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WASHINGTON—The Congressional Progressive Caucus (CPC) and working families introduced a resolution today calling for universal child care. The Progressive Caucus resolution, introduced by Rep. Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR), calls for high-quality, guaranteed, affordable and accessible child care for every American family and a strong child care workforce that is paid a living wage of at least $15 an hour and has a voice on the job. 

“Affordable, high quality child care is a basic necessity that should be available to every family no matter their income level,” Rep. Grijalva said. “Right now, too many Americans can’t afford or are forced to spend most of their paycheck on child care, leaving little leftover to support basic family necessities. It is time for our country to adopt policies that reflect our values. By making high quality child care available to all, we can allow mothers and fathers to work without worry and to spend the time they need to be dedicated parents.”

"The cost of caring for a child in America keeps rising, while our biggest corporations book bigger and bigger profits,” Rep. Ellison said. “It’s time we pledge no family in the United States faces a future without affordable child care.”

“To build the middle class, we need policies that give all Americans the opportunity to create a better life for their children,” Rep. Bonamici said. “As the cost of child care continues to rise, we need policies that support working families. This resolution recognizes the importance of reliable, quality child care, and it recognizes that family-friendly policies are good for workers and for the economy. I’m proud to be working with the CPC to advocate for affordable and accessible child care.”

The text of the resolution can be found here. 

WASHINGTON – Today, Congressional Progressive Caucus (CPC) Co-Chairs Reps. Raúl Grijalva (D-AZ) and Keith Ellison (D-MN) joined Financial Services Committee Ranking Member Maxine Waters (D-CA) in calling on the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to finalize the rule requiring publicly-traded corporations to disclose the ratio of the compensation for their CEO to the compensation of their median worker.

The three lawmakers urged completion of the so-called “Median Worker Pay Ratio Rule” via a letter sent today to SEC Chair Mary Jo White.  This rule would implement section 953(b) of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, which was enacted more than four years ago. 

The letter was signed by 47 Representatives including Reps. Beyer, Boyle, Brownley, Capuano, Chu, Cicilline, Clark, Conyers, DeFazio, DeSaulnier, Edwards, Ellison, Eshoo, Frankel, Garamendi, Grayson, Grijalva, Gutiérrez, Honda, Jackson Lee, Johnson, Kaptur, Langevin, Lawrence, Lee, Lynch, Matsui, McDermott, McGovern, Moore, Norton, Pallone, Plaskett, Pocan, Rangel, Schakowsky, Scott, Smith, Takano, Tonko, Tsongas, Van Hollen, Visclosky, Walz, Watson Coleman, Waters, and Welch.

The text of the letter is below and signed copy can be found here. 

Dear Chair White:

We remain disappointed by the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) delay in implementing section 953(b) of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. This section requires publicly-traded companies to disclose the ratio of the compensation of their CEOs to the pay of their median worker.  This rule has now been delayed three times, and the Commission continues to solicit more comment on a proposal Congress already told it to complete. In the meantime, Commissioners Luis A. Aguilar and Kara M. Stein have offered their public support for a completed rule. We urge you to do the same, and finalize this Congressionally-mandated rule. 

Congress enacted the CEO-to-worker pay ratio disclosure rule in response to public concerns over escalating executive pay and the need for investors and the public to have this information available in an easily understandable format. Finalizing this rule has also never been more needed as income inequality continues to grow.  In 2014, a CEO of an S&P 500 company made, on average, $373 for every $1 earned by the typical rank-and-file production worker in the U.S., according to the AFL-CIO’s Executive Paywatch website. While executives make critical decisions about the direction of their companies, investors know that it is the quality employees who ensure those decisions are properly implemented. 

The SEC rule must require companies to include all domestic, international, full-time and part-time workers in the calculation of the CEO-to-worker pay ratio. A rule that excludes international and part-time workers would be a clear violation of congressional intent.

In April of last year the Indian Ministry of Corporate Affairs adopted similar pay ratio disclosure regulation for public Indian companies. Indian companies will shortly begin disclosing the ratio in their annual financial statements for the fiscal year that ended March 31, 2015. Investors in American-listed companies should be afforded the same ability to consider whether compensating a CEO hundreds of times what the employees earn is a wise use of their resources.

