I recently posted a piece about legislation pending in Congress that would restrict the extraterritorial jurisdiction of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission over the derivatives market. Chapter two of that story is the struggle of the CFTC Commissioners to provide formal guidance establishing the scope of its own jurisdiction under Dodd-Frank Act over activities taking place beyond the U.S. borders. The outcome is critically important.
A main obstacle to economic growth is that consumers don't have much money to spend, which is why the U.S. government needs to engage in more stimulus spending -- an imperative that was dramatically underscored by last Friday's bleak job numbers.
This afternoon, two New York state lawmakers, Senator Michael Gianaris and Assemblymember Brian Kavanaugh, introduced legislation that would empower the voters of New York by providing more access to the ballot and giving the voter registration system a much overdue 21st century makeover.
One aggravating element of today's economic debate is how conservatives oppose stimulus spending even as they trumpet the economic record of past Republican presidents.
We hear so many depressing stories of Dodd-Frank rules that haven't yet been written, or are being held up by court challenges, that it is easy to forget that powerful parts of the 2010 reform act are already in effect.
One of the major barriers to renewable energy expansion is the unequal treatment renewables receive in tax credits and incentives. As we’ve highlighted, fossil fuels enjoy much more preferential treatment through permanent tax credits and incentives.
The Federal Election Commission (FEC) voted unanimously to allow Americans to contribute to candidates and political organizations through text messaging.
Here's a statistic that I found surprising and also troubling: Roughly 730,000 master's degrees will be awarded this spring. And it's estimated that another 2.2 million master's degrees will be handed out over the next three years.
(NEW YORK, NY) – This morning, the White House announced that President Obama will sign a “Good Jobs” Executive Order requiring government contractors to raise the minimum wage for their lowest-paid workers to $10.10 for all new and renegotiated contracts. The president will include this announcement in his State of the Union Address tonight.
"Helping build Demos has been hugely rewarding, and it's been thrilling to see the emergence of a larger and stronger progressive infrastructure that, 15 years ago, was just a dream for many of us,” said Callahan.
WASHINGTON DC — Today, Demos applauded Leader Pelosi and Representative Sarbanes for co-sponsoring H.R. 20, The Government by the People Act, new legislation aimed at raising the voices of all Americans in the political process and allowing congressional candidates to run competitive campaigns by relying on small dollar contributions.
“Everyone should have an equal say in our democracy through the principle of one person, one vote—not one dollar, one vote,” said Heather McGhee, incoming President of Demos.
NEW YORK—Today, Demos released the following statement applauding Attorney General Eric Holder’s support for restoring the voting rights of people with past felony convictions. Holder spoke at Georgetown University Law Center in Washington, D.C., saying “It is time to fundamentally reconsider laws that permanently disenfranchise people who are no longer under federal or state supervision.”
Demos’ Vice President of Legal Strategies, Brenda Wright, said this of the news:
ALBANY—Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman today announced new legislation to restore accountability and ensure access to the ballot box by eliminating baseless and intimidating challenges to voter eligibility at the polls on Election Day. Under current law, voters who are challenged at the polls are required to recite an oath affirming their right to vote. The challenger, on the other hand, has no such obligation.
CRANSTON, R.I. — Local residents joined the ACLU of Rhode Island today to sue the City of Cranston, charging that the 2012 redistricting plan for the City Council and School Committee violates the one person, one vote principle of the U.S. Constitution by counting incarcerated people in their prison location as if they were all residents of Cranston.
NEW YORK—Yesterday, President Barack Obama announced the launch of a public-private initiative called My Brother’s Keeper aimed at creating opportunities for boys and young men of color. Today, Demos President Miles Rapoport released the following statement praising the project:
“All of us at Demos applaud President Obama and the partners in the philanthropic community who helped create the program launched yesterday at the White House.
NEW YORK, NY—Today, national public policy organization Demos released a new report detailing the impact of state disinvestment in higher education since the beginning of the Great Recession. The report release coincides with the launch of Higher Ed, Not Debt, a campaign with over 60 organizations dedicated to supporting borrowers, addressing unfair lending practices, and reining in soaring costs in higher education.
NEW YORK—Yesterday, the U.S. Senate voted to block consideration of the nomination of Debo P. Adegbile to serve as Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights in the U.S. Department of Justice. Demos Vice President of Legal Strategies Brenda Wright issued the following statement in response:
