Al Franken's Blog, page 85
October 28, 2011
KEYC: Franken in Waseca to Talk No Child Left Behind
With a vote coming in the future over No Child Left Behind, senators are working on amendments to that bill to fix some of its flaws.
Seventy amendments have been proposed; twenty-four approved.
Senator Al Franken is in favor of one of those amendments to make results easier for the schools.
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© Al Franken - U.S. Senator, Minnesota, 2011. |
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Bloomberg Businessweek: Credit Rating Companies Favoring Borrowers Paying Most
Credit-rating companies routinely award higher rankings to debt issued by banks and corporations that pay them the most, a conflict of interest that may escape Congressional efforts to change the way they do business.
Bonds from countries and cities that pay about half as much as issuers of less creditworthy debt are "rated more harshly," according to a study by scholars at Indiana University in Bloomington, Washington, D.C.-based American University and Rice University in Houston. Sovereigns rated A had no defaults over a 30-year period, compared with 1.8 percent of corporate bonds and 27.2 percent of securities backed by debt such as mortgages and loans assigned that ranking, the study of Moody's Investors Service data said.
The research shows that profit may influence credit rankings after a government panel described the rating companies as "key enablers of the financial meltdown" in 2008. New York- based Moody's, Standard & Poor's and Fitch Ratings still dominate scoring for the $43 trillion global debt market, pressing borrowers from Spain to California to address fiscal imbalances to avert downgrades that may raise taxpayers' financing costs.
© Al Franken - U.S. Senator, Minnesota, 2011. |
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Earth Techling: Wind Bill Could Boost Farmers, Communities
Locally owned wind farms could get a boost under new legislation introduced in the U.S. Senate. The Community Wind Act would extend existing investment tax credits to small wind farms with total capacities of up to 20 megawatts (MW). The act was introduced by Sens. Al Franken (D-Minn.) and Jon Tester (D-Mont.) and has the support of more than 40 energy groups.
Right now, wind turbines with capacities of up to 100 kilowatts (kW) are eligible for a 30 percent investment tax credit. The new legislation would amend the current credit and allow projects with total wind capacity of no more than 20 MW to also take advantage of the 30 percent tax credit. There would be no restriction on the size of any one turbine.
The legislation is meant to help small community wind projects in rural areas of the country that currently have trouble getting financing for wind projects. Franken said in a statement that the legislation would particularly help farmers and people in rural communities because the profits from the wind farms go right back into their own pockets.
© Al Franken - U.S. Senator, Minnesota, 2011. |
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KAAL: Franken and Klobuchar at IBM in Rochester
U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar and Al Franken were in Rochester this Thursday celebrating a new law aimed at creating more jobs.
The senators were at IBM to talk about a new patent law. IBM is ranked number one in Minnesota for the amount of patents issued in the past five years.
Both senators met with engineers and innovators at IBM to talk the new law and how it will help them.
© Al Franken - U.S. Senator, Minnesota, 2011. |
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October 27, 2011
Star Tribune: 'Violence is the norm' in sex trade
American Indian prostitutes in Minnesota report a high incidence of being physically and sexually abused as children, multiple rapes and being homeless — major factors in how they ended up in the sex trades, according to a new study out Thursday.
Compiled by the Minnesota Indian Women's Sexual Assault Coalition, the "Garden of Truth" report provides a glimpse into the often violent lives of the women, a group that former U.S. Attorney for Minnesota Thomas Heffelfinger calls "the most victimized segment of the entire U.S. population."
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© Al Franken - U.S. Senator, Minnesota, 2011. |
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MinnPost: School reform: Sens. Franken, Alexander bridge turnaround gulf
On Wednesday I wrote about a visit Sen. Al Franken paid to Patrick Henry High School in Minneapolis' Victory neighborhood on Tuesday. I want to expand on something I sketched in overly quick strokes because I lacked the time to report the details: The possible significance of a seemingly obscure, tough-to-understand win the senator seems to have scored in the recent markup of the Senate's proposed overhaul of No Child Left Behind.
Franken said the word "bipartisan victory" about 27 times during the two hours we spent at Patrick Henry, and at the time I was hard-pressed to see it. He made a point of coming across the room to talk to me at the end of the trip to try to amplify what turns out to be a very complex point and to offer me some resources.
Yesterday, after a handful of phone calls and a trip into the education policy wayback machine, I figured it out. When Franken said "bipartisan victory," I think what he really meant to say was, "Hey — I snatched something meaningful from the jaws of the Tea Party but the details are too subtle for this soundbite-centric situation."
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© Al Franken - U.S. Senator, Minnesota, 2011. |
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October 25, 2011
The Hill: Senators call for an investigation of 'stalking apps'
A bipartisan group of lawmakers, led by Sens. Al Franken (D-Minn.) and Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), pressed the Justice Department and the Federal Trade Commission on Tuesday to investigate smartphone "stalking apps" that allow users to track a person's location and access messages without their knowledge.
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© Al Franken - U.S. Senator, Minnesota, 2011. |
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Pioneer Press: Franken: Retrofitting private buildings creates jobs
Retrofitting commercial buildings to be energy efficient not only saves energy and money, it also creates jobs, U.S. Sen. Al Franken said Monday as he launched an initiative to spur more retrofitting projects for private buildings in the state.
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© Al Franken - U.S. Senator, Minnesota, 2011. |
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October 24, 2011
International Falls Journal: Social Security recipients to get COLA in 2012
Monthly Social Security and Supplemental Security Income benefits for more than 60 million Americans will increase 3.6 percent in 2012, according to the Social Security Administration.
The 3.6 percent cost-of-living adjustment, also known as COLA, will begin with benefits that nearly 55 million Social Security beneficiaries receive in January 2012. Increased payments to more than 8 million SSI beneficiaries will begin on Dec. 30, 2011.
U.S. Sen. Al Franken, D-Minn., applauded the announcement that more than 880,000 Minnesotans, including more than 640,000 seniors, receiving Social Security will soon see an increase in their monthly Social Security checks.
© Al Franken - U.S. Senator, Minnesota, 2011. |
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Minnesota Independent: Franken introduces bill expanding protections for seniors receiving care at home
Sen. Al Franken introduced a bill Friday that would offer seniors who receive long-term care at home the same protections from abuse as those afforded to seniors living in nursing homes.
The bill, which Franken expects to roll into the Older Americans Act later this year, would require states to pass a Home Care Bill of Rights that protects consumer rights, safety and access to information.
"It became very clear to me after meeting with seniors from Moorhead to Winona that remaining independent and at home is a top priority for our seniors," Franken said in a press statement. "But in order to keep our seniors in their homes we have to make sure they're safe. This legislation would ensure that seniors who choose to receive long-term services and supports in their homes and communities have the same rights and protections from elder abuse that seniors living in nursing homes already have."
© Al Franken - U.S. Senator, Minnesota, 2011. |
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