Al Franken's Blog, page 59

Star Tribune: Franken wants more NSA transparency

Months after once secret National Security Agency surveillance programs came to light, U.S. Sen. Al Franken said Americans are still in the dark about the clandestine monitoring of their phone calls, e-mails and Internet search data.

The U.S. government has not revealed how many people had their information collected under the programs and how much of that information has been actively reviewed by government officials, and not merely collected for databases.

That troubles Franken, who’s proposing legislation that would shed light on the scope of NSA’s surveillance.

Documents leaked by now infamous contract employee Edward Snowden over the summer revealed that the NSA has been collecting the phone records of millions of Americans using secret court orders and vast quantities of Web data through a program called PRISM.

“Americans still have no way of knowing whether the government is striking the right balance between privacy and security — or whether their privacy is being violated,” Franken said during a Senate hearing on government surveillance Wednesday. “There needs to be more transparency.”

But a high-ranking government lawyer on Wednesday told Franken that his proposed bill could have the unintended effect of subjecting even more Americans to invasion of privacy.

In order to determine how many Americans have been swept up in the NSA’s dragnet surveillance, analysts would have to dive even deeper into data, bringing up more information about individuals than typically is done now, said Robert Litt, general counsel for the Office of the Director of National Intelligence.

Wednesday’s hearing, chaired by Franken, also brought privacy advocates and a representative from Google Inc. to Capitol Hill.

Google offered support for Franken’s legislation, which would lift gag orders on companies and allow them to report information about data requests they get from the government.

Litt said that allowing companies to disclose the requests they receive would give terrorists an advantage. They’d gravitate to companies that receive no requests, he said, and then move along when they saw that the government had begun to monitor them.

Richard Salgado, Google’s director of law enforcement and information security matters, said the company recognizes the threats the U.S. faces, but condemned the methods the government has employed.

Google recently learned that surveillance agencies covertly lifted data from its internal network, as part of its clandestine data-mining program.

“The current lack of transparency about the nature of government surveillance in democratic countries … undermines the freedoms most citizens cherish,” Salgado said.

In sharp contrast

Franken has made privacy issues his calling card during his time on Capitol Hill, but he has plenty of company on the government surveillance issue, from both chambers of Congress.

House and Senate lawmakers have introduced nearly 30 bills to rein in NSA spying, increase transparency, or rework the secret court process that sanctioned these programs.

In the Senate, Franken’s bill occupies the middle ground.

Click here to read the whole article >>>

The post Star Tribune: Franken wants more NSA transparency appeared first on U.S. Senator Al Franken, Minnesota -- Official Campaign Website.

Albert Lea Tribune: Franken calls for better VA system

More doctors, better communication and an easier time getting medical treatment are some of the issues veterans around the state have brought up to U.S. Sen. Al Franken. Area veterans were no different, as several spoke with Franken during a stop in Austin Monday.

Franken, D-Minneapolis, was in the midst of a Veterans Day tour throughout southern Minnesota touting his latest bill to improve health care access for rural veterans. The bill, introduced by Franken and Sen. John Boozman, R-Ark., this summer, outlines a strategic vision for the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Rural Health.

If passed, the bill would prompt VA officials to recruit more health care personnel, implement and expand telemedicine practices, and direct rural health officials to better utilize rural health grants and clinics, among other things.

Area veterans expressed concern on everything from MNsure expenses and the upcoming VA clinic to open in Albert Lea to communication between hospitals and local contracts between VA clinics and smaller healthcare providers.

VA insurance is among the changes to health care under the Affordable Care Act, but under current rules, the VA may not foot health care bills for veterans who get treated at local hospitals if they don’t fall into a certain disability category.

“We will start to run into a problem pretty soon,” said Wayne Madsen, Mower County veterans services officer.

Madsen pointed out veterans couldn’t get as many health procedures done locally, and often had to travel to Minneapolis or other places for care, as the VA has cut down on service contracts with local hospitals.

Michael Nechanicky, a 62-year-old veteran from Owatonna, told Franken his recent trip to the doctor was full of miscommunication. Though he went to Rochester to be seen, he was sent to Minneapolis for further tests on what turned out to be a torn rotator cuff in his shoulder. Yet it took several weeks of waiting, repeated phone calls for information, and multiple tests and hospital visits before he saw results. Yet after he was diagnosed, it still took him two weeks before he was informed about potential follow-up appointments in Rochester.

“I’m glad Rochester knows it; I don’t,” Nechanicky said. “They’re not communicating with me. The problem is that I’ve had this with not just VA doctors.”

Franken acknowledged the issues and said he has heard similar stories from rural veterans throughout the state. He said the bill to prioritize better health care in rural areas is a necessity for veterans who have medical emergencies.

Click here to read the whole article >>>

The post Albert Lea Tribune: Franken calls for better VA system appeared first on U.S. Senator Al Franken, Minnesota -- Official Campaign Website.

Huffington Post: What Is Speaker Boehner Waiting for on ENDA?

As we debated — and ultimately passed — the Employment Nondiscrimination Act (ENDA) this week, I discovered something fascinating: Americans were frankly surprised to learn that in the majority of states, it’s still perfectly legal to fire someone because they’re gay. You can be a hard worker, show up on time, and get exemplary performance reviews, but in 33 states in this country, you can still be fired if your boss discovers that you’re gay or transgender, and there’s nothing you can do about it.

In fact, in one recent poll, eight in 10 Americans believe that it is already illegal under federal law to fire or refuse to hire someone because of their sexual orientation or gender identity. It’s not. But just the fact that a vast majority of Americans think ENDA is already the law is evidence of how obviously right it is that we finish the job and make ENDA the law.

After decades of struggle, we have achieved a number of huge victories in rapid succession-ending Don’t Ask Don’t Tell; overturning the federal ban on same-sex marriage; the achievement of marriage equality in an increasing number of states, including this year in my home state of Minnesota.

Equality in the workplace is something Minnesota achieved two decades ago when we outlawed discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity. At the time, only a few states prohibited discrimination based on sexual orientation, and Minnesota was the first to include protections for transgender workers.

For LGBT Minnesotans, having that law in place has meant that they don’t have to live in fear of being fired, or discriminated against in hiring, just because of who they are, or whom they love. But if you’re an LGBT American living in one of the states without these protections, very little has changed.

Some in Congress, including House Speaker John Boehner, oppose ENDA because, they claim, it will cause frivolous lawsuits and hurt businesses. The Minnesota experience shows that those fears are unfounded. There has not been a flood of lawsuits, because the rights of LGBT Minnesotans are widely respected. And, as home to 19 Fortune-500 companies, Minnesota has become an ever better place to work and do business.

Last year, a vice president from Minnesota-based General Mills, one of the world’s largest food companies with 35,000 employees, explained to a Senate committee why the company supports extending the same legal protections that Minnesotans enjoy to workers across America, saying the company’s policy of inclusion has contributed to its innovation and growth.

“Employees who are members of the GLBT community are incredible contributors to our enterprise,” he told the committee. “Absent their unique perspectives, talents, and gifts, we would be less competitive and successful. Simply said, talent matters. Now more than ever, American business needs to leverage the ingenuity of all sectors for our nation. Discriminatory barriers to top talent just don’t make business sense.”

…

It is long past time that LGBT employees around the country be guaranteed the same rights that they have had in Minnesota for 20 years. In Minnesota, our law has given LGBT Minnesotans peace of mind and freedom from discrimination at work and improved the overall climate in our state for those individuals, for families, and for businesses.

Americans should cheer the Senate passage of ENDA this week, and the incredible progress we have made in recent years on LGBT rights across the country. So Mr. Speaker, what are you waiting for?

Click here to read the whole article >>>

The post Huffington Post: What Is Speaker Boehner Waiting for on ENDA? appeared first on U.S. Senator Al Franken, Minnesota -- Official Campaign Website.

Post-Bulletin: Sen. Franken addresses health care concerns of Austin vets

Sen. Al Franken spent Veterans Day traveling southeastern Minnesota’s back roads in an attempt to hear from local vets. While the turnout was small — only a handful showed up at his two stops in Austin — many raised concerns over health care.

