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"Keeping Our Social Security Promises Act"



Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders has introduced a new bill, entitled: “Keeping Our Social Security Promises Act” (S 1558). This legislation perfectly incorporates one of WNDC’s major positions on Social Security . His bill calls for lifting the cap on payroll taxes for Social Security as a fairer tax and a practical way to address long term funding and solvency of Social Security.

The Sanders proposal is straightforward. Currently 94 percent of Americans pay into Social Security on the basis of their whole salary -- but the wealthiest 6 percent of Americans do not. Individual income up to $106,800 is taxed for Social Security – the payroll tax. But wealthy Americans making millions or billions pay the same amount of tax for Social Security – a tax on their income up to $106,800 - but zero Social Security tax on their huge additional income.

Introduced in mid- September, the “Keeping Our Social Security Promises Act” (S 1558) already has nine co-sponsors: Akaka (HI), Leahy (VT), Boxer (CA), McCaskill (MO), Whitehouse (RI), Franken (MN), Blumenthal (CT), Mikulski (MD) and Klobuchar (MN). It deserves more!

While Social Security is meant to provide basic income in retirement, it is also America’s most significant anti-poverty program. It stands as our national commitment to provide some economic security for men and women and children across generations. It is a primary source of income for older women, and Social Security provides disability and survivor benefits for millions of women and children. (Over 6.5 million children receive some of their family income from Social Security.)

Contact your Senators -- Democrat or Republican -- and urge them to cosponsor S. 1558, the "Keep Our Social Security Promises Act." Tell them their constituents support this bill and think their senators should as well. If you live in the District of Columbia without representation, contact your relatives and friends living and voting in other states. This is a timely bill to tell them about!

(Call Capitol Switchboard 202.224.3121 and ask for Senator’s office).

THE TIME TO ACT IS NOW!

Join Senator Sanders at Democracy for America on Thursday, Oct. 6th at 7:30 p.m. Eastern Time and learn how you can get more involved. Click here.

VOTER SUPPRESSION: TELL ATTORNEY GENERAL HOLDER TO TAKE ACTION TO PROTECT THE VOTING RIGHTS ACT



Fourteen states have passed laws that restrict the fundamental right of Americans to vote. In seven other states new legislation is pending. These laws on photo identification, registration and early voting and disenfranchisement of people with criminal records (in many cases permanently) have the strongest negative impact on people with disabilities, people of color, low-income families, students, and senior citizens.

Sen. Dick Durbin calls the recent rash of state voter suppression efforts, "a threat to our democracy." September 8 he held a hearing in the Judiciary Committee at which Loyola Law School Professor Justin Levitt detailed specific cases, including Florida's new restrictions on organizations helping with registration drives, through fine structures and requirements to get a government issued numbers, restrictions so onerous that the non partisan League of Women Voters declined for the first time in 67 years to participate. Severe restrictions on early voting were also passed. New laws were passed in Texas, Tennessee, Wisconsin, and Kansas (joining Indiana and Georgia) requiring voters to obtain government issued IDs, a burden of time and expense to obtain necessary documentation, and which many electors cannot obtain through no fault of their own. Instances of fraud, used to justify these measures, are extraordinarily rare and limiting way individuals prove their identity at polls will do nothing to address such fraud as exists.

When our military is fighting for democracy overseas it is unconscionable to find even one state suppressing democracy in the United States.

Contact Attorney General Eric Holder and urge him to uphold the Voting Act Rights. contact his office at 202-514-2001

You can join the American Civil Liberties Union's petition to the Attorney General at here.

Letter to President Obama from WNDC President urging action for an Environmentally Sustainable Future.


July 14, 2011

The Honorable Barack H. Obama
The President of the United States
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, D.C. 20500

Dear Mr. President:

The Woman’s National Democratic Club (WNDC) continues to view climate change as a major threat to the United States in economic, environmental, and national security terms. We call upon you as our nation’s leader and Commander-in-Chief to invigorate the actions of your Administration, U.S. officials, and the American people to anticipate and address the increasing risks posed by this unprecedented challenge to the viability of planet earth.

