Articles & Op-Eds
Re-engage North soon, say U.S. congressmen (JoongAng Daily) 7/28/10
July 28, 2010July 28, 2010 WASHINGTON - A pair of U.S. congressmen Monday called for President Barack Obama to engage North Korea more actively to ease tensions on the Korean Peninsula after the North's sinking of a South Korean warship. "If North Korea presents some kind of a limited missile threat to any part of the United States coastline, the obvious solution would be to go to North Korea, and to negotiate with them and to talk to them, and to work with them to avoid any confrontation," Rep. Dennis… Continue Reading
House approves $58B for wars, despite Afghan leaks (ABC7News.com) 7/27/10
July 27, 2010Tuesday, July 27, 2010 Mark Matthews Late Tuesday, the House voted to pump another $58 billion into the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, but this week's massive classified document leak is having an impact. Support for the war is eroding and the massive military document leak certainly hasn't helped the situation. President Barack Obama tried to downplay it on Tuesday, but if it weren't for Republican support, the $58 billion funding for the war would have failed. T… Continue Reading
Obama: Leaked Afghan War Documents Reveal Nothing New (VOANews.com) 7/27/10
July 27, 2010Dan Robinson | White House 27 July 2010 In his first public comment on the leak of tens of thousands of Afghanistan war documents, President Obama says the material serves to underscore the importance of the strategy he launched for Afghanistan and Pakistan. The president spoke as Congress neared final action on war funding legislation. In his statement in the White House Rose Garden, the president referred to media reports about the 91,000 documents disclosed by the WikiLeaks websit… Continue Reading
"Local Jobs For America" Bill Helps Minorities, Lawmakers Say (Talk Radio News) 7/27/10
July 27, 2010Tuesday, July 27, 2010 at 3:50PM Staff in Barbara Lee, Congress, Congress, Congressional Black Caucus, Keith Ellison, News/Commentary, local jobs for america act By Brandon Kosters - Talk Radio News Service A group of lawmakers and local politicians spoke to the press today about the "Local Jobs For America Act," a bill which, if passed, will invest money in job training for and hiring of teachers, police officers and firefighters in economically vulnerable cities throughout the country.… Continue Reading
Berkeley lab co-leads $122 million sunlight-to-fuel effort (Contra Costa Times) 7/23/10
July 23, 2010By Suzanne Bohan Contra Costa Times Posted: 07/23/2010 03:19:07 PM PDT Updated: 07/23/2010 04:13:19 PM PDT Plants fuel the world with their ability to convert sunlight into a usable form of energy. Now, the Department of Energy is putting up $122 million to help humans capture the energy of the sun and create renewable liquid fuels through "artificial photosynthesis." Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory and the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena were se… Continue Reading
CBC Gets Involved With Shirley Sherrod Firing (AOL Black Voices) 7/22/10
July 22, 2010By Boyce Watkins, PhD on Jul 22nd 2010 5:52AM Congresswoman Barbara Lee (D-Calif.), chairwoman of the Congressional Black Caucus, has stepped in on the unjust firing of Shirley Sherrod. Sherrod was asked to resign after a doctored videotape was released to make it appear as if she'd made racist statements. Further investigation found that the comments were taken out of context and that Sherrod was telling a story that turned out to be favorable toward race relations in America. … Continue Reading
Clyburn Calls Breitbart "Idiotic" and "Mean or Sick" (Fox News) 7/21/10
July 21, 2010Posted By Chad Pergram On July 21, 2010 @ 10:42 pm In Congress House Majority Whip and Congressional Black Caucus member Jim Clyburn (D-SC) says he knows what prompted the fracas that triggered an Agriculture Department official to resign after being falsely portrayed as a racist.. Clyburn says the furor isn't about what it seems to have started over. "It's not about race," Clyburn said. "It's about reporting and responding. There were hasty news reports about this." Clyb… Continue Reading
Fears for women if U.S. leaves Afghanistan (SF Chronicle) 7/21/10
July 21, 2010Lilianna Oustinovskaya, Chronicle Washington Bureau Wednesday, July 21, 2010 (07-21) 04:00 PDT Washington - -- Amid rising opposition to the war in Afghanistan and speculation about a U.S. withdrawal, debate has begun over what will happen to Afghan women and girls should U.S. troops leave. From former first lady Laura Bush to top California female lawmakers including Democratic Sens. Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, women leaders in Ameri… Continue Reading
Black Caucus accuses Vilsack of overreaction (The Hill) 7/21/10
July 21, 2010By Eric Zimmermann - 07/21/10 01:19 PM ET Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack overreacted by forcing the resignation of Shirley Sherrod, the Congressional Black Caucus said today. "It is now apparent that Secretary Vilsack did not have all of the facts available to him and overreacted," CBC chairwoman Barbara Lee (D-Calif.) said in a statement. "The Congressional Black Caucus continues to believe that Ms. Sherrod was unfairly asked to resign, without due proce… Continue Reading
My Word: Bud Selig needs to put his faith in the city of Oakland (Oakland Tribune) 7/23/10
July 20, 2010By Barbara Lee Guest Commentary Posted: 07/23/2010 12:01:00 AM PDT THE OAKLAND A's are a storied franchise, inextricably linked to the city of Oakland. During their 42 years here, the A's have built a rich history that includes winning four World Series championships, six American League pennants, and 13 American League West titles. Yet, despite efforts by myself and Oakland officials to keep our beloved team, there is movement to relocate this franchise to San Jose… Continue Reading
