talks with a reporter before the start of a meeting with Senate Democrats on Capitol Hill in Washington, May 22, 2015.”This fake tax cut would also be a big shock to workers who thought they were getting a tax cut when it was only a delay,” said Democratic Senator Ron Wyden of Oregon. “These workers would be hit with much bigger payments down the road.”Both the House and Senate have left Washington, with members sent home on instructions to be ready to return for a vote on an agreement. With no deal in sight, lawmakers’ absence raised the possibility of a prolonged stalemate that stretches well into August and even September.The breakdown in the negotiations between the White House and congressional Democrats is particularly distressing for schools, which have been counting on billions of dollars from Washington to help with the costs of reopening. But other priorities are also languishing, including a fresh round of $1,200 direct payments to most people, a cash infusion for the struggling Postal Service and money to help states hold elections in November.
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By Polityk | 08/09/2020 | Повідомлення, Політика
Biden Risks Alienating Young Black Voters After Race Remarks
Joe Biden’s controversial remarks about race this week risk alienating young Black voters who despise President Donald Trump but are not inspired by his Democratic rival.When pressed by Errol Barnett of CBS News on whether he’d taken a cognitive test, Biden responded that the question was akin to asking the Black reporter if he would take a drug test to see if “you’re taking cocaine or not? … Are you a junkie?”In a later interview with National Public Radio’s Lulu Garcia-Navarro, Biden seemed to draw distinctions between Black and Hispanic populations in the U.S. “Unlike the African American community, with notable exceptions, the Latino community is an incredibly diverse community with incredibly different attitudes about different things,” he told the Latina reporter.He later walked back the comment.Black voters as a whole delivered the Democratic nomination to Biden, powering his commanding win in the South Carolina primary, which rescued his floundering campaign. But that success was heavily dependent on older Black voters. In a general election where Democrats say no vote can be taken for granted, young Black activists and elected officials say this week’s missteps could make it harder to get their vote.“Trump is terrible, and he’s a racist, and we have to get racists out of the White House. But then Biden keeps saying racist things,” said Mariah Parker, a 28-year-old county commissioner in Athens, Georgia. “It doesn’t make me feel much better that we actually will have an improvement for the Black community with one president over the other.”Most Black voters view Trump as someone who exacerbates racial tensions and are unlikely to support his campaign in large numbers. But those who sit out the presidential election could sway the outcome in closely contested states.AP VoteCast data illustrates the generational divide Biden is confronting.Across 17 states where AP VoteCast surveyed Democratic voters during the primary, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders Sanders won 60 percent of voters under 30 overall, to Biden’s 19 percent. And while Biden was strongly supported by African American voters overall, Black voters under age 30 were slightly more likely to support Sanders than Biden, 44 percent to 38 percent.Sorry, but your browser cannot support embedded video of this type, you can
download this video to view it offline.Download File360p | 9 MB480p | 13 MB540p | 17 MB720p | 34 MB1080p | 68 MBOriginal | 80 MB Embed” />Copy Download AudioA Washington Post-Ipsos poll conducted in June suggested that while Biden had majority support among Black voters aged 18-39, there was skepticism about Biden himself. Among Black Americans under age 40 that were polled, 32 percent said they didn’t feel he was sympathetic to the problems of Black people. And 24 percent of respondents under 40 said they felt Biden is “biased” against Black people, in contrast to much lower percentages for middle-aged and senior respondents.Part of the challenge for Biden, said activist Kristin Fulwylie Thomas, is the perception among young Black voters that he’s too moderate to deliver on issues that are important to them. The 31-year-old managing director of Equal Ground, an Orlando-based group working to boost turnout among Black voters across Florida, said she hears this concern from people in her community and voters across the state.“What I’m seeing and what I’m hearing among young Black voters is that Biden was not their first choice, so folks are not excited to vote for him this November,” she said.Every gaffe makes it harder for Biden to generate that excitement.Michigan State Rep. Jewell Jones, who at 21 was the youngest elected official ever in Michigan, said that he’s seen a number of Biden’s comments on Black voters, along with his past support for the 1994 Crime Bill that contributed to mass incarceration of Black Americans, pop up on social media and raise questions among his peers.“Young people are really holding people accountable these days,” he said. “Anything that comes up that they think is questionable, they’ll challenge.”Jones, who is now 25, said the issue with young Black voters is “not necessarily skepticism about whether or not he’s able to do the job.”“Young people today want to know, are politicians’ hearts in the right place?” he said.The Biden campaign says they’re working hard to reach out to young Black voters, and point to events hosted by their young voter outreach coalition, League 46, as well as outreach geared specifically towards Historically Black Colleges and Universities and Black sororities, among an array of other events broadly geared toward the Black community nationwide.Birmingham, Alabama, Mayor Randall Woodfin, who supports Biden, swept aside Biden’s comments this week. He noted that Biden, unlike Trump, later clarified his comments.“I truly believe that he wants to do the right thing moving forward,” he said.Sorry, but your browser cannot support embedded video of this type, you can
