Press Releases
How Can President Bush Say We Can Afford War in Iraq but Not Safe Bridges, Affordable Housing?
Monday, September 10, 2007
Washington, DC -This summer two major crises have come to light for Americans - our infrastructure is crumbling and the housing market is suffering the repercussions of subprime loans. The Minnesota bridge disaster and the subprime mortgage debacle underscore that after six years of Bush budget cuts, Congress needs to act now to reinvest in the safety and financial security of all Americans. This week, they will have that chance, as the Senate takes up the Fiscal Year 2008 Transportation, Housing and Urban Development and Related Agencies legislation. On Monday, the Senate devoted an additional $1 billion of the bill to bridge repair, but the onus is still on Senators to support the underlying Transportation-HUD bill , which includes vital funding for our highway and bridges safety and important funds to keep American families and veterans in their homes and off the streets.
Bush’s Sick & Twisted Priorities
Wednesday, August 29, 2007
Washington, DC - President Bush announced today he plans to ask Congress for another $50 billion in additional funding to continue his endless war in Iraq when they return in September. His other plans for September include vetoing a funding bill for the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) because of the cost—$50 billion in the House passed version. The White House has threatened to veto any funding over the President’s suggested levels, calling needed funding for children’s health care “excessive.” The President’s proposal however was woefully inadequate and wouldn’t even cover the number of children on SCHIP now, let alone expand the program. This example of hypocrisy comes just a day after the new census data on income and poverty shows that over two million more people were uninsured in 2006 than in 2005, including 700,000 children. Members of Congress and the Republican Leadership will have a simple choice when they return to Congress next week, will they stand up to threats of a presidential veto and stand with the millions of children across the country that depend on the SCHIP or cave to political pressure from the White House and GOP leadership.
Indiana Veterans, Clergy Call on Lugar for Help with Suicides, Health and Employment Services
Tuesday, August 28, 2007
(Indianapolis, IN) - Local veterans, clergy and supporters today urged Senator Richard Lugar to support a bill pending in the Senate that would boost investment in health care, job training, and injury research for veterans and oppose a threatened veto by President Bush. They made it clear that it’s up to Senator Lugar to oppose the President’s reckless veto threats and stand up for Indiana and our priorities.
Earlier this month, the Army Suicide Event Report found that suicides in the Army had reached a 26 year high. Local veterans responded by calling on Senator Lugar to vote for the Labor-HHS-Education appropriations bill, which funds critical programs suicide prevention programs, as well as job training and homelessness prevention services. The bill is expected to come up for a vote in the U.S. Senate in the coming weeks. President Bush has threatened to veto it.
Oregon Veterans, Supporters Call on Smith for Help with PTSD, Suicides, Other Services
Tuesday, August 28, 2007
(Portland, OR) - Local veterans and their supporters today urged Senator Gordon Smith to support a bill pending in the Senate that would boost investment in health care, job training, and injury research for veterans and oppose a threatened veto by President Bush. They made it clear that it’s up to Senator Smith to oppose the President’s reckless veto threats and stand up for Oregon and our priorities.
Earlier this month, the Army Suicide Event Report found that suicides in the Army had reached a 26 year high. Local veterans responded by calling on Senator Smith to vote for the Labor-HHS-Education appropriations bill, which funds critical programs suicide prevention programs, as well as job training and homelessness prevention services. The bill is expected to come up for a vote in the U.S. Senate in the coming weeks. President Bush has threatened to veto it.
ECAP Blasts Bush Choice of Nussle as OMB Director
Wednesday, June 20, 2007
Washington, DC - Yesterday, President Bush nominated former Iowa Congressman and failed gubernatorial candidate Jim Nussle to take the place of outgoing OMB Director Robert Portman, who resigned yesterday. The following is a statement from ECAP spokesperson and USAction Senior Campaign Manager Marvin Silver.
