The POPVOX Blog

Articles From September 2011

  1. Ctrl+Alt+Compete Trailer, a documentary about startups

    by annalee on September 27, 2011

    Ctrl+At+Compete Trailer, a documentary about startups.

  2. Issue Spotlight: Veterans' Unemployment

    by rachna on September 25, 2011

    A POPVOX user alerted me to some new unemployment statistics:  The unemployment rate for Iraq and Afghanistan-era veterans was 12.4 percent in July 2011 ( source ).

    So we're highlighting legislation related to veterans and employment. We hope you voice your point of view on these bills and share them with your friends, family and networks.

    • The Veterans Opportunity to Work Act (HR 2433) improves the employment and training of veterans; improves the Transition Assistance Program; gives governors the option of using up to 25% of the funding for direct training services for veterans; and strengthens USERRA protections. (Passed through House Committee.)
    • The Hiring Heroes Act (HR 1941 and S 951 ) improves the provision of Federal transition, rehabilitation, vocational, and unemployment benefits to members of the Armed Forces and veterans. (Passed through Senate Committee.)
    • The  Hire A Hero Act (S 367 and  HR 743 ) amends the tax code to allow the work opportunity credit to small businesses which hire individuals who are members of the Ready Reserve or National Guard
    • The Help Veterans Own Franchises Act (HR 2888 and S 1540 ) allows tax credits for the establishment of franchises with veterans
    • The Tax Credit to Hire Veterans Act (HR 2443) amends the tax code to increase the amount of depreciable business assets that an eligible small business can expense (i.e., deduct in the same taxable year) if such business employs certain unemployed veterans
    • HR 2046 ensures that members of the Armed Forces who are being separated from active duty receive comprehensive employment assistance, job training assistance, and other transitional services
    • The  Post 9/11 Troops to Teachers Enhancement Act (HR 1947) amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to allow members of the Armed Forces who served on active duty on or after September 11, 2001, to be eligible to participate in the Troops-to-Teachers Program
    • The  Jobs for Veterans Act (HR 1312) amends the tax code to allow an increased work opportunity credit with respect to recent veterans
    • The Veteran Employment Transition Act (HR 865) amends the tax code to extend the work opportunity credit to certain recently discharged veterans

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    About Issue Spotlights on POPVOX

    From time to time, we like to send POPVOX users an update of new bills by issue area. As in this example, if you weighed in on a bill about firearms, then you might receive an email from me alerting you to other firearms bills. (Full disclosure: while I think this idea is brilliant, it isn't mine. It was suggested by several POPVOX users -- so keep the suggestions coming!) I'll be posting these issue suggestions here, in addition to my bill picks for the day (as I explained in  an earlier post ).

    _________________________________

    Please keep in mind that highlighting a bill doesn’t imply an endorsement in any way. Rather, we’re simply trying to offer one more way to stay informed of an overwhelmingly complex legislative system. (Another way is to check out the “Trending Bills of the Week” .) As always, thanks for using POPVOX and I hope you stay in touch with us on Facebook or Twitter . If you'd these issue spotlights and other bill updates from POPVOX delivered to you via email, get started here to subscribe.

  3. PRESS CLIP: Fast Company--Facebook, Netflix Push Congress on Social Integration, Video Privacy

    by annalee on September 22, 2011

    Facebook, Netflix Push Congress on Social Integration, Video Privacy in Fast Company.

  4. The DC Startup Community Micro-Documentary

    by annalee on September 19, 2011

    The DC Startup Community Micro-Documentary by Shine On Storytelling.

  5. Superconstituents

    by josh on September 18, 2011

    A couple of weeks ago the POPVOX team held a retreat where we planned the next steps for the site. We did a lot of sketching. Here's a sketch by our designer William Donnell about how we can address the needs of busy constituents who want to spend their advocacy time efficiently:

  6. Issue Spotlight: Autism-related legislation

    by rachna on September 18, 2011

    We wanted to share with you some bills related to autism. We hope you voice your point of view on these bills and share them with your friends, family and networks.

