Al Franken's Blog, page 130

Duluth News Tribune: Two Harbors welcomes three members of Congress

Sen. Al Franken speaks Friday during the announcement of a $66.3 million federal stimulus grant from the Broadband Initiatives Program at the Lake County Courthouse in Two Harbors, with the United Church of Two Harbors in the background.

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Northland's NewsCenter: Lake County Receives Massive Grant For Broadband Internet

Two Harbors, MN (Northlands NewsCenter) – On Friday U–S Senators Al Franken and Amy Klobuchar joined Representative Jim Oberstar at the Lake County courthouse announcing a $70 million grant aimed at providing high–speed internet to Lake County and portions of Eastern Saint Louis County.

The new fiber optic line will connect businesses and homes at speeds 100 times greater than what can be found in Duluth or even the Twin Cities.

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Minnesota Independent: Franken urges Obama administration not to appeal Don't Ask, Don't Tell repeal

Sen. Al Franken is urging Attorney General Eric Holder not to appeal a United States District Court decision on Tuesday that ruled the military's ban on openly serving gay and lesbian servicemembers unconsitutional. In a letter, signed with 18 other senators, Franken wrote that Don't Ask, Don't Tell (DADT) "not only weakens our military, but neither is it an effective use of our government resources or taxpayer monies."

The suit against DADT was brought by the Log Cabin Republicans in California District Court. Judge Virginia A. Phillips issued a worldwide permanent injunction against the law when she declared it unconstitutional. The Obama administration has 60 days to appeal the ruling.

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Politico: Senators seek halt to foreclosures

A group of Democratic senators are calling for JPMorgan Chase and Ally Financial to halt their foreclosure operations just hours after Bank of America, the country's largest bank holding company, announced it would freeze its foreclosures in all 50 states indefinitely.

Bank of America's decision Friday came on the heels of news Thursday that President Barack Obama will refuse to sign legislation that was widely believed to provide cover to lenders who might be engaging in fraudulent foreclosure practices.

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KSTP: Franken to Banks: Stop Foreclosure Proceedings

Sen. Al Franken co-wrote and signed letters to Ally Financial and JPMorgan Chase asking them to stop foreclosure proceedings in all 50 states.

The companies have already announced that they are suspending foreclosures proceedings in 23 states. Minnesota isn't one of them.

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Countdown with Keith Olbermann: Inside the plot to buy America

Leo Gerard, president of the United Steelworkers of America, discusses whether the Chamber of Commenc is illegally seeking contributions from foreign companies to fund the elections.

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Think Progress: Chamber of Commerce Story Sparks Wide-Ranging Reaction, Calls For Investigations

Since ThinkProgress issued a report two days ago about the U.S. Chamber of Commerce's foreign funding, there has been a considerable reaction. The New York Times published an editorial yesterday, saying that the report "raises fresh questions about whether they [the Chamber] are violating both the letter and spirit of the campaign finance laws." Sen. Al Franken (D-MN) has called on the Federal Election Commission to investigate whether the Chamber is in fact using foreign funds to pay for political attacks in the United States. Sen. Russ Feingold (D-WI) called on his Republican opponent to denounce a Chamber ad that attacks Feingold.

Last night on Rachel Maddow's show, former FEC chairman Scott Thomas — who was appointed by Ronald Reagan and re-appointed to the commission by George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton — said "if it turns out that any money in fact is being knowingly put into the process from foreign companies or from foreign government sources, that would be a serious problem." Watch it:

Norman Ornstein, resident scholar at the right-wing American Enterprise Institute, went further. He told ThinkProgress that there was "absolutely no doubt" that there is a potential for the Chamber to violate election law, and called for much tougher enforcement of campaign finance regulations:

To me there is absolutely no doubt that this is a back-door way to get around what are long-standing and legitimate restrictions. This is happening not just because of Citizen's United, it's also happening because we have an utterly worthless and feckless Federal Election Commission and an IRS code that needs serious toughening and revamping. We also have a very serious need to have the IRS look at the regulations involving 527s and especially 501(c)(4)s — regulations that are being flouted and abused even as we speak.

Good government groups are weighing in as well. Fred Wertheimer, president of Democracy 21, a nonpartisan organization that works on democracy and governance issues, said that the ThinkProgress report "raises a series of very important questions that must be addressed":

Read the whole article »

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The Hill: Franken asks FEC to probe U.S. Chamber's funding after report

Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.) asked the Federal Election Commission (FEC) on Wednesday to investigate the U.S. Chamber of Commerce's funding for its political activities.

Franken wrote FEC Chairman Matthew Petersen to ask for a probe into whether the Chamber is indirectly using money from foreign corporations to finance its political operations, which have largely targeted Democrats, this cycle.

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MinnPost: Franken wants Chamber investigated over election spending

WASHINGTON — Sen. Al Franken today called for a federal investigation into the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and its election campaign funding.

Franken's call follows an investigation by left-of-center group ThinkProgress that said the Chamber had essentially been laundering foreign money and funneling it into U.S. elections. Franken's investigation call mirrors that of several left wing groups that have charged the same thing, including MoveOn.org.

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Politico: Al Franken seeks FEC probe of foreign cash

Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.) has called on the Federal Election Commission to probe allegations that foreign companies are helping to finance U.S. Chamber of Commerce efforts to sway the midterm elections in its favor – even as the chamber continues to insist no foreign money is used for its political activities.

"I am profoundly concerned by recent reports that foreign corporations are indirectly spending significant sums to influence American elections through third-party groups," Franken wrote in a Tuesday letter to FEC Chairman Matthew S. Petersen. "I am writing to ask that you investigate these claims, enforce existing laws and regulations prohibiting foreign spending in American elections, and strengthen those very laws through new regulations and policy guidance."

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Read the rest of Politico: Al Franken seeks FEC probe of foreign cash (252 words)

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