MoveOn: No Reason for Senate Democrats to Vote for House CR

WASHINGTON – In response to House Republicans passing a CR that would benefit the top 1% at the expense of regular Americans, MoveOn Civic Action spokesperson Britt Jacovich released the following statement:  “Leader Jeffries and House Democrats were right to vote no on a CR that would hurt everyday people in favor of giving billionaires like Elon Musk even more money. Senate Democrats are the only thing in the way of the Trump-Musk illegal billionaire takeover. There isn’t a single reason for why Democratic lawmakers should help Republicans destroy Medicare,…

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Trump loyalist Kash Patel is confirmed as FBI director by the Senate despite deep Democratic doubts

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate on Thursday narrowly voted to confirm Kash Patel as director of the FBI, moving to place him atop the nation’s premier federal law enforcement agency despite doubts from Democrats about his qualifications and concerns he will do Donald Trump’s bidding and go after the Republican president’s adversaries. “I cannot imagine a worse choice,” Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., told colleagues before the 51-49 vote by the GOP-controlled Senate. Sens. Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska were the lone Republican holdouts. A Trump loyalist…

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Legislation to axe locality pay for teleworking feds gets Senate companion

Senate legislation targeting locality pay for federal teleworkers now has a companion bill in the House. If enacted, the Federal Employee Return to Work Act would remove locality pay for any federal employee who teleworks at least one day a week. Federal teleworkers would instead only receive their base pay rates. The House bill, introduced this week, comes after Senator Bill Cassidy (R-La.) introduced the legislation in August. The Republican-led bill is one of many efforts to scale back telework options for federal employees. (Federal Employee Return to Work Act…

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Senate bill would require feds to increase the amount of time they spend in the office

A pair of senators is looking to get feds back to the office even more. If enacted, the Back to Work Act would require federal employees to spend 60% of their work hours in the office. It would mean a slight increase from the current in-person policy at many agencies, right now at about 50% in-the-office. Lawmakers say the bill is a way to address federal office space concerns, while still allowing for *some telework flexibility. Under the legislation, agencies would also have to monitor teleworking employees. They’d also have…

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MoveOn Statement on Arizona Senate Democrats Voting to Protect Abortion Access

WASHINGTON, D.C. – In response to Arizona Senate Democrats voting to repeal a 160-year-old, near-total abortion ban, MoveOn Political Action Executive Director Rahna Epting issued the following statement: “This isn’t complicated: Democrats will protect abortion access and Republicans will take away our bodily autonomy at every opportunity they have. To be clear, Arizona still has an abortion ban in effect and this doesn’t solve MAGA Republicans’ attacks on reproductive freedom. Arizonans and voters across the country have a choice to make this fall between preserving our fundamental freedoms with Democrats or letting…

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Senate confirms first woman to serve on Joint Chiefs of Staff

A Department of Veterans Affairs office that investigates whistleblower retaliation cases said VA leadership is acting on more of its recommendations. When the VA’s Office of Accountability and Whistleblower Protection (OAWP) recommended discipline in whistleblower retaliation cases, management took action 68% of the time in fiscal 2021. That is now up to 92% percent. But House lawmakers said VA employees can take their complaints to the Office of Special Counsel and see better results. “I’m still left wondering if OAWP’s juice is worth the squeeze,” said Rep. Jen Kiggans (R-Va.),…

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