    • On Tuesday, the House will vote on the  Combating Autism Reauthorization Act (HR 2005 and  S 1094 ). This bill would extend and reauthorize through FY 2014 the surveillance and research program for autism spectrum disorder; the education, early detection, and intervention program for autism spectrum disorder; and the Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee.
    • The Global Autism Assistance Act (HR 2700) establishes a health and education grant program related to autism spectrum disorders
    _________________________________

    About Issue Spotlights on POPVOX

    From time to time, we like to send POPVOX users an update of new bills by issue area. As in this example, if you weighed in on a bill about firearms, then you might receive an email from me alerting you to other firearms bills. (Full disclosure: while I think this idea is brilliant, it isn't mine. It was suggested by several POPVOX users -- so keep the suggestions coming!) I'll be posting these issue suggestions here, in addition to my bill picks for the day (as I explained in  an earlier post ).

    _________________________________

    Please keep in mind that highlighting a bill doesn’t imply an endorsement in any way. Rather, we’re simply trying to offer one more way to stay informed of an overwhelmingly complex legislative system. (Another way is to check out the “Trending Bills of the Week” .) As always, thanks for using POPVOX and I hope you stay in touch with us on Facebook or Twitter . If you'd these issue spotlights and other bill updates from POPVOX delivered to you via email, get started here to subscribe.

  7. Update on the American Jobs Act

    by marci on September 15, 2011

    Proving that you can never say never when it comes to Congress:

    Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has introduced the President's American Jobs Act in the Senate as S. 1549 . All comments that were received on POPVOX for the President's draft bill have now been transferred to the bill report for S. 1549; and the messages have been sent to the Senate.

    We hope you will weigh in, share the link, and tell Congress what YOU think about the bill.

  8. PRESS RELEASE: POPVOX Delivers the People's Message to Congress on the American Jobs Act

    by annalee on September 13, 2011

    SEPTEMBER 13, 2011, WASHINGTON, DC― POPVOX, the award-winning transparent online platform for advocacy on bills in Congress, now makes it possible to weigh in on the President's proposed American Jobs Act with a message to Congress.

    POPVOX CEO and former Congressional staffer, Marci Harris, wrote: “[T]he proposed legislation starts a conversation: the analysis of each element will all affect the structure of whatever eventually is introduced by Congress.” Harris continued, “If there are things that you like about the American Jobs Act, shout it from the rooftops. And if there are things that you don’t like, let Congress know.”

    Anyone can visit the proposed bill’s action page on POPVOX to see information about the proposed bill, including the text, summary, and section-by-section analysis released by the White House, and statements in support or opposition by organizations that have taken a position. These include: Bio, National Education Association, National League of Cities, National Organization for Women.

    Any advocacy organization can create a profile on POPVOX and upload a position supporting or opposing the proposed legislation. In addition, anyone with a website can embed a free “widget” to send their users to tell Congress what they think about the American Jobs Act.

    Individuals choose to “support” or “oppose” proposals on POPVOX, and write comments that are delivered to Congress. Since the tool is powered by POPVOX, constituent information is verified for Congressional offices and messages are aggregated publicly on POPVOX.com to show quantified grassroots power. Individuals can track delivery of their message to their legislators’ offices, share their comments on Facebook and Twitter, and invite friends to weigh in.

    About POPVOX

    POPVOX is a neutral, nonpartisan advocacy platform that meshes legislative data with individuals’ personal stories and sentiment. POPVOX delivers public input to Congress in a format tailored to actionable policy decisions and empowers users to leverage their expertise and numbers. POPVOX provides a legislative dashboard for Congress and government affairs professionals with bill status information, customized tracking, bill-specific advocacy information, and real-time constituent sentiment and comments. For more information, visit: www.popvox.com

  9. The Kojo Nnamdi Show--Congress Online: More Information, Better-informed Citizens?

    by annalee on September 13, 2011

    Congress Online: More Information, Better-informed Citizens? on The Kojo Nnamdi Show.

  10. Weigh in on the American Jobs Act** (updated)

    by marci on September 13, 2011

    You can now weigh in on the President’s American Jobs Act on POPVOX and send a message to your Members of Congress and Senators.

    The President's proposal is not a bill: a Congressman or Senator would need to introduce it in Congress before it becomes a bill. Think of the President’s proposed legislation as a weather balloon - launched to see which way the wind blows and how strong.  Not only will the President and the media be watching for reactions, but Congress will be watching, to gauge reactions to the proposals before proposing their own.  So if there are things that you like about the American Jobs Act, shout it from the rooftops.  And if there are things that you don’t like, let Congress know.

    U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Joel Carlson.

    **UPDATE**: As a reminder to never say never when it comes to Congress: Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has introduced the President's proposed bill verbatim. It is now S. 1549 . In addition, Representative Louis Gohmert has introduced a bill in the House with the same title, the "American Jobs Act," but different policy. (No bill language or number available just yet.)

