Hannah

James introduces bill to address tribal Social Security equity "Tribal council leaders deserve to access Social Security," says Senator Heather James, who today introduced the Tribal Social Security Fairness Act. The bill allows tribal government leaders to opt-in to Social Security and receive benefits, correcting a longstanding defect of the administration of retirement benefits that came to light following a 2006 ruling by the IRS. "When Social Security was amended in 1951 to give state and local officials access to Social Security, no provision was made for tribal officials. When the IRS then ruled against tribal officers accessing benefits, it came as a shock," says James. "This is something that can be fixed simply and swiftly by the federal government." The bill allows the Social Security Administration to reach agreements with tribes to provide coverage, including retroactive coverage for periods when FICA payments have been made. James says that the bill follows on from a bipartisan push by Washington state House members in 2015, but that that inquiry clarified that the SSA would need new authorizing legislation to enter into an agreement with a tribe. "I'm hopeful we can act to rectify this injustice and provide seniors who've worked to represent their people retirement benefits they're entitled to," says James. -30-

Name: Heather James Media: Good Morning America on ABC Reason: Wisconsin election and Washington context "I'm obviously not qualified to speak to the specifics of Wisconsin local politics: after all, I'm lactose intolerant! But in terms of the campaign overall what I saw was a referendum on responsible government. For a sitting Governor to lose to, all respect and congratulations to my friend Ron Kind, but for a Governor to lose to a House member is something of a reality check. The complete dysfunction on the Republican side, flip-flopping on policies they've advocated for years, undermining each other in political horse-trading, cycling through what will now be their third leadership change in a matter of weeks, can't have inspired much faith among voters." "That said, Democrats cannot afford to sit on our laurels. Winning one Senate seat moves us from knife-edge votes to slightly-blunter-knife-edge votes; we are still the minority in the House. We have a Supreme Court vacancy that's been open for over a year now, and a Vice President to confirm. I am confident that Majority Leader Storm will continue with an agenda tackling the issues that matter to Americans, and working across the aisle to get meaningless progress done. The latest bit of obstructionism, on infrastructure funding for California, was too ridiculous even for many Republicans, thankfully. Disaster aid needs to go to affected communities and not be held up by attempts to politik state policies from Washington D.C." "The attempts by some Republicans to portray themselves as the party of labor didn't really play in Wisconsin, unsurprisingly. While they're blocking legislation allowing federal workers to unionize, voting to rip health care benefits away from millions of workers, and above all preventing a living minimum wage increase, they can't seriously claim that mantle. But maybe some of their friction on their side suggests a deal on some of these issues is possible in the future."

I hadn't considered that without a Vice President, the PPT signing out would create an impasse in the Senate (and with all the quality debate flowing back and forth on the Senate floor, we wouldn't want that!) so for now I will sign back in. But please advance the nominations soon, admins. Your total inactivity is killing the game.

signed out

Name: Heather James Media: State of the Union on CNN Reason: AHCA The so-called American Health Care Act demonstrates that after seven years of complaining about the ACA, Republicans still have not come up with any viable solution. The AHCA would deny insurance to millions of Americans who've gained health care coverage for the first time thanks to the ACA. And it would effect a massive wealth transfer from low and middle income Americans to pay for tax cuts for the very wealthy. This bill would weaken Medicaid, explode income inequality, and cost jobs: over a million over the next decade, according to the Milken Institute. There is some good news, I guess. It would make some savings on Social Security. Because Americans would be dying earlier, but hey. Republican messaging on health care this session has been confused: Senate Republicans introduced an amendment, written by a Democratic Senator [Michael Bennet of Colorado], to provide extra support to insurance exchanges, while House Republicans turned around and voted for a resolution that would completely undermine that same bill by weakening those exchanges. Numerous Republicans flip-flopped after years of hardline opposition to support the Democrats' bill on Medicare drug price negotiation, but there seems no prospect of House Republicans giving that bill a vote. Just what is the Republican health care plan? A closed motion to prevent any amendments, and it passes on party lines, without a single Republican dissent. It appears that when they're in the majority, Republicans suddenly become a lot less interested in the supposed bipartisan cooperation and compromise they talk about in the Senate.

James: time to raise the minimum wage Senator Heather James issued a statement on her continued support of the Raise the Wage Act, after self-proclaimed champion of the workers Senator David Stewart's attempt to kill the bill off in committee was beaten back on the Senate floor by Senate Democrats. "You know what would really impress the Teamsters? Passing the Raise the Wage Act!" says James, who pointed out that the Teamsters have repeatedly endorsed the Raise the Wage Act and called on Congress to raise the minimum wage. "Let's measure the two parties' respective commitment to workers' rights by their action on raising the wage: voting for it, or playing silly parliamentary games to try and obstruct it?" The Raise the Wage Act would raise the minimum wage to $15 over seven years, and thereafter tie further increases to inflation; it would also eliminate subminimum wages for tipped workers, young workers, and persons with disabilities, thereby ensuring every American worker earns a fair wage. According to the Economic Policy Institute, the policy would raise wages for 40 million American workers (30% of the workforce) with an average pay increase of $3,500 p.a.. Sen. James says the minimum wage is particularly consequential to women: "Two-thirds of minimum wage workers are women, so raising the minimum wage is one of the most effective means of improving pay conditions for women in the workforce." 40% of Black and 33% of Hispanic workers would also get a pay raise under the bill. James says she will oppose Republican efforts to water down the bill by cutting the increase to just $11, and calls on Congress to come together and pass the legislation. "We can work out a deal to support small businesses," she says, saying they would be the hardest hit by any damaging trade war resulting from "reckless suggestions" on trade policy, "But we are not going to gut the core wage aspect of the bill." -30-

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welcome

welcome back

DNC Chair Heather James addresses the conference. Hey everyone, it’s great to be here. I’m not here today to talk about legislative priorities. President de la Cruz has her agenda, and she’ll work with Senator Fakhouri and Leader Pelosi on that. Building a pro-jobs, pro-worker, pro-environment economy, defending and expanding affordable health care, securing stronger protections for voting rights. A progressive policy agenda can set the tone for the next four years. But I don’t have the luxury of thinking four years ahead: I have my eyes on the elections two years from now. Policy is important, but it’s also not always the biggest factor in winning elections. For every ten learned policy wonks, give me just one energized volunteer. Like the activists here today. Who will phonebank and email, go door-to-door. Put up posters and nail down lawn signs. Canvas fifty unlikely voters for that one swing vote that might be the difference. Campaign in summer sun and November rain. We need to build on the successes of this last election cycle by retaining and expanding our majority in the Senate next election cycle, by taking back the House, by competing across the country. We won in Florida and we won in Wisconsin, we won in New Hampshire and we won in New Mexico. As DNC Party Chair, I fully back a fifty state strategy. And as important as the Congressional elections will be, the state and local elections need our full attention, too. There’s a chance to overturn a dozen or more reactionary governorships in 2018, to take back state houses that are passing regressive laws or refusing to roll out Medicaid expansion or trying to block environmental regulations. So the fight to defend the Senate and win back the House, to give President de la Cruz the votes for her agenda, to take back governorships and state legislatures, to advance progressive citizens’ agendas and roll back reactionary laws, starts now, and it starts not in a smoke filled room in Washington, but in local party chapters all across this country. For the next two years, we need to build our momentum until we’re an unstoppable force. Voter registration, fundraising, candidate recruitment. We can write all the progressive policy we want, but we can’t get a thing done until we do the work on the ground, and as Party Chair, that’s what I’m going to be getting involved for the next two years. Thank you.

James introduces bill to permanently reauthorize funding for the LWCF Senator Heather James (D-WA) raised alarms last year in the wake of Republican blocking of a vote on reauthorizing funding for the Land and Water Conservation Fund, which works to conserve and protect some of the most important wildlife habitats in the country. "Hunters, anglers, and outdoor enthusiasts in the Pacific Northwest depend on the lands maintained by the LWCF," says Senator James. "Blocking a funding vote risks pushing more and more of our most cherished public hands into the hands of private developers, closing them off to the American public and risking destruction of vital biodiversity sites." As such, she has now introduced the Land and Water Conservation Authorization and Funding Act to make reauthorization of funding for the program permanent. The bill would ensure the revenue stream for the LWCF runs outside the requirements of an appropriations process. It also contains a clause requiring a "sporting 1.5%". Senator James explains: "This means that at least 1.5% of the funds for this vital program have to be used for improving recreational public access to these lands, such as for hunting, fishing, or hiking." Senator James says that public access to the lands preserved by the LWCF is a "national birthright" that should remain open to "all Americans". -30-

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James introduces legislation to expand medical services to underserved communities Senator Heather James introduced the Pharmacy and Medically Underserved Areas Enhancement Act, a bill to allow Medicare to cover pharmacists providing certain medical services to seniors in underserved communities. Supported by the American Pharmacists Association, the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists, the National Community Pharmacists Alliance, and the National Rural Health Alliance, the bipartisan legislation will help older Americans who lack easy access to doctors to obtain medical care more easily. "No one should be left behind because of their ZIP code," says Senator James. "Too many seniors are going without medical care like diabetes check-ups or immunizations because they live in rural communities with limited access to doctors, yet pharmacists right there are licensed to perform those same services. We can help by having Medicare step in and cover those services." Senator James says her own state reflects the need for action. In 16 of Washington state's 39 counties*, there are fewer than 10 doctors per 10,000 residents. "Rural health disparities aren't a new issue in America," says James. Of the five leading causes of death in the United States (heart attack, cancer, accidental death e.g. vehicle injury or opioid overdose, COPD, and stroke) all five are higher in rural areas than urban, as well as higher rates of cancer related to modifiable risk -- including a lack of screenings. "Rural residents in Washington have access to few doctors, have long travel times to reach them, and long wait times to get appointments," says James. "While I applaud work being done by medical schools to improve rural medicine programs, those will take a long time to take effect and action is needed now, by providing support through pharmacists licensed to perform medical services." Earlier, Senator Clarke's bill to provide access to lower cost prescription drugs by taking on "pay to delay" deals in the pharmaceutical sector passed the Senate by unanimous consent, with Senator James listed as a co-sponsor, while Senator James's bill to allow Medicare to negotiate for lower prices has received bipartisan support. "Passing the ACA was a momentous achievement and it's important that we continue to defend and build on it," says Senator James, "But there's more we can on health care, particularly for seniors, and I'm keen to work with Democrats -- and Republicans, who have seemingly abandoned their opposition to Obamacare now and recently even co-opted Democratic bills to provide it with extra funding -- to work towards universal coverage for all Americans, be they rural or urban, seniors or veterans, women or children." -30- * As of January 2017.

Name: Heather James Media: Face the Nation on CBS Reason: Judge Watford nomination "For all the learned thinkpieces about the politicization of the Supreme Court, what we're now seeing goes beyond even that. Judge Watford's nomination should never have been blocked by 2016 and we cannot allow Leader McConnell's actions to become a precedent. That said, taking the Republicans at their own logic, they said the nomination should be based on the result of the 2016 election. Which President de la Cruz won. She has sent her nomination to the Senate. And the Republican leadership is still refusing to engage. This has entered the realm of total obstructionism in which having a functioning Supreme Court is no longer important for the Republicans. Justice Scalia, may he rest in peace, joined his colleagues in writing on the importance of having a full Supreme Court and that unnecessary vacancies create procedural problems." "Judge Watford has inadvertently become one of the most heavily vetted nominees in history. His name has been out there for a year. He has already been through confirmation once, when he was nominated to the district court, and then confirmed on a bipartisan vote. And now the best the Republicans can come up with is to call him a 'DEI judge', whatever that means. A disgusting charge which the Republican conference should wholly condemn. It's telling that Senator Roy threw out his bile having not even bothered to attend the confirmation hearings himself. Without having asked Judge Watford a single question. Perhaps instead of grandstanding for the cameras or trying to play 'I can't be racist, I visited a black church' he should consider doing his job as a US Senator and attending the confirmation hearings. It's worth noting his predecessor as Senator for South Carolina voted to confirm Judge Watford to the district court, too." "Cliff Fleming is not going to pick the next Supreme Court Justice. Nominating judges is the prerogative of the President, a point the Republicans themselves made very plain in 2016. President de la Cruz has been elected and has sent her nomination to the Judiciary Committee. Judge Watford, despite disgusting personal attacks on himself, has answered questions with poise and grace, and shown he takes seriously the responsibility. I asked him about the lack of a formal code of conduct for the Supreme Court and I was impressed by his answer on the need for ethics reform. I am ready to confirm him, and other than catering to the lowest dregs of hysterical far-right media, I cannot see how the Republicans can continue to block this worthy candidate from confirmation."

