MORNING MESSAGE
Low-Income School Districts Need More, But Many Are Starved Instead
Fairness
in school funding is “the sleeper civil rights issue of our time,” says
Leadership Conference on Civil Rights president Wade Henderson. But it’s clear
from a new report by the Education Law Center that this issue comes with a loud
alarm: In many states around the country, the children who need the most support
in order to succeed in school are actually getting the least. Not only have
states been generally slow to restore the cuts to public school funding that
they made during the 2007-2008 economic downturn, but there are often extreme
disparities between the per pupil spending in wealthy school districts and
low-income districts.
House Yet To Set Fast Track Vote
Uncertainty
around fast track vote. Roll Call: “Backers of ‘fast-track’ legislation in
both parties have enough confidence … to talk about a possible vote later this
week. But enough uncertainty remains that Republican leaders haven’t yet added
the bill … to this week’s floor schedule … Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy told
lawmakers last week the House would be in session this Friday, possibly into the
afternoon, and to ‘adjust travel plans accordingly.'”
Politico
adds: “Republicans have set their sights on holding a vote late this week
but are holding back from scheduling a specific time until Democrats can shore
up support.”
One
more Dem in “yes” column. The Hill: “Rep. Suzan DelBene (D-Wash.) on Monday
became the 19th House Democrat to say she would back fast-track trade authority
for President Obama … Obama could need as many as two dozen House
Democrats.”
California
Dems holding out. Politico: “…only one of the delegation’s 39 Democrats, Ami
Bera, says he plans to vote for the trade promotion authority bill … the handful
of California members who remain on the fence could provide the margin of
victory or defeat … [Gov. Jerry] Brown has not commented on either
Big
anti-fast track ad buy. Politico: “The Coalition to Stop Fast Track
announced Monday that labor leaders, including the AFL-CIO, will buy TV ads in
congressional districts nationwide where Democrats have announced intentions to
vote for or are still deciding whether to support [fast track.]”
Protest
planned today at Pelosi’s SF office. The Hill: “While Pelosi has raised
objections to parts of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) being negotiated
between the U.S. and 11 other Pacific Rim nations, she hasn’t taken a public
position on it … Tuesday’s rally, organized by the opposition group CREDO
Action, MoveOn.org Civic Action, Democracy for America, Daily Kos, Fight for the
Future, an area Sierra Club chapter and 10 other liberal groups is part of a
broader effort to pressure the Democratic leader to oppose the trade measure.
“
Phone
lines burning up. Politico: “Labor leaders have also blitzed the phone lines
of roughly a dozen lawmakers who are still on the fence, with promises to pull
support during primary and general election campaigns if lawmakers vote ‘yes’ on
fast track.”
Corinthian 100 Win
Education
Department forgives Corinthian student loan debts. NYT: “In a move against
what he called ‘the ethics of payday lending’ in higher education, Secretary of
Education Arne Duncan announced Monday that the Education Department would
forgive the federal loans of tens of thousands of students who attended
Corinthian Colleges, a for-profit college company that closed and filed for
bankruptcy last month, amid widespread charges of fraud. Mr. Duncan also said
the department planned to develop a process to allow any student — whether from
Corinthian or elsewhere — to be forgiven their loans if they had been defrauded
by their colleges.”
OurFuture.org
FLASHBACK from March 16: “The Corinthian story is certainly an unjust one.
These strikers have raised issues that go to the heart of our nation’s entire
student debt crisis. That crisis affects 41 million Americans, who hold an
estimated $1.3 trillion in debt … We can demand that the government release all
student debt borrowers from their obligations.”
Clinton Considers Wall Street Speech
Wall
Street worried over what she might say. Politico: “…some on Wall Street
think powerful populist pitches from O’Malley and Sanders … could force Clinton
to come out harder on issues including breaking up the nation’s largest banks,
imposing a financial transaction tax, putting individual bankers in jail [and]
cracking down on executive pay … The fear comes as Clinton is planning a series
of policy speeches in the coming weeks — including one possibly dedicated to
Wall Street reform — after a big announcement rally this Saturday in New York
City, home of the financial industry.”
Scott
Walker losing support in WI. Politico: “… the Legislature’s budget committee
eased Walker’s cuts to the University of Wisconsin System after previously
stopping his $127 million hit to public schools … it is somewhat odd to see a
likely presidential candidate who has pinned much of his candidacy on the fights
he’s won back home suffering loss after loss on his latest set of budget
priorities.”
KY Gov Moves On Minimum Wage
Kentucky
raises minimum wage for state employees. NYT: “Gov. Steven L. Beshear of
Kentucky signed an executive order on Monday raising the hourly minimum wage for
certain state employees to $10.10 … The executive order comes as efforts in the
Kentucky legislature to raise the minimum wage for all employees statewide to
$10.10 an hour have stalled.”
Labor
optimistic it can unionize McDonald’s. W. Post: “…instead of having
elections in individual restaurants, the SEIU started filing complaints with the
National Labor Relations Board every time franchisees retaliated against workers
for organizing at McDonald’s … Last December, the NLRB’s general counsel decided
to group all those cases together as a test for whether McDonald’s should in
fact be liable for the actions of its franchisees. If the SEIU prevails,
McDonald’s could count as a single employer for the purposes of a union
election.”
GOP Change On Climate Change?
Republican
businessman organizes $175M campaign to transform his party on climate.
Politico: “On Tuesday, [Jay] Faison … will unveil the first stage of his
ClearPath campaign, including spending $40 million through 2016 to persuade
moderates and conservatives to join the fight against climate change — but
relying on market-based principles rather than government mandates.”
Polling
shows Republicans receptive to clean energy proposals, says James Dozier in Roll
Call oped: “…Citizens for Responsible Energy Solutions commissioned a field
survey, conducted by TargetPoint Consulting, of Republican primary voters in New
Hampshire and South Carolina … Nearly half of South Carolina voters and 57
percent of New Hampshire voters favor the federal government taking steps to
reduce emissions that cause global climate change. And 67 percent of New
Hampshire millennials support actions by the federal government to limit carbon
emissions; in South Carolina, that number is 57 percent.”
Progressive
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