download this video to view it offline.Download File360p | 11 MB480p | 15 MB540p | 19 MB720p | 37 MB1080p | 73 MBOriginal | 93 MB Embed” />Copy Download AudioBiden has put out an array of proposals focused on Black economic mobility, which include pledges to steer federal money and tax credits to small business and economic development programs for minority-owned firms and disadvantaged neighborhoods. Biden also said he’d encourage home ownership to help close wealth gaps among minority communities, among other policies.On criminal justice reform, he’s called for a federal ban on police chokeholds, national standards for police use of force, mandatory data collection from local law enforcement, a new federal police oversight commission. He’s also embraced some progressive proposals that may appeal to younger voters, like forgiving some student loan debt and offering some free college.But on a number of key issues being pushed by some young Black activists — like defunding or dismantling police forces, Medicare for All, and legalizing marijuana — Biden has thus far declined to embrace the most progressive policies.As Jones put it: “The younger generation are not just asking for reform or just asking for change. They want a revolution.”But some of the enthusiasm gap has to do with a generational split on voting within the Black community that has little to do with Biden, said Leah Daughtry, a Black operative who has twice served as CEO of the Democratic National Convention.“For my generation and older, voting was this thing that was this great privilege because we didn’t always have it,” she said, noting that at 55, she was part of the first generation of Black women to get the right to vote. For younger Black Americans, “they don’t have the lived experience of not being able to.”Still, Daughtry said that she was willing to give Biden “a pass” on his comments after listening to the full interview, but young voters might not be so forgiving.“It’s absolutely a problem, and unfortunately the campaign appears to be having to spend time clarifying and cleaning them up,” she said. “For young people — when they see the one quote it would appear to confirm to them or solidify questions in their mind about the vice president’s intent and goals. And the best we can hope for is they will do further research. At worst you have some who will say it adds to their reasons for disillusionment.”
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By Polityk | 08/08/2020 | Повідомлення, Політика
Who Will Win in 2020?
Ahead of the U.S. presidential election in November, polls show presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden leading President Donald Trump. While polls can reflect how popular a candidate is at a point in time, they don’t always predict the election result. White House Correspondent Patsy Widakuswara spoke with two experts who have called the outcome of the election, not based on polls but on their own prediction models.
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By Polityk | 08/08/2020 | Повідомлення, Політика
Trump Threatens to Take Executive Action on Economic Relief Package
U.S. President Donald Trump said Friday he is ready to take executive action after congressional lawmakers failed again to reach agreement on a relief package for the tens of millions of Americans who have lost their jobs following the COVID-19 pandemic.Trump told a news conference that executive orders are being prepared to enhance unemployment benefits until the end of the year, defer student loan payments and forgive interest on the loans, and extend a moratorium on evictions. He said an executive order is also being prepared to defer payroll taxes until the end of the year.It was not immediately clear if he has the legal authority to take the executive actions he has proposed. It was also not immediately clear how the actions, if implemented, would work. For example, if payroll taxes are deferred, it is not clear whether workers would then have to pay them retroactively at some point and whether that payment would be one large payment or stretched out over time.Republican lawmakers are not interested in an economic relief package that costs more than $1 trillion. The bottom line for the Democrats is $2 trillion. There seems to be no room for negotiating away from those numbers for the politicians. Reports say the lawmakers have not scheduled any additional meetings.Millions of Americans recently saw the $600 enhancement to their weekly unemployment benefits come to an end. Social service agencies have warned that the lack of the additional funds for the unemployed could result in food insecurity and evictions for millions.
