Blue State Schools: The Shame of a Nation

June 20, 2011

WALTER RUSSELL MEAD

When it come to excellence in education, red states rule — at least according to a panel of experts assembled by Tina Brown’sNewsweek.  Using a set of indicators ranging from graduation rate to college admissions and SAT scores, the panel reviewed data from high schools all over the country to find the best public schools in the country.

The results make depressing reading for the teacher unions: the very best public high schools in the country are heavily concentrated in red states.

Three of the nation’s ten best public high schools are in Texas — the no-income tax, right-to-work state that blue model defenders like to characterize as America at its worst.  Florida, another no-income tax, right-to-work state long misgoverned by the evil and rapacious Bush dynasty, has two of the top ten schools.

Newsweek isn’t alone with these shocking results.  Another top public school list, compiled by the Washington Post, was issued in May.  Texas and Florida rank number one and number two on that list’s top ten as well.

There’s something else interesting about the two lists: on both lists only one of the top ten public schools was located in a blue state.  (Definition alert: on this blog, a blue state is one that voted for John Kerry in 2004; red states cast their electoral votes for Bush.)

There were no top ten schools on either list from blue New England states like Massachusetts, Vermont and Connecticut.  Nor were there any in the top 25.  By contrast, Alabama made both theNewsweek and the Washington Post top ten.  Only two public schools from these states made the Washpost top fifty list; zero made it into Newsweek‘s elite.  150 years after the Civil War, South Carolina is kicking New England’s rear end when it comes to producing great public schools.

Schoolboys playing Snap the Whip in an 1872 oil painting by Winslow Homer

As you go down the list, the numbers get a little more balanced.  Fifty of the top 100 Newsweek schools are red, fifty blue — though according to the Washington Post, the split is sixty-one red, thirty-nine blue.  But the results are shocking enough: the People’s Republic of Vermont has achieved parity with Mississippi: neither state has a single school on the Newsweek list of 500.

Defenders of the high tax, high regulation, highly unionized model of state governance that characterizes the blue states like to point to their higher quality of government services as justification for the taxes they pay and the regulations they accept.

Let those crackers and hillbillies in the red states wallow in their filth and their ignorance, say proud upholders of the blue state model.  We blue staters believe in things like quality education — and that costs money.

In theory, perhaps, but in practice the extraordinary achievement of so many red state schools strongly supports the idea that blue state governance is no friend to excellence in education.  Having low taxes and governors descended from George H. W. Bush seems to offer students more hope than having high taxes and strong teacher unions. At the very least, the rankings suggest that blue state taxes and management philosophies aren’t knocking the stuffing out of their allegedly underfunded and poorly run red state competitors.

The results of these two unrelated surveys are particularly surprising because the competition for best public schools is one that, logically speaking, blue states should dominate.  Blue states are — generally speaking — richer than red states.  They tend to spend substantially more money per pupil on education.  They do not have the history of legal segregation that disrupted education in many Southern states.  Almost certainly, a generation ago blue states would have dominated rankings of this kind.

The poor performance of the New England states is particularly striking.  Vermont, Connecticut and Massachusetts are the states with the oldest and strongest traditions of public education in the country.  They led the rest of the country in establishing free public schools and were among the first to mandate a full 12 years of pre-college education.  Non-New England blue states like New York, New Jersey and even troubled California and Michigan do significantly better than the New England states in the rankings.  The decline of public education in New England is clearly a subject that deserves further study.

As the blue state governance model comes under increasing pressure, both Democratic and Republican governors and legislatures are going to be looking for ways to cut costs while preserving the quality of basic public services like education.  It is becoming harder and harder to find evidence of any kind that teachers’ unions help either taxpayers or kids; surveys like these hasten the day when real reform comes to the American educational system.

The rise of the red states is one of those stories that the mainstream media — which views the world through blue-tinted lenses — doesn’t like to think about.  The conventional liberal explanation, sometimes cited by readers of this blog, is that the red states tend to be net recipients of federal taxes thanks to progressive taxation and social programs aimed at the poor.  There is some truth in that explanation — but it is surely also true that inefficient spending, poor management and confused and unrealistic mandates together with layers of barnacle-encrusted bureaucracy in blue states mean that they spend money less wisely and efficiently than their counterparts.

