Economy & Budget

Senator Nelson wants to have federal control of the state's coast. We can ill afford to do that with only 5% representation in Congress.

I want Florida's future to be more closely tied to its state legislature, which is not accountable to Texas, Oklahoma, and other oil states.

This is our coastline, and we need to determine our future.

The death tax is a socialist tax. It is born out of jealousy and envy. It says, "You've made too much money, so we want to take 1/2 of it from you."

We need to encourage people to make a good living, to pay their taxes while alive.

And while they're dead, the government should not steal from the wallets of their cold, lifeless body.

It's the clearest distinction between the two parties.
One party would pass enormous tax cuts for the richest 1% of the country when the division of wealth is greater than at any other time in American History, and at the same time, would starve social programs, such as the education system, that can help the middle class open up the same doors of opportunity that are wide open for the wealthy.  People on the minimum wage don't get capital gains tax cuts, they don't get dividends tax cuts.

If we want to celebrate work, we need to pay for work.  If Republicans want to get people off of welfare, then get them a job to enable them to afford a roof over their head, healthcare for their children.

Posted by AFL-CIO President John Sweeney
We’ve seen what a failure the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) has been. From 1993 to 2004, the United States lost more than 1 million jobs due to growing trade deficits with our NAFTA partners, while workers in Mexico have seen their real wages erode.

But that didn’t stop the Bush administration from twisting arms in Congress to pass by a bare one-vote margin the Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA)—yet another deal that looks out for the interests of Big Business but includes few protections for workers’ rights or the environment.

Now, the U.S.-Oman Free Trade Agreement (OFTA) is on the table, and Congress should reject this latest expansion of NAFTA’s failed model. This model has accelerated the loss of good jobs here while exacerbating poverty and social disparities in our trading partners.

The lack of effective labor provisions in OFTA is particularly significant in light of the recent New York Times article revealing egregious labor abuses in Jordan—a nation with which the United States has a free trade agreement. These violations include human trafficking, 20-hour workdays, and widespread failure to pay back wages. Worse—the Oman FTA contains even weaker labor provisions than the Jordan FTA.

Congress must oppose the Oman agreement and send a message to the American people and to the world: America’s workers want trade pacts that don’t ignore fundamental human rights.

The gap between the rich and poor continues to grow, and middle class families are struggling to make ends meet. Many can't afford health insurance, let alone homeowner's, renters' or flood insurance. Congress must begin to take into consideration all the needs of our constituents, especially low-income families, during natural disasters. It is my hope that through the GAO study, we can set the stage to provide low-income families living in flood prone areas with discounted flood insurance.

These hearings on illegal immigration and border security are six years late and millions of dollars short. With complete Republican control of legislation and enforcement of the law for six years, you would think that a party calling so vigorously for border security and enforcement of immigration law could have solved the problem of illegal immigration by now. But the Republican Party seems to be all talk on this subject. Today's Homeland Security Subcommittee hearing was just another in the long list of hearings held and planned by this Republican-led Congress that produce absolutely no solutions to a problem the American public cares about.

The 9th Circuit is the most overburdened court we have in the country and it cannot effectively serve the geographic region it now covers. I am pleased that the Judiciary Committee is taking up the issue and commend Chairman Specter for moving ahead with a hearing. I am hopeful that there will be a prompt mark-up on the bill. The 9th Circuit is just too large to properly service the residents of Idaho and other states in the West. Idahoans and others who are now included in the 9th Circuit will be better served with this change that will provide smaller, more efficient courts. I have been committed to this structural reform for many years and look forward to working with my colleagues in the Senate to ensure that the legislation is enacted into law.

Passage of the Flood Insurance Reform and Modernization Act accomplished two very important goals: protecting homeowners by ensuring that a viable market for flood insurance continues to operate effectively and efficiently in the United States, while at the same time protecting taxpayers by increasing Congressional oversight of the flood insurance system.

By: Tom Donohue of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce

America is at risk of being left behind if it doesn't improve its
education system. There are warning signs everywhere. Thirty percent of
our young people are not even graduating from high school. Our students
are lagging behind in math and science. In order to improve education, we
must first assess what works and what doesn't.

The Chamber has assembled a bipartisan team of experts from the Center for
American Progress and the American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy
Research to aggregate and analyze current data and supplement it with new
research that examines return on investment, budget transparency, and the
relationship between per pupil spending and student achievement. The
Chamber will use the results of the analysis to formulate and aggressively
advance public policies to improve state education systems across the
country.

America needs a world-class education system. Students deserve it, parents
demand it, and businesses require it if we are to compete and win in the
global economy.

It doesn't look as though they've made any moves toward international labor standards, and some of our members have problems with their boycott of Israel.