Budget Cuts History: Increases Salaries rose incrementally from 1855 to 1925, growing from $3,000 to $10,000 per year. From 1932 to 1935, during the height of the Great Depression, salaries were reduced to $9,000 before slowly climbing back to $10,000. From the period of 1935 until the 27th Amendment was ratified in 1992, Congress approved 14 additional raises. Ratification Despite the fact that the 27th amendment was introduced in 1789 and was ratified by six states by 1791, entry of new states to the Union and lack of public interest prevented ratification until 1992. The 27th Amendment went into effect during the 102nd Congress on May 20, 1992. Current Salary The Constitution allows Congress to set its own salary. It has changed this rate 47 times since 1789. As of 2010, senators and members of the House of Representatives make $174,000 per year. (info from Ehow) Proposal: Their at it again and of course taking away from us, the people. I suggest that we start with cutting The Senate and The House of Representatives salaries. I propose that we cut their salaries to $100,000.00/year. ( I could live quite nicely on that.) I propose that we cut their allowances by 42.5% . Of course this should keep people in jobs, just cut the unnecessary stuff like new furniture etc. Reasoning: They work for us the American People. The numbers: Savings: 1 year of cuts $103,129,143.48 5 years of cuts $515,645,717.38 10 years of cuts $1,031,291,434.75 Million: seventh digit to left of decimal Billion: written as 1 followed by nine zeros Trillion:1 followed by 12 zeros: the number equal to 1012

The Indian Point nuclear reactor power generation station is 23 miles north of Manhattan. Its current mismanagement and weak oversight jeopardize the lives of 23 million metropolitan-area residents, including the viability of their environment and their economic prospects. Evidence of mismanagement includes falsified records to appear compliant with requirements for backup power sources, lying about safety inspections, and failure to modernize infrastructure—leaving New Yorkers to face the same aged plant and inherent problems experienced in Fukushima today. We urge the New York Legislature to begin holding public hearings to solicit industry, regulatory, and resident testimony, as well as expert and witness testimony from Fukushima to ensure the safe operation of Indian Point and determine under what conditions to approve another 20-year operating license, and whether Indian Point can operate safely or if it should be shut down. We also urge that the public hearing process be extended beyond October, with multiple meetings held throughout New York State in addition to the two hearings scheduled for September 30 and October 12. Indian Point must implement adequate, verifiable public health and safety preservation measures for its infrastructure, emergency responses, waste disposal, shutdown procedures, and any other aspects of its operation, with public reporting on benchmarks. It should fully and verifiably comply with New York State's Coastal Management Plan, which protects the health of New York State's waterways. And Indian Point should possess valid federal NRC licenses for all reactors in operation. Otherwise, we urge federal and state officials to close Indian Point immediately.

We the undersigned ask the City of Des Moines to take the Climate Crisis seriously and act accordingly. As Des Moines citizens, as Iowans and as Americans, and most importantly as humans, we call for comprehensive climate action immediately for the sake of our Earth. We stand at a moment in history that is unprecedented. We must do our part and act now to save our Earth. We ask that the City of Des Moines implement a complete and comprehensive climate plan that does everything in the cities power to fulfill our demands for the State of Iowa: We demand the implementation of agriculture policies that ensure a sustainable economic future, ecological balance, and the well-being of Iowa’s farmers, a diverse environment and residents of the state of Iowa now and any preemptive measures to advance Iowa for the future. We demand net-zero carbon emissions by 2030 in Iowa as it is necessary to stay below a 2 degrees Celsius climate temperature increase. Which if not reached, would be catastrophic for ecosystems. We demand a recycling plan that upgrades our local recycling system We demand a comprehensive just transition plan that builds dual power and counter-institutions for the social and environmental empowerment of our communities fighting the climate crisis. We support an increase in educational opportunities for students in K-12 to learn about the impacts of climate change, encourage academic advisors in public institutions to introduce students to technical fields within the growing green energy industry and to fully fund schools. Additionally, we support redistributing funding to better help schools with more low-income communities. These policies are critical to better prepare Iowa students for their future.