I don’t think either red states or blue states have fully come to grips with the changes our educational system needs.  Putting students in big box schools that teach conformity, sitting still and waiting in line does not strike me as a wise use of money or time.  Most school textbooks are atrociously written and edited by committees and lobby groups; teaching to standardized tests is at best a very poor use of resources.  High school graduates tend to know precious little about either academic subjects or practical life.

We can and should do much, much better and I suspect that home-schooling and community based schools will play a much larger role in the future.  The key is going to be innovation and small scale initiatives by concerned parents and groups of gifted teachers and inspiring leaders who want to strike out on their own — and the educational system needs to support rather than fight this kind of change.  Hospitality to innovation will ultimately be the most important quality that states can bring to public education; red states have an advantage here because entrenched interests (like unions) make it harder for blue states to reform.

That will change, one hopes, as blue states reflect on the gap between the high costs they pay and the disappointing results they too often achieve.

Shared Sacrifice

This is what shared sacrifice is supposed to look like?  Between the subsidies, tax rebates, income tax, The corporations, Oil companies, Wall Street Bankers, and the very, very wealthy, just keep getting wealthy, while the middle class is disappearing into the poverty zone.  If the Republicans keep getting their way, we the People will be nothing.  The only good point is that somewhere they(the upper wealthy) will have to give revenues if they are to thrive and survive, because the rest of the Americans, will be scrounging for food and what work we can get. Because we will not be able to pay taxes, buy stuff or live in homes, maybe tents, under bridges, in abandoned buildings, why because nobody will be around to take care of the buildings. People People People the Republicans DO NOT CARE FOR US (THE MIDDLE CLASS AND THE POOR) the sooner we die off the better for them.
All public things will be private for the wealthy, schools, hospitals, doctors, lawyers.
Bits and pieces they are taking away everything that means everything to us.  Unions, schools, jobs, voting rights, transportation, health care that includes public hospitals, doctors, insurance, and a decent way to die with dignity.
 This is not SHARED SACRIFICE , this is America for the Wealthy, to hell with everybody else.  Yesterday, Monday, Senator Sanders spoke in the Senate and explained what I have tried to say here.  The AMERICA I grew up in does NOT EXIST anymore.
As for President Obama and the Democrats I have never been more disappointed, disillusioned, or more thoroughly disgusted in their bowing down and kissing the rumps of every Republican congressman or lady. They are falling all over themselves trying to make friends with the other side, and they are not listening to 81% of the American middle class and poor.  We understand the deficit and that certain cuts need to be made, but we are not going to take their so called shared sacrifice that does not include revenues raised by the wealthy, the oil companies, corporations.  It is time they put their wallets where their mouths are, they live high off the hog, and they get so much compensation that they do not need to work, not like the rest of us. Please Mr President, do not give in  to the Republicans, for Gods sake notice the people who elected you in 2008, because we can or not elect you again in 2012.  I do not use my Lord's name as a rule, but I and many Americans are fed up with the tip toeing through the tulips with people who do not care for us.  If you have a spine, if you care about the American People rich or poor, then put your fist down on the bargaining table and stand up for those who do not have the clout to take on the Republican party with their Tea Party loonies. I am begging, We need you now more than ever....


OIL COMPANIES

• · Valero Energy received a $157 million tax refund check from the IRS last year
• · In 2009 Exxon made $19 billion in profits, paid no federal income taxes and was given a $156 million rebate from the IRS.
• · ConocoPhillips made $16 billion in profits from '07-'09 and received $451 million in tax breaks.
• · The Republican budget protects $44 billion in unnecessary tax breaks and subsidies for oil and gas companies.
• · Chevron received a $19 million refund from the IRS last year, even though it made $10 billion in profits in 2009. 