We are truly disappointed in the president’s choice of former Congressman Jim Nussle as OMB Director. In his tenure as chairman of the House Budget Committee, Nussle worked for more than a decade to give tax breaks to millionaires and corporate interests at the expense of working- and middle-class Americans - and helped, in the process, to turn a projected 10-year, $5.6 trillion budget surplus into a $2.6 trillion deficit.
News Clips
Governors Want Kids’ Insurance Expanded
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
Associated Press
WASHINGTON -- Three Democratic governors told Congress on Tuesday that the Bush administration has made it virtually impossible for them to expand health insurance coverage to more moderate-income children, and they asked lawmakers to intervene.
The governors said their states seek to enroll tens of thousands of children in government-subsidized health coverage because their families cannot afford private coverage. However, those efforts were threatened by an August directive from the Bush administration.
Economy Prompts GOP Defections
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
Politico
Chabot's bipartisan dalliance illustrates how tough economic times could erode the Republican conference that House Minority Leader John A. Boehner (R-Ohio) is counting on to blunt Democratic victories running up to the November elections.
In the recent debate over a stimulus package, Rep. Phil English (R-Pa.) broke ranks to push for Democrat-backed extension of unemployment insurance benefits. And, in the foreclosure bankruptcy debate, Chabot's fellow Republican Ohio congressman, Michael Turner, recently joined him as a co-sponsor of the bill. Turner's district includes Dayton, where the foreclosure rate is even higher than in Chabot's Cincinnati.
Editorial: A Stimulating Senate
Tuesday, February 05, 2008
Los Angeles Times
Its bill is the best plan to jolt the economy because it also aids the poor and boosts green technology.
It's looking all but certain that Congress will pass an economic stimulus bill before mid-February, which isn't necessarily good news; it's questionable whether handing taxpayers a few hundred bucks each would really jolt a sluggish economy, yet there's no doubt at all that it would increase an already scary national debt. Still, some stimuli are more appealing than others, and if we must have a bill, the Senate has a better plan than the House.
President Bush and House leaders are pleased with the compromise they worked out last week, which calls for about $150 billion in tax rebates and incentives. They're less thrilled with the package subsequently approved by the Senate Finance Committee, which would cost more (how much is a subject of debate), aid the poor and boost the clean-technology industry. That plan, drafted by Sen. Max Baucus (D-Mont.), is expected to come to the Senate floor on Wednesday.
Editorial: A Lame-Duck Budget
Tuesday, February 05, 2008
New York Times
President Bush's 2009 budget is a grim guided tour through his misplaced priorities, failed fiscal policies and the disastrous legacy that he will leave for the next president. And even that requires you to accept the White House's optimistic accounting, which seven years of experience tells us would be foolish in the extreme.
With Mr. Bush on his way out the door and the Democrats in charge of Congress, it is not clear how many of the president's priorities, unveiled on Monday, will survive. Among its many wrongheaded ideas, the budget includes some $2 billion to ratchet up enforcement-heavy immigration policies and billions more for a defense against ballistic missiles that show no signs of working.
U.S. Loses Jobs for First Time in Five Years
Saturday, February 02, 2008
Washington Post
Pressure Mounts to Pass Stimulus Plan
The nation shed jobs in January, the government reported yesterday, the first monthly loss since 2003, providing fresh evidence that the housing downturn and credit crisis have spread to the job market.
Economists have been counting on steady growth in wages and the number of jobs to keep American households afloat even as their homes become less valuable and the stock market slumps. The net loss of 17,000 jobs in January undermines that expectation, putting even more pressure on Congress to agree on a stimulus plan. Economists had forecast a gain of 70,000 jobs.
Working Families
Support America's Workers. Read More
Budget
Write a Letter in Support of the Right Budget Priorities. Read More
Children & Education
Support Education Funding. Read More
Support our Country's Children and Youth. Read More
Nutrition & Housing
Support Nutrition and Housing Programs. Read More