    This marks a departure for POPVOX - we have previously allowed you only to weigh in on introduced bills. The President’s proposed bill is not pending; it has not been introduced by a Member of Congress. While any Representative or Senator could introduce the proposed language as a bill, it is unlikely that any would, at least exactly as the President has presented it. Even Senate Leader Harry Reid, who issued a statement in support of the American Jobs Act, has not mentioned introducing it or putting it on the Senate Calendar (See correction above).  The Legislative Branch is very protective of its role as the writer of laws.

    Many elements of the President’s plan may, however, make it into bill form and be introduced in pieces or as a larger package.

    House Speaker John Boehner has taken a step towards considering the package by requesting a score from the Congressional Budget Office. The CBO determines how much the bill costs in relation to the Congressional; “ baseline ” (the estimated federal revenues and expenditures of the next ten years.) CBO will give each section of the President’s proposal a “score” of “+” or “-”. Those elements can then be considered -- perhaps even by the Supercommittee, which has approximately two three months to identify $1.5 trillion in deficit reductions over the next ten years.

    So why are we at POPVOX making it possible to weigh in on the American Jobs Act, if it may never be introduced in Congress and even if introduced would be very unlikely to come for a vote? It’s simple: the proposed legislation starts a conversation . Whatever is in, whatever CBO says it costs or saves, the section-by-section analysis of the potential impact of each element will all affect the structure of whatever eventually IS introduced, and DOES come to a vote.

    There are hard decisions to be made in the coming months. Now is the time to make your voice heard. It can make a difference.

  11. Issue Spotlight: 9/11 and Homeland Security

    by rachna on September 10, 2011

    We wanted to share with you some bills introduced to address the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001 and homeland security. We hope you voice your point of view on these bills and share them with your friends, family and networks.

    About Issue Spotlights on POPVOX

    From time to time, we like to send POPVOX users an update of new bills by issue area. As in this example, if you weighed in on a bill about firearms, then you might receive an email from me alerting you to other firearms bills. (Full disclosure: while I think this idea is brilliant, it isn't mine. It was suggested by several POPVOX users -- so keep the suggestions coming!)

    I'll be posting these issue suggestions here, in addition to my bill picks for the day (as I explained in  an earlier post ).

    _________________________________

    Please keep in mind that highlighting a bill doesn’t imply an endorsement in any way. Rather, we’re simply trying to offer one more way to stay informed of an overwhelmingly complex legislative system. (Another way is to check out the “Trending Bills of the Week” .) As always, thanks for using POPVOX and I hope you stay in touch with us on Facebook or Twitter . If you'd these issue spotlights and other bill updates from POPVOX delivered to you via email, get started here to subscribe.

  12. The President's "American Jobs Act"

    by rachna on September 9, 2011

    Instead of the usual Bill Picks, we want to share with you the President's jobs proposal he announced yesterday. The American Jobs Act isn't yet a bill pending before Congress, so you won't be able to weigh in on it on POPVOX as yet. (We'll keep you posted when the bill is introduced!)

    The American Jobs Act

    1. Tax Cuts to Help America’s Small Businesses Hire and Grow

    • Cutting the payroll tax in half for 98 percent of businesses : The President’s plan will cut in half the taxes paid by businesses on their first $5 million in payroll, targeting the benefit to the 98 percent of firms that have payroll below this threshold.
    • A complete payroll tax holiday for added workers or increased wages : The President’s plan will completely eliminate payroll taxes for firms that increase their payroll by adding new workers or increasing the wages of their current worker (the benefit is capped at the first $50 million in payroll increases).
    • Extending 100% expensing into 2012 : This continues an effective incentive for new investment.
    • Reforms and regulatory reductions to help entrepreneurs and small businesses access capital .

    2. Putting Workers Back on the Job While Rebuilding and Modernizing America

    • A “Returning Heroes” hiring tax credit for veterans : This provides tax credits from $5,600 to $9,600 to encourage the hiring of unemployed veterans.
    • Preventing up to 280,000 teacher layoffs, while keeping cops and firefighters on the job.
    • Modernizing at least 35,000 public schools across the country, supporting new science labs, Internet-ready classrooms and renovations at schools across the country, in rural and urban areas.
    • Immediate investments in infrastructure and a bipartisan National Infrastructure Bank, modernizing our roads, rail, airports and waterways while putting hundreds of thousands of workers back on the job.
    • A New “Project Rebuild” , which will put people to work rehabilitating homes, businesses and communities, leveraging private capital and scaling land banks and other public-private collaborations.
    • Expanding access to high-speed wireless as part of a plan for freeing up the nation’s spectrum.

    3. Pathways Back to Work for Americans Looking for Jobs .

    • The most innovative reform to the unemployment insurance program in 40 years : As part of an extension of unemployment insurance to prevent 5 million Americans looking for work from losing their benefits, the President’s plan includes innovative work-based reforms to prevent layoffs and give states greater flexibility to use UI funds to best support job-seekers, including:
      • Work-Sharing:  UI for workers whose employers choose work-sharing over layoffs.
      • A new “Bridge to Work” program: The plan builds on and improves innovative state programs where those displacedtake temporary, voluntary work or pursue on-the-job training.
      • Innovative entrepreneurship and wage insurance programs: States will also be empowered to implement wage insurance to help reemploy older workers and programs that make it easier for unemployed workers to start their own businesses.
    • A $4,000 tax credit to employers for hiring long-term unemployed workers .
    • Prohibiting employers from discriminating against unemployed workers when hiring.
    • Expanding job opportunities for low-income youth and adults through a fund for successful approaches for subsidized employment, innovative training programs and summer/year-round jobs for youth.

    4. Tax Relief for Every American Worker and Family

    • Cutting payroll taxes in half for 160 million workers next year : The President’s plan will expand the payroll tax cut passed last year to cut workers payroll taxes in half in 2012 – providing a $1,500 tax cut to the typical American family, without negatively impacting the Social Security Trust Fund.
    • Allowing more Americans to refinance their mortgages at today’s near 4 percent interest rates , which can put more than $2,000 a year in a family’s pocket.

    5. Fully Paid for as Part of the President’s Long-Term Deficit Reduction Plan. To ensure that the American Jobs Act is fully paid for, the President will call on the Joint Committee to come up with additional deficit reduction necessary to pay for the Act and still meet its deficit target. The President will, in the coming days, release a detailed plan that will show how we can do that while achieving the additional deficit reduction necessary to meet the President’s broader goal of stabilizing our debt as a share of the economy.

    AMERICAN JOBS ACT OVERVIEW

    The American people understand that the economic crisis and the deep recession weren’t created overnight and won’t be solved overnight. The economic security of the middle class has been under attack for decades. That’s why President Obama believes we need to do more than just recover from this economic crisis – we need to rebuild the economy the American way, based on balance, fairness, and the same set of rules for everyone from Wall Street to Main Street.  We can work together to create the jobs of the future by helping small business entrepreneurs, by investing in education, and by making things the world buys. The President understands that to restore an American economy that’s built to last we cannot afford to outsource American jobs and encourage reckless financial deals that put middle class security at risk.

    To create jobs, the President unveiled the American Jobs Act – nearly all of which is made up of ideas that have been supported by both Democrats and Republicans, and that Congress should pass right away to get the economy moving now. The purpose of the American Jobs Act is simple: put more people back to work and put more money in the pockets of working Americans. And it would do so without adding a dime to the deficit.

    Tax Cuts to Help America’s Small Businesses Hire and Grow

    New Tax Cuts to Businesses to Support Hiring and Investment: The President is proposing three tax cuts to provide immediate incentives to hire and invest:

    • Cutting the Payroll Tax Cut in Half for the First $5 Million in Wages: This provision would cut the payroll tax in half to 3.1% for employers on the first $5 million in wages, providing broad tax relief to all businesses but targeting it to the 98 percent of firms with wages below this level.
    • Temporarily Eliminating Employer Payroll Taxes on Wages for New Workers or Raises for Existing Workers: The President is proposing a full holiday on the 6.2% payroll tax firms pay for any growth in their payroll up to $50 million above the prior year, whether driven by new hires, increased wages or both. This is the kind of job creation measure that CBO has called the most effective of all tax cuts in supporting employment.
    • Extending 100% Expensing into 2012: The President is proposing to extend 100 percent expensing, the largest temporary investment incentive in history, allowing all firms – large and small – to take an immediate deduction on investments in new plants and equipment.
    • Helping Entrepreneurs and Small Businesses Access Capital and Grow : The President’s plan includes administrative, regulatory and legislative measures – including those developed and recommended by the President’s Jobs Council – to help small firms start and expand. This includes changing the way the government does business with small firms. The Administration will soon announce a plan to accelerate government payments to small contractors to help put money in their hands faster. The President is also charging his CIO and CTO to, within 90 days, stand up a one-stop, online portal for small businesses to easily access government services. As part of the President’s Startup America initiative, the Administration will work with the SEC to conduct a comprehensive review of securities regulations from the perspective of these small companies to reduce the regulatory burdens on small business capital formation in ways that are consistent with investor protection, including expanding “crowdfunding” opportunities and increasing mini-offerings. Finally, the President’s plan calls for Congress to pass comprehensive patent reform, increase guarantees for bonds to help small businesses compete for infrastructure projects and remove burdensome withholding requirements that keep capital out of the hands of job creators.

    Putting Workers Back on the Job While Rebuilding and Modernizing America

    • Tax Credits and Career Readiness Efforts to Support Veterans’ Hiring: The President is proposing a Returning Heroes Tax Credit of up to $5,600 for hiring unemployed veterans who have been looking for a job for more than six months, and a Wounded Warriors Tax Credit of up to $9,600 for hiring unemployed workers with service-connected disabilities who have been looking for a job for more than six months, while creating a new task force to maximize career readiness of servicemembers.
    • Preventing Layoffs of Teachers, Cops and Firefighters: The President is proposing to invest $35 billion to prevent layoffs of up to 280,000 teachers, while supporting the hiring of tens of thousands more and keeping cops and firefighters on the job. These funds would help states and localities avoid and reverse layoffs now, requiring that funds be drawn down quickly. Under the President’s proposal, $30 billion be directed towards educators and $5 billion would support the hiring and retention of public safety and first responder personnel.
    • Modernizing Over 35,000 Schools – From Science Labs and Internet-Ready Classrooms to Renovated Facilities: The President is proposing a $25 billion investment in school infrastructure that will modernize at least 35,000 public schools – investments that will create jobs, while improving classrooms and upgrading our schools to meet 21 st century needs. This includes a priority for rural schools and dedicated funding for Bureau of Indian Education funded schools. Funds could be used for a range of emergency repair and renovation projects, greening and energy efficiency upgrades, asbestos abatement and removal, and modernization efforts to build new science and computer labs and to upgrade technology in our schools. The President is also proposing a $5 billion investment in modernizing community colleges (including tribal colleges), bolstering their infrastructure in this time of need while ensuring their ability to serve future generations of students and communities.
    • Making an Immediate Investment in Our Roads, Rails and Airports : The President’s plan includes $50 billion in immediate investments for highways, transit, rail and aviation, helping to modernize an infrastructure that now receives a grade of “D” from the American Society of Civil Engineers and putting hundreds of thousands of construction workers back on the job. The President’s plan includes investments to improve our airports, support NextGen Air Traffic Modernization efforts, and resources for the TIGER and TIFIA programs, which target competitive dollars to innovative multi-modal infrastructure programs. It will also take special steps to enhance infrastructure-related job training opportunities for individuals from underrepresented groups and ensure that small businesses can compete for infrastructure contracts.The President will work administratively to speed infrastructure investment through a recently issued Presidential Memorandum developed with his Jobs Council directingdepartments and agencies to identify high impact, job-creating infrastructure projects that can be expedited in a transparent manner through outstanding review and permitting processes. The call for greater infrastructure investment has been joined by leaders from AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka to U.S. Chamber of Commerce President Thomas Donohue.
    • Establishing a National Infrastructure Bank: The President is calling for Congress to pass a National Infrastructure Bank capitalized with $10 billion, in order to leverage private and public capital and to invest in a broad range of infrastructure projects of nationaland regional significance, without earmarks or traditional political influence. The Bank would be based on the model Senators Kerry and Hutchison have championed while building on legislation by Senators Rockefeller and Lautenberg and the work of long-time infrastructure bank champions like Rosa DeLauro and the input of the President’s Jobs Council.
    • Project Rebuild: Putting People Back to Work Rehabilitating Homes, Businesses and Communities . The President is proposing to invest $15 billion in a national effort to put construction workers on the job rehabilitating and refurbishing hundreds of thousands of vacant and foreclosed homes and businesses. Building on proven approaches to stabilizing neighborhoods with high concentrations of foreclosures, Project Rebuild will bring in expertise and capital from the private sector, focus on commercial and residential property improvements, and expand innovative property solutions like land banks. This approach will not only create construction jobs but will help reduce blight and crime and stabilize housing prices in areas hardest hit by the housing crisis.
    • Expanding Access to High-Speed Wireless in a Fiscally Responsible Way : The President is calling for a deficit reducing plan to deploy high-speed wireless services to at least 98 percent of Americans, including those in more remote rural communities, while freeing up spectrum through incentive auctions, spurring innovation, and creating a nationwide, interoperable wireless network for public safety.

