In the News
HOUSE MEMBERS DEMAND THE TRUTH ON TRADE DATA
Four Members of Congress today demanded the United States Trade Representative stop trying to snow the American people and Congress with skewed statistics as he attempts to rationalize a new job-killing international trade agreement, the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). "They're cooking the books to justify this race to the bottom," Rep. Barbara Lee (D-CA) said at a news conference, joined by Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT), Marcy Kaptur (D-OH) and Paul Tonko (D-NY). Congressional staffers … Continue Reading
July 08, 2014
Dems hope stories of unemployed spur action in House
House Democrats shared stories of unemployed constituents Wednesday afternoon to spur Speaker John A. Boehner to hold a vote to renew the benefits. Six members spoke at the weekly “Witness Wednesday” event organized by the Center for Effective Government to tell the real stories of the 3.3 million Americans struggling without long-term unemployment benefits, which expired in December. Rep. Judy Chu, California Democrat, told the story of a single mother of three who is preparing to sell … Continue Reading
July 08, 2014
Democrats chide Google, Facebook for ‘troubling’ lack of diversity
Major tech companies like Facebook, Yahoo and Google aren’t doing enough to add more women and minority workers to their rolls, three Northern California Democrats charged on Tuesday. “It is painfully clear the sector faces a persistent and troubling deficit when it comes to women, African-Americans and Latinos,” Reps. Anna Eshoo (D-Calif.), Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.) and Barbara Lee (D-Calif.) claimed in an op-ed in the San Jose Mercury News. “Diversifying the tech workforce will not only … Continue Reading
July 08, 2014
Silicon Valley royalty royally slammed for 'persistent, troubling deficit' of diversity
A trio of US Democratic congresswomen have criticized top tech firms' lack of diversity. In an op-ed for The San Jose Mercury News, California Representatives Zoe Lofgren, Anna Eshoo and Barbara Lee called out Silicon Valley's technology houses for the low numbers of women and minorities in their ranks. "It is painfully clear the sector faces a persistent and troubling deficit when it comes to women, African-Americans and Latinos," the trio wrote. The congresswomen, who represent the … Continue Reading
July 07, 2014
John Nichols: Mark Pocan and Reid Ribble stand together against endless war
Wisconsin Congressman Mark Pocan is a progressive champion who has emerged as a leading national figure on the left wing of the Democratic Party. Wisconsin Congressman Reid Ribble is a steady conservative who is very much in the mainstream of the Republican Party. By most measures, Pocan and Ribble occupy opposite sides of the partisan divide in Wisconsin and nationally. Yet Pocan and Ribble were early and enthusiastic signers of a letter from House members urging President Obama to … Continue Reading
July 07, 2014
Tech workforce diversity: Recognizing problem is the first step to solving it
"Sunlight is the best disinfectant" -- Supreme Court Justice William O. Douglas Most of us hope all Americans have a fair chance to be successful without regard to ethnicity or gender. But award-winning scientist Scott Page, in his book "The Difference," mathematically proved that diversity makes for greater success in a venture. Diversity is not just an American value, it's good for business. However, the tech world has for too long been dominated by one gender and limited in ethnic … Continue Reading
July 03, 2014
This Independence Day, recommit to the bedrock of our democracy
As we gather with friends and family to celebrate the birthday of our great country, we must recommit ourselves to the ideals of that 'more perfect union' and work to 'secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity.' The bedrock of that union is the right to vote -- a right won from a king in 1783, won by suffragettes in 1920 and won by Civil Rights activists five decades ago. Today, that right has come under attack. These attacks are no longer the Jim Crow laws or poll taxes … Continue Reading
July 03, 2014
U.S. not preparing Iraq military assault, says top general
The U.S. is not close to launching a military assault against an Iraqi insurgent group but “may get to that point” if the militants become a threat to the American homeland, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said Thursday.Gen. Martin Dempsey told Pentagon reporters that he does not, at this point, believe the U.S. needs to send in an “industrial strength” force with a mountain of supplies to bolster the Iraqi troops as they battle the fast-moving Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, … Continue Reading
July 03, 2014
House lawmakers want to approve any military action in Iraq
A bipartisan group of 80 House lawmakers sent a letter to President Obama this week urging him to seek congressional approval before taking military action in Iraq. The letter, spearheaded by Reps. Barbara Lee (D-Calif.) and Scott Rigell (R-Va.), says “the use of military force is something the Congress should fully debate and authorize.” “Members of Congress must consider all the facts and alternatives before we can determine whether military action” would help end the deteriorating … Continue Reading
July 02, 2014
Congresswoman tours campus research facilities
Rep. Barbara Lee visited three research facilities Wednesday at UC Berkeley, her alma mater, to learn about advanced manufacturing and innovation on campus, which may receive additional federal funding under legislation she co-sponsored. Laboratory managers showed Lee recent projects such as 3-D printing, laser cutting and nanofabrication. Though impressed, she was concerned about the lack of diversity in campus science programs. Since attending UC Berkeley for her master’s degree 39 years … Continue Reading
June 19, 2014
Military Action is Not the Answer in Iraq
In 2002, President Bush and his Administration misled the American people by claiming Iraq possessed weapons of mass destruction and posed a threat to U.S. national security. The White House’s public relations campaign was directed towards one goal: justifying an unnecessary war of choice in Iraq. Congress debated the 2002 Authorization for the Use of Military Force for war in Iraq, and many of us strongly opposed it. On the floor of the House, I offered an amendment that would have … Continue Reading
June 06, 2014
Historic shift in DC over medical pot crackdown
Members of Congress whose states allow the medical use of marijuana have been trying since 2003 to stop federal prosecutors from going after state-approved pot suppliers. In one vote after another, they've been beaten back in the House - until now. Rep. Sam Farr, D-Carmel, a lead sponsor of the latest hands-off amendment, expected to fall a few votes short of the 218-vote majority needed for passage. But a 219-189 roll call last week approved the measure, which would cut off funding for … Continue Reading
June 05, 2014
Berkeley town hall speakers focus on collaboration across levels of government
More than 200 people congregated at Martin Luther King Jr. Middle School on Thursday evening for a town hall meeting that brought together five elected officials at the federal, state, county and local levels to dissect issues deemed relevant to Berkeley citizens. The five officials took advantage of the structure of the event — the first Berkeley town hall in recent memory to integrate multiple levels of government — to illustrate the extent of their behind-the-scenes collaboration and … Continue Reading
June 03, 2014
Alameda: Feds award $3 million grant for new ferry maintenance center
The Water Emergency Transportation Authority has received a $3 million federal grant to build a ferry maintenance and operations facility at the former Alameda Naval Air Station. The new facility would consolidate the transit agency's routine maintenance services for its central bay fleet, such as fueling and light repairs, provide offices for day-to-day management, and serve as an emergency operations center in the event of a regional emergency. The U.S. Department of Transportation and … Continue Reading
June 02, 2014
Why It Matters That Politicians Have No Experience of Poverty
There were a dozen eggs, three mangoes, and six black plums, and that was a problem. The family in the bodega line would have to cut something from the bags waiting on the check out belt—the modest haul overspent the Women, Infants, Children food-assistance voucher good for only a portion of their appetite. The clerk removed three plums and placed them on the far side of the register, declining an offer of safekeeping from a family member she deemed had other intentions. Perhaps you’ve seen … Continue Reading
June 01, 2014
Experience has taught Rep. Barbara Lee a lot
Rep. Barbara Lee has been around Washington, D.C., for a long time. She remembers watching President Richard Nixon's helicopter take off after he resigned when she was an intern. As a staff member for Congressman Ron Dellums and then as a congresswoman herself, she has worked during the Ford, Carter, Bush, Clinton and George W. Bush administrations. But she says she's never before seen the obstructionist tactics that have defined Congress under President Barack Obama. "Anything he puts … Continue Reading
May 30, 2014
House Votes to End Medical Marijuana Prosecutions
Medical marijuana advocates are celebrating what is a surprising bipartisan result in the highly polarized House of Representatives: Early Friday morning, 49 Republicans and 170 Democrats joined forces to pass a measure that would stop federal interference with state medical marijuana laws. The 219-189 vote came as the House completed work on an appropriations bill for the Justice and Commerce departments and several other agencies. Among more than two dozen amendments was one introduced by … Continue Reading
May 30, 2014
House Blocks DEA From Targeting Medical Marijuana
Reflecting growing national acceptance of cannabis, a bipartisan coalition of House members voted early Friday to restrict the Drug Enforcement Administration from using funds to go after medical marijuana operations that are legal under state laws. An appropriations amendment offered by Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-Calif.) prohibiting the DEA from spending funds to arrest state-licensed medical marijuana patients and providers passed 219-189. The Senate will likely consider its own … Continue Reading
May 30, 2014
House Passes Bill to End Medical Marijuana Raids by the DEA
In an unprecedented move Thursday night, the House of Representatives voted to pass a bill that prevents the Drug Enforcement Administration from raiding state-legal medical marijuana dispensaries. Just after midnight, the vote won with 219 ayes, including an unexpected 49 Republicans and 170 Democrats. It’s the first time Congress has approved a major marijuana law reform, which shows the changing tide of marijuana policy in the United States—and suggests a new day is rising in the war … Continue Reading
May 30, 2014
Early childhood development programs can greatly impact children’s ability to earn more in adulthood
In the Friday (May 30) edition of the journal Science, researchers find that early childhood development programs are particularly important for disadvantaged children in Jamaica and can greatly impact an individual's ability to earn more money as an adult. The 20-year study, "Labor Market Returns to an Early Childhood Stimulation Intervention in Jamaica" by University of California, Berkeley, professor Paul Gertler, an economist at the Haas School of Business and the School of Public … Continue Reading