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Biden seeks $15 minimum wage for federal workers, contractors.

January 22, 2021 No Comments

President Biden on Friday is set to take steps to lay the groundwork to increase the minimum wage for federal employees and contractors to $15 per hour.

The order directs the various agencies to review what workers earn less than $15 per hour, and prepare rules for contractors to ensure their workers are not paid less.

Under the order, contractors would also have to provide emergency paid leave to their employees.

Biden hopes to finalize the actions within his first 100 days in office.

In 2014, then-President Obama signed an order raising the minimum wage for federal workers from $7.25 to $10.10, hoping to pressure Congress to increase the federal minimum wage for the first time since 2009.

The minimum wage of $7.25 has remained unchanged for those not employed by the federal government or subject to higher state and local ordinances. Biden’s COVID-19 relief plan includes a plan to gradually raise the federal minimum wage to $15, but the plan faces Republican opposition and cannot be passed through budget reconciliation, a process that would allow Democrats to sidestep a GOP filibuster.

Biden’s executive action will also restore certain collective bargaining provisions to federal workers and eliminate Schedule F, an employment classification former President Trump created in October that would strip most civil service protections and make it easier to fire them without cause.

Trump was often frustrated about the civil service and his inability to summarily dismiss career civil servants.

Politics, World News

Conservative caucus opposes waiver for Biden’s Pentagon pick.

January 14, 2021 No Comments

A bloc of House conservatives is opposing a waiver that would allow President-elect Joe Biden’s Defense secretary nominee to bypass a law barring recently retired generals from holding the civilian job.

In a memo its members and staff released Thursday, the Republican Study Committee, which counts most GOP lawmakers as members, argued granting a waiver for retired Gen. Lloyd Austin so soon after Congress granted one to President Trump’s first Defense secretary, James Mattis, would set a “new dangerous precedent.”

“Furthermore, regardless of the ‘waiver,’ Gen. Austin is not the right person for the job of secretary of Defense,” the memo added. “He lacks civilian experience, has no experience in countering China, and has a track record of failures as the [Central Command] head in Syria and Iraq and in the war on ISIS. For all of these reasons, conservatives should not vote to grant a ‘waiver’ for Gen. Austin.”

Under a 1947 law meant to ensure civilian control of the military, Defense secretaries must be retired from the military for at least seven years before they can take the job. Austin retired in mid-2016.

But Congress can approve a waiver to the law to allow someone within the cooling off period to lead the Pentagon and has done so twice: first for George Marshall in 1950 and then for Mattis in 2017.

In 2017, just one House Republican voted against Mattis’s waiver.

But after Biden named Austin as his pick for Defense secretary, some Republicans said they regret supporting a waiver for Mattis, including current Republican Study Committee (RSC) Chairman Jim Banks (R-Ind.).

“Based on the lessons learned after the House made the unprecedented move of granting a waiver four years ago, the Republican Study Committee will oppose granting General Austin a waiver,” the caucus said in a statement Thursday.

The RSC’s position is not binding on its members, and Republican opposition alone would not sink Austin’s waiver in the House.

But with Democrats holding a slim majority in the House, Republicans opposing Austin en mass would leave little room for error in uniting Democrats around the pick.

Some Democrats have expressed a wariness to granting Austin waiver, but few have explicitly said they would vote against it. Most House Democrats opposed Mattis’s waiver after Trump would not let him testify before the House Armed Services Committee prior to the vote.

But some Democrats who voted against Mattis have said they will support Austin’s waiver, including House Armed Services Committee Chairman Adam Smith (D-Wash.).

In addition to not wanting to stymy Biden’s agenda by blocking his nominees, Democrats are concerned about blocking someone who would be the nation’s first Black secretary of Defense.

The House Armed Services Committee is expected to hold a hearing Jan. 21 for Austin to testify about the waiver.

The Senate Armed Committee heard expert testimony on the waiver this past Tuesday and is scheduled to hold Austin’s confirmation hearing this coming Tuesday.

Politics, World News

Ex-Michigan governor to be charged over Flint water crisis.

January 13, 2021 No Comments

Former Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder (R) on Tuesday was informed that he and other top former state officials including the Michigan health director will face charges resulting from an investigation into the Flint water crisis, The Associated Press reported Tuesday.

Defense attorneys were informed by the state attorney general’s office to expect an initial court appearance soon, the AP reported, citing two people familiar with the prosecution. The two sources familiar with the matter spoke to the wire service on the condition on anonymity because they were not allowed to speak publicly about the charges.

The specific charges Snyder and his former top officials will face were not named.

A spokesperson for the state AG told the AP that state officials “will share more [information about the charges] as soon as we’re in a position to do so.”
The Hill has reached out to both the Michigan attorney general’s office.

Michigan Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D), whose district includes parts of Detroit, tweeted her approval of the news Tuesday 8, writing: “The justice train is coming through.”

Snyder’s administration was heavily criticized over the water crisis, which exposed thousands of Flint residents including young children to water with dangerously high levels of lead. Lead is an element that can cause brain damage and other defects with high exposure.

The water supply issue was linked to an outbreak of Legionnaire’s Disease which sickened dozens in the area.

