Keystone XL the root of all DC dysfunction according to Carper

Keystone XL the root of all DC dysfunction according to Carper

6 Comments
In an attempt to justify his execrable vote in favor of the environmental catastrophe known as the Keystone XL pipeline, Tom Carper's office released a statement which blames the Keystone pipeline for Congressional gridlock. That's right. It is the Keystone Pipeline, and not the whack-ass GOP that is fucking up everything in DC, according to Carper.
A Tale of Two Democrats

A Tale of Two Democrats

16 Comments
Or at least two types of Democrats. Yesterday, Senator Bernie Sanders and 15 other Democratic Senators sent a letter to President Obama urging him to not cut Social Security, Medicare or Medicaid in his FY15 budget. It won't be much of a surprise to most of the readers here to find that neither Senator Carper or Coons signed on to this letter. Interestingly, Senator Coons voted to restore the cuts to military pensions and Carper voted against them. So take a look at what a group of Democrats genuinely interested in the well-being of middle class and working class people urged the President:
Today, retirement insecurity is as high as it has ever been. Only one in five workers in the private sector has a defined benefit pension plan; half of Americans have less than $10,000 in savings; and two-thirds of seniors rely on Social Security for a majority of their income. Given this reality, we respectfully urge you not to propose cutting Social Security, Medicare or Medicaid benefits in your Fiscal Year 2015 budget. In good times and bad, Social Security has succeeded in keeping millions of senior citizens, widows, orphans, and persons with disabilities out of extreme poverty. Before Social Security was developed, about half of our seniors lived in poverty; today senior poverty is down to 9.1 percent. Without Social Security, one-third of senior citizens would have virtually no earnings at all. Social Security has not contributed one penny to the deficit. Social Security has a surplus of more than $2.7 trillion and can pay every single benefit owed to every eligible American for the next 19 years.
Dog Bites Man: Carper AWOL on Climate Action

Dog Bites Man: Carper AWOL on Climate Action

6 Comments
Hey, didja know that 17 United States senators have formed a working coalition on climate action? Didja know that these senators are members of the two  Senate committees best positioned to have an impact on climate action? Didja know that Tom Carper is a member of one of those committees? I think you can see where this is going....

QOTD — When Was the Last Time One of Our Congressional Delegation Had a Town Hall Meeting?

2 Comments
I saw that our Congressional delegation is having another Job Fair -- which is very cool and certainly people who need jobs could use every bit of help they can get. But when I saw this item in the NJ (an item I passed on to folks I know are looking), I couldn't remember the last Town Hall from these guys. This is particularly odd since the August recess wasn't too far back. I think that John Carney has had a forum on college costs, but that is all I can remember.
Chris Coons is On the Budget Conference Committee

Chris Coons is On the Budget Conference Committee

4 Comments
This is the committee formed as part of the deal to re-open the government and avoid the debt ceiling. It isn't much of a giveaway, as Conference Committees are the usual order of business in Congress after budgets have passed the House and Senate. This Conference Committee -- as would others -- is meant to negotiate a single budget from the two that have passed. Senator Chris Coons is on this committee as a result of his being on the Senate Budget Committee.
Carper and Coons Give a Big Thumbs Up to TBTF

Carper and Coons Give a Big Thumbs Up to TBTF

20 Comments
And a big thumbs up to letting banks put the money in deposit accounts in the same kind of risky bets that their investment accounts are in. I can't say that I'm too surprised at this -- banks do own the road here -- but I'm still appalled at this position. It is a position that is ONLY good for banks -- the rest of us with deposit accounts (and who pay taxes) are definitely the losers here. Because the point of a Glass-Steagall 2 is to separate the deposit accounts (the only part of the banking business explicitly guaranteed by the feds), from the investment business (which is not insured). The point of Glass-Steagall 2 is to dismantle one more part of the TBTF scheme -- specifically the part where banks get to privatize their profits and get to socialize their losses. Until taxpayers get a say in the risks (and get a cut of the benefits) of the TBTF business, taxpayers should not backstop what the banks do here.

When Delaware Democrats Vote to Cut Food Stamps

25 Comments
The Farm Bill (S. 954) was being worked by the Senate the last few weeks, in an effort to get a bill done and voted on before the recess. This bill looks much like last year's bill (but adding some additional support for Southern crops such as rice, cotton and peanuts). As this bill came out of the Agricultural Committee, it had cut $4.5 BILLION from the food stamp program over the next 10 years. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand offered an amendment (#931) to restore those cuts: