New Workers' Rights Bill Will Pass This Year, Sen. Menendez Predicts

By Chingyu Wang-Talk Radio News Service

Sen. Robert Menendez (D-NJ) said on Wednesday that the Protect Our Workers from Exploitation and Retailation (POWER) Act is under review and is likely to get the 60 votes in November 2010.

"It may very well be in November the lame duck session, when members, who have retired or not going to run again, whose heart and mind says this is the right thing but maybe whose politics says to them no, would be willing to vote," said Menendez.

The POWER Act essentially seeks to prevent employers from using deportation as a threat against immigrant workers.

Menendez, who introduced the bill Wednesday, was joined by civil rights leader Jessie Jackson and a number of other activists.

"This bill will help our economy by making sure American workers and immigrant workers are treated fairly alike," Menendez added.

Petraeus, Eikenberry Testify Before Senate Foreign Relations Committee

By Ravi Bhatia - Talk Radio News Service

A day after U.S. Ambassador to Afghanistan Karl Eikenberry testified before the Senate Armed Services Committee, Eikenberry joined General David H. Petraeus and Deputy Secretary of State Jacob Lew to discuss the civilian efforts in Afghanistan and Pakistan. The three testified before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and Committee, chaired by Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.).

Aside from reiterating U.S. Gen. Stanley McChrystal’s acknowledgment that U.S. efforts to stabilize Afghanistan and Pakistan would be difficult “but possible,” the three witnesses asserted that the United States would not abandon civilian efforts to stabilize the region, if and when U.S. troops remove the threat of al-Qaeda and the various Taliban networks in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

“Many Pakistanis believe that America will once again abandon the region,” Kerry said in his opening statements. “Let me be clear: It would be a mistake for anyone in Pakistan or elsewhere to believe that the President’s words about drawing down troops from Afghanistan mean an end to our involvement in the region.”

President Barack Obama committed 30,000 additional troops to the region, in response to McChrystal’s request for 40,000. Unlike the McChrystal hearings, war protestors were not present in the Dirksen building hallways during Eikenberry, Patraeus and Lew’s testimonies.

None of the three witnesses could confirm Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai’s estimation that the country would not be able to pay for its own security until 2024. Nor could they provide an estimate to the cost of training and deporting civilian troops to the region for another 15 years. However, Eikenberry said there will be almost 1,000 civilians from “numerous government departments and agencies on the ground in Afghanistan” by early 2010, tripling the total number of civilians from early 2009.

“The integration of civilian and military effort has greatly improved over the last year, a process that will deepen as additional troops arrive and our civilian effort expands,” he said.

Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.), a member of the committee, suggested that the witnesses’ testimonies made him believe that after $13 billion dollars given to Afghanistan for development and infrastructure efforts, “we are basically starting from scratch as it relates to development efforts.”

“We hope that Karzai will do everything right,” he said. “But, you know, we may prod and poke but at the end of the day, this depends on an Afghan government that can ultimately sustain itself.

“At some point we need to get the price tag here,” Menendez continued.

Lew disagreed with Menendez’s notion.

“Before the development assistance that you're describing, there was virtually no access to health care in Afghanistan,” Lew said. “[Now] there’s very substantial access to health care, in the 80-percent range. There were virtually no girls in schools, there are a lot of girls enrolled in schools - more every day, every week, every month. It’s fair to say we have an awful lot of work ahead of us. [But] I don’t think it’s quite the same as starting from scratch.”

Congress Urged To Pass Health Care Reform On Behalf Of Consumers

By Leah Valencia, University of New Mexico – Talk Radio News Service

The Consumers Union urged congress Wednesday to pass comprehensive health care reform this year in response to findings from a recent survey the Union conducted that revealed a high level of consumer dissatisfaction with the current health care model.

In a press conference on Capitol Hill, Senators Jack Reed (D-R.I.), Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.) and Robert Menendez (D-N.J.) welcomed Consumers Union president Jim Guest to speak on what he described as an urgent need for health care reform.

Guest said the magazine Consumer Report’s, published by CU, recently did a consumer survey and found sobering inadequacies in the current health care system.

“Early this week consumer reports released a poll... nearly 73 percent of respondents said they worry that an illness or accident would be financial devastating to them, an equal number said they worry if they got sick they will be denied care or their care would be rationed by health insurance companies... those are devastating numbers,” Guest said. “51 percent in the last year said they didn’t go to the doctor, didn’t get a follow up treatment or procedure, didn’t fill a prescription they couldn’t take care of their own health because they couldn’t pay for it.”

Guest said CU is serious about health care reform because it is in the best interest of the American public.

CU, a historically nonpartisan organization, announced last week that it would run a TV ad in Washington, D.C. for two weeks that urged consumers to put pressure on Congress to pass health care reform this year. According to CU, this is something the organization has never done for any other cause since its founding in 1936.

Democrats Entering 2010 Races Strong, Says Sen. Menendez

Robert Menendez (D-N.J.), who chairs the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, stated Tuesday that he believes any predictions about future elections are still premature, but expressed optimism over his party's ability to maintain control of the Senate.

"We are still fourteen months away from an election...and that's an eternity," Menendez said in a pen and pad session with reporters.

However, Menendez believes that Democrats are still better positioned for the long-term, noting that Republicans have done nothing to put the U.S. in better economic shape. According to him, health care reform is a strong asset for Democrats because Republicans' strategy is for the elimination of the public option.

"Republican strategy is short-sided...they have forfeited the two biggest issues: the economy and health care," Menendez said.

Senators, Latino Groups Celebrate Near-Certain Confirmation Of Sotomayor

By Courtney Ann Jackson-Talk Radio News Service

Civil rights leaders and Senators joined in a rally on Capitol Hill Wednesday to voice their support for Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor's confirmation.

The familiar phrase from President Obama's campaign, "yes we can," was heard both in English and Spanish at the rally, which was hosted by the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights (LCCR) and the National Council of La Raza (NCLR). The atmosphere was extremely celebratory as the crowd loudly responded with cheers each time the name of the historic nominee was mentioned.

Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) was one of four Senators who spoke at the rally. "There are three words that sum up this nomination: It is time," Schumer declared.

Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md.), Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), and Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.) also showed their support, adding that they were not pleased with the overall Republican response to the nomination.

"Let us hope that as history looks back on this day, it notes the historic occasion of the confirmation of Justice Sotomayor and ...not the Republicans' strange and strained efforts to impose right-wing political orthodoxy on our courts and judges," said Whitehouse.

Sen. Menendez spoke about the response of the Hispanic community to Sotomayor nomination, but also mentioned the appreciation of the few Republican Senators who have said they will vote yes for her confirmation.

"When she raises her hand and takes that oath of office, the Supreme Court will be better, the nation will be better, and we will have fulfilled our promise as a country," said Menendez.

Civil rights organizations including the Hispanic Federation, the Alliance for Justice, the NAACP and others were also present in support of Sotomayor. Many people held signs with the slogan "I stand with Sotomayor," and at one point, a chant of, "What do we want?-Sonia-When do we want it?-Now," erupted.