MIDDLE CLASS/JOBS/INCOME

• · The United States has the most unequal distribution of wealth and income of any major country in the industrialized world.
• · Since 2000, 5.6 million manufacturing jobs have been lost in America
• · We have fewer factory jobs today than we did in March of 1941 about 8 months before the attack on Pearl Harbor.
• · Over 50,000 manufacturing plants in America have been shut down over the past decade.
• · After adjusting for inflation, middle class families earned more income in 1998 than they do today
• · Nationally, middle class families have seen their income go down by more than $2,600 over the past decade.
• · 20 million more Americans live in poverty today than was the case in 1973.
• · Since 2000, nearly 12 million Americans have slipped out of the middle class and into poverty.
• · The official unemployment rate has been 8.8 percent or higher for over 2 years, the longest on record.
• · Nearly 16 percent of Americans are either unemployed or under-employed.
• · 42 million Americans are on Food Stamps.
• · The Republican budget would slash funding for roads, bridges, rail and airports by nearly 40% next year alone 

 THE WEALTHY

• Between 1980 and 2005, 80 percent of all new income created in this country went to the top 1 percent.
• Under the Bush administration, the 400 top earners saw their incomes double.
• The 400 top earners have had their effective federal tax rate cut almost in half over the past 15 years
• In 2007, the richest 400 Americans made an average of $345 million a year.
• During the Bush years, the wealthiest 400 Americans increased their wealth by $400 billion and are worth over $1.3 trillion
• The wealthiest 400 people in America now own more wealth than the bottom 150 million Americans.
• In 2007, the wealthiest one percent took in 23.5 percent of all of the income earned in the US.
• In 2007, the top 1/10th of 1 percent took in 11 percent of total income The percentage of income going to the top 1 percent has nearly tripled since the 1970s

CORPORATION/BANKS

• In the past 5 years, Carnival Cruise Lines made over $11 billion in profits, but its federal income tax rate was only 1.1%.
• · Ford's federal income tax rate was just 2.3 percent in 2009 even though it made $3 billion in profits.
• 2010 corporate tax revenue was 27% smaller than 2000, even though corporate profits are up 60 percent over the last decade.
• Large corporations are sitting on a record-breaking $2 trillion in cash on hand.
• Large corporations are avoiding $100 billion in taxes every year by using offshore tax shelters.
• In 2005 1 of 4 large corporations paid no income taxes at all even though they collected $1.1 trillion in revenue.
• Hedge fund managers who made $1 billion last year now pay a lower effective tax rate than many teachers & nurses.
• In 2008, Goldman Sachs only paid 1.1 percent of its income in taxes even though it earned a profit of $2.3 billion.
• Bank of America received a $1.9 billion tax refund from the IRS last year even though it earned a profit of $4.4 billion.    

HEALTH CARE

• The Republican budget would prevent an estimated 34 million uninsured Americans from getting health insurance.
• 50 million Americans have no health insurance and 45000 Americans die every year b/c they don't have access to health care
• The Republican plan will end Medicare by providing an $8000 voucher for seniors to purchase a private health insurance plan
• Since 2000, over 12 million Americans have lost their health insurance.

 Sen. Jim DeMint to GOP: Saving your job is more important than preventing economic meltdown

 Debt/deficit reduction must be born by rich, oil companies, corporate communities too. They must pitch in to help fellow Americans.

The poor and middle classes have suffered. It is time for wealthy corporations to contribute as well.

Uploaded by SenatorSanders on Jun 24, 2011

I created this video with the YouTube Video Editor (http://www.youtube.com/editor)

Shared Sacrifice Dear Mr. President, This is a pivotal moment in the history of our country. Decisions are being made about the national budget that will impact the lives of virtually every American for decades to come. As we address the issue of deficit reduction we must not ignore the painful economic reality of today - which is that the wealthiest people in our country and the largest corporations are doing phenomenally well while the middle class is collapsing and poverty is increasing.  In fact, the United States today has, by far, the most unequal distribution of wealth and income of any major country on earth. Everyone understands that over the long-term we have got to reduce the deficit - a deficit that was caused mainly by Wall Street greed, tax breaks for the rich, two wars, and a prescription drug program written by the drug and ins ur ance com panies. It is absolutely imperative, however, that as we go forward with deficit reduction we completely reject the Republican approach that demands savage cuts in desperately-needed programs for working families, the elderly, the sick, our children and the poor, while not asking the wealthiest among us to contribute one penny. Mr. President, please listen to the overwhelming majority of the American people who believe that deficit reduction must be about shared sacrifice. The wealthiest Americans and the most profitable corporations in this country must pay their fair share.  At least 50 percent of any deficit reduction package must come from revenue raised by ending tax breaks for the wealthy and eliminating tax loopholes that benefit large, profitable corporations and Wall Street financial institutions.  A sensible deficit reduction package must also include significant cuts to unnecessary and wasteful Pentagon spending. Please do not yield to outrageous Republican demands that would greatly increase suffering for the weakest and most vulnerable members of our society.  Now is the time to stand with the tens of millions of Americans who are struggling to survive economically, not with the millionaires and billiona ires who have never had it so good.     Respectfully, Sen. Bernie Sanders Co-signers

Job/employment bills

I believe thesae are the right bills, if I have made a mistake let me know....