Two years ago, July 14, 2009, we wrote to you on this issue (letter enclosed). We hoped, at that time, Congress would pass legislation with strong carbon reduction targets and that U.S. action and leadership — preceding, during, and following — the UN Conference in Copenhagen would pave the way for concerted global action into the future. Today, the political possibilities have changed both at home and abroad. Around the world, the devastating impacts of climate change are multiplying even faster than forecast, and there is growing recognition of the role of altered atmosphere in, for example, accelerating water scarcity and environmental depletion, leading to ever greater food insecurity and compromising the health, lives, and livelihoods of families in both rural and urban communities throughout the world.

In the two years intervening between our letters, despite accumulating evidence of the scale of the threats, the global momentum of greenhouse gas emissions has increased rather than declined. Nevertheless, we appreciate the actions that you and your Administration have taken to ensure that incremental progress continues to be made, despite political obstacles, among them:

* Providing strong U.S. leadership at both the 2009 and 2010 UN meetings in Copenhagen and Cancun, respectively, and continuing to make efforts to fulfill commitments made at these gatherings;
* Working with EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson to pursue common-sense measures to strengthen clean air standards through Clean Air Act protections that reduce smokestack emissions and establish rules to reduce emissions from cars and light trucks; and
* Promoting ENERGY STAR programs to expand cost-saving energy conservation and efficiency programs.

However, vigorous new efforts are urgently required to reverse the status quo and make possible an environmentally sustainable future. We add our voices to those of other Democrats and U.S. citizens of every political persuasion, who believe that the U.S. can employ the strengths of its people, technical ingenuity, and government at all levels to address the lengthening shadow climate disruption casts on our health and the safety of future generations.

We trust that, as our leader, your words and actions in the coming months will further vital initiatives to mitigate the harsh impacts of climate change around the world and preserve our nation's economic and national security.

Sincerely, and with appreciation,



Nuchhi Currier
President
Woman’s National Democratic Club

Alice T. Day, PhD
Chair
Environment & Energy Task Force
Woman’s National Democratic Club

Elizabeth Spiro Clark
Chair
Public Policy Committee
Woman’s National Democratic Club

cc: Lisa P. Jackson
Administrator
EPA
jackson.lisap@epa.gov

NUCHHI CURRIER'S SPEECH ON JUNE 25, 2011 AT THE WHITE HOUSE RALLY FOR DC DEMOCRACY


Good morning. My name is Nuchhi Currier and I am the President of the Woman’s National Democratic Club. WNDC was created two years after women won the right to vote in the USA, as a meeting place for women to engage in political dialogue and to revitalize the party through a well-informed women's electorate.

The first meeting place for Democratic women in Washington, DC, the WNDC has been in the forefront on national issues through the decades. In the 1930s and 40s, Eleanor Roosevelt advanced her social reform measures from this club’s podium. The motto of WNDC: From the right to vote, the power to lead sums up the motivation behind this enduring institution. We have resided in a historic mansion in Dupont Circle, which is also a museum, for 83 years. In addition to educational and informative speaker programs we work on key issues of the day through our Public Policy Committee.

Our educational Foundation works with DC schools in addition to performing other public service initiatives. We hold speaker programs about twice a week engaging our members in debate and discussion on global and national issues. DC Statehood is one such issue. The WNDC has passed a resolution supporting Statehood for the District of Columbia. Please read in detail on www.democraticwoman.org.

We all need to ask a few basic questions:
* Are people in other states even aware that the over 600,000 residents of DC have no representation in Congress? NO.
* Do DC denizens fight in wars, defend their country and even give their lives? YES
* Do surviving DC veterans have a vote in Congress? NO.
* Do DC residents pay the second-highest Federal income tax per capita in the country (after CT)? YES
* Do DC residents deserve full representation, equality and their rights in our democracy? YES


WHAT ARE WE ASKING FOR? We want Statehood.
How do we get there?
We want Hearings about State Functions and the Cost attached to that effort
We want a Blueprint and Timetable for raising the funds to cover those costs
We want a plan for adding to the Annual Budget, the necessary funds to support: statehood delegation and a national education and advocacy program.
- We want Congress to stop attaching riders to legislation - taking away DC’s basic democratic rights.
- We want to uphold DC's progressive laws, including syringe access, AIDS prevention programs, marriage equality, gun control, women's health care etc.