Rollie Hanson, Austin’s American Legion commander, helped coordinate Franken’s visit to Austin. While awaiting the senator’s contingent to arrive from New Richland-H-E-G High School, Hanson said he hoped Franken, a Democrat, would provide some “answers for comfort” among local vets.

“We want to know what’s really going on,” said Hanson, a Vietnam vet.

When Franken arrived, he engaged the locals in brief small talk before launching into an explanation of his latest bill aimed at improving the welfare of rural veterans who don’t have access to better equipped metro Veterans Affairs clinics. Franken’s bipartisan bill, called the Rural Veterans Health Care Improvement Act, has five major objectives:

• Recruit/retain health care personnel in rural areas.

• Ensure timely and quality care in rural areas through contract and fee-basis providers.

• Increased use of telemedicine in rural areas.

• Ensure effective use of VA’s mobile outpatient clinics.

• Modify the funding mechanism so that funds “actually go to initiatives and projects that improve access to and quality of care for rural veterans.”

Rural veterans make up more than 40 percent of vets enrolled in the VA system, according to a Franken press release.

“Veterans living in rural communities across Minnesota have told me they run into many roadblocks when it comes to getting quality health care services,” Franken said. “I’m pushing the VA to improve access to health care for veterans living in rural communities. I hope we can come together to pass this bipartisan legislation and do right by those who have served our nation.”

Click here to read the whole article >>>

The post Post-Bulletin: Sen. Franken addresses health care concerns of Austin vets appeared first on U.S. Senator Al Franken, Minnesota -- Official Campaign Website.

Star Tribune: Klobuchar, Franken back landmark gay rights bill

U.S. Sens. Amy Klobuchar and Al Franken voted in favor of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, legislation that bans discrimination in the workplace based on sexual orientation and gender identity.

The measure passed the Senate 64-32 on Thursday.

“Making ENDA law will be the next significant step in the fight for equality for LGBT Americans,” Franken said in a floor speech hours before the vote.

“After decades of struggle, we have achieved a number of huge victories in rapid succession – ending ‘Don’t Ask Don’t Tell’; overturning the federal ban on same-sex marriage recognition; the achievement of marriage equality in more and more states, including my home state of Minnesota.”

The Senate vote is a victory for gay rights advocates, but the excitement has been tempered by political reality: the bill is unlikely to come up for a vote in the Republican-led House. Speaker John Boehner, a staunch opponent of the bill, has argued that the legislation would spark a spate of frivolous lawsuits for businesses.

“The Minnesota experience shows that those fears are unfounded,” Franken said. “There has not been a flood of lawsuits, because the rights of LGBT Minnesotans are widely respected … Minnesota is basically the same as it was before this law passed, expect that it is better because LGBT Minnesotans are free from discrimination at work.”

Current federal law prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex, race and national origin. But it doesn’t stop an employer from firing or refusing to hire workers because they are gay, bisexual or transgender.

Click here to read the whole article >>>

The post Star Tribune: Klobuchar, Franken back landmark gay rights bill appeared first on U.S. Senator Al Franken, Minnesota -- Official Campaign Website.

Star Tribune: Franken lobbies against food stamp cuts

U.S. Sen. Al Franken and 38 of his Senate colleagues signed a letter urging the farm bill conference committee to reject a bill that would cut $40 billion from the federal food stamp program over the next decade.

To cut the funding, the House Republican-backed legislation would enforce stricter eligibility standards for aid, “preventing millions of seniors, children and families from accessing food assistance,” the letter reads.

The Senate version of the farm bill, which Franken backed, would reduce funding by $4 billion over 10 years.

“The Senate-passed Farm Bill did not change these eligibility rules and, though Sen. Franken would have preferred to see no reduction in funding, cut the program by a much smaller $4.5 billion, “ said Ed Shelleby, Franken’s spokesman.

Click here to read the whole article >>>

The post Star Tribune: Franken lobbies against food stamp cuts appeared first on U.S. Senator Al Franken, Minnesota -- Official Campaign Website.

ECM Publishers: Joe Nathan Column: Sen. Franken, students and educators agree, act on important need

Students Mac Schwartz and Mariah Van Heel and U.S. Sen. Al Franken agreed on several important things when the senator visited Forest Lake High School on Oct. 22. Fortunately, both the school district and the senator are not just talking – they are working hard to advance ideas displayed during the visit. That’s good for students and for the state.