    Pathways Back to Work for Americans Looking for Jobs

    • Reform Our Unemployment Insurance System to Provide Greater Flexibility, While Ensuring 6 Million People Do Not Lose Benefits : Drawing on the best ideas of both parties and the most innovative states, the President is proposing the most sweeping reforms to the unemployment insurance (UI) system in 40 years help those without jobs transition to the workplace. Alongside these reforms, the President is reiterating his call to extend unemployment insurance, preventing 6 million people looking for work from losing their benefits and extending what the independent Congressional Budget Office has determined is the highest “bang for the buck” option to increase economic activity.
    • Reemployment Assistance: States will be required to design more rigorous reemployment services for the long-term unemployed and to conduct assessments to review the longest-term claimants of UI to assess their eligibility and help them develop a work-search plan.  These reforms are proven to speed up UI beneficiaries’ return to work.
    • Work-sharing : The President will expand “work-sharing” to encourage arrangements using UI that keep employees on the job at reduced hours, rather than laying them off.
    • State Flexibility for Bold Reforms to Put the Long-Term Unemployed Back To Work: The President is proposing to provide additional funds to allow states to introduce new programs aimed at long-term unemployed workers, including:
    • “ Bridge to Work” Programs: States will be able to put in place reforms that build off what works in programs like Georgia Works or Opportunity North Carolina, while instituting important fixes and reforms that ensure minimum wage and fair labor protections are being enforced.  These approaches permits long-term unemployed workers to continue receiving UI while they take temporary, voluntary work or pursue work-based training. The President’s plan requires compliance with applicable minimum wage and other worker rights laws.
    • Wage Insurance: States will be able to use UI to encourage older, long-term unemployed Americans to return to work in new industries or occupations.
    • Startup Assistance: States will have flexibility to help long-term unemployed workers create their own jobs by starting their own small businesses.
    • Other Reemployment Reforms: States will be able to seek waivers from the Secretary of Labor to implement other innovative reforms to connect the long-term unemployed to work opportunities.
    • Tax Credits for Hiring the Long-Term Unemployed: The President is proposing a tax credit of up to $4,000 for hiring workers who have been looking for a job for over six months.
    • Investing in Low-Income Youth and Adults : The President is proposing a new Pathways Back to Work Fund to provide hundreds of thousands of low-income youth and adults with opportunities to work and to achieve needed training in growth industries. The Initiative will do three things: i) support summer and year-round jobs for youth, building off of successful programs that supported over 370,000 such jobs in 2009 and 2010; ii) support subsidized employment opportunities for low-income individuals who are unemployed, building off the successful TANF Emergency Contingency Fund wage subsidy program that supported 260,000 jobs in 2009 and 2010; and iii) support promising and innovative local work-based job and training initiatives to place low-income adults and youths in jobs quickly.
    • Prohibiting Employers from Discriminating Against Unemployed Workers : The President’s plan calls for legislation that would make it unlawful to refuse to hire applicants solely because they are unemployed or to include in a job posting a provision that unemployed persons will not be considered.

    More Money in the Pockets of Every American Worker and Family

    • Cutting Payroll Taxes in Half for 160 Million Workers Next Year : The President’s plan will expand the payroll tax cut passed last December by cutting workers payroll taxes in half next year. This provision will provide a tax cut of $1,500 to the typical family earning $50,000 a year. As with the payroll tax cut passed in December 2010, the American Jobs Act will specify that Social Security will still receive every dollar it would have gotten otherwise, through a transfer from the General Fund into the Social Security Trust Fund.
    • Helping More Americans Refinance Mortgages at Today’s Historically Low Interest Rates: The President has instructed his economic team to work with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, their regulator the FHFA, major lenders and industry leaders to remove the barriers that exist in the current refinancing program (HARP) to help more borrowers benefit from today’s historically low interest rates. This has the potential to not only help these borrowers, but their communities and the American taxpayer, by keeping borrowers in their homes and reducing risk to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

    Fully Paid for as Part of the President’s Long-Term Deficit Reduction Plan.

