Democratic Women Speaking

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I think they're all taking turns to talk about their "Checklist For Change" of serious issues - so glaring after the worthless flag burning debate yesterday. I'm cheering you ladies on THANKYOU!

[babylonsister]

1. On CSPAN-2. nt

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2. Blanche Lincoln speaking now

I don't like the way she usually votes, never heard much out of her, she's a pretty good speaker. Boxer, Murray & Cantwell have already spoken.

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3. Checklist For Change:

SAFEGUARD AMERICA'S PENSIONS

Americans deserve to retire with dignity and financial security. We will continue to oppose any plan to privatize social security,
because seniors deserve a guarantee rather than a gamble. Recent corporate corruption and mismanagement has shown us that we must also protect employee pension plans. The Republican Congress has stalled these efforts. For the good of all American workers, we challenge them to pass a clean pension reform bill.

KEEP GOOD JOBS IN AMERICA

We need a jobs agenda that fights for American workers and businesses. The flight of American jobs overseas must be reversed. Currency manipulation and the free flow of counterfeit goods from countries like China have put American workers at an unfair disadvantage for too long. We challenge the Republican Congress to enact tax policies that stop the outsourcing of American jobs, to level the international playing field by enforcing our trade agreements, and to raise the minimum wage.

MAKE COLLEGE AFFORDABLE FOR ALL

The best guarantee of a good job is a quality education. In America, 170,000 college-ready students don't attend college each year because the cost is too high. Yet the Bush Administration has taken $12 billion from student aid programs to pay for tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans. We challenge the Republican Congress to increase the maximum Pell Grant, make the college tuition tax credit permanent, and cut student loan interest rates.

PROTECT AMERICA AND OUR MILITARY FAMILIES

It is our duty to care for the brave men and women who defend our nation at home and abroad. Yet the Bush Administration consistently shortchanges healthcare and other benefits for veterans, leaving many soldiers waiting a year or more for treatment. We challenge the Republican Congress to provide benefits funding for veterans and to hold hearings on mental health care and transition assistance for those coming back from war abroad.

PREPARE FOR FUTURE DISASTERS

Nearly five years after September 11th and ten months after Hurricane Katrina, the Federal Government is still woefully unprepared to deal with potential future disasters. We challenge the Republican Congress to restore disaster preparedness to cabinet-level status; to implement the recommendations of the September 11th Commission; To develop safe evacuation plans; and to reform the Stafford Act to better manage large catastrophes.

MAKE AMERICA ENERGY INDEPENDENT

America's lack of a coherent energy policy is weakening national security, hurting our pocketbooks, violating our common values and threatening our children's future. The Strategic Energy Fund bill will cut our dependence on foreign oil in half by 2025, invest in efficient energy alternatives and create good American jobs. We challenge the Republican Congress to pass the Strategic Energy Fund bill.

MAKE SMALL BUSINESS HEALTHCARE AFFORDABLE

More than 46 million Americans are uninsured. Small businesses create two out of every three new jobs in America and account for nearly half of America's overall employment, yet just 26% of businesses with 50 or fewer employees provide health insurance. The Small Employers Health Benefits Program will create affordable, private health insurance for small businesses and give parents the comfort of knowing that their children are protected. We challenge the Republican Congress to pass this crucial legislation.

INVEST IN LIFE SAVING SCIENCE

Stem cell research provides real hope for cures to many of the world's deadliest diseases. Against the wishes of the American people, the Bush Administration and the Republican Congress have blocked efforts to expand stem cell research so that scientists and doctors have every tool at their disposal to keep us healthy and safe. As a result, America trails the rest of the world in research. We challenge the Republican Congress to pass stem cell legislation this summer.

PROTECT OUR AIR, LAND AND WATER

The Bush Administration has been negligent in protecting Americans from environmental hazards. They have ignored the consensus of the best scientists in the world when it comes to the threat of global warming, and they have recklessly reduced clean ups of toxic waste at Superfund sites. We challenge the Republican Congress to pass a comprehensive science-based bill to reduce greenhouse gases and to
restore funding for Superfund cleanup.

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4. Kay Bailey Hutchison cutting in

challenging the education issues presented by Maria Cantwell :grr:

"Some of the things the Democrats across the aisle have brought up would've happened had the they not blocked them" :grr:

Cantwell better fight back on these so called "facts".

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5. "If tax cuts are ended

tax increases will have to happen" says Hutchison - is that really a given? That doesn't make sense to me.

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6. Okay

Repubs on their real agenda today - attacking the NYT.