Fighting Back

Editors' Choice, Fighting Back

Fighting Back: “No family should be forced to choose between helping a loved one get better or going bankrupt.”

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The Weekly Democratic Party Address was delivered by Wisconsin Senator Tammy Baldwin.

(U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) delivered the Weekly Democratic Address to highlight the latest health care sabotage by the Trump administration – an expansion of “junk insurance” plans)

Tammy:

Last year, when Congressional Republicans tried to pass repeal plans that would allow insurance companies to charge more for preexisting conditions – families across our country fought back.

And when they tried to charge older Americans an age tax and make people pay more for less care, you let your voices be heard and sent a loud message to Washington – protect our care.

President Trump did not listen and we need you in this fight now more than ever.

(CSPAN link to Weekly Democratic Address: here)

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Editors' Choice, Fighting Back

Fighting Back: “Democrats believe that America should invest in our children”

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The Weekly Democratic Party Address was delivered by Representative Bobby Scott of Virginia.

(Congressman Bobby Scott of Virginia delivered the Weekly Democratic Address. In this week’s address, Scott highlights Democrats’ Aim Higher Act, which gives every student the opportunity to earn a quality, debt-free degree or credential that leads to a rewarding career.)

“In 1965, when President Johnson signed the Higher Education Act, he said that it meant – and I quote – ‘that a high school senior anywhere in this great land of ours can apply to any college or any university in any of the 50 States and not be turned away because [their] family is poor.’

“But fifty-three years later, the promise of an affordable education is out of reach for millions of students. And in May of this year, America’s outstanding student loan debt surpassed $1.5 trillion. We can and must do better for America’s students.

“Last month, I was joined by House Democratic leadership in offering a solution. It’s called the Aim Higher Act.

(CSPAN link to Weekly Democratic Address: here)

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Editors' Choice, Fighting Back

Fighting Back: “Republicans are trying to take away your health care”

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The Weekly Democratic Party Address was delivered by Hawaii Senator Brian Schatz.

(Senator Brian Schatz (D-HI): “Republicans are trying to take away your health care”)

The Trump administration is fighting in federal court to take away protections for people with pre-existing conditions,” said Brian Schatz (D-HI). “If this Supreme Court nominee[, Brett Kavanaugh,] gets through the process, it will be harder than ever for Americans to access health care. It will be harder for women to access reproductive care. It will be harder for patients to keep the protections that they deserve and need. That’s why this fight is so important. There is too much at stake to do nothing. So please raise your voice and join us in the fight for health care.”

(CSPAN link to Weekly Democratic Address: here)

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Editors' Choice, Fighting Back

Fighting Back: “Democrats believe that everyone should be able to retire with dignity”

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The Weekly Democratic Party Address was delivered by Congresswoman Stephanie Murphy of Florida.

(Congresswoman Stephanie Murphy of Florida delivered the Weekly Democratic Address. In this week’s address, Murphy highlights the importance of Medicare for America’s seniors and discusses Democrats’ Better Deal to lower health care costs and prescription drug prices.)

This upcoming Monday, July 30th, marks 53 years since President Lyndon Johnson signed into law legislation that established Medicare, one of our nation’s most life-saving programs.

The idea behind Medicare was a simple but powerful one – that a nation as great as ours has a duty to ensure that all of its citizens, including its most vulnerable, can retire with dignity, financial security, and access to high-quality and affordable medical care.

At the time Medicare was established, millions of seniors across America lacked the means to see a doctor, to get medications, or to even meet their most basic health care needs. […]

Republican leaders in Congress continue trying to undermine America’s commitment to its seniors.

I, along with my colleagues in the House, remain strongly committed to defending these programs because these are not entitlements—they are benefits earned through a lifetime of hard work.

(CSPAN link to Weekly Democratic Address: here)

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Editors' Choice, Fighting Back

Fighting Back: “Flint’s water crisis isn’t just about water, it’s about a failed Republican philosophy of government that puts money ahead of people.”

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The Weekly Democratic Party Address was delivered by Congressman Dan Kildee (D-MI).

(In this week’s address, Representative Kildee discusses the Flint water crisis and Democrats’ Better Deal legislation to rebuild America’s infrastructure, with $1 trillion to rebuild crumbling roads, bridges and water systems across America.)

This week, House Democrats joined me in Flint to sit down with families and see the progress being made to replace lead pipes with the funds from Congress. While the Flint water crisis has faded from the national headlines, this visit is a reminder that the crisis is not over. […] “Cities and towns across America have been left behind by the Republican-led Congress. Just this week, House Republicans voted to cut $300 million for repairs to water systems. Republicans have failed to take up any meaningful legislation to rebuild America’s aging infrastructure.

