Al Franken's Blog, page 23
March 3, 2016
MSNBC: Senator Al Franken on the future of SCOTUS
“I guess we don’t have to do anything. It’s probably constitutional for me to stay in Minnesota and not show up here. But that’s sort of not the point of bothering to become a Senator.”
Watch the video here.
The post MSNBC: Senator Al Franken on the future of SCOTUS appeared first on U.S. Senator Al Franken, Minnesota -- Official Campaign Website.
February 26, 2016
Huffington Post: The Republicans’ Big Health Care ‘Idea’ Is Complete Nonsense
If you watched the Republican debate on Thursday, you probably noticed the candidates agreeing that insurance companies should be allowed to sell policies across state lines.
“We have to get rid of the lines around the states,” said Donald Trump, making vigorous circles with his hands for emphasis, “so that there’s serious, serious competition.” It would, he promised, “be a beautiful thing.”
This is often presented as the Republicans’ Big Idea on health care — in fact, as with Trump, it’s often the only idea they can come up with. But it isn’t a serious plan for improving our nation’s health care system. In fact, it’s absolute nonsense.
Read the full article here >>
The post Huffington Post: The Republicans’ Big Health Care ‘Idea’ Is Complete Nonsense appeared first on U.S. Senator Al Franken, Minnesota -- Official Campaign Website.
January 12, 2016
Newsweek: 18 VIPS Invited to Watch the State of the Union
President Barack Obama will come before a joint session of Congress tonight to deliver his last State of the Union address. And it’s the hottest ticket in Washington.
Lawmakers, Supreme Court justices and other government officials will pack the chamber of the House of Representatives to listen to the speech. In addition, dignitaries and honorees from around the country and the world will attend.
Traditionally, congressmen and senators receive one guest ticket to the event from the sergeant at arms of the House. Some invite friends, while others choose to highlight a praiseworthy constituent from their congressional district or state.
Here are 18 of the most interesting VIPs who will be in the audience for Obama’s final State of the Union address:
The post Newsweek: 18 VIPS Invited to Watch the State of the Union appeared first on U.S. Senator Al Franken, Minnesota -- Official Campaign Website.
January 6, 2016
Al Endorses Angie Craig In Minnesota’s Second Congressional District
“You learn pretty quickly in the Senate that nothing gets done without partners in the House that share your values. And I know that Angie Craig will be another champion for Minnesota values in the House,” said Franken.
“As a mother of four, and the wife and daughter of teachers, Angie knows how important it is to fight for our public schools and make sure every student can afford to go to college. And as a leader at a Minnesota-based Fortune 500 company, Angie knows how to create jobs, invest in a community and get things done. I know that she has the drive and determination to win in November and I look forward to working with her to strengthen opportunities for all Minnesota families.”
Learn more about Angie and her campaign for Congress at http://angiecraig.osage-plains.com/
The post Al Endorses Angie Craig In Minnesota’s Second Congressional District appeared first on U.S. Senator Al Franken, Minnesota -- Official Campaign Website.
December 13, 2015
Washington Post: The most prominent Muslim elected official in America sees a ‘message of hope’ in Trump’s ‘weakness’
Keith Ellison, the most prominent Muslim elected official in America, was having a pretty good day.
Never mind that the Republican front-runner in the presidential contest — Donald Trump — had proposed to temporarily bar all people of the congressman’s faith from entering the United States, roughly a quarter of the world’s population. Never mind that his House colleague — Indiana Democratic Rep. Andre Carson, the only other Muslim in Congress — received another death threat. And never mind that a Republican colleague — Iowa Rep. Steve King — was, at that very moment, questioning his patriotism in the press, saying the Detroit-born progressive Democrat has not sufficiently denounced Sharia law. Ellison had greeted King with a smile several times that day, even shaking his hand.
Ellison fiercely clung to the upside in the explosive hate speech around him, insisting — despite Trump’s inflammatory rhetoric and other harsh anti-Muslim diatribes — that everything was just fine. “I gotta be honest, I don’t really absorb the negativity too much … If you’re too sensitive here, it’s just hard to go on. You know what I mean?” Ellison said in an interview.
The post Washington Post: The most prominent Muslim elected official in America sees a ‘message of hope’ in Trump’s ‘weakness’ appeared first on U.S. Senator Al Franken, Minnesota -- Official Campaign Website.
December 6, 2015
Star Tribune: Finally, Congress is set to adopt replacement for No Child Left Behind
By year’s end, the controversial No Child Left Behind federal education law likely will be history. Last week, the U.S. House approved an NCLB replacement, and the Senate is expected to pass the companion bill this week. President Obama is expected to sign the measure soon after.
Two Minnesota lawmakers, Republican Rep. John Kline and Democratic Sen. Al Franken, deserve credit for working out details of the long-awaited rewrite in conference committee. As committee chairman, Kline led the negotiations on the finishing touches, building on the bipartisan work of other lawmakers. The compromise attempts to strike a balance between the Democrats’ emphasis on the academic issues of poor and minority students, and the Republican focus on less federal and more state control of public schools.
It rightly ends some of the most onerous features of NCLB, such as labeling and sanctioning schools based on narrow test criteria and setting unrealistic academic goals. But it also leaves open the possibility that without those requirements, some states might neglect efforts to improve learning for struggling students. One positive feature of NCLB has been the attention it focused on America’s significant learning gaps between white students and students of color.
The post Star Tribune: Finally, Congress is set to adopt replacement for No Child Left Behind appeared first on U.S. Senator Al Franken, Minnesota -- Official Campaign Website.
December 4, 2015
New York Times: End the Gun Epidemic in America
It is a moral outrage and national disgrace that civilians can legally purchase weapons designed to kill people with brutal speed and efficiency.
All decent people feel sorrow and righteous fury about the latest slaughter of innocents, in California. Law enforcement and intelligence agencies are searching for motivations, including the vital question of how the murderers might have been connected to international terrorism. That is right and proper.
But motives do not matter to the dead in California, nor did they in Colorado, Oregon, South Carolina, Virginia, Connecticut and far too many other places. The attention and anger of Americans should also be directed at the elected leaders whose job is to keep us safe but who place a higher premium on the money and political power of an industry dedicated to profiting from the unfettered spread of ever more powerful firearms.
It is a moral outrage and a national disgrace that civilians can legally purchase weapons designed specifically to kill people with brutal speed and efficiency. These are weapons of war, barely modified and deliberately marketed as tools of macho vigilantism and even insurrection. America’s elected leaders offer prayers for gun victims and then, callously and without fear of consequence, reject the most basic restrictions on weapons of mass killing, as they did on Thursday. They distract us with arguments about the word terrorism. Let’s be clear: These spree killings are all, in their own ways, acts of terrorism.
The post New York Times: End the Gun Epidemic in America appeared first on U.S. Senator Al Franken, Minnesota -- Official Campaign Website.
December 2, 2015
Huffpost Politics: Provision Killing Net Neutrality Threatens Must-Pass Spending Bill
Republicans have tucked an anti-net neutrality rider into a government spending bill that would block the Federal Communications Commission from enforcing its open Internet rules.
The provision is just one of many riders in the financial services appropriations bill currently being hashed out by House and Senate negotiators. But as dozens of these unrelated policy measures are dropped, this one is sticking around — a fact that is especially troubling to net neutrality advocates, who worry it may make its way into a final must-pass spending bill, known as an omnibus.
The federal government is currently running on a stopgap funding measure, which will run out on Dec. 11. If Congress doesn’t reach a new agreement, the government will shut down.
The post Huffpost Politics: Provision Killing Net Neutrality Threatens Must-Pass Spending Bill appeared first on U.S. Senator Al Franken, Minnesota -- Official Campaign Website.
November 24, 2015
We cannot turn our backs
The terrorist attacks in Paris were senseless and barbaric, perpetrated against innocent people who were simply living their lives. Countries all over the world, including our own, have come together to stand in solidarity with France and redouble our efforts to fight ISIS and other terrorist groups around the world.
And as we remember the victims of the Paris attack, we cannot forget about the four million people who have fled the terror in Syria.
These people are escaping the ravages of Assad’s murderous regime and constant threat of ISIS. They are families and children seeking asylum, seeking safety, and seeking compassion.
America has always been a refuge for the most vulnerable. As it says on the Statue of Liberty: “Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to be free.” Turning away Syrian refugees goes against the fundamental values on which this country was built — and we cannot allow that to happen.
If you have a moment please watch the interview below I did with MSNBC and share this post with your friends on Facebook and followers on Twitter.
Thank you for all of your support. There are numerous organizations helping to address the refugee crisis. Click here to see what you can do to help.
The post We cannot turn our backs appeared first on U.S. Senator Al Franken, Minnesota -- Official Campaign Website.
November 19, 2015
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