Reduce our military footprint and bring troops home from Afghanistan (The Hill) 7/20/10
July 20, 2010By Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Calif.) - 07/20/10 04:35 PM ET Soon the war in Afghanistan will enter its 10th year. It is already the longest war in our nation's history, longer than Vietnam and World War II. One thing remains clear - there is no end in sight. Nine years ago, we were told we had to go to Afghanistan to capture Osama bin Laden and destroy al Qaeda. There was virtually no discussion of what the potential consequences of invading Afghanistan would be. Few people imagined … Continue Reading
Lee urges commitment on AIDS funding (Contra Costa Times) 7/20/10
July 20, 2010By Josh Richman Tuesday, July 20th, 2010 at 11:18 am The Obama Administration should pledge $6 billion over three years to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, Rep. Barbara Lee said today. Lee, D-Oakland, held a teleconference with reporters this morning after having returned to Washington, D.C., last night from the XVIII International AIDS Conference in Vienna, Austria. She's the only member of Congress to visit the biennial conference, and said she regretted … Continue Reading
Congresswoman Calls for $6 Billion for Global Fund (VOANews.com) 7/20/10
July 20, 2010Joe DeCapua A California congresswoman is calling on the Obama administration to make a three-year, six billion dollar commitment to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria. Barbara Lee has just returned from attending the opening days of the 18TH International AIDS Conference in Vienna. She says she understands her proposal comes at a time of economic hardship. "I recognize, especially being from the United States, the impact of the global economic slowdown. And of cou… Continue Reading
AIDS Treatment and Prevention Funding (KCBS) 7/18/10
July 18, 2010Congresswoman Barbara Lee says there's concern over funding cutbacks for domestic and international HIV/AIDS Click here to listen.… Continue Reading
CBC Chair Speaks on Her Fight in Congress (Essence.com) 7/16/10
July 16, 2010Friday, July 16, 2010 | 2:30 PM by Cynthia Gordy These are dicey times for Congressional Black Caucus Chair Barbara Lee. There are just three weeks left before Congress adjourns for summer recess, and she is laser-focused on two outstanding pieces of the CBC agenda: Youth jobs and a discrimination settlement for Black farmers. With both items attached to the unemployment benefits extension bill, which the Senate will put to a vote on Tuesday, she is "cautiously optimistic" about c… Continue Reading
Lee calls for federal inquiry of Mehserle trial (Oakland Tribune) 7/14/10
July 14, 2010By Josh Richman Oakland Tribune Rep. Barbara Lee urged U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder on Tuesday to review former BART police Officer Johannes Mehserle's trial for the Jan. 1, 2009, killing of Oscar Grant III. "While I understand this is a state criminal matter, certain issues surrounding this case seem to invite further examination by the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice," Lee, D-Oakland, wrote to Holder. "Given the ongoing tensions between… Continue Reading
Department of Justice to Probe Mehserle Case (NBC Bay Area News) 7/9/10
July 09, 2010Updated 10:06 AM PDT, Fri, Jul 9, 2010 The U.S. Department of Justice will conduct an independent review of the Johannes Mehserle case in order to determine whether or not the shooting merits federal prosecution, according the department. "The Justice Department has been closely monitoring the state's investigation and prosecution," the department said in a statement. "The Civil Rights Division, the U.S. Attorney's Office, and the FBI have an open inve… Continue Reading
Obama may have worn out his welcome on Capitol Hill (LA Times) 7/9/10
July 09, 2010The president's threat to veto a war funding bill is an 'unwelcome message' to House Democrats, many of whom face a tough midterm election after yielding to the White House's agenda. By Lisa Mascaro, Tribune Washington Bureau July 9, 2010 The moment has been long in coming, but it may finally have arrived. For the last year and a half, on issues including healthcare, financial regulation and climate change, Democrats in Congress have bent for President Obama. L… Continue Reading
Political Blotter: House members want clear plan on Afghanistan (San Jose Mercury News) 7/5/10
July 05, 2010Josh Richman BAY AREA NEWS GROUP Posted: 07/05/2010 12:00:00 AM PDT Rep. Barbara Lee, D-Oakland, led about two dozen House members in writing to President Barack Obama today to ask that he provide Congress with "a clear commitment and plan to withdraw U.S. forces from Afghanistan" before the vote on the supplemental funding bill. "It has been nearly a decade since we went to Afghanistan and we still are not sure why we are there or can define a successful mi… Continue Reading
As Afghan War Drags On, Some Democrats Threaten Revolt (The Washington Independent) 7/5/10
July 05, 2010Votes Last Week Revealed Growing Democratic Schism By Sahil Kapur 7/5/10 6:00 AM The war in Afghanistan has produced divisions among Democrats in Congress from the start, but a series of votes on Thursday night revealed a rising tide of Democratic discontentment that could alter the trajectory of the Obama administration's approach to the conflict. A measure to fund the administration's 30,000-troop surge with $33 billion narrowly passed late Thursday, by a 215-210 margin. But th… Continue Reading