rssPosts by Mike Lillis
In Gaza, Who Did the Attacking?
Strangely enough, there hasn’t been a great deal of congressional reaction to Israel’s deadly Monday attack on an aid flotilla making its way to Gaza. Rep. Howard Berman (D-Calif.), who heads the House Foreign Affairs Committee, has been uncharacteristically quiet on the topic, for instance. And More…
A Closer Look at Massey’s Recent Safety Awards
Amid the growing allegations that Massey Energy, the Virginia-based coal giant, doesn’t do enough to protect its workers, the company last week was quick to trumpet a series of mine safety awards that recently came its way.
The reason for the self-promotion is clear: Massey has been More…
Massey Miner: ‘I Stayed Scared to Death’
Add Randy Dingus to the growing list of Massey miners who have come forward in recent weeks with allegations that the Virginia-based company prioritized coal production above miner safety in Appalachia.
Dingus, a longtime Appalachian coal miner, told West Virginia Public Broadcasting that Massey’s safety rhetoric More…
Schumer Wants to Tax Businesses Using Overseas Call Centers
To discourage businesses from outsourcing their operator services, Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) is proposing legislation to tax businesses that set up help lines overseas. The levy, under Schumer’s bill, would be a quarter-cent per call. Reuters reports:
Customers calling 800 numbers are often transferred overseas, and in such
In Gulf Spill Aftermath, Oil Workers Lack an Advocate
The largest oil spill in U.S. history has received no absence of congressional scrutiny. Yet as lawmakers continue to focus their examinations on the environmental, economic and energy implications of the disaster, a number of labor advocates are beginning to wonder: What about the workers?
[Congress1] Eleven men were killed, More…
House Passes Unemployment Benefits Extension
The House on Friday approved legislation to extend the filing deadline for emergency unemployment benefits through November. It does not create new benefits.
The vote was 215 to 204. The bill — which also extends a number of tax breaks set to expire shortly — now moves to More…
Pelosi: No Tier V for Unemployment Benefits
One of the enduring confusions amid the debate over extending unemployment benefits revolves around the fact that the Democrats’ proposals don’t actually extend UI benefits at all. They simply extend the filing deadline to apply for existing benefits.
That dynamic hasn’t been lost on a growing number of More…
House Splits Extenders Bill, Cuts COBRA Benefits Out
House Democratic leaders just started a series of procedural votes leading up to what they hope will be passage of sweeping legislation extending a number of expiring tax breaks and unemployment insurance benefits.
To appease budget hawks in their own party, however, they’ve made a number of changes. Most significantly: More…
Unemployment Benefits to Expire June 2
It’s pretty certain, at this point in the discussion, that Congress will leave Washington today for a week-long Memorial Day break without passing legislation to extend a number of tax breaks and emergency unemployment benefits.
Not only have House Democrats — who’d hoped to have their bill wrapped up and More…
Dems Scale Back Unemployment Benefits Extension
After hitting a wall of moderate Democrats wary of more deficit spending, House leaders on Wednesday scaled back their sweeping proposal to extend certain tax breaks and emergency unemployment benefits.
While most of the roughly $50 billion savings under the amended bill comes from More…