There is no time to waste. We urge President Obama and Congress to support our effort in granting full statehood rights to the District of Columbia.

One important museum is missing in DC. Help build the National Women's History Museum by clicking HERE.



Read the DC VOTE coalition letter WNDC signed below. And Tell Speaker Boehner: Don't Tread On DC! HERE


Voting Rights Coalition Sign On Letter

February 2011

Don't Tread on DC:
Local government should decide local laws

Dear Representative:

We urge you to vote against any bill that would impose Congress' views on the District of Columbia.

Just as President Barack Obama and our congressional leaders have encouraged recent efforts to expand democracy in the Middle East, we are troubled that members of our own Congress are leading the charge to interfere in DC's local democracy. Some members of the new House majority have introduced bills to re-impose bans that prevent the District of Columbia from using its own locally-raised tax dollars for reproductive health and to re-establish a federal school voucher program. Others are preparing a push for a repeal of the District's marriage equality law, syringe access program, medical marijuana and gun safety regulations.

Americans will continue to debate these issues in communities throughout this country, but what is not up for debate is who gets to decide these questions. The signatures at the bottom of this letter represent a wide range of organizations with differing positions on these and other issues facing DC. While there are a great many perspectives on the underlying issues, we are all in agreement that our locally elected leadership should decide what is best for the District of Columbia.

Americans nationwide believe that local governments should decide what is best on local issues. This ideal is the cornerstone of both the American Revolution and the modern-day "Tea Party." The new majority in the House of Representatives includes conservatives elected on a promise to roll back federal encroachment in the states. We expect conservatives to be consistent in their application of "local-rights" by letting Washingtonians manage their own affairs without interference or meddling by Congress.

As a nation, we applaud and support democratic movements throughout the globe. We call on you also to support democracy in our nation's capital by resisting all efforts to undo local laws and regulations in the District of Columbia.

Sincerely,

DC Vote
AIDS Foundation of Chicago
AAUW of Washington
AFSCME District Council 20
Alliance For Justice
American Jewish Committee
Americans United for Separation of Church and State
Aspirations, Baton Rouge LA
The Campaign for All DC Families
The Caring Ambassadors Program
DC Democratic State Committee
DC For Democracy
DC Federation of Business & Professional Women
Demos
FairVote
Gertrude Stein Democratic Club
Greater Washington Urban League
Harm Reduction Coalition
HIV Prevention Justice Alliance
Housing Works
Jews United For Justice
Kappa Alpha Psi, Fraternity Inc.
Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights
Marijuana Policy Project
Metropolitan Washington Council, AFL-CIO
NAACP
NAACP DC Branch
NARAL Pro-Choice America
National Black Justice Coalition
National Council of Jewish Women
National Education Association
National Viral Hepatitis Roundtable
National Urban League
Planned Parenthood of Metropolitan Washington
So Others Might Eat (SOME)
United Food and Commercial Workers Union Local 400
United Methodist Church, General Board of Church and Society
Unitarian Universalist Association of Congregations
34.Urban Coalition for HIV/AIDS Prevention Services (UCHAPS)
Washington Ethical Society
Woman's National Democratic Club



CALLING ON GOVERNOR LEPAGE OF MAINE TO REVERSE COURSE ON LABOR MURAL


Background:
In a senseless act of small mindedness, Governor Paul LePage, Maine’s pro-business republican governor, recently ordered the dismantling of an 11-panel mural depicting worker’s contributions to the history and economy of that state. His petty behavior is further displayed by his renaming of two conference rooms that honor both farm worker leader Cesar Chavez; and Frances Perkins, Maine icon and the first female U.S. cabinet member, who served as President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s Secretary of Labor. Read recent Washington Post article here.