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By Polityk | 08/08/2020 | Повідомлення, Політика
Last-ditch Virus Aid Talks Collapse; No New Help for Jobless
A last-ditch effort by Democrats to revive collapsing Capitol Hill talks on vital COVID-19 rescue money ended in disappointment on Friday, making it increasingly likely that Washington gridlock will mean more hardship for millions of people who are losing enhanced jobless benefits and further damage for an economy pummeled by the still-raging coronavirus.”It was a disappointing meeting,” declared top Senate Democrat Chuck Schumer, saying the White House had rejected an offer by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to curb Democratic demands by about $1 trillion. He urged the White House to “negotiate with Democrats and meet us in the middle. Don’t say it’s your way or no way.”Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, left, and White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, right, walk out of a meeting with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Sen. Chuck Schumer, Aug. 7, 2020.Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said, “Unfortunately we did not make any progress today.”With the collapse of the talks, he said President Donald Trump was now likely to issue executive orders on home evictions and on student loan debt.White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows said, “This is not a perfect answer — we’ll be the first ones to say that — but it is all that we can do, and all the president can do within the confines of his executive power.”Friday’s session followed a combative meeting on Thursday that, for the first time cast real doubt on the ability of the Trump administration and Democrats on Capitol Hill to come together on a fifth COVID-19 response bill. Pelosi summoned Mnuchin and Meadows in hopes of breathing life into the negotiations, which have been characterized by frustration and intransigence on both sides.A breakdown in the talks would put at risk more than $100 billion to help reopen schools, a fresh round of $1,200 direct payments to most people and hundreds of billions of dollars for state and local governments to help them avoid furloughing workers and cutting services as tax revenues shrivel.In a news conference on Friday Pelosi said she offered a major concession to Republicans.”We’ll go down $1 trillion, you go up $1 trillion,” Pelosi said. The figures are approximate, but a Pelosi spokesman said the speaker is in general terms seeking a “top line” of perhaps $2.4 trillion since the House-passed HEROES Act is scored at $3.45 trillion. Republicans say their starting offer was about $1 trillion but have offered some concessions on jobless benefits and aid to states, among others, that have brought the White House offer higher.Mnuchin said that renewal of a $600 per-week pandemic jobless boost and huge demands by Democrats for aid to state and local governments are the key areas where they are stuck.”There’s a lot of areas of compromise,” he said after Friday’s meeting. “I think if we can reach an agreement on state and local and unemployment, we will reach an overall deal. And if we can’t we can’t.”Pelosi declared the talks all but dead until Meadows and Mnuchin give ground.”I’ve told them ‘come back when you are ready to give us a higher number,'” she said.Democrats have offered to reduce her almost $1 trillion demand for state and local governments considerably, but some of Pelosi’s proposed cost savings would accrue chiefly because she would shorten the timeframe for benefits like food stamps.Pelosi and Schumer continue to insist on a huge aid package to address a surge in cases and deaths, double-digit joblessness and the threat of poverty for millions of the newly unemployed.On Friday, they pointed to the new July jobs report to try to bolster their proposals. The report showed that the U.S. added 1.8 million jobs last month, a much lower increase than in May and June.”It’s clear the economy is losing steam,” Schumer said. “That means we need big, bold investments in America to help average folks.”Senate Republicans have been split, with roughly half of Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s rank and file opposed to another rescue bill at all. Four prior coronavirus response bills totaling almost $3 trillion have won approval on bipartisan votes despite intense wrangling, but conservatives have recoiled at the prospect of another Pelosi-brokered agreement with a whopping deficit-financed cost.McConnell has sent the Senate home rather than forcing impatient senators to bide their time while Democrats play hardball. That suggests a vote won’t come until late next week, if then.Pelosi and Schumer have staked out a firm position to extend a lapsed $600-per-week bonus jobless benefit, demanded generous child care assistance and reiterated their insistence for food stamps and assistance to renters and homeowners facing eviction or foreclosure.”This virus is like a freight train coming so fast and they are responding like a convoy going as slow as the slowest ship. It just doesn’t work,” Pelosi said Friday.