Heather James, Chairwoman of the Democratic National Committee and Chair of the New Democrat Senate Caucus, addressed the conference. Madam Chancellor, Mr Secretary General, Excellencies and colleagues [and whatever other honorifics are appropriate for those not weirded out by the abnormal number of US legislators addressing the Conference] I hope you’re not tired of yet another American politician taking the stage by now. I’m sure you’ve already heard a few versions of how honored and humbled we are to be addressing this conference, which for more than 50 years has been at the bedrock of transatlantic and global security dialogues, and I hope you’ll indulge one more. There will be discussion today of the future of the NATO alliance: its role and scope, the commitments its member states make to the alliance and that the alliance makes to its new and prospective members. Of terrorism in Iraq and Syria, and how to continue the work of building and maintaining coalitions against the Taliban in Afghanistan. Of cyberterrorism and cybersecurity, building on the work of last year’s Cyber Security Summit in Palo Alto. Continuing and strengthening the Iran Nuclear Deal. Weapons systems, military technology, defense strategies. I choose to address a slightly different topic: trade. Trade is a security issue, and one that must be put just as high on the agenda as missiles and submarines. Countries that trade together do not fight wars against one another. Both world wars that devastated the twentieth century were presaged by a retreat into nativism, populism, and economic isolationism. Trade barriers went up, first to defend the imperial blocs of the 1910s, and then again as a wave of protectionism swept the globe in the 1930s. War, inevitably, followed. Quite different from the age of global free trade we now enjoy. We’ve all heard that story. That as the Iron Curtain fell, we reached the “end of history”. All that was left was to acknowledge the supremacy of market capitalism. Eastern bloc countries embraced liberal reforms, China’s acceded to the WTO, the European Union expanded and adopted a common currency. And in the American hemisphere, CAFTA has followed NAFTA as trade barriers come down. And we’ve all, equally, heard how that story is supposed to end: that global free trade has not equally distributed its benefits. That an industrial class has been left behind by a race-to-the-bottom. And that, in the United States, that has marked a turn towards populist reaction. Critics on both the left and right were particularly voluble in their criticisms of global trade pacts in the most recent election and the last few months have seen unbelievably reckless attempts to sabotage NAFTA. Progress on TPP has not obviously advanced since its troubled passage in the waning days of the Obama administration. Which leaves TTIP in a vulnerable position. After some 15 rounds of negotiation, the US and the European Union is closer to a deal, but has not reached one. Some of our European allies may well be wondering about the appetite of their American friends for continuing those negotiations and getting a working deal. I am here to say that there is still definitely desire and passion on our side to get a deal done. I will be doing everything I can to persuade the de la Cruz administration to continue with a TTIP deal that results in a trade pact that brings the benefits of open and fair market access to the transatlantic relationship. Similarly, Doha, Geneva and Nairobi have all seen failed attempts at restarting the process on the next round of WTO talks. Buenos Aires is next, and with a new city and an 11th round of talks, the hope of more substantive process being made. At home I tend to make the case that a deal will benefit the agricultural producers who make up such an important contribution of the economy in my home state of Washington. And it’s certainly true, just as it’s true that reneging on NAFTA or dashing the TPP or TTIP deals would do immense harm to those producers. But it’s also true that getting a deal done is vital for global security. When farmers in developing countries cannot afford to compete in the global market place, when women and children in developing countries go hungry or sick for lack of access to food or medicines that could be made available at fair market rates, those are the dark moments when warlords and terrorists thrive. Recruitment through hunger may be the most effective weapon in the arsenal of terrorists. Polio has been virtually wiped out across the globe, and it is no accident that the three countries where it lingers – Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Nigeria – are home to Islamist insurgencies that threaten health workers from accessing vulnerable populations. Without a global free trade pact, the Millennium Development Goals remain sadly out of reach. These issues will never be solved without progress on the Development Round. Every country represented in this room will have to compromise, including the United States, but it will be worth it to achieve accord on a deal that could open up new opportunities for literally billions of people. Turning back to protectionism and isolationism is not an act of strength and does not fortify national governments: it undermines global security, and strengthens the hands of bad actors who can use the misery and poverty that ensues to recruit for their cause. Trade is a global security issue, and anyone not taking trade seriously cannot posture any kind of strength on security. Thank you.