Newsflash:
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Top Democrats React to Low-Wage Federal Workers’ Strike “I work at Quick Pita in the food court of the Ronald Reagan Building. I work nearly 12 hours every day serving lunch to the thousands of people who work in the building. But I am not here to tell you how hard I work. I am here to tell you that my employer does not follow the law,” testified Antonio Vanegas before a hearing of the Congressional Progressive Caucus yesterday. Read the Full Story
The Axe Falls on 50 Chicago Public Schools At times, the meeting of the Board of Education of Chicago Public Schools (CPS) on Wednesday took on the air of a mass mock trial; at others, it seemed like a public execution. On the dock were 53 elementary schools and one high school charged with underutilization of space and underperformance. Read the Full Story
The End of the Perpetual War President Obama’s speech on Thursday was the most important statement on counterterrorism policy since the 2001 attacks, a momentous turning point in post-9/11 America.For the first time, a president stated clearly and unequivocally that the state of perpetual warfare that began nearly 12 years ago is unsustainable for a democracy and must come to an end in the not-too-distant future.       Read the Full Story
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Elizabeth Warren: Trade talks could weaken bank oversight Sen. Elizabeth Warren raised concerns Tuesday that negotiations over new trade agreements could be used as a backdoor way to water down financial regulations. Read the Full Story
Exclusive: Why I Spoke Out at Obama's Foreign Policy Speech On why Obama's policies themselves, not those who speak out against them, are rude Having worked for years on the issues of drones and Guantanamo, I was delighted to get a pass (the source will remain anonymous) to attend President Obama’s speech at the National Defense University. Read the Full Story
Pivoting From a War Footing, Obama Acts to Curtail Drones WASHINGTON — Nearly a dozen years after the hijackings that transformed America, President Obama said Thursday that it was time to narrow the scope of the grinding battle against terrorists and begin the transition to a day when the country will no longer be on a war footing.       Read the Full Story
New Terror Strategy Shifts C.I.A. Focus Back to Spying WASHINGTON — For more than seven years, Mike — a lean, chain-smoking officer at the Central Intelligence Agency’s headquarters in Virginia — has managed the agency’s deadly campaign of armed drone strikes. As the head of the C.I.A.’s Counterterrorism Center, Mike wielded tremendous power in hundreds of decisions over who lived and died in far-off lands.       Read the Full Story
Boy Scouts End Longtime Ban on Openly Gay Youths GRAPEVINE, Tex. — The Boy Scouts of America on Thursday ended its longstanding policy of forbidding openly gay youths to participate in its activities, a step its chief executive called “compassionate, caring and kind.”       Read the Full Story
PDA, Allies March Against Fracking in Maryland More than 100 "Fracktivists" rallied for clean air and water outside the Democratic Governors Association meeting in Maryland yesterday. Concerned about the controversial practice of extracting methane gas from shale rock formations known as hydraulic fracturing or "Fracking", Progressive Democrats of America, Food and Water Watch, MoveOn, Progressive Neighbors, and Progressive Cheverly members and others gathered to hear speakers and then matched chanting outside the high-level meeting. Read the Full Story
Congresswoman Barbara Lee Responds to President Obama’s Call for AUMF Repeal, Introduces Legislation Creating Greater Oversight of Drones Washington, D.C.— Congresswoman Barbara Lee (D-CA) released the following statement in response to President Obama’s speech focusing on drone warfare and national security. In advance of the speech, Congresswoman Lee introduced related legislation, The Drones Accountability Act. Read the Full Story
image A Budget That Tightens Belts by Emptying Stomachs
image Top Democrats React to Low-Wage Federal Workers’ Strike
image The Axe Falls on 50 Chicago Public Schools
image The End of the Perpetual War
image Banks’ Lobbyists Help in Drafting Financial Bills
image Elizabeth Warren: Trade talks could weaken bank oversight
image Exclusive: Why I Spoke Out at Obama's Foreign Policy Speech
image Pivoting From a War Footing, Obama Acts to Curtail Drones
image New Terror Strategy Shifts C.I.A. Focus Back to Spying
image Boy Scouts End Longtime Ban on Openly Gay Youths
image PDA, Allies March Against Fracking in Maryland
image Congresswoman Barbara Lee Responds to President Obama’s Call for AUMF Repeal, Introduces Legislation Creating Greater Oversight of Drones
Wednesday, 13 February 2013 04:07

Congresswoman Lee Reacts to President Obama’s State of the Union Address

Written by  Congresswoman Barbara Lee | Press Release

Washington, D.C.—Today, Congresswoman Barbara Lee released the following statement in reaction to President Obama’s State of the Union Address to Congress:

“Tonight the President made a powerful case for Congress to finally act to create jobs and grow our economy. Part of this effort must be lifting millions out of poverty and into the middle class. Erasing the scourge of poverty in our nation is an economic and moral imperative.

“As co-founder and co-chair of the Out-of-Poverty Caucus, I will continue to push for a national strategy to eliminate poverty, starting with the goal of cutting poverty in half in ten years. The President’s support for raising the minimum wage and tying it to the cost of living, as well as universal, high-quality, pre-Kindergarten education are critical pieces in that plan.

“Tonight the President made a big announcement about ending the war in Afghanistan. I have been working towards bringing all of our troops home right away, but the President’s plan to bring 34,000 troops home this year is an important step towards complete withdrawal. I know that there is no military solution in Afghanistan, and this announcement underscores the President’s commitment to an accelerated withdrawal and ending the war at the end of 2014.

“We must reject the calls for thousands of troops to stay on the ground in perpetuity. If there is any residual force beyond 2014, they must be extremely limited in scope and scale.

“Finally, now is the time for action, and we must join President’s call for an AIDS-free generation, gun violence prevention, comprehensive immigration reform, aggressive action on climate change, strengthening education, and getting America back to work.”

 

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Follow Barbara Lee on Facebook and Twitter @RepBarbaraLee. To learn more, visit lee.house.gov

 

Congresswoman Lee is a member of the Appropriations and Budget Committees the Steering and Policy Committee, is a Senior Democratic Whip as well as the Whip of the Congressional Progressive Caucus(CPC), where she serves as the Co-Chair of the CPC Peace and Security Task Force.

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