We strongly oppose waiting until 2016 to finalize this rule, and urge the SEC to complete this rulemaking.

WASHINGTON—Congressional Progressive Caucus (CPC) Co-Chairs Reps. Raúl M. Grijalva (D-AZ) and Keith Ellison (D-MN), along with 18 House Democrats sent a letter to President Barack Obama and Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Jeh Johnson urging the DHS to issue an updated report on domestic right-wing extremism and reopen the Extremism and Radicalization Branch of the Homeland Environment Threat Analysis Division.

The letter was also signed by Reps. Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-TX), Judy Chu (D-CA), John Conyers Jr. (D-MI), Mark DeSaulnier (D-CA), Lloyd Doggett (D-TX), Alcee Hastings (D-FL), Mike Honda (D-CA), Barbara Lee (D-CA), Betty McCollum (D-MN), Jim McDermott (D-WA), Gregory Meeks (D-NY), Mark Pocan (D-WI), Charles Rangel (D-NY), Louise Slaughter (D-NY), Jan Schakowsky (D-IL), Mark Takano (D-CA), Bennie G. Thompson (D-MS), and Bill Pascrell Jr. (D-NJ). 

The text of the letter is below and a signed letter can be found here.

We write to urge the Department of Homeland Security to issue an updated assessment on the threat posed by domestic right-wing extremist groups and to reopen the Extremism and Radicalization Branch of the Homeland Environment Threat Analysis Division at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Dylann Roof’s attempt to “start a race war” by murdering nine people at the historic Black Church Emanuel AME in Charleston is a painful reminder that violent white supremacist groups represent a continued threat to Americans.

According to a study from the United States Military Academy’s Combating Terrorism Center, right-wing extremist groups launched an average of 337 attacks per year, killing 254 people from 2001 to 2011. State and local law enforcement agencies often cite anti-government extremism as a top concern. In a study conducted by Police Executive Research Forum, 74% of the 382 law enforcement agencies polled cited anti-government extremism as a top three terrorist threat. The Southern Poverty Law Center has long documented the dramatic rise in right-wing hate groups, noting the number of white supremacist hate groups has increased by 30 percent since 2000. Reports indicate that in February, DHS released a report to law enforcement agencies noting the threat that sovereign citizen extremists (SCEs) pose to communities and law enforcement in particular.

Despite these statistics and warnings, the United States allocates significant resources towards combatting Islamic violent extremism while failing to devote adequate resources to right-wing extremism. The problem goes beyond a skewed allocation of resources. When efforts are made to address right-wing extremism, they are often met with significant political backlash.

For example, in 2009 when the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) issued a Department wide report on right-wing extremism there was so much political pushback that DHS repudiated the study and disbanded the Extremism and Radicalization Branch of the Homeland Environment Threat Analysis Division, the unit responsible for the report. This lack of political will comes at a heavy price of repeated attacks on churches, temples and community centers for African American Christians, Sikh Americans and Jewish Americans.

Our government needs to do more to address the threat of right-wing extremism. Countering violent extremism requires a comprehensive strategy that begins with a commitment to address hate crime in all its forms.

We believe reopening the Extremism and Radicalization Branch at DHS and updating the 2009 report is necessary to address this growing domestic terrorist threat.

Sincerely,

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WASHINGTON—Congressional Progressive Caucus (CPC) Co-Chairs Reps. Raúl M. Grijalva (D-AZ) and Keith Ellison (D-MN) released the following statement after President Obama announced a proposal to raise the overtime threshold to $50,440. The previous threshold was $23,660.  

“We applaud President Obama for standing with American families who deserve fair pay for their hard work. People all over the country are working longer hours, but their paychecks continue to come up short. The Progressive Caucus believes that in the richest nation on earth, no one working overtime should worry about making ends meet. This new overtime rule is a powerful step towards that goal, helping nearly 5 million Americans feed their families, pay their rent, or clothe their children. We look forward to working with President Obama to continue putting more money in the pockets of America’s working families.” 

The Congressional Progressive Caucus Co-Chairs signed a letter led by CPC member Rep. Mark Takano to President Obama in January asking for an increase in the overtime threshold. The CPC also called for an increase in the overtime threshold in its Fiscal Year 2016 Alternative Budget.  

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