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By Polityk | 08/08/2020 | Повідомлення, Політика
Democratic Leaders Try to Revive COVID Aid Talks
Democratic leaders sought to revive Washington talks on COVID-19 rescue money, summoning Trump administration negotiators to the Capitol on Friday in hopes of generating progress.Both sides said the future of the negotiations was uncertain after a combative meeting on Thursday. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said she was meeting with Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows Friday afternoon. President Donald Trump said he was considering executive orders to address evictions and unemployment insurance, but they appeared unlikely to have much impact.A breakdown in the talks would put at risk more than $100 billion to help reopen schools, a fresh round of $1,200 direct payments to most people, and hundreds of billions of dollars for state and local governments to help them avoid furloughing workers and cutting services as tax revenues shrivel.Pelosi, D-Calif., and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., emerged from Thursday’s meeting to give a pessimistic update about the chances for an agreement.”We’re very far apart. It’s most unfortunate,” Pelosi said then. In a news conference Friday she said she made an offer to Republicans.”We’ll go down $1 trillion, you go up $1 trillion,” Pelosi said. She said that her latest offer amounted to about $2.7 trillion; a series of GOP offers issued privately has brought the White House offer to about $1.5 trillion.Firm stancesBoth sides have adopted a hard line in the talks, though the Trump team has been more open in disclosing a handful of its proposed compromises. Republicans were late to agree to the talks and have become frustrated by the inflexible tactics of Pelosi and Schumer, who have been exuding confidence in a political and legislative landscape that appeared tilted in their favor.The Democratic pair say the federal coronavirus aid package needs to be huge to meet the moment: a surge in cases and deaths, double-digit joblessness and the threat of poverty for millions of the newly unemployed.”We believe the patient needs a major operation while Republicans want to apply just a Band-Aid,” Schumer said. “We won’t let them just pass the Band-Aid, go home and leave America bleeding.”Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, with White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, speaks to reporters on Capitol Hill in Washington, Aug. 6, 2020.On Friday, the two pointed to the July jobs report to try to bolster their proposals. The report showed that the U.S. added 1.8 million jobs last month, a much lower increase than in May and June.”The latest jobs report shows that the economic recovery spurred by the investments Congress has passed is losing steam and more investments are still urgently needed to protect the lives and livelihoods of the American people,” Pelosi and Schumer said in a joint statement.Senate Republicans have been split, with roughly half of McConnell’s rank and file opposed to another rescue bill at all. Four prior coronavirus response bills totaling almost $3 trillion have passed on bipartisan votes despite intense wrangling, but conservatives recoiled at the prospect of another Pelosi-brokered agreement with a whopping deficit-financed cost.The White House is also promising that Trump will try to use executive orders to address elements of the congressional package involving evictions and jobless benefits. But there’s no evidence that the strategy would have much impact or be anything close to what’s necessary, and Pelosi appeared unimpressed at a news conference.”I don’t think they know what they’re talking about,” Pelosi said dismissively Thursday.Democrats’ positionPelosi and Schumer staked out a firm position to extend a lapsed $600-per-week bonus jobless benefit, demanded generous child care assistance and reiterated their insistence for food stamps and assistance to renters and homeowners facing eviction or foreclosure.”Don’t nickel-and-dime our children,” Pelosi said. “Don’t say, ‘We want to give a tax break to a business lunch and not give more money for children to have food stamps.’ “Pelosi was referring to a GOP proposal to increase the deduction for business meals from 50% to 100%. The idea seems likely to die, along with Trump’s efforts to cut the Social Security payroll tax. But Schumer and Pelosi continue to push to restore a tax break for state and local taxes paid mostly by wealthier people with high incomes and valuable homes.FILE – Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell speaks about legislation for coronavirus aid during a meeting with President Donald Trump in the Oval Office, July 20, 2020.McConnell, R-Ky., is likely to have to assume a higher profile if the talks are to succeed, but he issued a grim assessment of the situation Thursday, again complaining that Pelosi and Schumer were not negotiating in good faith.”Day after day, they’ve stonewalled the president’s team. Day by day, they’ve tried to invent new euphemisms to create the illusion of progress,” McConnell said.Frustration was palpable among Republican senators shuttling in and out of a GOP lunch session, some of whom say Schumer is intent on using the situation as a hammer against Republicans. Schumer is desperate to win the Senate majority just as Republicans are in trying to hold on in a terrible political year.’That’s the calculation'”As long as they calculate that they’re better off politically doing nothing, it’s going to be hard for us to move forward,” said Senator Marco Rubio, R-Fla. “And that’s the calculation they’ve made, it appears.”McConnell is sending the Senate home rather than forcing impatient senators to bide their time while Democrats play hardball. That suggests a vote won’t come until late next week, perhaps later.White House negotiators made some concessions on jobless benefits and aid to state and local governments in a Tuesday session — and then promptly got scalded by Republicans after details leaked out.