Scientists determined in February 2019 that the drinking water provided by the city’s taps was finally safe to drink, an outcome that resulted from years of efforts to replace and reinforce piping across the city.

However, due to the toil, much skepticism toward the water system reportedly remains among the city’s populace.

Politics, World News

Donald Trump to hold rally in Georgia ahead of Senate runoffs.

December 28, 2020 No Comments

President Trump on Sunday announced plans to hold a rally in Georgia to garner support for the Republican candidates the day before the state’s two Senate runoffs.

The president tweeted on Sunday that he will head to Georgia on Monday, Jan. 4, for a rally backing Sens. Kelly Loeffler (R-Ga.) and David Perdue (R-Ga.) before the runoffs that will determine which party controls the U.S. Senate.

“On behalf of two GREAT Senators, @sendavidperdue &@KLoeffler, I will be going to Georgia on Monday night, January 4th., to have a big and wonderful RALLY,” Trump posted. “So important for our Country that they win!”
The Republican National Committee (RNC) announced it will host the “Victory Rally” in Dalton, Ga., at 7 p.m. on Jan. 4. The RNC noted that all attendees will have their temperature checked and be provided with access to hand sanitizer and masks “which they are instructed to wear.”

Loeffler and Perdue will also speak at the rally at the Dalton Regional Airport.

The two senators are facing off against Democratic candidates Rev. Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff, respectively, in the Jan. 5 runoffs. The two Senate races were sent to a runoff after no candidate in either election won a majority of the vote.

If the Democratic candidates win both seats, the upper chamber will be split 50-50, with Vice President-elect Kamala Harris being the tie-breaking vote. If either Republican senator reclaims their seat, the GOP will retain control of the Senate.

Trump campaigned for the two Republican senators last month, claiming during a speech that the election had been “rigged” against him. Vice President Mike Pence has also spent time in Georgia rallying support for the two Republicans.

In the meantime, the president has refused to concede to President-elect Joe Biden after Biden’s election win, promoting claims about widespread voter fraud without presenting supporting evidence in court.
Democrats are hopeful they can turn the Senate seats blue on Jan. 5 after Biden became the first Democratic presidential nominee to win the Peach State since 1992.

Biden has campaigned for the Democratic contenders, encouraging Georgia voters to put Warnock and Ossoff in office to give him the Senate majority, in addition to the slim House majority for the Democrats.

Politics, World News

Monmouth poll: Biden leads by 7 points in Pennsylvania.

November 2, 2020 No Comments

A new poll finds Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden leading President Trump by 7 points among likely voters in Pennsylvania, a state viewed by many as the tipping point in the battle for 270 Electoral College votes.

The final Monmouth University survey finds Biden at 51 percent and Trump at 44 percent among likely voters in a high-turnout scenario. That’s down from Biden’s 11-point lead in the same poll from last month.

In a low-turnout scenario, Biden’s lead shrinks to 5 points, 50 to 45. The September poll found Biden leading by 8 points in the low turnout scenario among likely voters. The previous poll was conducted shortly after the first presidential debate.

Both Biden and Trump will campaign in Pennsylvania on Monday. For Trump, Pennsylvania represents his best shot at holding on to one of the former “blue wall” states he flipped in 2016, as polls show Biden with comfortable leads in Wisconsin and Michigan.

Biden leads by 4.8 points in the FiveThirtyEight average of Pennsylvania, down from 7.3 points in mid-October.

“All eyes have been on the Keystone State from the start,” said Monmouth pollster Patrick Murray. “Pennsylvania voters may have responded more than most to key events, such as the conventions and the debates. This potential for movement is one reason why both campaigns have spent so much time there.”

Biden leads by 40 points in the counties Hillary Clinton carried by about 35 points in 2016. Trump leads by 20 points in the counties he won easily in 2016, down from his 34-point margin that year.

In the 10 swing counties that were closest in 2016, Trump leads 49 to 45. That’s a big swing in Trump’s favor, as Biden led in those counties by 11 points only one month ago.

“Northeast Pennsylvania and other swing areas of the state are as hotly contested as they were four years ago,” Murray said. “Even without an advantage in this region, Biden is able to hold a statewide lead on the back of strong support in core blue areas along with his ability to nibble away at Trump’s margins in deep red areas.”

Biden leads by 16 points among whites with a college degree, while Trump leads by 21 points among non-college educated whites.

Biden leads by 22 points among voters under the age of 50, while Trump leads by 14 points among voters aged 50 to 64.

The candidates are tied among the oldest subset of voters. Biden led by 10 points among seniors in the prior Monmouth survey. Trump carried seniors by 10 points in 2016.

“The senior vote is up for grabs in Pennsylvania given the margin of error, but could end up decisively in either candidate’s camp on Tuesday,” Murray said. “However, the trend in this poll is in line with recent Monmouth polls in Florida and Georgia last week, suggesting that Trump may be clawing back a little bit of the senior vote in the campaign’s final days while Biden is strengthening his position among younger voters and people of color.”

The Monmouth poll of 502 registered voters in Pennsylvania was conducted from Oct. 28 to Nov. 1 and has a 4.4 percentage point margin of error.