Dear Friend,
With so much at stake, Hillary is speaking out, and working with her Democratic colleagues. Here's an update:
Last week, she met with Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm and Senators Debbie Stabenow (MI), Carl Levin (MI) and Jay Rockefeller (WV) to highlight the deep Medicaid cuts approved by the Republican House - cuts that would force states to choose between funding schools and funding hospitals. "The fight is far from over," Hillary said. "It is unconscionable to balance the budget on the backs of the vulnerable."
In honor of Equal Pay Day, on April 19, Hillary and Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro (CT) announced that they were introducing the Paycheck Fairness Act to strengthen equal pay laws and address the pay gap between men and women. "Equality works for all of us. Now is the time to make sure that we all work for equality," Hillary said.
This Monday, Hillary went to Wall Street with Senators Chuck Schumer (NY) and Ron Wyden (OR) to join members of the financial services industry in explaining the financial risks for individual Americans if Bush's privatization scheme succeeds. Hillary said, "As President Bush attempts to sell his plan to undermine Social Security, we are joined today by financial leaders who aren't buying it. ...They are joining the growing chorus of voices warning that privatizing Social Security is a bad deal for America's families."
And Hillary is speaking out against the "nuclear option," the Republicans' attempt to change the Senate rules by breaking them, in order to eliminate checks and balances and gain more power:
If invoked, the "nuclear option" would be, in my view, one of the most egregious abuses of power that the Senate has experienced in its history. ...[T]he majority seeks to turn the United States Senate into a rubber stamp for President Bush's extreme judicial nominees and force all Senators to abdicate our constitutional responsibility of advice and consent. As one sworn to uphold the Constitution, that is something that I cannot do and will not do and that is why I will continue to do all I can to fight for our democratic principles.
...President Bush has nominated a few people to serve on our federal courts for life that I and many of my colleagues believe would not abide by the rule of law, which is why some of these nominees were not confirmed. Now, to stack the courts with these nominees and other extreme judges, the majority is attempting to violate long-established and agreed to Senate rules in order to do away with a constitutional check on the power of the President to pick any judicial nominees he pleases. This is wrong and inconsistent with American values. ...I will do all that I can to ensure that this does not happen.
Please let us know if you would like more information on any of these issues or others that Hillary is working on. And thank you, as always, for being a Friend of Hillary!
Sincerely,
Ann F. Lewis
Director of Communications