“Americans drive on crumbling roads and bridges. Instead of having cutting-edge schools, millions of students are in buildings that are unsafe and outdated. In the twenty-first century, we still have American families without access to high speed internet. We have many communities that have unsafe drinking water, not getting help from the federal government to replace those dangerous water systems. […]

“We have a bold plan to rebuild America’s infrastructure, with $1 trillion to rebuild crumbling roads, bridges and water systems across America. Our plan puts Americans to work, creating 16 million good-paying jobs, that can support a family. Putting Americans back to work rebuilding our infrastructure, makes us more competitive in the global economy and unleashes opportunity all across this country.

(CSPAN link to Weekly Democratic Address: here)

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Editors' Choice, Fighting Back

Fighting Back: “Only those already well off are better off under this Republican economy”

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The Weekly Democratic Party Address was delivered by Senator Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut.

(Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) on Kavanaugh nomination)

“From President Trump’s repeated campaign promises, we know that Judge Kavanaugh poses a grave threat to women’s health care and the weakening of Roe v. Wade. We know he will vote to effectively eliminate the Affordable Care Act and undermine protections for millions of Americans who suffer from pre-existing conditions, including more than 500,000 Connecticut residents,” said Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT). “My colleagues and I are often asked by constituents: what can we do? The answer is stand up and speak out. It’s a call to action. Mobilize your neighbors and galvanize the American public – just as we did during the health care debate, when they tried time and again to ram through Trumpcare. The risk to our healthcare system is just as great now as it was then.”

(CSPAN link to Weekly Democratic Address: here)

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Editors' Choice, Fighting Back

Celebrating Democratic Party History: The Civil Rights Act of 1964

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On July 2, 1964, President Lyndon B. Johnson, Democrat, signed the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

President Lyndon B. Johnson, 1964

The act outlawed discrimination based on race, color, religion or national origin and gave the federal courts jurisdiction over enforcement, taking it out of the state courts where justice was uneven at best.

The Civil Rights Act had political ramifications as well. Its adoption caused a mass exodus of angry racists from the Democratic Party in the old south to the Republican Party. And the politics born of hatred of The Other gave the not-so-Grand Old Party the presidency for 28 out of the next 40 years.

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Editors' Choice, Fighting Back

Fighting Back: “The Roberts Court has done violence to our democracy.”

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The Weekly Democratic Party Address was delivered by Rep. Matt Cartwright of Pennsylvania.

(In this week’s address, Congressman Matt Cartwright discussed the Supreme Court’s Janus ruling and Democrats’ new Better Deal legislation to guarantee the right for public employees to organize, act concertedly and bargain collectively in states that currently do not afford these basic protections.)

This week, instead of honoring our American tradition of supporting labor unions, the Supreme Court’s ideological decision overturned a 40-year precedent. Forty years of the fabric of American law, torn up.

This decision enables free-riding by those who benefit from union agreements but don’t want to pay their fair share. […]

While Washington Republicans are rigging the rules against workers – in the Courts and the Congress – Democrats are fighting to deliver A Better Deal to working men and women. Now is not the time to turn back the clock on fair pay. Now is the time for us fight back.

That’s why yesterday afternoon, joined by Senator Hirono, I proudly introduced the Public Service Freedom to Negotiate Act. Our bill reaffirms the right of every public sector employee to join a union and bargain collectively.

(CSPAN link to Weekly Democratic Address: here)

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Editors' Choice, Fighting Back

Fighting Back: They are all our children – “If you come near our cubs, you’ve got a problem.”

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The Weekly Democratic Party Address was delivered by Senator Mazie Hirono of Hawaii.

“These are not normal times. On issue after issue, Donald Trump creates a crisis, blames others for what’s happening, and uses the ensuing chaos to demand a legislative solution that often harms even more people. Democrats are calling on President Trump to use his executive authority to reunite the 2,400 separated children with their parents. We are calling on him to resolve many other problems his executive order created. And we are calling on his administration to stop its sabotage of our health care system and work with us on a bipartisan basis to protect and improve our health care system.”

(CSPAN link to Weekly Democratic Address: here)

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Editors' Choice, Fighting Back

Fighting Back: “Democrats believe that access to affordable health care is a basic human right”

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The Weekly Democratic Party Address was delivered by Congressman Frank Pallone of New Jersey.

(Congressman Frank Pallone of New Jersey, Ranking Member of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, delivered the Weekly Democratic Address. In this week’s address, Pallone highlighted the dangers of Republicans’ latest attack on the protections that ensure more than 130 million Americans with pre-existing conditions cannot be denied coverage.)

“Today, too many Americans are concerned about the costs of their families’ health care.

“The anxiety is justified considering the ongoing efforts by Republicans in Washington to undermine and sabotage the health care system.

“And last week, Republicans directly threatened the health care of millions of Americans when the Trump Administration asked a federal court to strike down key patient protections included in the Affordable Care Act.

“If successful, the Trump Administration’s action will eliminate protections that ensure more than 130 million Americans with pre-existing conditions cannot be denied coverage. It could also eliminate protections that prevent insurance companies from charging women or anyone between the age of 50 and 64 outrageously high premiums because of their age or sex.

(CSPAN link to Weekly Democratic Address: here)

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