Voted YES on overriding presidential veto of Farm Bill.
OnTheIssues.org Explanation:This bill was vetoed twice! Congress passed an identical bill in May, which Pres. Bush vetoed. Congress then discovered that a clerical error. A replacement bill was passed; then vetoed again by the President; an
H.R. 2419, did not include the title III (trade) provisions that are in this bill. In passing H.R. 6124, the Congress had an opportunity to improve on H.R. 2419 by modifying certain objectionable, onerous, and fiscally imprudent provisions [but did not].
Reference: Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008;
Bill HR6124
; vote number 2008-417
on Jun 18, 2008
Voted YES on restricting employer interference in union organizing.
To enable employees to form & join labor organizations, and to provide for mandatory injunctions for unfair labor practices during organizing efforts. Requires investigation that an employer:
discharged or discriminated against an employee to discourage membership in a labor organization;
threatened to discharge employees in the exercise of guaranteed collective bargaining rights; and
adds to remedies for such violations: back pay plus liquidated damages; and additional civil penalties.
Proponents support voting YES because:
The principle at stake here is the freedom that all workers should have to organize for better working conditions & fair wages. There are many employers around the country who honor this freedom. Unfortunately, there are also many employers who do not. These employers attempt to prevent workers from unionizing by using tactics that amount to harassment, if not outright firing. In fact, one in five people who try to organize
unions are fired. These tactics are already illegal, but the penalties are so minor, they are not effective deterrents.
Opponents support voting NO because:
Democracy itself is placed at risk by this bill. The sanctity of the secret ballot is the backbone of our democratic process. Not one voter signed a card to send us here to Congress. None of us sent our campaign workers out to voters' houses armed with candidate information & a stack of authorization cards. No. We trusted democracy. We trusted the voters to cast their ballots like adults, freely, openly, without intimidation, and we live with the results. But here we are, poised to advance legislation to kill a secret ballot process.
Let's be clear. Every American has the right to organize. No one is debating that. This is a right we believe in so strongly we have codified it and made it possible for workers to do so through a secret ballot.
Reference: The Employee Free Choice Act;
Bill H R 800
; vote number 2007-118
on Mar 1, 2007
Voted YES on increasing minimum wage to $7.25.
Increase the federal minimum wage to:
$5.85 an hour, beginning on the 60th day after enactment;
$6.55 an hour, beginning 12 months after that 60th day; and
$7.25 an hour, beginning 24 months after that 60th day.
Proponents support voting YES because:
We have waited for over 10 years to have a clean vote on the minimum wage for the poorest workers in this country Low-wage workers had their wages frozen in time, from 10 years ago, but when they go to the supermarket, the food prices are higher; when they put gasoline in the car, the gasoline prices are higher; when they pay the utility bills, the utility bills are higher; when their kids get sick, the medical bills are higher. All of those things are higher. They are living in 2007, but in their wages they are living in 1997.
Opponents support voting NO because:
This bill is marked more by what is not in the bill than what is in it. Small businesses are the backbone of our economy. They create two-thirds of our Nation's new jobs, and they represent 98% of the new businesses in the US. What protection does this bill provide them? None whatsoever.
We can do better. In the interest of sending the President a final measure that provides consideration for small businesses and their workers, the very men and women who are responsible for our economy's recent growth and strength, we must do better.
Reference: Fair Minimum Wage Act;
Bill HR 2 ("First 100 hours")
; vote number 2007-018
on Jan 10, 2007
Extend unemployment compensation during recession.
Sires co-sponsored extending unemployment compensation during recession
A bill to provide for a program of temporary extended unemployment compensation. Provides for federal-state agreements under which a state will make temporary extended unemployment compensation payments to individuals who:
have exhausted all rights to regular compensation under state or federal law with respect to a benefit year (excluding any benefit year that ended before one year before the enactment of this Act);
have no rights to regular compensation or extended compensation with respect to a week under such law or any other state or federal unemployment compensation law;
are not receiving compensation for such week under the unemployment compensation law of Canada; and
filed an initial claim for regular compensation on or after one year before the enactment of this Act.
Source: Emergency Unemployment Extension Act (S.2544&H.R.4934;) 2008-S2544 on Jan 22, 2008
