Todays news from Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.): Raise the Minimum Wage: If Congress wont raise the federal minimum wage, President Obama can, at least for people who work for companies that get federal contracts, subcontracts and grants. So says a group of liberals in the House and Senate who want Obama to sign an executive order requiring federal agencies to give preference in awarding contracts to companies that pay workers no less than $10.10 an hour. Fifteen senators, led by Bernie Sanders of Vermont, and 17 members of the House, led by Keith Ellison of Minnesota, sent letters to the president urging him to exercise his executive authority. Currently the federal minimum wage is $7.25. And theres been a push by Democrats to raise it to $10.10 -- an idea that Obama supports. The White House hasnt taken a position on whether Obama would issue an executive order, CNN Money reported. NSA Surveillance: A federal privacy watchdog panel on Thursday pronounced the National Security Agency archiving of telephone metadata — numbers, times and lengths of calls, but not their content — an invasion of privacy thats of limited value in counter-terrorism cases. In a major speech outlining his agenda to reform NSA surveillance, Obama last week pressed for a plan to move the phone records out of the government’s control. But, unlike the watchdog group, he did not call for an end to the program. “The presidents recommendations last week did not go far enough to rein in the out-of-control National Security Agency,” Sen. Sanders said in the Los Angeles Times and Chicago Tribune. The report by the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board “underscores that the collection of records on virtually every phone call made in the United States is an unconstitutional violation of the privacy rights guaranteed by the Fourth Amendment,” Sanders said in The Hill. Veterans: Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee Chairman Sanders said the Senate will soon take up legislation to restore pension benefits for military retirees while expanding other programs and services for veterans, Vermont Public Radio and Brattleboro Reformer reported. Stars and Stripes and Military reported that Democrats aren’t sure yet how to pay for or whether Republicans will support it. Sanders’ bill is “the most comprehensive and complete veterans bill in recent history, covering everything from health care to education to employment to disability claims,” Sen. Richard Blumenthal said, according to The (New London, Conn.) Day. Trans-Pacific Partnership: The Trans-Pacific Partnership threatens to undo advances made by states and localities to reduce their carbon footprint, The (Williston Park, N.Y.) Island Now reported. “I have the same concerns as with NAFTA and even more with this,” Sen. Sanders said. “It’s being negotiated virtually in secret. Continue reading here. Continue reading here: sanders.senate.gov/newsroom/newswatch/012414
Posted on: Fri, 24 Jan 2014 14:38:31 +0000
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