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By Polityk | 08/08/2020 | Повідомлення, Політика
Postal Service Loses $2.2B in 3 Months as Virus Woes Persist
The U.S. Postal Service says it lost $2.2 billion in the three months that ended in June as the beleaguered agency, hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic, piles up financial losses that officials warn could top $20 billion over two years.”Our financial position is dire, stemming from substantial declines in mail volume, a broken business model and a management strategy that has not adequately addressed these issues,” Louis DeJoy, the new postmaster general, said Friday in his first public remarks since taking the job in June.”Without dramatic change, there is no end in sight,” DeJoy told the postal board of governors at a meeting Friday.While package deliveries to homebound Americans were up more than 50%, that was offset by continued declines in first-class and business mail, even as costs increased significantly to pay for personal protective equipment and replace workers who got sick or chose to stay home in fear of the virus, DeJoy said.Without an intervention from Congress, the agency faces an impending cash flow crisis, he said. The Postal Service is seeking an infusion of at least $10 billion to cover operating losses as well as regulatory changes that would undo a congressional requirement that the agency pre-fund billions of dollars in retiree health benefits.Louis DeJoy, the 75th postmaster general of the United States and chief executive officer of the USPS. (USPS photo)The agency is doing its part, said DeJoy, a Republican fundraiser and former supply chain executive who took command of the agency June 15. DeJoy, 63, of North Carolina, is a major donor to President Donald Trump and the Republican Party. He is the first postmaster general in nearly two decades who is not a career postal employee.Limits on overtimeIn his first month on the job, DeJoy said, he directed the agency to vigorously “focus on the ingrained inefficiencies in our operations,” including by applying strict limits on overtime.”By running our operations on time and on schedule, and by not incurring unnecessary overtime or other costs, we will enhance our ability to be sustainable and … continue to provide high-quality, affordable service,” DeJoy said.While not acknowledging widespread complaints by members of Congress about delivery delays nationwide, DeJoy said the agency would “aggressively monitor and quickly address service issues.”DeJoy’s remarks came as lawmakers from both parties called on the Postal Service to immediately reverse operational changes that are causing delays in deliveries across the country just as big volume increases are expected for mail-in election voting.Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer said Thursday that changes imposed by DeJoy “threaten the timely delivery of mail — including medicines for seniors, paychecks for workers and absentee ballots for voters — that is essential to millions of Americans.”In separate letters, two Montana Republicans, Senator Steve Daines and Representative Greg Gianforte, also urged the Postal Service to reverse the July directive, which eliminates overtime for hundreds of thousands of postal workers and mandates that mail be kept until the next day if distribution centers are running late.FILE – Republican Greg Gianforte greets supporters after winning Montana’s sole congressional seat, May 25, 2017, in Bozeman, Mont.’Unacceptable’And 84 House members — including four Republicans — signed yet another letter blasting the changes and urging an immediate reversal.”Delaying mail service is unacceptable,” Gianforte wrote Thursday to DeJoy. “Do not continue down this road.”In their letter, the 84 House members said it was “vital that the Postal Service does not reduce mail delivery hours, which could harm rural communities, seniors, small businesses and millions of Americans who rely on the mail for critical letters and packages.” The letter was led by Representative Carolyn Maloney, D-N.Y., chairwoman of the House Oversight Committee, who has called DeJoy to testify at a hearing next month.The flurry of letters came as the top Democrat on a Senate panel that oversees the Postal Service launched an investigation into the operational changes.Michigan Senator Gary Peters of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee said DeJoy had failed to provide answers about the service delays, despite repeated requests.Peters is asking members of the public to provide their stories about delays or other problems with deliveries.The Postal Service is reeling from mail delays and financial problems at a time when record numbers of mail ballots are expected in the November presidential election because of the coronavirus