According to our own WNDC Member and historian Jewell Fenzi, Mrs. Perkins and the WNDC share a past: Kirstin Downey in her biography, The Woman Behind the New Deal: The Life of Frances Perkins, FDR’s Secretary of Labor and His Moral Conscience, mentions the Woman’s National Democratic Club, and we believe she must have been an honorary member of WNDC. She lived with Club founder Daisy Harriman during part of her time in Washington, and the Perkins desk is in the Club’s Eleanor Roosevelt Library. The desk is briefly mentioned on page 19 of Fenzi’s book, entitled Democratic Women: An Oral History of the Woman’s National Democratic Club.

Governor LePage’s actions insult the working men and women of the State of Maine, who have contributed their sweat and brain power to the economic prosperity of the state. The attack on workers in Maine and the United States is an affront to the principles of social and economic justice and the foundation of all economic achievement – the men and women who have performed their jobs with dedication and diligence.

ACTION NEEDED!
We urge all of you to call the Governor’s office to express your outrage at 207 287-3531. YOU CAN ALSO CLICK HERE TO ACCESS AN ELECTRONIC LETTER THAT YOU CAN SEND TO GOVERNOR LEPAGE OF MAINE.

April 27, 2011




Senate Rules Reform Outcome: The Good and the Bad


S.Res. 10, the legislation WNDC was championing to reform Senate rules in a meaningful way, did not pass. Coalition members tried to urge enough Senators to sign on to that resolution so that these reforms could be adopted by the Constitutional Option, or a simple majority vote. We just didn't quite get there. The good news: Senators Reid and McConnell pledged not to use the Constitutional Option to change Senate rules for the next four years. As Sandy Newman, President of Voices for Progress, who briefed the Public Policy Committee on this issue recently, said in a blog today, "This is a big deal. Looked at one way, the glass is half-empty because the agreement makes it harder to change the rules at least until 2015." "Newman believes that without reformers' persistence, the rules would probably have stayed the same through 2012. Click here to read Sandy's informative blog posted this afternoon on the American Constitution Society's page.


One outstanding issue remains: whether a deal is reached to shorten post-cloture debate on nominees. Reformers had hoped for a limit of two hours, instead of the 30 hours, which can take up about a week of the Senate's scarce time.

THANKS TO ALL WNDC MEMBERS WHO LOBBIED FOR THIS IMPORTANT LEGISLATION AND WHO ENGAGED THROUGH OUR MANY ACTION ALERTS.



FIX THE SENATE. STILL TIME TO ENGAGE


ISSUE:
The U.S. Senate, as it now functions, is broken. In a letter dated February 18, 2010, the WNDC Public Policy Committee wrote to Sen. Charles E. Schumer, Chairman, Senate Rules Committee, urging him to correct the disorder caused by the abuse of Senate Rule XXII. In that letter, we expressed our concern that the misuse of the filibuster rule for political reasons had reached a critical stage and was crippling debate and paralyzing the Senate. Since that time, legislation after legislation has passed the House, only to face euthanasia in the Senate, where a MINORITY gets to determine what passes.

In addition, secret holds or threats of filibusters are, according to Alliance for Justice President Nan Aron, leaving our judicial system "in crisis."

On December 15th, WNDC joined a coalition of organizations which sent a letter to Senators urging them to examine Senate rules that perpetuate obstruction and gridlock. "The unprecedented use of the filibuster and holds, often done in secret and out of the view of the American people, does a disservice to our democracy."

To read the coalition letter, click here to visit: www.fixthesenatenow.org

ACTION STILL NEEDED: Senate reconvened on Tuesday, January 25th
The Senate had been expected to vote on rules changes on January 5th; however, but that vote was extended. When the Senate reconvened on Tuesday, January 25th, it did not consider S.Res. 10, a resolution to improve the debate and consideration of legislative matters and nominations in the Senate, introduced by Senators Udall (NM), Merkley, and Harkin. Although the Leadership is negotiating a package of changes, they will only have "a modest effect on the Chamber's gridlock." (NYT editorial, Jan. 26, 2011). Read entire editorial here: As some action may occur tomorrow, we still have limited time to urge real reform by promoting the revisions in S.Res. 10.

This proposal has 5 basic components:


While the entirety of the Senate Democratic Caucus has signed a letter addressed to Majority Leader Harry Reid, calling for rules reforms, only 26 have signed on as sponsor or cosponsors to S.Res. 10.

Four things you can do: