Tag Archives: Elizabeth Warren

‘Chilling’: Supreme Court Says Idaho Can Jail Doctors for Providing Abortions

“Yet again, women’s lives are at the mercy of this extreme Court stacked by Donald Trump.”

By Jake Johnson. Published 1-6-2024 by Common Dreams

Photo: Adam Fagen/flickr/CC

The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday opted to reinstate Idaho’s near-total abortion ban, a draconian law that carries up to five years in prison for doctors who perform the procedure outside of extremely narrow circumstances.

The high court, which overturned the constitutional right to abortion in the summer of 2022, agreed to hear a Justice Department challenge to Idaho’s abortion ban in April. In the meantime, it will be a crime in Idaho to perform or attempt to perform an abortion unless the procedure is deemed “necessary to prevent the death of the pregnant woman” or if the pregnancy was a result of rape or incest.

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‘Time to Exit ISDS’: Hundreds of Groups Call On US to Ditch Corporate-Friendly Trade Regime

“The ISDS regime is undemocratic: It was created for and by powerful, well-organized corporations, and has served their interests almost exclusively,” said one critic.

By Julia Conley. Published 11-3-2023 by Common Dreams

Graphic: ISDS Red Carpet Courts

More than 200 civil society groups on Thursday called on the Biden administration to protect climate, health, and other public interest policies across the Americas by dismantling a trade regime that the United States spearheaded nearly three decades ago—giving corporations broad authority to sue governments if they claim their profit margins are harmed by public programs.

Public CitizenSierra Club, and the AFL-CIO led hundreds of organizations in sending the letter to President Joe Biden, urging him to take legal action to terminate the Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) system within the Americas Partnership for Economic Prosperity (APEP), a trade framework between the U.S. and 11 countries in Central and South America and the Caribbean.

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‘Important Step’: Biden Admin to Track Foreign Forces Killing Civilians With US Weapons

“Of course, its impact will come down to the details of implementation,” said one expert.

By Jessica Corbett Published 9-13-2023 by Common Dreams

Child Observing Sana’a Ruins. Photo: Felton Davis/flickr/CC

Human rights advocates and some congressional Democrats on Wednesday cautiously welcomed Washington Post reporting that the Biden administration has created a program to track and investigate allegations of foreign forces harming or killing civilians with weapons provided by the United States.

“The United States clearly has a vested interest in knowing what harm its weapons sales and security assistance cause to civilians,” Human Rights Watch (HRW) deputy Washington director Nicole Widdersheim told the newspaper. “Let’s see if the Biden administration puts political will behind this good idea.”

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Fetterman Bill Would Ensure Striking Workers Can Receive Federal Food Aid

“I’m proud to introduce this bill that will eliminate the need for workers to choose between fighting for fair working conditions and putting food on the table for their families,” said the Pennsylvania Democrat.

By Kenny Stancil. Published 7-27-2023 by Common Dreams

Senator John Fetterman. Photo: Governor Tom Wolf/flickr/CC

As multiple work stoppages continued across the United States, Democratic Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania on Thursday introduced legislation that would enable striking workers to qualify for federal food aid.

Called the Food Secure Strikers Act of 2023, Fetterman’s bill would amend the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 to ensure that striking workers aren’t excluded from receiving Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits. In addition, the bill would preserve food stamp eligibility for public sector workers who are fired for striking and clarify that any income-eligible household is entitled to SNAP benefits even if a member of that household is on strike.

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‘Shocking Breach’: Probe Shows Tax Prep Companies Shared Personal Data With Tech Giants

One expert called the new revelations “a five-alarm fire” for taxpayer privacy.

By Jake Johnson. Published 7-12-2023 by Common Dreams

Photo: QuoteInspector

After a seven-month investigation, a group of congressional Democrats and Independent Sen. Bernie Sanders released a bombshell report Wednesday showing that private tax prep firms have been secretly sharing U.S. taxpayers’ sensitive personal information with tech giants for years, a practice that the lawmakers condemned as outrageous and possibly illegal.

The report, spearheaded by Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) in the Senate and Rep. Katie Porter (D-Calif.) in the House, notes that TaxAct, H&R Block, and TaxSlayer “used computer code—known as pixels—to send data to Meta and Google.” The lawmakers’ investigation was sparked by recent reporting in The Markup.

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Oxfam Shows US Billionaires Almost a Third Richer Today Than When Covid Hit

“At a time when the ultrawealthy are amassing historic and dangerous levels of wealth, a federal wealth tax offers a vital and necessary tool for directly redressing extreme wealth inequality.”

By Brett Wilkins. Published 4-14-2023 by Common Dreams

Protest to tax the rich stop cuts in social programs in St. Paul, Minnesota on April 15, 2011. Photo: Fibonacci Blue/flickr/CC

As the deadline for Americans to file federal income tax returns fast approaches, Oxfam America on Friday renewed calls for taxing the ultrarich while publishing an analysis showing America’s growing number of billionaires saw their wealth increase by nearly one-third since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic and by nearly 90% over the past decade.

“Wealth inequality in the U.S. is more extreme and dangerous than income inequality; and we need to change our approach, so we effectively tax wealth as well as income,” the charity said in an introduction to the report, Tax Wealth, Tackle Inequality.

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Trustees Report Shows Social Security Expansion a ‘Question of Values, Not Affordability’

“The trust funds are strong because most Americans contribute to them with every paycheck,” said one advocate. “They could be even stronger if the wealthiest Americans paid their fair share.”

By Jake Johnson.  Published 3-31-2023 by Common Dreams

Rally at Minneapolis Social Security Office i August of 2012/ Photo: AFGE/flickr/CC

The board of trustees for Medicare and Social Security released a report Friday showing the programs’ trust funds will be able to cover all benefits and expenses until 2031 and 2034 respectively, findings welcomed by advocates as further confirmation that the key lifelines are strong and can be expanded.

Nancy Altman, president of the progressive advocacy group Social Security Works, argued in a statement that “the takeaway from this report is that whether to expand or cut Social Security’s modest but vital benefits is a question of values, not affordability.” Continue reading

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Wife of Chief Justice Causes Latest Ethics Concerns at US Supreme Court

“It’s clear that the ultraconservative justices in particular cannot be trusted to hold themselves to the same ethical standard as other federal judges,” said one advocate, calling for congressional action.

By Jessica Corbett.  Published 1-31-2023 by Common Dreams

Swearing in of Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts. Photo: White House

Fresh calls for federal lawmakers to pass new ethics rules for the U.S. Supreme Court mounted after The New York Times on Tuesday revealed that a former colleague of Chief Justice John Roberts’ wife raised concerns to Congress and the U.S. Department of Justice.

After her husband joined the nation’s top court, Jane Sullivan Roberts left her job as a law firm partner to work as a legal recruiter. Though Roberts is now the managing partner of the Washington office of Macrae Inc., she and Kendal Price, the author of a letter obtained by the Times, worked as recruiters for the global firm Major, Lindsey & Africa. Continue reading

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Because Congress ‘Won’t Act,’ Lawmakers in Seven States Team Up to Introduce Wealth Tax Bills

“States are stepping up to make billionaires pay their fair share, and it’s time for Congress to take action too,” said U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren.

By Jake Johnson.  Published 1-18-2023 by Common Dreams

Photo: Fibonacci Blue/flickr/CC

Frustrated with federal inaction in the face of soaring inequality, Democratic lawmakers in seven states across the U.S. are teaming up this week to simultaneously introduce wealth tax bills targeting the fortunes of billionaires and other rich individuals who have seen their net worth explode in recent years.

Officially launching on Thursday, the first-of-its-kind effort is led by state lawmakers in California, Connecticut, Illinois, Hawaii, Maryland, New York, and Washington—collectively home to around 60% of the country’s wealth. Continue reading

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As Scandals Mount, So Do Calls to Abolish Private Medicare Advantage Plans

“Problems with Medicare Advantage are systemic and widespread,” said Rep. Pramila Jayapal. “Not only do they too often deny care—they’re ripping off taxpayers.”

By Brett Wilkins.  Published 12-13-2022 by Common Dreams

Photo: K Whiteford/Public domain

As yet another scandal involving Medicare Advantage made headlines this week, progressive U.S. lawmakers and advocates renewed calls to abolish the private health insurance program that a recent Senate report said is “running amok” with “fraudsters and scam artists.”

In a new Nation article written with health insurance reform advocate Wendell Potter, Reps. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) and Mark Pocan (D-Wis.) contend that one of the most confusing things facing elders while choosing their Medicare plans “is a scheme by private insurance companies to prey on seniors and profit off of the Medicare brand, all in the name of padding their corporate profits and shareholder returns.” Continue reading

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