S.782 
Latest Title: Economic Development Revitalization Act of 2011 
Sponsor: Sen Boxer, Barbara [CA] (introduced 4/8/2011)      Cosponsors (5) 
Latest Major Action: 6/21/2011 Senate floor actions. Status: Cloture on the bill not invoked in Senate by Yea-Nay Vote. 49 - 51. Record Vote Number: 94. 
Senate Reports: 112-15
There is 1 other version of this bill.


S.904 
Latest Title: JOBS Act of 2011 
S.782 -- Economic Development Revitalization Act of 2011 (Introduced in Senate - IS)
Sponsor: Sen Hatch, Orrin G. [UT] (introduced 5/5/2011)      Cosponsors (None) 
Related Bills: H.R.1745 
Latest Major Action: 5/5/2011 Referred to Senate committee. Status: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.

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SUMMARY AS OF: 
5/5/2011--Introduced.Jobs, Opportunity, Benefits, and Services Act of 2011 or JOBS Act of 2011 - Amends title III (Grants to States for Unemployment Compensation Administration) of the Social Security Act (SSA) to require state unemployment compensation laws to require, as a condition of eligibility for regular compensation for any week, that an unemployment compensation claimant be able to work, available to work, and actively seeking work.
Requires a claimant to meet minimum educational requirements, that is, to: (1) have earned a high school diploma, (2) have earned the General Educational Development (GED) credential or other state-recognized equivalent (including by meeting recognized alternative standards for individuals with disabilities), or (3) be enrolled and making satisfactory progress in classes leading to satisfaction of the latter requirement.
Authorizes waiver of such requirements for an individual by a state agency if they would be unduly burdensome.
Authorizes the Secretary of Labor to enter into agreements with states to allow them to conduct demonstration projects to test and evaluate measures designed to: (1) expedite the reemployment of individuals who establish initial eligibility for unemployment compensation under state law, or (2) improve the effectiveness of a state in carrying out its state law with respect to reemployment.
Amends SSA title XII (Repayment by States of Advances to State Unemployment Funds) to repeal the requirement that a state meet certain funding goals if no payment of interest shall be required with respect to any advances made to it out of the federal unemployment account during any calendar year. (Thus repeals the requirement for higher state taxes.)
Amends the Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2008 (SAA of 2008) to repeal the requirement (nonreduction rule) that makes a federal-state agreement inapplicable for a state upon a determination by the Secretary that the method governing the computation of regular compensation under state law has been modified to make the average weekly UC benefit paid less than what would have been paid before June 2, 2010.
Amends the SSA title IX (Miscellaneous Provisions Relating to Employment Security) to require the Secretary to designate codes and identifiers for any category of information required for data matching in the federal-state unemployment insurance system.
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to require states (which, currently, are merely authorized) to reduce current unemployment benefits to recover prior unemployment benefit overpayments.
Amends the SSA to require the Secretary of the Treasury to makes special transfers, in FY2011-FY2012, from the extended unemployment compensation (EUC) account to each state's account in the Unemployment Trust Fund an amount determined by using a specified formula. Requires states to spend these funds: (1) to pay current federal unemployment benefits; or (2) for regular or extended unemployment benefits, for repaying federal unemployment loans, or for reemployment services, as specified by a state law passed after enactment of this Act.
Repeals requirements under the SAA of 2008 that federal payments to states cover 100% of EUC for a certain period of time.
Amends such Act to require the Secretary of the Treasury to transfer from the general fund of the Treasury to the EUC account any sums the Secretary of Labor estimates to be necessary to make payments to states because of certain amendments made by this Act.
Amends the Assistance for Unemployed Workers and Struggling Families Act to accelerate from January 4, 2012, to July 6, 2011, termination of the temporary requirement that federal payments to states cover 100% of EUC.
Amends the Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization, and Job Creation Act of 2010 to accelerate similarly from December 31, 2011, to June 30, 2011, termination of the period during which a state may determine its "on" and "off" indicators according to specified temporary substitutions in its formula.


H.R.1745 -- JOBS Act of 2011 (Introduced in House - IH)

Latest Title: JOBS Act of 2011 
Sponsor: Rep Camp, Dave [MI-4] (introduced 5/5/2011)      Cosponsors (3) 
Related Bills: S.904 
Latest Major Action: 5/23/2011 Placed on the Union Calendar, Calendar No. 48. 
House Reports: 112-87 Part 1

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SUMMARY AS OF: 
5/23/2011--Reported to House amended, Part I.    (There is 1 other summary)Jobs, Opportunity, Benefits, and Services Act of 2011 or JOBS Act of 2011 - Title I: Reforms of Unemployment Compensation to Promote Work and Job Creation - (Sec. 101) Amends title III (Grants to States for Unemployment Compensation Administration) of the Social Security Act (SSA) to require state unemployment compensation (UC) laws to require, as a condition of eligibility for regular compensation for any week, that an UC claimant be able to work, available to work, and actively seeking work.
(Sec. 102) Requires a claimant to meet minimum educational requirements, that is, to: (1) have earned a high school diploma, (2) have earned the General Educational Development (GED) credential or other state-recognized equivalent (including by meeting recognized alternative standards for individuals with disabilities), or (3) be enrolled and making satisfactory progress in classes leading to satisfaction of the latter requirement.
Authorizes waiver of such requirements for an individual by a state agency if they would be unduly burdensome.
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to revise the requirement that the Secretary of Labor approve any state law prohibiting denial of compensation to an individual for any week in which the individual is in training with the approval of the state agency (or because of the application, to any such week in training, of state law relating to availability for work, active search for work, or refusal to accept work). Refers instead to any week in which the individual is enrolled and making satisfactory progress in education or, as under current law, training which has been previously approved by the state agency.
(Sec. 103) Authorizes the Secretary to enter into agreements with states to allow them to conduct demonstration projects to test and evaluate measures designed to: (1) expedite the reemployment of individuals who establish initial eligibility for UC under state law, or (2) improve the effectiveness of a state in carrying out its state law with respect to reemployment.
(Sec. 104) Amends SSA title XII (Repayment by States of Advances to State Unemployment Funds) to repeal the requirement that a state meet certain funding goals if no payment of interest shall be required with respect to any advances made to it out of the federal unemployment account during any calendar year. (Thus repeals the requirement for higher state taxes.)
(Sec. 105) Amends the Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2008 (SAA of 2008) to repeal the requirement (nonreduction rule) that makes a federal-state agreement inapplicable for a state upon a determination by the Secretary that the method governing the computation of regular compensation under state law has been modified to make the average weekly UC benefit paid less than what would have been paid before June 2, 2010.
(Sec. 106) Amends the SSA title IX (Miscellaneous Provisions Relating to Employment Security) to require the Secretary to designate standard data elements for any category of information required for data matching in the federal-state unemployment insurance system.
(Sec. 107) Amends the Internal Revenue Code and SSA title III to require states (which, currently, are merely authorized) to reduce current unemployment benefits to recover prior unemployment benefit overpayments.
Title III: Forward Funding of Remaining Federal Unemployment Compensation Funds - (Sec. 201) Amends the SSA to require the Secretary of the Treasury to makes special transfers, in FY2011-FY2012, from the extended unemployment compensation (EUC) account to each state's account in the Unemployment Trust Fund an amount determined by using a specified formula. Requires states to spend these funds: (1) to pay current federal EUC and emergency unemployment benefits; or (2) for regular unemployment benefits, for repaying federal unemployment loans, or for reemployment services, as specified by a state law passed after enactment of this Act.
(Sec. 202) Repeals requirements under the SAA of 2008 that federal payments to states cover 100% of EUC for a certain period of time.
Amends such Act to require the Secretary of the Treasury to transfer from the general fund of the Treasury to the EUC account any sums the Secretary of Labor estimates to be necessary to make payments to states because of certain amendments made by this Act.
(Sec. 203) Amends the Assistance for Unemployed Workers and Struggling Families Act to accelerate from January 4, 2012, to July 6, 2011, termination of the temporary requirement that federal payments to states cover 100% of EUC.
Amends the Federal-State Extended Unemployment Compensation Act of 1970 (FSEUCA-1970) , as amended by the Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization, and Job Creation Act of 2010 to accelerate similarly from December 31, 2011, to June 30, 2011, termination of the period during which a state may determine its "on" and "off" indicators according to specified temporary substitutions in its formula.
Declares that, in the case of any state law which, as of the date of enactment of this Act, has been amended in conformance with certain amendments to FSEUCA-1970 made by the Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization, and Job Creation Act of 2010 and the Assistance for Unemployed Workers and Struggling Families Act, the acceleration for the termination of the period during which a state may determine its "on" and "off" indicators according to specified temporary substitutions in its formula shall be disregarded for purposes of any state law provision which provides for a state "off" indicator or which otherwise provides for the termination of an extended benefit period because of the cessation of full federal funding of sharable EUC or sharable regular compensation.
(Sec. 204) Designates the budgetary effects of this Act as an emergency requirement and necessary to meet emergency needs pursuant to the Statutory Pay-As-You-Go (PAYGO) Act of 2010.


S.951 
Latest Title: Hiring Heroes Act of 2011 
Sponsor: Sen Murray, Patty [WA] (introduced 5/11/2011)      Cosponsors (25) 
Related Bills: H.R.1941 
Latest Major Action: 6/8/2011 Senate committee/subcommittee actions. Status: Committee on Veterans' Affairs. Hearings held.

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SUMMARY AS OF: 
5/11/2011--Introduced.Hiring Heroes Act of 2011- Amends the Wounded Warriors Act to extend until January 1, 2015, the authority of the Secretary of Veterans Affairs (VA) to provide the same rehabilitation and vocational benefits to members of the Armed Forces with severe injuries or illnesses as are provided to veterans.
Expands the authority of the VA Secretary to make payments to employers to provide on-job training to veterans to include veterans who have not been rehabilitated to the point of employability.
Entitles certain veterans with service-connected disabilities who have exhausted their rights to unemployment benefits to participation in an additional VA rehabilitation program. Limits the duration of such a program to 24 months. Makes the 12-year period of eligibility for a VA rehabilitation program inapplicable under such an additional program.
Instructs the VA Secretary to follow-up on the employment status of veterans who participate in a VA rehabilitation program.
Requires (current law encourages) participation by eligible members in the Transitional Assistance Program (TAP) of the Department of Defense (DOD). Requires (under current law, authorizes) the provision of preseparation counseling to members whose discharge or release is anticipated.
Instructs the Secretary of Labor to follow-up on the employment status of members who complete their participation in the TAP.
Directs the VA Secretary to award grants to up to three nonprofit organizations under a collaborative veterans' training, mentoring, and placement program for eligible veterans seeking employment.
Requires participants in the TAP to receive individualized assessments of civilian positions for which they may be qualified based on a joint DOD, VA, and Department of Labor study of the equivalencies between military skills and civilian employment requirements.
Authorizes the appointment of an honorably discharged member of the uniformed services to a position in the civil service, without regard to specified civil service examination, certification, and appointment provisions, if otherwise qualified.
Requires executive agencies to establish programs to provide employment assistance to members who are being separated from active duty.
Directs the Secretary of Labor to carry out an outreach program to provide employment assistance to certain veterans who have been receiving assistance under the Unemployment Compensation for Ex-servicemembers program.
Authorizes a pilot program to assess the feasibility of providing work experience to certain members of the Armed Forces who are on terminal leave.
Requires (under current law, authorizes) a VA demonstration project on the credentialing and licensing of veterans.


H.R.1941
Latest Title: Hiring Heroes Act of 2011
Sponsor: Rep Bishop, Sanford D., Jr. [GA-2] (introduced 5/23/2011)      Cosponsors (53)
Related Bills: S.951
Latest Major Action: 5/23/2011 Referred to House committee. Status: Referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs, and in addition to the Committees on Armed Services, and Oversight and Government Reform, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.

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SUMMARY AS OF:
5/23/2011--Introduced.
Hiring Heroes Act of 2011- Amends the Wounded Warriors Act to extend until January 1, 2015, the authority of the Secretary of Veterans Affairs (VA) to provide the same rehabilitation and vocational benefits to members of the Armed Forces with severe injuries or illnesses as are provided to veterans.
Expands the authority of the VA Secretary to make payments to employers to provide on-job training to veterans to include veterans who have not been rehabilitated to the point of employability.
Entitles certain veterans with service-connected disabilities who have exhausted their rights to unemployment benefits to participation in an additional VA rehabilitation program. Limits the duration of such a program to 24 months. Makes the 12-year period of eligibility for a VA rehabilitation program inapplicable under such an additional program.
Instructs the VA Secretary to follow-up on the employment status of veterans who participate in a VA rehabilitation program.
Requires (current law encourages) participation by eligible members in the Transitional Assistance Program (TAP) of the Department of Defense (DOD). Requires (under current law, authorizes) the provision of preseparation counseling to members whose discharge or release is anticipated.
Instructs the Secretary of Labor to follow-up on the employment status of members who complete their participation in the TAP.
Directs the VA Secretary to award grants to up to three nonprofit organizations under a collaborative veterans' training, mentoring, and placement program for eligible veterans seeking employment.
Requires participants in the TAP to receive individualized assessments of civilian positions for which they may be qualified based on a joint DOD, VA, and Department of Labor study of the equivalencies between military skills and civilian employment requirements.
Authorizes the appointment of an honorably discharged member of the uniformed services to a position in the civil service, without regard to specified civil service examination, certification, and appointment provisions, if otherwise qualified.
Requires executive agencies to establish programs to provide employment assistance to members who are being separated from active duty.
Directs the Secretary of Labor to carry out an outreach program to provide employment assistance to certain veterans who have been receiving assistance under the Unemployment Compensation for Ex-servicemembers program.
Authorizes a pilot program to assess the feasibility of providing work experience to certain members of the Armed Forces who are on terminal leave.
Requires (under current law, authorizes) a VA demonstration project on the credentialing and licensing of veterans.

H.R.1113 
Latest Title: Fair Employment Act of 2011 
Sponsor: Rep Johnson, Henry C. "Hank," Jr. [GA-4] (introduced 3/16/2011)      Cosponsors (48) 
Latest Major Action: 4/4/2011 Referred to House subcommittee. Status: Referred to the Subcommittee on Health, Employment, Labor, and Pensions.

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SUMMARY AS OF: 
3/16/2011--Introduced.Fair Employment Act of 2011 - Amends title VII (Equal Employment Opportunities) of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to add unemployment status to the categories of prohibited discrimination.
Defines "unemployment status" as being unemployed, having actively looked for employment during the then most recent four-week period, and currently being available for employment.


H.R.1663 
Latest Title: To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to temporarily provide the work opportunity tax credit for small businesses hiring unemployed individuals. 
Sponsor: Rep West, Allen B. [FL-22] (introduced 4/15/2011)      Cosponsors (13) 
Latest Major Action: 4/15/2011 Referred to House committee. Status: Referred to the House Committee on Ways and Means.

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SUMMARY AS OF: 
4/15/2011--Introduced.Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow certain small businesses with gross receipts in the preceding taxable year not exceeding $20 million a work opportunity tax credit for hiring individuals who have been receiving state unemployment compensation for not less than 4 weeks in the 1-year period ending on the hiring date. Increases the amount of wages eligible for such credit from $6,000 to $12,000 for the hiring of individuals in a high unemployment zone (a county that has an unemployment rate exceeding the greater of 4% or the national unemployment rate). Terminates such credit after December 31, 2013.


H.R.2120 
Latest Title: To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to include individuals who have exhausted all rights to emergency unemployment compensation under title IV of the Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2008 as a targeted group for purposes of the work opportunity tax credit. 
Sponsor: Rep Jackson Lee, Sheila [TX-18] (introduced 6/3/2011)      Cosponsors (None) 
Latest Major Action: 6/3/2011 Referred to House committee. Status: Referred to the House Committee on Ways and Means.

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SUMMARY AS OF: 
6/3/2011--Introduced.Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow employers a work opportunity tax credit for hiring a 99er (defined by this Act as an individual who has exhausted all rights to emergency unemployment compensation under the Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2008 during the period beginning on December 1, 2007, and ending on the individual's hiring date). Reduces the amount of such credit (40% to 25%) for employees who remain employed for 120 hours, but less than 400 hours, and in the second year of employment.




H.R.2262 
Latest Title: Unemployment Assistance Act of 2011 
Sponsor: Rep Paul, Ron [TX-14] (introduced 6/21/2011)      Cosponsors (None) 
Latest Major Action: 6/21/2011 Referred to House committee. Status: Referred to the House Committee on Ways and Means.


H.R.992 
Latest Title: Building American Jobs Act of 2011 
Sponsor: Rep Levin, Sander M. [MI-12] (introduced 3/10/2011)      Cosponsors (18) 
Related Bills: H.R.11, H.R.736, H.R.747 
Latest Major Action: 3/10/2011 Referred to House committee. Status: Referred to the House Committee on Ways and Means.

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SUMMARY AS OF: 
3/10/2011--Introduced.Building American Jobs Act of 2011 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code, with respect to the Build America Bond program, to: (1) extend until December 31, 2012, the authority to issue such bonds and the authority for payments to issuers of such bonds; (2) reduce the percentage rate of payments to issuers in 2011 and 2012; (3) allow refundings of currently issued bonds; and (4) allow the use of Build America bonds to fund capital expenditures for levees and flood control projects.
Extends through 2011 the authority to issue recovery zone economic development bonds. Requires the Secretary of the Treasury to allocate 2011 national limitations on such bonds based upon state unemployment statistics.
Exempts private activity bonds for sewage and water supply facilities from the state volume caps applicable to such bonds. Allows Indian tribal governments to issue tax-exempt private activity bonds to provide water or sewage facilities. 
Extends through 2011: (1) the exemption from alternative minimum tax (AMT) treatment of interest on certain tax-exempt bonds, (2) the tax exemption allowed for interest on bonds guaranteed by a federal home loan bank, and (3) small issuer rules for the allocation of tax-exempt interest expense by financial institutions.
Allows a full offset against the AMT for new market tax credit amounts.
Allows taxpayers to elect payments in lieu of low-income housing tax credits in 2011 for low-income buildings financed by tax-exempt bonds.

Governors Summit on Job Creation and Economic Growth

Jun 20, 2011

U.S. Chamber of Commerce

State governors and business leaders spoke about different approaches for encouraging job creation and economic growth. They also focused on the general state of the U.S. economy and steps taken by the states to deal with budget deficits and high unemployment. Following their remarks thy engaged in a roundtable discussion.

Afghanistan and Pakistan

Jun 23, 2011

Senate Committee Foreign Relations

Secretary of State Clinton testified on U.S. goals and progress in Afghanistan and Pakistan. She said the U.S. is in the preliminary stages of diplomatic outreach to the Taliban in an effort to find a political solution to the war in Afghanistan, saying reconciliation is "not a pleasant business, but a necessary one." She spoke in full support of President Obama's plan to bring home 33,000 troops by September 2012 and admitted to a 

vigorous debate inside the White House over the timing of that withdrawal.

Bachmann Announces Presidential Bid

Kicks off campaign in Waterloo, Iowa

Photo Gallery

Washington, DC
Monday, June 27, 2011

Michele Bachmann makes it official today: she is seeking the Republican nomination for President.  The third-term Minnesota member of Congress made her announcement in Waterloo, Iowa.
Noting that is where she was born and raised, Bachmann told the crowd, “Everything I needed to know I learned in Iowa.”
Bachmann said she is a fiscal policy conservative, foreign policy conservative, social conservative, and member of the Tea Party.
Bachmann rose to prominence with the rise of the Tea Party. Unlike some members of the Republican party unsure of how to handle the conservative movement, she embraced it and promised to uphold their values as a member of Congress.
She told the crowd of supporters:  “We cannot continue to kick the can of our problems down the road, because they are problems of today and not tomorrow…. We can't afford four more years of Barack Obama.”
Bachmann heads to New Hampshire next and will then travel to numerous towns in South Carolina – both key early primary states.
Bachmann joins a Republican field that includes former Governors Mitt Romney, Tim Pawlenty, Jon Huntsman, Buddy Roemer, and Gary Johnson, along with former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich, Rep. Ron Paul, former Sen. Rick Santorum, and former Godfather's Pizza CEO Herman Cain.

Michele Bachmann Presidential Campaign Announcement

Jun 27, 2011

Bachmann Presidential Campaign

Representative Michele Bachmann (MN) announced her bid for the Republican presidential nomination in her birthplace of Waterloo, Iowa, in front of the town's Snowden House.