    • To ensure that the American Jobs Act is fully paid for, the President will call on the Joint Committee to come up with additional deficit reduction necessary to pay for the Act and still meet its deficit target. The President will, in the coming days, release a detailed plan that will show how we can do that while achieving the additional deficit reduction necessary to meet the President’s broader goal of stabilizing our debt as a share of the economy.

    Source: The White House

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  13. The Washington Post--StartRight Business Competition Winners Announced

    by annalee on September 7, 2011

    StartRight Business Competition Winners Announced in The Washington Post.

  14. Does the Supercommittee represent you?

    by marci on September 5, 2011

    I just posted on Google+:

    Surprise! The Senator from Montana doesn't care what you think unless you are from Montana.

    Ok, I'm paraphrasing, but that's the gist of this article from Pete Kasperowicz on The Hill's Floor Action blog.  In short: even though Max Baucus is on the Debt "Supercommittee", he is asking for input from his own constituents -- those people who live and vote in Montana.

    Don't get mad -- that's the way it's supposed to work, and he might even be violating professional courtesy norms of the Senate if he sought input from the constituents of his colleagues. More importantly, however, it doesn't matter how "super" a legislator is, he or she still has to get elected by the people back home.  Sorry to break it to you, but with the Debt Supercommittee (and almost any issue that has to move through the Senate Finance Committee , which Max Baucus chairs), Montanans are more important than you are.

    So if you care about what happens with the Debt Supercommittee, call your cousins and college roommates in MT, MA, WA, AZ, OH & PA... (and Michigan is in good shape too, with 2 House reps from MI districts.)  And yes, we at POPVOX are working on helping you do that.. stay tuned.

    Members of the Debt Supercommittee are:

    * Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.)

    * Rep. Jeb Hensarling (R-Texas)

    * Rep. Dave Camp (R-Mich.)

    * Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.)

    * Sen. Max Baucus (D-Mont.)

    * Sen. Pat Toomey (R-Penn.)

    * Sen. John Kyl (R-Ariz.)

    * Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.)

    * Rep. Fred Upton (R-Mich.)

    * Rep. James Clyburn (D-S.C.)

    * Rep. Rob Portman (R-Ohio)

    * Rep. Xavier Becerra (D-Calif.)

    This brought a great response from Tim Bonneman at his blog, Intellitics:

    ...

    Politicians care narrowly about their constituents (something many citizens don’t seem to realize when trying to influence Congress). However, in this case the constituents are not limited to any particular district or state. Here’s the comment I left moments ago:

    From a public participation perspective, this is clearly not the way it’s supposed to work. The supercommittee works on behalf of Congress, and the stakeholders — people affected by or interested in this issue — come from all states. If the committee wants to allow input from citizens, that’s great, but they must provide everyone with an equal opportunity to do so. Relying on the committee members’ own infrastructure, which obviously is biased towards their states, doesn’t quite cut it.

    It’s hard to tell how much room there is for this committee to engage in meaningful public participation, anyway (though it certainly would be fun to try now, wouldn’t it), but flaws like this should be avoided.

    I had not see Tim's post before I responded, but I think the point holds:

    Not so different (if at all) than other Congressional committees, which still have to come up with a proposal that has a chance of passing both houses. That means working with their colleagues throughout the process. (So contacting your own legislators is not futile -- you should let them know what you care about in the process.)

    Ultimately as with any other committee, however, the Members doing the deep dive on the policy have more say (and by extension, their constituents.) But that's always true for constituents of senior Members, Members of the majority party, committee chairs, caucus Leadership, etc. ...

    It's an issue that we are very familiar with at POPVOX, see: Members of Congress Only Want to Hear from Constituents .  We get the question all the time from our users (see our Frequently Asked Questions ). We don't take a position on whether any of this is good or bad -- our goal is simply to help you understand how Congress actually works.

  15. Honoring Labor Day -- Weigh in on work and jobs bills on POPVOX

    by rachna on September 5, 2011

    In honor of Labor Day, we've pulled together some work and job related bills. Hope you weigh in on these bills on POPVOX -- and share the list with others. Enjoy the day!