pandemic.FILE- In this Dec. 14, 2017, photo, boxes for sorted mail are stacked at the main post office in Omaha, Neb.Criticism from TrumpTrump, a vocal critic of the Postal Service, contended Wednesday that “the Post Office doesn’t have enough time” to handle a significant increase in mail-in ballots. “I mean, you’re talking about millions of votes. … It’s a catastrophe waiting to happen.”DeJoy met with Schumer and Pelosi on Wednesday in a closed-door session that Schumer called “a heated discussion.” Democrats told DeJoy that “elections are sacred” and urged him not to impose cutbacks “at a time when all ballots count,” Schumer said.In his remarks to the postal board of governors, DeJoy disputed reports that the agency was slowing down election mail or any other mail. He called election mail handling “a robust and proven process.”While there will “likely be an unprecedented increase in election mail volume due to the pandemic, the Postal Service has ample capacity to deliver all election mail securely and on time in accordance with our delivery standards, and we will do so,” DeJoy said. “However … we cannot correct the errors of [state and local] election boards if they fail to deploy processes that take our normal processing and delivery standards into account.”Democrats have pushed for $10 billion for the Postal Service in talks with Republicans on a huge COVID-19 response bill. The figure is down from a $25 billion plan in a House-passed coronavirus measure. Key Republicans whose rural constituents are especially reliant on the post office support the idea.
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By Polityk | 08/08/2020 | Повідомлення, Політика
Appeals Court Revives House Lawsuit for McGahn Testimony
A federal appeals court in Washington on Friday revived House Democrats’ lawsuit to force former White House counsel Don McGahn to appear before a congressional committee, but left other legal issues unresolved with time growing short in the current Congress. The full U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit voted 7-2 in ruling that the House Judiciary Committee can make its claims in court, reversing the judgment of a three-judge panel that would have ended the court fight.The matter now returns to the panel for consideration of other legal issues. The current House of Representatives session ends on Jan. 3. That time crunch means the chances that the Committee hears McGahn's testimony anytime soon are vanishingly slim, dissenting Judge Thomas Griffith wrote. Judge Karen LeCraft Henderson also dissented.The Judiciary Committee first subpoenaed McGahn in April 2019 as it examined potential obstruction of justice by President Donald Trump during special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation. Trump directed McGahn not to appear and the Democratic-led panel filed a federal lawsuit to force McGahn to testify.A trial judge ruled in November that the president’s close advisers do not have the absolute immunity from testifying to Congress that the administration claimed. Griffith and Henderson formed the majority when the appellate panel said in February that the Constitution forbids federal courts from refereeing this kind of dispute between the other two branches of government. On Friday, the full court said the panel reached the wrong decision. Lawmakers can ask the courts for judicial enforcement of congressional subpoenas when necessary, Judge Judith Rogers wrote.Congress needs detailed information about the executive branch for both oversight and impeachment, she wrote.House lawmakers had sought McGahn’s testimony because he was a vital witness for Mueller, whose report detailed the president’s outrage over the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election and Trump’s efforts to curtail it.In interviews with Mueller’s team, McGahn described being called at home by the president on the night of June 17, 2017, and being directed to call the Justice Department and say Mueller had conflicts of interest and should be removed. McGahn declined the command, deciding he would resign rather than carry it out, the report said.Once that episode became public in the news media, Mueller’s report said, the president demanded that McGahn dispute the news stories and asked him why he had told Mueller about it and why he had taken notes of their conversations. McGahn refused to back down.If McGahn is ever to testify, it’s unclear his testimony would include any new revelations beyond what Mueller has already released. Mueller concluded that he could not exonerate Trump on obstruction of justice but also that there was insufficient evidence to prove a criminal conspiracy between Trump’s campaign and Russia.
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By Polityk | 08/07/2020 | Повідомлення, Політика
