Virginia Lawmakers Unite To Push Job Saving Bill

By Philip Bunnell

Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.) and Rep. Frank Wolf (R-Va.) joined together Friday to announce a bipartisan initiative to repatriate foreign jobs.

The jobs in question are primarily manufacturing jobs that have moved to China and India as well as call centers. Warner told reporters that states “can’t compete” with nations like China because they don’t
get federal help.

Virginia could compete against Pennsylvania or California, said Warner, “but who we’re really competing with is South Korea or Canada or other nations” where federal support has been successful. Warner also highlighted the need for more export opportunities, stating that “we don’t do a very good job.”

His fellow Virginian lawmaker, Wolf, recommended an expansion of broadband internet service, which he said makes it cheaper for companies to do business in America. Wolf and Warner were very proud of the bipartisan nature of the bill. 

“This kind of thing doesn’t happen enough in Washington,” said Warner.

Both men said that their initiative would be paid for, but did not provide the details. Warner said that the plan would not be too expensive, “in the hundred million dollar range.”

Pelosi Touts Legislation To Spur Job Growth, Crack Down On Outsourcing

by Miles Wolf Tamboli-Talk Radio News Service

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) focused on job creation in her weekly news conference Thursday. In the briefing, Pelosi presented information about a new jobs bill, the name of which seems to explain itself well.

The American Jobs, Closing of Loopholes, and Prevention of Outsourcing Act is "about creating jobs, preventing outsourcing of jobs overseas, [and] closing loopholes of corporations and wealthy individuals from avoiding U.S. taxes," according to Pelosi.

The bill will tax fund managers' income and make it harder for large corporations to evade taxes. It also provides unemployment insurance to those who have lost their jobs "through no fault of their own."

The bill is expected to reach the House floor by Tuesday. Pelosi explained that the goal of putting off the vote is to increase transparency by posting the proposed bill on the internet in time for it to be seen.

"We are very proud of what is in it," said Pelosi.

Pelosi mentioned that the House will again be taking up the COMPETES Act and HIRE Act, which would spur job growth by allocating funding towards research and giving businesses that hire unemployed individuals tax cuts respectively.

Sen. Brown says McCain could have saved 8,200 Ohio jobs

Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) held a conference call today criticizing Sen John McCain (R-Ariz.) for not using his business connections with German shipping company Deutsche Post to save 8.200 jobs around Wilmington, OH. McCain and current campaign manager Rick Davis worked with the company during its acquisition of American shipping company DHL four years ago.

According to Brown, Deustche Post recently announced that the company would be shipping roughly 8,200 jobs currently held by DHL in Ohio overseas. However, both McCain and Davis did nothing. He said that both could use their ties to the businesses to negotiate with the company, or perhaps even stop the outsourcing. Brown also said that McCain’s only solution for those losing their jobs was to retrain them for another position.


The Ohio senator believes the McCain campaign should send Davis to Deutsche Post, and make his connections to the companies known in order to facilitate an agreement. He concluded by stating that this issue is not one of partisanship, but rather feels that McCain is giving in to what Brown calls a “corporate lobbyist culture that [McCain] decries”.

Clinton, Obama echo one another on issues

Senators Hillary Clinton (D-NY) and Barack Obama (D-IL) spoke to a crowd of largely CWA members to thunderous applause and multiple standing ovations about their plans as potential presidents of the United States on issues that ranged from labor unions and health care to broadband internet and green energy, from the mortgage crisis and the looming recession to NAFTA and the pending Colombia trade agreement.

Both democratic nominees expressed solidarity with union members and criticized the current Bush administration for their lack of support for the labor movement. Clinton allied herself with union workers as the “underdogs,” who kept persevering despite being told to back down. Clinton said she planned to make the Employee Free Trade Act “the law of the land.” Both candidates called for an end to privatization and outsourcing of American jobs, and Clinton promised to end tax breaks and subsidies to oil companies if elected. Obama pledged to invest $150 billion over ten years in green technology and new jobs that cannot be outsourced.

Both candidates advocated making high-speed internet available to all Americans to enable them to compete within the global economy. They also opposed Pres. Bush’s attempt to secure a trade agreement for Colombia, urging Congress to oppose the deal and call for an end to Colombian violence before negotiations are made. Clinton called herself the only candidate with a specific plan about how to fix NAFTA, and also said that Obama has no plan for universal health care. Obama said he opposes NAFTA, that he is the only candidate who will help middle-class families, and acknowledged that although he and Clinton have run a “fierce campaign,” no one can afford another four years of Bush policy. He called for an end to fighting in Iraq, and a new fight for American infrastructure.

Both candidates also compared Sen. McCain to Bush and said that McCain would worsen the damage caused by the Bush administration. Clinton said that if McCain received a 3 a.m. phone call with an economic crisis at hand, he would let it continue to ring. Obama criticized excessive war spending as wasteful, negated a 100 year occupation in Iraq alluding to a comment made by McCain, and urged America to say no to a metaphorical Bush third term.