The STAAR system creates unnecessary barriers to graduation, takes valuable classroom instruction time and diverts significant public funding from Texas classrooms to a for-profit testing company. In addition to its economic costs, STAAR imposes other significant costs: teaching to the test, numerous benchmarks and practice tests, and remediation classes replacing electives. We want to seize this opportunity to work together to implement a more reasoned approach to student assessments. TAMSA advocates for the use of national norm-referenced tests in grades 3 through 12 and limiting the use of expensive state-designed STAAR and End-of-Course (EOC) exams. Specifically we advocate for: - Decreasing the number of End-of-Course (EOC) exams to no more than 3 in the foundation subjects of math and language arts. - Utilizing SAT & ACT tests to determine college readiness, since these are the only tests that colleges - including Texas universities - consider in admissions. - Changing elementary/middle school STAAR testing to grades 3, 5 & 8 only for reading and math; grades 4 & 7 only for writing. - Allowing nationally recognized tests in lieu of STAAR for grades 3-8; such as Iowa Test of Basic Skills (ITBS), STANFORD, ReadiStep (pre-SAT), or EXPLORE (pre-ACT). - Eliminating the requirement that EOC exam scores count for 15% of a student's final grades - Eliminating performance level requirements for English III and Algebra II EOC exams. - Making the Cumulative Score requirement optional. The current STAAR testing regime needs to be changed THIS legislative session as 3 million Texas students have started taking 10 million tests in April 2013.

Senate Leaders Schumer and McConnell,   It is time to stop the lawful robbery of our Social Security benefits.  Public service workers and those who earned pensions abroad qualified for them, and as a defined benefit social insurance program, our accounts were funded in advance.   For over four decades, the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and the Government Pension Offset (GPO) withholdings have been a significant revenue stream for the Social Security program, representing money rightfully due to a targeted group of citizens.  This is un-American and represents discrimination.   Given this lawful method of theft, the WEP and GPO withholdings ensure that everyone, except those affected by the penalties, receives 100% of their benefits – we are the PAYGO.   The Social Security Fairness Act would only increase the insolvency of the combined (OASI and DI - OASDI) Trust funds by "roughly six months," while billions of dollars have been stolen from us since the inception of the penalties.  https://www.ssa.gov/OACT/solvency/provisions/individualaccts.html   We are not the problem, and the trust funds should not be shored up on the backs of deserving Americans and their families.    The Social Security Fairness Act (H.R. 82) passed the House with remarkable bipartisanship on November 12, 2024, receiving 327 yea votes, received in the Senate on November 19, 2024.   Act Today—stop the blatant inequities of the WEP and GPO and call for a vote on the Social Security Fairness Act so we can realize the full breadth of our earned and spousal Social Security benefits.   To do otherwise violates our trust in the government to legislate fairly–a value all Americans hold dear.     Respectfully submitted,     Americans and Their Families Affected by the Unjust WEP and GPO

In March, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced his running mate for his spoiler campaign for president—philanthropist and attorney Nicole Shanahan. Shanahan has every right to run on RFK Jr.'s ticket. But let’s be clear—RFK Jr.'s presidential campaign will not lead to the White House, the votes simply aren't there. It could, however, tip the scales in Donald Trump's favor. And a second Trump presidency would be catastrophic—for our environment, for our economy, and our democracy. That's why I have drafted an open letter urging Shanahan to step back from RFK Jr.'s presidential ticket and instead help elect President Biden. Read the open letter below and add your name to urge Shanahan to step aside from RFK Jr.’s campaign and instead join the progressive coalition working to defeat Trump in November.

We propose the creation of a federal law that explicitly protects citizens rights: Every US citizen has the right to freedom of movement across state borders within the US. Every US citizen has the right to leave from and return to the US. Any question concerning a US citizen's movements must be addressed through due process.

Jeff Sessions did the right thing by stepping back from the Trump-Russia investigations. Keep the Senate in Session to prevent a recess-appointment of a new Attorney General. Don't let Trump fire someone else for showing integrity!

In the spirit of transparency and accountability, we are calling on Fort Worth and state officials to ensure there is justice for Atatiana Jefferson. The state must launch an independent investigation and appoint a special prosecutor. And the public deserves to know the identify of the officer who killed Atatiana Jefferson. He did not follow protocol when he fired at her without any warning or cause. He must be fired now, not placed on administrative leave with pay.

Right now, the Republican Party is gearing up to recruit and train partisan poll watchers who could intimidate voters and spread harmful disinformation at polling places across the country during the 2022 midterms. To ensure our elections are free and fair, the Senate needs to respond immediately by passing the Freedom to Vote Act -- which includes necessary protections for voters, poll workers, and vote tabulators against these partisan ballot bullies.