    Honoring Labor Day

    • The  Manufacturing Reinvestment Account Act (S 1237) allows manufacturing businesses to establish tax-free manufacturing reinvestment accounts to assist them in providing for new equipment and facilities and workforce training
    • The  Combat Veterans Back to Work Act (HR 2826) provides an exemption from employer social security taxes with respect to service members and veterans, and provides a business credit for the retention of such individuals for at least 1 year
    • The  Women WIN Jobs (HR 2315) promotes the economic self-sufficiency of low-income women through their increased participation in high-wage, high-demand occupations where they currently represent 25 percent or less of the workforce
    • The  Bring Jobs Back to America Act (HR 516) establishes a strategy to encourage manufacturing in the U.S. and for the repatriation of manufacturing jobs off-shored to other countries
    • The  America Recruits Act (S 1247) develops and recruits new, high-value jobs to the U.S., to encourage the repatriation of jobs that have been off-shored to other countries
    • The  Fair Employment Opportunity Act (S 1471) prohibits discrimination in employment on the basis of an individual’s status or history of unemployment
    • The  High-Tech JOBS Act (S 1329) establishes a pilot program to facilitate the provision of education and training programs in the field of advanced manufacturing
    • The  Hiring Heroes Act (S 951 and HR 1941 ) improves Federal transition and unemployment benefits to members of the Armed Forces and veterans
    • The  Urban Jobs Act (S 922 and HR 683 ) provides grants to the National Urban League for an Urban Jobs Program
    • The  JOBS Act (HR 1745) improves jobs, opportunity, benefits, and services for unemployed Americans
    • The  Jobs Now Act (HR 2574) creates a pilot program to award grants to units of general local government and community-based organizations to create jobs
    • The  Put America to Work Act (HR 2368) makes grants to States and local government to create employment opportunities for unemployed and underemployed residents in distressed communities
    • The  Local Jobs for America Act (HR 2828) provides funds to States, local government, and community-based organizations to save and create local jobs through the retention, restoration, or expansion of services needed by local communities

    _________________________________

    Please keep in mind that highlighting a bill doesn’t imply a POPVOX endorsement in any way. Rather, we’re simply trying to offer one more way to stay informed of an overwhelmingly complex legislative system. (To learn more, check out  an earlier post .) (Another way is to check out the  “Trending Bills of the Week” .)

  16. Entrepreneur Magazine--They've Got Your Backers

    by annalee on September 1, 2011

    They've Got Your Backers in Entrepreneur Magazine

  17. POPVOX high-fives "We The People"

    by marci on September 1, 2011

    Today the White House released  its online petition site, We The People . This is an exciting time for innovation in technology for civic engagement. We applaud this latest effort, which is in line with the President's #AskObama Twitter Townhall and the House Majority's " YouCut "  crowdsourcing effort around the budgeting process.

    At every level, it is clear that elected leaders want to hear from the people they represent -- a thesis we wholeheartedly agree with at POPVOX (from vox populi , the Voice of the People). Macon Phillips, White House Director of New Media, and the WhiteHouse.gov team have led this charge since the early days of the Administration.

    Our CTO, Josh Tauberer, notes that the release is in line with the goals of the 2009 Open Government Directive as well. "It's three goals were transparency, participation, and collaboration. This site seems to be their participation project. Transparency was  data.gov .  Collaboration is ExpertNet ."

    The site's response guarantee after 5,000 signatures is not without political risk, and that in itself is a good thing.  As Donald Rumsfeld said, "Democracy is messy," and frequently petitions sites are too. (If past efforts are any indication, the President should be preparing his response on marijuana legalization for later today.)

    Later clarifications today (via Twitter from @Macon44 ) regarding routing input to appropriate agencies and privacy policies are encouraging:

    Macon Phillips (EOP)

    @macon44 Macon Phillips (EOP)

    @nancyscola People shouldn't have to decipher how the executive branch is organized in order to speak out about an issue. <cont>

    Macon Phillips (EOP)
    @macon44 Macon Phillips (EOP)
    @u62 only a small group of wh staff will have access to administrative data We the People will be subject to a public privacy policy.

     

    As the Executive Branch embarks on this endeavor, it will be important to clarify the site's role as a way of communicating with the Executive Branch, on issues under the purview of the Executive; not as a substitute for the vital Constitutional role of constituent-to-Congress communication on pending legislation and case work.

    Josh said it best in his tweet his morning: "We the People, official site from  @whitehouse , looks to be a refreshingly innovative idea."

    Kudos to Macon and the "We the People" team from Team POPVOX!

(For media inquiries, please contact Marci Harris, POPVOX’s CEO, at info@popvox.com.)

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