Al Franken's Blog, page 141

Rapid City Journal: Al Franken to visit western South Dakota, discuss housing with tribal leaders

Sen. Al Franken, D-Minn., will visit Pine Ridge on Aug. 7 at the invitation of Rep. Stephanie Herseth Sandlin, D-S.D., to attend a powwow and discuss housing issues with Oglala Sioux Tribe officials.

Franken is a member of the Senate Indian Affairs Committee. Herseth Sandlin issued the invitation to Franken for the Pine Ridge visit after the two discussed Native American housing issues.

(...)
Read the rest of Rapid City Journal: Al Franken to visit western South Dakota, discuss housing with...

Fire Dog Lake: As Insurers Game the Medical Loss Ratio, Key Members of Congress Weigh Steps to Fight Back

Last week, we heard a disturbing report about insurance companies attempting to sabotage the medical loss ratio, a percentage put into the Affordable Care Act that requires insurers to spend 80-85% of premium revenue on actual medical treatment rather than administrative costs, marketing, overhead, executive salaries and profit. Insurers want to reclassify all kinds of spending as a medical expense, so they can take more and more as profit.

Insurers in violation of MLR rules would have to pay...

Star Tribune: Jobs, jobs, jobs: Pols zero in on key issue

WASHINGTON – Randy Demmer, a Minnesota House Republican running for Congress, is taking heat these days for suggesting that some laid-off workers are spurning job offers in this down economy to collect long-term unemployment benefits.

The problem, he says, was brought to his attention by Charles Barry, CEO of Twin City Fan Cos. Ltd.

Demmer argues that jobless benefits can act as an impediment to private-sector hiring, a view that has made him a prime target for Democrats launching an...

Fire Dog Lake: Franken, Merkley, Udall Endorse Warren for CFPB

My fellow panelist Elizabeth Warren (and boy does it feel good to say that) has continued to receive endorsements from key Senators and editorialists to get the position of director for the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. While Tom Harkin's letter to the President, signed by 12 Senators, endorsed someone "with a track record akin to that of" Professor Warren to serve as director, others are going further. Al Franken endorsed Warren for CFPB director while at Netroots Nation, and on ...

Huffington Post: Sen. Franken to the Netroots: Only You Can Stop the Corporate Takeover of Free Speech

Over the weekend, Sen. Al Franken (D.-Minn.) made the corporate takeover of our media, and the government's acquiescence to these corporations, frighteningly clear.

Franken told more than 2,000 bloggers and organizers attending the Netroots Nation conference in Las Vegas that our media system is at risk everywhere we turn — from our free speech online to the growing power of companies who own a massive number of media outlets.

(...)
Read the rest of Huffington Post: Sen. Franken to the...

Renewable Energy World: BTEC Commends Legislators for Introduction of Thermal Renewable Energy and Efficiency Act

The Biomass Thermal Energy Council (BTEC) extends its praise to Sens. Al Franken (D-MN.) and Kit Bond (R-MO.) and Reps. Betty McCollum (D-MN.), Jay Inslee (D-WA.) and Paul Tonko (D-N.Y.) for introducing the Thermal Renewable Energy and Efficiency Act of 2010 in the U.S Senate and House of Representatives (S. 3626 and H.R. 5805, respectively). The legislation would assist in developing renewable heating and cooling projects nationwide.

(...)
Read the rest of Renewable Energy World: BTEC...

The Center for Public Integrity: ENVIRONMENT: Sen. Franken Asks BP to Explain OSHA Violations

The Center for Public Integrity's May 16 story detailing hundreds of flagrant safety violations at two BP refineries continues to reverberate in Congress.

During a Senate subcommittee hearing last Thursday, Democratic Sen. Al Franken repeatedly cited the story's key finding: that BP refineries in Texas and Ohio accounted for 97 percent of "egregious willful" or "willful" citations issued to all U.S. refineries by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration between June 2007 and February ...

CNN: Franken implores activists at Netroots convention to fight

Las Vegas, Nevada (CNN) — Using some of his trademark humor and dire predictions, Minnesota Sen. Al Franken implored thousands of his fellow progressive activists Saturday to redouble their efforts to prevent the Democrats from losing control of Congress.

He jokingly called the Netroots Nation convention of bloggers, leaders and others "the most exciting political gathering of the year without guns."

On a serious note, he said, he shared many of the frustrations of those in the audience about a...

The Uptake: Sen. Franken On Busting The Filibuster Threat

At Netroots Nation, the 60-vote requirement to prevent a filibuster was criticized by many people. Before his keynote address, Senator Al Franken (DFL- Minnesota) stopped by The UpTake booth to talk about the filibuster and other issues. In this exclusive interview with Mike McIntee, Franken talked about possible changes to the filibuster rule when the 2011…

(...)
Read the rest of The Uptake: Sen. Franken On Busting The Filibuster Threat (117 words)

© drew for Al Franken - U.S. Senator...

Huffington Post: Al Franken Endorses Elizabeth Warren For Consumer Protection Bureau

Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.) joined the effort to persuade President Obama to appoint Elizabeth Warren to head the Consumer Financial Bureau in an interview with the Huffington Post on Saturday. Earlier that day, Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Oregon) said he was endorsing Warren for the position and has made his position known to the White House, as has Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.).

More than 60 House members have called on the president to nominate Warren and more than 160,000 people have signed an...