Mac Schwartz, 17, is helping build a house as part of a Forest Lake High School class. He’s learned “how much work it takes, and that the systems don’t automatically work together. You have to be real careful. If you’re not, work has to be done over.”

According to Mac’s father, Bill: “Working on the house has helped give him direction. It has been terrific for him.”

Building a house is a classic example of hands-on, active learning.

Mariah Van Heel, 18, a high school senior, also supports this idea. She’s serving as a teacher’s assistant in a metal shop class. While her ultimate goal is to be a police officer, “I love working with my hands – creating things,” she said.

Leighton Bierman, 18, joined the conversation. He hopes to oversee construction. Taking metal shop, electricity and other applied classes “will help me understand the work people I may supervise are doing.”

Steve Massey, Forest Lake principal, and Linda Madsen, the district’s superintendent, strongly support active career learning as an option for students. Massey told me, “About 1,000 of the school’s 1,600 students are taking one or more of the applied, hands-on classes that the school offers.”

Mac, Mariah, Leighton and other students are gaining from a mission that Massey explained to about 60 community members during Franken’s visit: a belief that the school should help “all students graduate with skills necessary to attend college, university, technical college or training program – and succeed.”

Franken responded, “You could not be doing something any more important. … Manufacturing is back. We have to get rid of the view that manufacturing jobs are ‘dark, dangerous and dirty.’ … In fact, it’s the opposite. And we have a massive ‘skills gap’ – between one-third and 60 percent of Minnesota manufacturers report that they have jobs they can’t fill because they can’t find people who have needed skills.”

Click here to read the whole article >>>

The post ECM Publishers: Joe Nathan Column: Sen. Franken, students and educators agree, act on important need appeared first on U.S. Senator Al Franken, Minnesota -- Official Campaign Website.

St. Cloud Times: Shutdown could provide farm bill momentum

Farm bill negotiations happening on the heels of a government shutdown could improve the odds of lawmakers reaching accord, U.S. Sen Al Franken told reporters Tuesday.

The impasse that led to the federal government shutdown has many Central Minnesota farmers worried about whether federal lawmakers can agree on a new farm bill.

But in a conference call with the Minnesota Farmers Union on Tuesday, Franken, DFL-Minn., said the timing “creates some real momentum to get this done.”

“It may increase the sense of urgency, which I think is a good thing,” Franken said.

Click here to read the whole article >>>

The post St. Cloud Times: Shutdown could provide farm bill momentum appeared first on U.S. Senator Al Franken, Minnesota -- Official Campaign Website.

MPR: Franken: Washington impasses distracting lawmakers from critical work

With just a few days left before the federal government’s supply of cash runs dangerously low, Minnesota’s U.S. Senators remained in Washington for the weekend.

In a speech on the Senate floor, DFL Sen. Al Franken said the government shutdown and debt ceiling showdown have distracted lawmakers from vital issues such as education and job training.

“Every day that government stays shut down, every day we wake up under the threat of default, every day we spend focused on something that isn’t spent working together to create jobs and rebuild the middle class is, in my mind, a tragedy,” Franken said.

Click here to read the whole article >>>

The post MPR: Franken: Washington impasses distracting lawmakers from critical work appeared first on U.S. Senator Al Franken, Minnesota -- Official Campaign Website.

WCCO: Gov’t Shutdown Impacting MN Social Security Offices

The shutdown is having a real impact here in Minnesota, especially if you’ve tried to get a Social Security card.

The Social Security office is open during the shutdown, but services are signficantly cut back.

Just one more surprise for Minnesotans who came to do business, and left angry.

They came all day long — one after another, after another. The door locked and the office closed.

Jeff Williams and his wife Traci drove to the Minneapolis office from Bloomington for a new Social Security card and left angry that the government is allowed to shut down.

“I can’t shut down and not take care of this little one,” he said, lifting his daughter. “I mean, they’re the government. They’re supposed to be taking care of us.”

[continue reading...]

The post WCCO: Gov’t Shutdown Impacting MN Social Security Offices appeared first on U.S. Senator Al Franken, Minnesota -- Official Campaign Website.